Taliesin & Homecooking on Vacation
Is it humanly possible to go on a 9 day vacation and by the end not feel like you’re permanently full? Apparently not if you’re me. Eating out every day, 3 times a day can be hard. Luckily, I have family that lives/temporarily resides in Arizona so I did get to enjoy a few homecooked meals and when I’m on vacation I crave homecooking.
My dad’s cousin Sheila kindly entertained us one night in her gorgeous house. Seriously, it’s breathtaking. I want to get married there. And every time we go there I’m astounded by how Sheila manages to make her job as hostess look completely effortless.
And like any good hostess she knew the way to my heart: mini cupcakes and homemade ice cream. Gush.
Okay, maybe those cupcakes weren’t supplied especially for me. It was my aunt’s birthday a few days before. Hi Aunt Connal 🙂
And speaking of my aunt, she and my uncle Mike put on a lovely dinner party for us + my grandpa and it was simply fabulous.
Lots to eat, like homemade hummus, shrimp, peasant stew, salad, risotto. Just to name a few.
Why don’t I eat risotto more often? It’s so good.
My uncle informed my sister and I that my aunt is some sort of risotto queen. You can send those recipes my way.
In between homecooked meals we got to make a trip to Taliesin West. Are you ignoring what I’m saying right now because you have no idea what Taliesin is? Yeah, I didn’t know either. It’s a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Who’s that? I’ll admit I didn’t know the answer to that one either.
Frank Lloyd Wright = famous architect.
Taliesin West = famous house he built in Arizona where 36 architecture students go to school. I can’t imagine being one of those 36 people who makes it into that program. Or being one of those 36 people who has to sleep outside in a tent. I guess Frank was a weird guy. Brilliant, but weird.
I snapped a few pictures from underneath my umbrella. It was pouring that day.
This pool was designed as fire prevention. Wright had a bad history with house fires…
I think my mom summed it up when she said, “Why is that the house has two movie theaters but the students have to sleep in tents outside?”
I’m currently enjoying some down time in our condo in Santa Fe before we head out for a little chocolate appetizer, then dinner at La Fonda. I’m not sure last night’s dinner at Maria’s can be beat, though. Or maybe that’s my margarita talking.
I’m off!
Restaurant Review Part I: Santa Fe to Scottsdale
Could this post title be any longer?
So far on this trip we’ve eaten out a lot. If I don’t have to pay the bill, I don’t mind 😛 There have been good meals and bad meals but they’ve all been memorable.
Real Food Nation: Santa Fe
I hate giving this place a bad review. It wasn’t bad per say, but it was certainly disappointing considering it was recommended to us and it had 5 stars on Yelp! That’s unheard of. Sadly, we were all unimpressed (except my sister but I maintain that she was just hungry and anything would have tasted good). I got the vegan meal and it was the definition of bland.
Above is the reason vegan food gets a bad rap.
Guadalupe Cafe: Santa Fe
We redeemed ourselves with breakfast the next morning. I give Guadalupe Cafe two thumbs up. I got the migas and the eggs rocked. And I shared a pecan pancake with my mom. They were huge!
Whole Foods: Santa Fe
I’d be lying if I said one of the best things I’ve eaten so far on the trip wasn’t the sandwich I had made at Whole Foods in Santa Fe. Veggies + sundried tomato pesto on focaccia = deelicious.
Wildflower Bread Company: Sedona
This turned out to be a chain Panera-style restaurant but we all seemed to like it. I’m a fan of anything that serves oatmeal and doesn’t come out tasting like bland goo.
And my mom is a fan of anywhere that lets her customize her breakfast sandwich and have it served on a croissant, or should I say “cwah-saw,” Mom?
Dragonfly Cafe: Scottsdale
My mom and I’s breakfast restaurant of choice in AZ. We went there twice and I was impressed both times. First by the pancakes and then by the omelettes.
I’m not even about to pretend I finished that whole thing. Greek omelette = eggs, spinach, tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta.
Pita Jungle: Scottsdale
And I think we all know how I felt about it.
More restaurant review and foodie talk to come.
Happy Friday!
The Only Sun We Saw
I’d be lying if I said the weather on this vacation was what I had in mind when I heard we were going to Arizona for Spring Break. Arizona + Spring = sun, right? Wrong.
It snowed in Colorado the night before we left, Santa Fe was chilly, Sedona was equally cool and it poured during our first full day in Arizona. Wednesday was our last chance for sun and luckily, Arizona delivered.
I woke up early and got out for a run. 15 minutes out, 15 minutes back. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of myself for going on not one, but two runs while on vacation. If you an excuse not to run and you still chose to do so, you must really like running. And I do… most days.
The sun and pretty views didn’t hurt 🙂 Excuse my sub-par cell phone pictures.
I long to be a rich old person with a winter home in AZ and a marina for my boat.
Instead, I’m this sweaty person running outside in the sun.
And I kept imagining myself tripping and falling into a pit of cactus. Luckily, that didn’t happen. At home when I run, I always run so close far to the right that I sometimes fall off the sidewalk (I don’t know why), but you can bet I was running in the middle of the sidewalk on this run.
When I got back, my Mom and I promptly headed to breakfast (don’t worry, I’ll be doing a vacation food re-cap in a later post) and then my sister spent our afternoon lounging in the sun.
I didn’t mind this view. Or having to put sunscreen on every 5 minutes. I’m pale, okay.
And then I dragged us all to…
Pita Jungle! Just kidding, everyone went willingly and it was all I’d hoped it would be 🙂
Mom and I started out with “Pita Ritas,” which contrary to what my Dad thought, are not served in pitas.
The portions were huge. Look at all that hummus — be still my heart!
It was important that whatever I ordered came with a pita.
But I was kinda jealous of my sister’s “Big Salad” (name that show).
We all gave Pita Jungle, or as everyone else kept saying, “Pita Pit” two thumbs up.
Nap time 🙂
Lauren Loves Good Food 