Sweet & Spicy Avocado Toast
I don’t know about you, but I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast over and over again until I’m sick of it. Then, I stand in front of the refrigerator with the doors flung wide open wondering what to make because nothing sounds good.
Enter: sweet & spicy avocado toast!
Read on to learn how to make this super quick and easy breakfast recipe.
I have been LIVING for this avocado toast variation. I don’t know about you, but I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast over and over again until I’m sick of it. Then, I stand in front of the refrigerator with the doors flung wide open wondering what to make because nothing sounds good.
Enter: sweet & spicy avocado toast!
I used to make the standard avo toast — a little avocado sprinkled with salt. Or, I’d throw an egg on top. Those are good, but this recipe takes it to the next level for flavor.
My wellness coach, Cindy, first recommended I try this breakfast staple with gorgonzola cheese for some extra flavor. Cheese may as well be my love language, so I was all in for this suggestion. And the gorgonzola does pack a delicious punch!
Then, I started getting creative and improvising. It’s very mediterranean of me to combine pistachios and honey. That’s such a yummy combo! If you get Mike’s Hot Honey (or a similar brand), you’ll get just the right amount of heat.
On the other hand, I use regular honey (no heat) and remove the pistachios for my toddler. He loves the more simplistic avo toast with a little gorgonzola. (That seems awfully fancy for a 2-year-old, but he can’t get enough!)
I’m a busy mama trying to get the household together in the mornings and out the door. This sweet and spicy avocado recipe is super quick and easy. I also love that it’s full of nutrition with the whole wheat bread, healthy fats from the avocado and added protein from the nuts.
Give this variation a try. Or try your own variation and let me know what you come up with!
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3 Things Every Songwriter Should Know About Using Imagery
As I'm preparing to teach my songwriting class at Belmont University, I'm reminded of something my friend Jamie Floyd shared with the audience about songwriting at our recent show at the Bluebird Cafe: the more detailed and personal the lyrics, the more universal the message for the listener. It seems counterintuitive, but it's true. In fact, the text we use for our songwriting class begins with this very lesson. Read on to learn 3 things to remember when using imagery in your lyrics…
Read on and you’ll see what I mean. Here are 3 things songwriters should remember about using imagery in their lyrics:
The other day, I was preparing for the next lesson in my songwriting class at Belmont University. The lesson was about using description and imagery. I was reminded of something my friend, Jamie Floyd, shared with the audience at the Bluebird Cafe about songwriting at our recent show together: the more detailed and personal the lyrics, the more universal the message for the listener. That might sound counterintuitive, but it's true.
Image by my friend and former band mate, Clint McKoy!
One way to make a song’s message universal is by using imagery. Read on and you’ll see what I mean. Here are 3 things songwriters should remember about using imagery in their lyrics:
Make the details personal: The steady “tap tap tap” sound of summer rain dripping out of the gutter is the backbeat of my backyard. Water pools in this one little dip of our flagstone patio. It doesn’t stand a chance. High-pitched squeals and the faint smell of rubber come crashing through the backdoor as my toddler’s yellow boots aim right for the puddle: splat!
In my head, I am seeing exactly the way my backyard looks after it rains. I see where the gutter hangs on the corner of my house, and where my son’s favorite puddle forms on our back patio.
You have no clue what my backyard looks like, and you don’t have to in order to make a connection to that image. While I’m describing my backyard after a summer rain, your brain is likely envisioning an experience you’ve had about summer rain. When we draw from details in our own lives, our experiences transfer to the mind’s eye of our listener. Our audience inputs imagery from their own life or imagination.
Use poetic license: In Pat Pattison’s book, Writing Better Lyrics, he warns songwriters not to let reality get in the way of the truth. Yes, drawing from our own lives can help us jumpstart a song idea, but we don’t have to tell every detail exactly the way it happened. The truth lives in the universal emotion of our human stories. Allow your imagination to wander. Have some fun! If it’s better for the song to make the car a little red Rodeo with Texas plates (who caught my 90’s Collin Raye reference?! 🙋🏻♀️), but in reality, it was a Honda Civic, go with the candy apple red Rodeo!
You can train your brain: My mom recently reminded me that one of my greatest music teachers growing up, Dr. Dick Goodwin, told her years ago that people think songwriting is an innate talent, but in fact, it is absolutely a learned skill. You can get better at using imagery in your writing simply by practicing. Here’s an idea: after you wake up and get your first cup of coffee, set a timer for 5 minutes. Think of a childhood memory and describe it in as much detail as possible. Allow your language to show rather than tell. When time is up, stop writing. The next morning, choose a different childhood memory and do it again. Then do it again the next day. And again the next. And the next. Pretty soon, your brain will become accustomed to looking for the details more quickly and with greater ease.
As listeners, we all know that incredible feeling when a song speaks directly to us; like somehow the songwriter must have jumped in our skin and lived our life when we weren’t looking. As songwriters, we yearn to write songs that make people feel that way. Keeping your imagery detailed and personal is a great way to aim at the heart of your listener.
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This easy Carolina peach cobbler is made with juicy South Carolina peaches and a simple batter using self-rising flour. A true Southern summer classic, straight from a Carolina girl who knows her peaches.