new orleans chicory coffee

I am home from NOLA and so exhausted but mainly desperately missing the food and COFFEE! New Orleans traditionally brews my favorite drink with ground chicory, the dried root of the chicory flower.

Brief History lesson: Chicory root is harvested much like sugar beet and primarily comes from France and South Africa. The ancient Greeks and Romans used chicory as a veggie and in salads! When Napoleon enacted the Continental Blockade in the 1800s, the French had a very limited coffee supply and so began cutting the bean with ground chicory. The trend continued even after trade resumed and spread to French influenced Louisiana in the 19th century. New Orleans continues to cling to this coffee heritage, not only for its history and distinctive taste, but for many supposed health benefits! Read more here [ I did not fact check this site, why would the internet lie to me :) ]

 It was so delish, a little like chocolate, a little deep nutty flavor in the coffee.

beautiful Nicki enjoying some iced cold brew outside French Truck, home of the best coffee I have ever ever tasted.

myself enjoying the sunshine and the caffeine buzz on the NOLA river walk!

I'm going to stop by the grocery store/ spice store tomorrow to get some chicory myself and then report back!

xoxo

P.S. on the plane I read The King's Curse, the newest Philippa Gregory novel on the plane!! It follows Margret Pole, daughter of George Plantagenet (Richard of York's middle brother, the one who was drowned in a vat of malmsey wine) through the childhood and first four wives of Henry VIII. It was excellent, better than some of her more recent historical fictions. I love everything she puts out though, her stories are so captivating.

spring came early!

This week has been such lovely weather (sorry MA family and friends!) I have managed to get in a lot of reading and Keegan and I have gone on a few adventures!

more photos later

I have been using the kindle a lot lately, loving having access to library books right from my bed!
I read two historical fiction books this week by Susanna Kearsley: Mariana and The Shadowy Horses.

Mariana is about a woman who has felt an intense compulsion to move to a specific house in the English countryside since she was a child. Finally in her early thirties circumstances come together and she leaves London and moves into her dream house. Soon after she begins having intense hallucinations to what may be flashbacks of a previous life - dreams of a young woman names Mariana who lived during the plague in the same house. This book was fine, I think the character development was sub par and Kearsley has written better novels.

Much better novels like this one! The Shadowy Horses takes place in England as well but revolves around an archeological dig that is hunting for the long lost Ninth Roman Legion. They have decided to dig in this particular spot because there is a little boy who lives nearby who claims that he can see the ghost of a Roman legionnaire haunting the area….whooooooooooo! I enjoyed this novel a lot (although I think i may have read it before?), it really made me want to go dig for artifacts!

continue for more reviews and spring weather (incl some cute birds)!