Whitney Plantation and Jackson Square
Dat Dog!
We had a quick break in the French Quarter today and spent our time eating alligator sausages from Dat Dog!
Kevin’s Photo Skills
On our trip this year we were lucky enough to have Kevin, a professional photographer and videographer, join us on all of our adventures. He takes amazing photographs and is always making us laugh, especially when we try really hard to ignore the camera! Kevin snapped this shot of me as we were discussing our fieldwork for today. I could hear the camera snapping over and over and over and I starting cracking up because sometimes it’s super awkward having someone always taking your picture! But he does an amazing job and we love all the great photos he’s producing!
Team Dessert!
Today we had our cooking school and our team was in charge of dessert.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to walk to a local farmers market to pick out fresh ingredients for our dish.
We picked out homemade cayenne chocolate and locally grown strawberries. With these ingredients we decided to make a pound cake topped with strawberries and a drizzle of the chocolate we bought. Unfortunately we were having problems melting the chocolate so instead we crumbled some of the chocolate with the strawberries and gave everyone a small slice to try. It was the perfect way to end a five course meal, a little sweet with a kick. We googled a recipe to use for the pound cake which can be accessed by the link below. We also made chocolate covered strawberries with some Belgian chocolate that Michael, our professional Chef and guide, provided for us. Our end result was pretty tasty!
-Rachael, Angie and Katie
https://www.google.com/amp/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/mamas-pound-cake-recipe.amp
Capstone Community Garden
Today we started our morning by going shopping at a local farmers market for the ingredients to use in our cooking school that we’ll be attending tomorrow. After that excursion we ventured over to Capstone which is a nonprofit that provides community gardens for the people in the Lower Ninth Ward. We split off into teams and my team walked a few blocks over to work on one of the garden lots. We helped by weeding and planting some new vegetable plants. We planted eggplant, cucumber, and tomato. After we finished we went back to the main house and David gave us a tour and explained how the non-profit began. In addition to all of the gardens, there were goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits and several beehives on the property. The eggs from the chickens are eaten and all of the animal waste is used as fertilizer. Capstone was such a great place and I would definitely go back if I’m ever back in NOLA.
-Rachael
Jeyla and I were asked to help with the aqua culture garden. There was a small pond containing koi fish and catfish. As Jeyla explains in the video, the fish urine produces ammonia which is then converted into nitrates by the algae that occurs in the water. The nitrate helps to fertilize the plants floating in the pond while also using less water to water the plants. We both helped plant new seeds into the floating pots.
-Juliana
Free Time in the French Quarter
We were given a few hours after dinner to explore the French Quarter before going to Bullets. Angie, Katie, Aryana, Alexis, and I enjoyed watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade and all of the unique cars and performers.
T Minus 2 Days!
It’s hard to believe our NOLA trip is already here! I am super excited to explore the swamps and see all the critters…except for mosquitoes…and poisonous snakes. This will be my second trip to New Orleans and I am happy to be spending time out of the city and exploring more of the suburbs this time around. The thing I am most excited about is all the food, especially the spicy food! But for now it’s off to pack and hopefully I remember to bring everything!
