Cardinals in the snow

A three-inch snowfall in north Georgia blankets the hills and presents a frosty backdrop contrasting with the bright, red cardinal stopping by for a sunflower seed or two.
Less than 24 hours later the snow is melted except for shaded areas.
Bright sunlight erased most traces of snow and icey patches.

Recipe for Homemade Pesto

Try this simple recipe for making homemade pesto using the freshest basil available from your own garden or the farmers market.


Homemade Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (may substitute pine nuts) or omit if allergic to nuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a food processor, combine the basil and parsley leaves, chopped garlic and walnuts. Process for a few seconds. Then drizzle in the olive oil through the feed tube with the processor running until combined. Add in the Parmesan cheese and process for another second or two.

Serve over hot or cold cooked pasta, as a spread on crackers or bread, or as a topping for baked potatoes.

To freeze Pesto Sauce, fill ice cube tray or small muffin tin with the pesto and after frozen, remove and store in plastic bags in the freezer. When making pesto to freeze, omit the cheese and add in when thawed and ready to serve.

Just formed a Culinary Club

A like-minded group of foodie friends and neighbors recently formed a Culinary Club to share our experiences and knowledge about the wonderful world of food. The group held its first cooking demonstration on "Cooking With Herbs". To test how well the foodies knew their herbs, everyone tried to guess the contents of small individual cups of snipped parsley, basil, rosemary, mint and thyme. That was tricky!

Then the demonstrations began which included a Dill Batter Bread, Tuna Salad with Dill, Marinated Shrimp on Rosemary Skewers, along with Caprese Mozzarella Salad and Homemade Pesto using fresh basil. Sampling the tasty dishes topped off the meeting and left everyone wanting more.

Free Wi-fi in Paris Parks

When in Paris, travelers looking for a quick way to send an email or photo to friends back home should hurry to the nearest public park. Open your laptop or use your iPhone's settings to search for a Wi-Fi connection and
start sending pix of all your Parisian adventures to all your pals.

The free Wi-Fi is also a great way to take advantage of a VOIP program like Skype to call back home without incurring huge cell phone bills on your return to the states.

Fall festivals in Georgia

Fall has arrived and that means festivals galore. North Georgia hosts a multitude of special festivals ranging from art and apples to beer and wine. Check out the 2009 Georgia Apple Festival in Ellijay, which runs the second and third weekends in October, for all things apple or discover the history of Georgia's gold mining days during Dahlonega Gold Rush Days running October 17 and 18.

The festivals provide food and fun while the changing of the leaves on the trees offer colorful vistas with every turn of the road. 

Visit Paris in the fall

Paris is an ideal location to visit in the fall. Airlines such as Delta, Air France, American, Continental and others offer lower fares.  And many hotels have better rates in the shoulder-season.

Best of all, you won't have to endure the long lines when visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame or Montmartre that you would find when you visit in the summer.

Rain is gone for now

The flooding rains are gone for now and there was no local damage in my area of northern Georgia. But the rains did a number on my fresh basil, tomatoes and cucumbers.

So it's time to try new plantings of herbs for the fall season especially sage, chives, dill, mint and thyme. Since the basil is done, I'll refill my large terra-cotta herb planter with all the new herb plantings.

Every time I walk past the rosemary bush, I love to draw my fingers through the plant and inhale the fragrance.