A Visit to Asheville, NC

Good afternoon, everyone! We just got back yesterday from a weekend in Asheville, North Carolina. Mountain living and a very cool place to visit. Creative, eclectic, amazing food, artsy, and a place to just be with the kids. A visit to the Biltmore Estate, horseback riding on 535 acres of beautiful land, and a trip to the local Arboretum made our visit quite memorable. It was wonderful to be in such a vibrant area in the middle of the mountains. We stayed for 3 nights in this little cabin (emphasize, little), and yet it was perfect for our family.

I have spoken of my love of sunflowers before. The way they stand tall towards the sun, always optimistic. Seeing fields of them always make me smile. When we went to the Biltmore Estate on Saturday, we saw a field of them that must have been a half mile long along the river. It was incredible to see. I had to get out of the car and take some pictures of them. I find them inspiring in so many different ways.

I have to share about the Biltmore Estate, as we found this absolutely fascinating. The estate once comprised of over 200 square miles. The main house has 250 rooms and is over 100,000 square feet. Hunt and Olmstead's last project. George Vanderbilt moved in when he was a bachelor at 32 years old and the house took 6 years to complete (which means he started it in his 20s!).

They studied castles in France as inspiration and the home had every modern convenience of the day. I was mostly fascinated by the exterior and grounds as well as the full basement which housed the servants quarters, kitchens, swimming pool and gymnasium. We took an architectural tour so were able to really see some great views. Imagine waking up to this each morning.

The Grotesques

 The Exterior and the Greenhouse

And of course, the flowers......

The funny part of our mini-vacation was that we were all excited to head to the mountains. We brought fleeces and sweatshirts and were ready for brisk mornings and cool evenings. Needless to say, we did not need them, though leaves were starting to change color already....

As always, getting away with the kids proved to be a bonding experience. A time to talk and be together. The kids shared a room and loved watching TV in bed. After the first day, we all began to relax and just be. Being is good. It wasn't all heavenly, as of course we, as parents imagine and hope it to be. But it was our family and we were together.

I made a lasagna for the road and we ended up eating it for two nights. The other night we ate at Posana Café (http://posanacafe.com/). It was an amazing restaurant and surprisingly, completely gluten free. A funky interior and the food was really delicious. Thanks, all, for the recommendation!

Put on Snow by Red Hot Chili Peppers and get cooking!

The lasagna I made is today's recipe. My sister in law, Karen, gave me the recipe years and years ago, when I still used recipe cards. I have no idea where it comes from but it is delicious and I usually make it once a year, sometimes twice. The kids devour it and it is very tasty with a nice salad. I made a regular simple salad but Caesar Salad and garlic bread sound good about now.

Karen's Lasagna
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can, tomato puree
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste, plus one can water
1/2 tsp oregano (I used more)
1/4 tsp basil (I used more)
1/4 cup red wine
2 tsp salt (I didn't use this much)
1/2 cup grated romano cheese (I used Parm and more of it)
1 lb lasagna noodles (I didn't use this much, and I used no boil, very thin)
1 lb part-skim ricotta (I used more)
8 oz, shredded mozzarella (Guess what! I used more)

Sautee garlic and beef in a large skillet until browned, drain the fat. Combine the tomato puree and onion, and add to the meat, along with next 5 ingredients (paste through salt). Cover and simmer 10 minutes. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray (mine was slightly smaller, hence the use of less lasagna noodles). Cover the bottom of the pan with 1/3 of the meat mixture. Sprinkle some romano on top. Top with a layer of noodles, then spread 1/2 of the ricotta evenly over the noodles. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella. Repeat layers ending with meat sauce and romano. Cover tightly with foil and bake for one hour.  Remove the foil and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

You can make sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it. You can also freeze the whole lasagna before baking or halfway through baking or after. You can freeze pieces individually for later eating. (I cooked it halfway and then put in frig. I finished cooking it when we got to the cabin).

 

Enjoy and have a very happy day!!