I’ve always been a fan of a great at-home bar. I strongly believe it’s a must-learn life skill to mix up classic cocktails, and as an avid host, it’s important to provide an array...
Looking back on Easter as a child, I remember how excited I was to dig through my Easter basket. Full of chocolate bunnies, malt ball Easter eggs, Peeps, golden coins, and my favorite Cadbury...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
When menu planning for a day like Mother’s Day, I often go back and forth about what to serve that’s just as tasty as it is beautiful. And there’s one thing I know for sure: I’m serving this Grilled Georgia Peach Salad again this year (and all summer long). While Mama K and I shot our Mother’s Day brunch inspiration with J.McLaughlin, we were the most excited about devouring this salad, along with all the cheese, once the shoot was wrapped!
Fitting of any Georgia gal, I love pretty much peach-anything, and grilled peaches take that love to a whole new level, let me tell you. There’s something about the way the juicy fruit softens, sweetens and turns golden brown, exploding with the taste of summer in each bite. Grilling the peaches gives the fruit a new dimension to its sweetness, and paired with tangy fig balsamic, bitter arugula, herbed goat cheese, sweet snap peas and candied pecans…it’s just all a little unreal and has me excited about salads again.
And of course you know (or at least if you follow along) how I always talk about texture with my dishes, and this grilled peach salad hits the mark. The tender grilled peaches + fresh pop of snap peas + crunch of the candied pecans makes for one wonderful bite every time. Tell me, have you fired up the grill this season yet?! Truly, MKR
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May marks Mental Health Month. But before I go any further, I must admit to you all…up until recently I would have immediately tuned out anything with “mental health” related to it. I would have dismissed it because I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. But the more I’ve read about wellness, living intentionally and being more present, I’ve found that learning about mental health and finding ways to improve it (whether that’s through big improvements or adopting small habits) is something that should be on all of our minds.
Mental clutter is a lot different than physical clutter (which we recently addressed thanks to MKR’s March read of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book). Mental clutter can be linked to anxiety, poor time management, procrastination and stress, and it can wreak havoc on our creativity, productivity and every day outlook. It’s exactly as it sounds: all that junk floating around in your head, disrupting your routine and bogging you down with detrimental thoughts.
Like pretty much anyone reading this, I had to admit that I’m guilty of letting my thoughts and worries run rampant, sometimes causing me to lose sleep or pick a fight with a loved one. I read a great piece on Fast Company the other day which shared 5 ways we can “rest and digest” the mind to counteract all of the distractions we face in a day. It got me thinking about simple changes I can implement in my day-to-day routine to help clear my own mental clutter, like putting my iPhone down more often (understatement of the year). I’ve listed them in the slideshow above, but I’d love for you to share any additional ways you’re able to do the same. Cheers, Kat
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Reschedule Unnecessary Tasks
Step back and ask yourself what is REALLY necessary to accomplish today. Focus on the important task(s) and reschedule the rest. By learning how to say no, you empower yourself to call the shots on your schedule (and stress). If saying no is hard for you (like it is for many), check out these great tips.
Scientific research suggests that only 2% of the population can multi-task properly. As we try to do many things at once, we're actually a lot less productive with the tasks we have on our to-do lists. Seems straight-forward enough, but it always helps to have a reminder of this in order to cut down on the extra junk racing around in your head.
Don't forget the power of deep breathing. Think long, deep breaths that sound like the ocean.
In the Fast Company article, Scott Eblin points out how deep breathing can be done wherever and whenever you wish, making it one of the simplest ways to get your mind back on track. I especially loved this thought: "Breathing is like doing reps in the gym for your biceps. The more reps you do, the stronger you are. Paying attention to your breathing increases the attention muscle in brain."
It's easy to get wrapped up in the status updates, notifications and messages. But by putting your phone down, you are able to not only be more present in the moment, but also more productive with less distractions that lead to the mental clutter.
By allowing yourself to have alone time, you give your mind the chance to wander in unconscious thought and reset. Our worlds are becoming increasingly faster and noisier, and finding comfort in solitude can help keep the mind clear of clutter.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about good food (besides of course, eating it) is finding out more behind the apron and what chefs themselves are craving and cooking up at home. With food that’s just as drool-worthy as it looks, I’ve just got to know the whole story! This is exactly what inspired today’s drop-dead-gorgeous feature of a favorite local hotspot of mine, White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails and the guy your tastebuds need to thank: Executive Chef Todd Richards.
I first became enamored with Chef Todd at my first AFWF experience; the man is a legend on the Big Green Egg. If any of you follow on Snapchat (username WAITINGONMARTHA), you’ll know I love me some Big Green Egg grilling. And after seeing his smoking demo on the rooftop, two Food & Wine Festivals ago, and discovering his cold smoking techniques (FYI cold smoking is simply a way of infusing a smoked flavor without cooking the food, ie. smoking a block of cheese), I couldn’t wait to try it on my own at home.
A self-taught chef, Todd became the Executive Chef of White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails almost a year ago. His background as Executive Chef at Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Chef at The Shed (where he was recognized as a James Beard Best Chef semi-finalist) as well as Concept Developer for One Flew South (the top rated airport restaurant in the US) have lent amazing experience and a strong footing for Todd to blow it out of the park at White Oak Kitchen. Everything that comes out of his kitchen is truly satisfying, yet totally approachable and unpretentious (there’s nothing worse than ordering a bizarre dish that just stares at you from the table, am I right?!). Chef Todd simply knows what people want and gives them that.
Chef Todd will be back at the festival this year, hosting a Vegetable Versatility class on Saturday, June 4, where guests will explore the wide range of flavors, textures and colors that vegetables can embody in both a Caribbean and Southern palette. I’m already mapping out my itinerary while at the festival (since it really is the most wonderful time of the year), and this class is one I won’t be missing! Until then, I caught up with Chef Todd to pick his brain about his favorite dish at White Oak, what he REALLY loves to cook at home, favorite sip & more, which you’ll find below. And please tell me I’ll be seeing all of you at AFWF16?! Cheers! Truly, MKR
WOM: Tell me a little bit about your rooftop garden; what are you growing? TR: Our primary items we are growing right now are hot peppers, okra, Thai basil, radishes, turnips and greens. We have a few specialty items as well such as shiso, & nasturtiums. Blueberries have just started as well.
I do grow some items at the garden at home as well. We planted 8 tomato plants as well as cucumbers, mild peppers, eggplant thus far.
WOM: Favorite dish on the White Oak menu right now? TR: My favorite dish of the moment is the carrots glazed in ginger. There are 2 versions of this dish. The first is a side item. We glazed the carrots with carrot juice, ginger, fermented black beans and herbs. The carrots are placed on carrot puree and garnished with pea shoots and micro shiso. The second version is garnished with tuna.
WOM: Favorite food or dish to cook?
TR: I enjoy working the fish/meat station the most. I love how precise you have to be cooking those items. Finding the exact spot to sear fish on the plancha or ensuring there is enough seasoning on meats to get the perfect crust is always exciting. Also adding traditional techniques like finishing meats over charcoal is always special.
WOM: Favorite food or dish to eat?
TR: My favorite everyday item to eat is soft scrambled eggs. My favorite gourmet item to eat is uni and/or caviar. My favorite vegetable is broccoli. My favorite meat is chicken followed by duck. Especially duck cooked with duck eggs. Got a thing for eggs I guess.
WOM: Favorite libation? TR: Champagne. What else goes better with caviar, uni and scrambled duck eggs…Maybe that’s why I have it for breakfast.
WOM: How are you participating in AWFW this year? TR: I’m very excited to do the class on southern sandwiches. We serve a collard green sandwich at the restaurant currently. It’s the part of the southern cuisine that I don’t think gets enough credit in its sophistication.
WOM: Anything or anyone your looking forward to seeing at AFWF this year? TR: I’m looking forward to seeing the cognac class with Miles Macquarrie and Kelly Thorn. I’m not familiar with the use of cognac in cocktails and can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Photography, Kathryn McCrary for Waiting on Martha | This post was in collaboration with Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, a brand we love and adore. All opinions are 100% our own.
