Southern Blondie: August 2013

Little Rock Food Truck: Southern Gourmasian

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As you get older there are things you learn to appreciate.

Good fashion.

Your mother's advice.

Delicious food.

However, when your mother tells you that you are getting too old to take fashion risks (like the pink dress pictures) that isn't always the most fun to hear.

Also, when your mother tells you that the dress looks like we could just patch three dresses together for the same look ... not the best.

Needless to say I did not buy that dress even though I am somewhat in love. What else is good about getting older? Really appreciating good, quality food.





Like The Southern Gourmasian food truck in Little Rock. 


As food trucks become more and more popular in Little Rock, AR, (Yay!) they are raising the bar and quality of the food that is served. Here's how you know you are eating good food, the quality, ingredients and amount leave you filled and satisfied. That's exactly what the Southern Gourmasian provides.

Here is there description from their website:

 The Southern Gourmasian brings you a tasty alternative to fast food.  High quality and affordable - all of our food is made from scratch on the truck daily by chef Justin Patterson! All of our delicious bread is from the fantastic and local Boulevard Bread Co.  We will always avoid pre-made frozen food and will bring you fresh food to fit into your healthy lifestyle. We have found a love for delicious, real food that we want to share with everyone! 


Today for lunch I had the Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Sriracha Lime Butter. 


Does this make you hungry? Because it should. The homemade pickles are also delish. There are lots more food trucks in Little Rock to mention, but I thought I would start with this one. 

To find where they are each day either like their Facebook page, or check out their Twitter feed. 

Food trucks and social media ... like my own personal heaven. 

I may not be able to pull off that pink dress, but at least I can enjoy good food. 
(By the way, I totally did order pleather pants for the fall... Sorry, mom.) 
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One-Pot Minestrone Soup

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I am all about some one-pot dishes, soups, and casseroles. If it's healthy and good for you? Double win! Last Friday I had the strongest craving for minestrone soup... so this past weekend I got to soup making. It's healthy, easy, delicious, and can be frozen for later (which I LOVE).

I adapted this recipe from Ellie Krieger from the Food Network. I did everything almost the same, but not.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 stalks celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
1 14-ounce can cut green beans
2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 14-ounce cans of low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, kidney beans,  to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer then add the pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!
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Weekend Wine: Luli Sauvignon Blanc

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So another busy week, and another week where my blog was oh so empty. That is going to change this week. I promise. I put it on the bottle of wine that I am about to talk about... So you know I mean serious business.

This Weekend Wine is Luli Sauvignon Blanc. As a lover of almost all wines, my friend Melissa actually got me started on Sauvignon Blanc. Actually, my friend Melissa got me started on drinking wine in general. I think that deserves BFF status for life.

Back to the wine...

Image from http://www.luliwines.com/

The 2012 Luli Sauvignon Blanc emits a lively mix of passionfruit, gooseberry and light grassy notes. The aromatics are fresh and mouthwatering. On the palate comes a broad-textured character from the limited lees contact, which unfolds into a refreshing and bright finish. Serve chilled.

Price range: $15-20. 


I highly suggest you find it in your area and give it a shot. 

Would I ever steer you wrong in the wine department? Never! After all, you and I are besties!
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Wine Weekend: Layer Cake Malbec

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It's the weekend! Even though it's Saturday afternoon which means that half of the weekend is technically over, that's no reason not to celebrate with a new bottle of wine. I haven't been drinking wine that long in life, maybe four or five years but lately I have come to really appreciate it and I am trying to learn more about how each variety is made and in what region different types come from. It's a long journey but it's something fun to learn and it is a much better hobby than my current one of grad school. (Only four more months until graduation!!)

This is one of the latest ones that I have been researching and purchased. It's called Layer Cake ... (who doesn't want wine that also has the name cake in it?)

Here is a little 'about' the wine, straight from the website: 


WINEMAKER NOTES

We allow Layer Cake Malbec to ripen thoroughly on the vine. We tend to harvest four to six weeks after all other neighboring vineyards – a crucial element to the wine’s quality. Each cluster, once harvested by hand, is then destemmed and sorted – also by hand. Born at the base of the Andes and fed by the purest spring waters … I love this place.
VINEYARD NOTES

The fruit for Layer Cake Malbec comes from a vineyard that is flanking the Mendoza River in Argentina -a rocky terrain, strikingly similar to that of Chateauneuf du Pape in the Rhône Valley. The once 5-mile- wide Mendoza River is now mostly vineyard, abundant with some of Argentina’s most pristine Malbec vines. A plethora of smooth cobbles on the top bewilders the eye and imagination as to how the vines actually thrive in such a rugged terrain. Silt and gravel make up the subsoil under the larger cobbles. Our vineyard sits at an elevation of about 3,000 feet.

Climate: The climate is arid, with very low rainfall totals. Warm days are followed by cool evenings as the breezes from the Andes Mountain Range flow down to the Mendoza Valley floor.
TASTING NOTES

The 2011 is a classic Malbec, but undoubtedly Layer Cake. Big, brooding, black fruit, then rich earth, truffles and dark cocoa are at the front. The Sea of Stones vineyard is at its core, always evident with the thread of minerality that the deep alluvial cobblestones lend. This wine is so elegant in the mouth with fresh-picked blackberries, simmering chocolate sauce on the stove, and somewhere someone’s cooking bacon … so many layers, so little time. Drinking a bottle of this wine will certainly lead to, well, opening another. So get it fast and get a lot while you can. We can never make enough to satisfy everyone.


Price ranges from $15-20. 


But I only have one request if you drink this wine... that you eat it with cake! 
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