Monday, May 17, 2010

Adventures in Nashville

Anne is my adventure friend. It started in college when we studied abroad together in Luxembourg. It continued after college when we started running races together and completed the Marine Corps Marathon in DC together. In August we went back to Europe to visit our friend Emily in London. And each May I look forward to visiting with her and her family in Nashville for the Iroquois Steeplechase horse race.


After our first Sprint Triathlon at Miami University in April

This year's Steeplechase was a little different because we invited the boys to join us. We were also there the weekend after Nashville was severely flooded. The flooding didn't get a lot of National news coverage with the Times Square bomb scare, the Greek bail-out, and the oil spill in the Gulf monopolizing things. But water covered the downtown 12 feet above flood level and left thousands without power and destroyed homes. The Opryland Hotel will be closed until the end of the year. Basically it was really bad. But Nashville is filled with kind people and they had an outpouring of volunteer support. They picked themselves up and got to work helping their neighbors clean things up.

Race day was gorgeous and sunny. This year we paid a bit more attention to the horse races than we have in years past. Each of us placed our bets and the whoever picked the winning horse got to make a rule for the rest of the day. The rules didn't really stick, but whatevs. Here is a video of the day. Music credit is Anne's jam of the day "Young Forever (feat Mr. Hudson)" by Jay-Z.



While we were in Nashville this year, Anne took us to an adorable handmade ice cream shop called The Pied Piper Creamery. They have amazing flavors and I loved their Mint Grapefruit Sorbet. With all the mint growing in my yard, I had to try making it for myself. Not only was it incredibly simple to make, it turned out amazing. I have to thank Anne for that as well because she gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday this year!


Grapefruit Mint Sorbet

1 1/3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 1/2 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (the juice of 3 grapefruits)

In a small saucepan, heat half the water and the sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, swirling occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, move it off the heat and cover for 2 minutes. Add the mint and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Combine with remaining water and grapefruit juice and chill completely. Strain before preparing according to ice cream maker’s instructions.

This is a fabulous summer sorbet. It is fresh and light and cleanses the palette. I'm sure other fresh fruit juices subbed for grapefruit would turn out lovely as well.

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