Vacation Day Eight - Jake's Farm Stand Is Now Open

A sense of calm that has come over me. Jake's Farm Stand is open for the summer. We will now have the best corn on the cob. We will eat the most amazing tomatoes. And I will have to spend only $2.50 for a huge head of lettuce that will make lunches for the week. Happy day!

Tonight along with the Salad, lettuce from Jake's, and the Corn on the Cob, from Jake's, we had a Shoulder London Broil. I had wanted Sirloin Tip Steaks which was on sale, but they were out of them at Robert's. I asked the butcher for something he would recommend in that same price range. He suggested the Shoulder London Broil. Always trust your butcher.

 

Delicious meat. We marinated in a little A-1 Sauce. Tender and the flavor was just what you expect a steak to taste like. Chris did an wonderful job on the grill.

Vacation Day Seven - Italian Tomato Hoagie and Some Art

Tomorrow, July 8th, Jake's Farm Stand opens for the summer. Yeah!!!! The corn, the tomatoes, and the $2.50 heads of lettuce! I had to clean out the fridge in preperation for Jake's produce. I found the perfect recipe for dinner. The Italian Tomato Hoagie. The recipe is from Bon Appetit. I had everything but the Bread and Butter Pickles. I also picked up a loaf of slice Italian bread, less bread than in a Hoagie Roll. We had some leftover chicken and some bacon which were added to the sandwiches. They were delicious.

And some art. Today I went to the Yale Art Gallery with my nieces, Mary Lucia and Anna. I have not been to the gallery since it was renovated. It is much larger and there is a lot more art there. Loved it. All that art but my two favorites are still The Brooklyn Bridge and The Night Café.

Vacation Day Six - We Have A Winner

 

I realize that it is only July 6th but the winner and champion of our favorite potato salad is ...Caesar Potato Salad with Sugar Snap Peas. The recipe from Bon Appetit. I used Snow Peas in place of the Sugar Snap Peas. The recipe was simple to make and I cut the recipe in half and we had just enough. The dressing was perfect.

And to go along with the potato salad we had BLTs. There was a post from Bishops this weekend on Facebook about the tomatoes which were being sold at Bishops. The first thing that popped into my mind was BLT.  I picked up a loaf of Multi-Grain Bread along with the tomatoes at Bishops and it was a superb dinner.

I especially wanted an easy dinner for tonight after last night's shenanigans on our deck. At 2AM some pesky raccoons were having quite a lot of fun. And I do curse in this video. I am sorry but they busted 2 new hummingbird feeders!

Vacation Day Five - Pasta and Zucchini Salad

Vacation days are perfect for sitting on the deck reading a book and having a cocktail. Today's cocktail was a Blueberry and Basil and Vodka and Soda. Oh, it was very good.

Today it was a little warm so I made a pasta salad and picked up a rotisserie chicken. Tried to keep the house as cool as I could, no we have not turned the air on yet.

The recipe for this pasta came from the New York Times. The recipe was adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's first cookbook, “Plenty. I made a change using snow peas in place of the Edamame.

Ingredients-
Salt
Black pepper
⅔ cup sunflower oil
3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
¾ cup snow peas
2 cups basil leaves, shredded coarsely
¼ cup parsley leaves
⅓ cup olive oil
9 ounces  penne pasta
Zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ tablespoons capers
7 ounces buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks

Method-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium saucepan, heat sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Fry zucchini slices in batches (do not crowd them) for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a colander to drain. Tip zucchini slices into a bowl, pour vinegar on top and stir, then set aside.

Add the Snow Peas to the oil and fry until they look cooked, about 3 minutes. Drain and add to Zucchini slices.

In a food processor, combine half the basil, all of the parsley and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and process until smooth.

In boiling water, cook pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water. Return pasta to pot. Pour zucchini slices and snow peas and their juices over pasta. Add basil sauce, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir together gently, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in remaining basil.

Vacation Day Four - Green Salad with Lemon, Mint, and Pita

Happy 4th of July! Tonight I went to the recipe box. The box were I put recipes that I saved from when we were first married. Tonight's recipe, was Green Salad with Lemon, Mint, and Pita. I tried to find out what magazine I cut the recipe out from. I thought It was Better Homes and Garden, but it did not come up in the Google search. Here is photo of the recipe if anyone recognizes the magazine layout.

I had Chris grill a steak to go with the salad. It was a perfectly grilled steak and it was the a good addition to the salad.

Here is the recipe for the Green Salad with Lemon, Mint, and Pita -

Ingredients -
Dressing-
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Salad-
4 small (6 inch) pita breads
4 cups romaine lettuce, torn into 1 1/2 inch pieces (I used a mix of baby Frisse, Red and Green Leaf Lettuces)
2 cups diced tomato
2 cups peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method -
Make Dressing-
Whisk lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil to blend.
Make Salad-
Heat oven to 350˚F. Split pita breads; arrange in a single layer on large cookie sheet. Bake until just light browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes; cool completely, then break into 2 inch pieces.
Toss lettuce and 1/4 dressing in large bowl.
In another bowl, toss pita pieces, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, mint, parsley and remaining dressing.
Arrange the lettuce on large serving plate. Top with pita-and-vegetable mixture. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Vacation Day Three - Family Picnic

The picnic at my sister's house was today. Along with the Flag Pie

I brought over a Green Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, celery, olives, 

scallions radishes and cheese. And of course I brought Chocolate Chip Cookies.

It was a day of cousins. Lots of cousins. 

It was the first time for meeting cousins for a few.

It was a day of life lessons. 

 

 

Bocci is a family tradition. 

 There were a couple of games and then there was a disturbance on the court.

 

The line judge was called in to remove the disturbance.

 Bubbles, and bubbles and more fun with cousins.

 It was the first time all the kids were together in a while.

Of course there was food. 

It was such a wonderful day with the family.

Vacation Day Two - The Flag Pie

Very excited about this one. This is what I am bringing for dessert to my sister's picnic tomorrow.  Yeah only 9 stars but they were cut out free form, no star cookie cutters here. I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I found the recipe on Delish. The recipe and video were easy to follow. The video was especially helpful in the construction.

I had some extra filling and crust so I made a little pie for us to try tonight. I sent Chris a photo of it and when he got home he was surprised how little it was.

I retook the photo with the pie next to my baking ruler. Everyone has a baking ruler, right?

Dinner was amazing grilled pork chops, grilled corn and grilled potato halves!

Seemed like a night for a bottle of wine. My choice was Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon, 2014.

Vacation Day One - Making Eggplant Parmigiana

Yippee! I am on vacation until July 11th. No work. Just relaxing... well maybe.

Today I went over to my sister's house to help her make Eggplant Parmigiana. We made a lot of Eggplant Parmigiana. We made a large pan for the picnic on Sunday and a small pan for Lenore and a small pan for Chris and I. And there was still Fried Eggplant that she could freeze. 

Lenore sliced the eggplant, salted it and put it in a colander with a weight on it. We rinsed the eggplant and dried it. Dredge the sliced Eggplant in flour, then eggs, and then breadcrumbs that were mixed with Parmigiana cheese and Italian Seasoning. At first, we used 3 electric skillets filled with oil but then just used 2. The assembly line was a well-oiled machine. We started at 11AM and were done by1PM, including clean up. 

And then my brother-in-law made us lunch! It was an omelet with zucchini flowers! It was perfect. Fresh basil too! Thank you Ralph!

And then later in the day, I realized that a certain cat did not have any "Treats." So off I went to Stop and Shop. I knew it was going to be bad when I walked in and there were NO carriages. 

Dinner was Chinese take-out! Happy July 1st!

Eggs in Purgatory With That Sauce

This is a So What Are You Making For Dinner favorite recipe. I love poached eggs in sauce. When you put poached eggs in the Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter you have reached a point of bliss. As we were eating this Chris commented that he could have eaten just the sauce alone.