I did complete two goals in October. I had forgotten that it was even on the list, but I made tomato sauce while Mother and Ted were here. They wanted a pasta dish, and I went off the cuff to make a tomato and meat sauce with fresh tomatoes, a mix of hamburger meat and italian sausage, red wine, onion, garlic, a parmesn rind, and lots of herbs. It was pretty good! It took longer than I expected it to, but mostly because it took a while for the tomatoes to cook down. In the future, I will use canned tomatoes and drain them at least partially before adding them to the pan. I remembered to taste and season as I went along, which I am realizing is truly crucial to having good flavor. Mother and Ted both said they really liked it, but it's always hard to know if they are being 100% honest or if there is a parental skew to their opinions.
That month I also tried absinthe during my visit to New Orleans with Mashelda. Appropriately, we ended up at a place called the Pirate's Alley Cafe and Absinthe House which is a tiny little place next to the St. Louis Cathedral. They had several absinthe drinks to choose from, and the bartender was helpful in explaining the differences between them. We decided to start with a specialty drink for two which was a mix of absinthe and champagne. The absinthe has a strong anise flavor, and it paired nicely with the champagne. We both enjoyed it! After that, Mashelda decided to venture on to other drinks, but I decided to go for another absinthe drink, this time prepared traditionally with the cold water dripping into the glass over a sugar cube.
It was fascinating watching the sugar water drip into the absinthe, because you could see the cold water swirling into the liquid, and the green color was stunning! This was definitely a stronger drink, and it went to my head, but in a very pleasant way. Apparently it totally blew out my sense for alcohol, because nothing tasted strong to me the rest of the night (we walked back to the casino and had a few drinks there), even though Mashelda stated otherwise. :) Point being that I enjoyed it very much and would definitely have it again, although I think it could be one of those things that is considered an acquired taste, since it is so distinctive.
I did finally write a review on Trip Advisor for the hotel we stayed in while in New Orleans. We had gotten a free room at the Harrah's Hotel (thank you Mashelda!) which was very nice except for the horribly wobbly toilet! I only just wrote the review, so it is not as effective as if I had done it immediately upon return, but at least it's in there.
While Mother and Ted were here back in October, we did decide to take a day drive, and without having to explain why, I chose to go to Columbus as the first of the three towns I have never visited before here in Indiana. The city does have an interesting history, as their government decided to hire very well known modern architects to design most of the buildings starting in the 1940's. Churches, schools, government buildings, and businesses are all one-of-a-kind, and many (because modern architecture is not my most favorite) are absolutely stunning. At the very least, they were interesting to look at, and since we were having perfect fall weather, we got to enjoy both walking and driving around the city. Unfortunately, my camera seems to have sent the pictures I took into the unknown digital ether world, but the city's website has some great information. http://www.columbus.in.us/
As a general update, I have kept up with the monthly letters to my grandparents, and I have continued to enter the wines I drink into the Delectable app that I am using. Also, I am now half-way to my weight loss goal. I think I am caught up now, and I will do a better job with working on my list and with blogging!
