Thanks for waiting for me, friends. Â I’m back and taking it all one day at a time. Â Nothing else I can say at this point. Â I appreciate this beautiful community I have built here and the outpouring of love and support you have given me. Â No words can truly express my gratitude for your friendship this past week.Continue reading
I almost saved this recipe to post in November for Thanksgiving. You can certainly print it and file it away in your Thanksgiving binder, but I find that recipes bookmarked for Thanksgiving never see the light of day outside of the holiday. I never make stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, corn pudding, and many other recipes other than one day of the year. This is not that recipe. Part of me likes having one hit wonder recipes on Thanksgiving. It makes the holiday feel special. But I make this salad all summer long and into early fall.Continue reading
I recently made this recipe from deep in my archives. It’s always on the summer rotation, but this last time I decided to tweak the vinaigrette a little to make it punchier – yum! Even better. And while I was at it, I re-photographed the dish since the blog photos needed a facelift. I thought I would re-post the revamped recipe right before Labor Day weekend since it is THE PERFECT salad to serve or bring to a get-together. The rest of this post is from the original!Continue reading
Did you know August is national peach month? Â It is peak peach season right now and we are enjoying them in every meal, both sweet and savory. Â Peaches are my husband’s favorite fruit and probably in my top 3. Â One of the things I find so interesting about produce is how many varieties exist of any particular kind of fruit or vegetable. Â There are actually well over a hundred different types of peaches! Â When I was growing up, we had one peach tree and it would give us all its fruit at once. Â We would also go peach picking at a farm on the East end of Long Island. Â I used to take my kids there as well when we were visiting my parents. Â So much fun picking and then creating deliciousness with all our peaches.Continue reading
I feel like I have barely gotten into the summer groove and there are kids already back in school.  Say what???  Well, the writing is on the wall and I know my son will be back to the regularly scheduled programming before he knows it. It’s a rough adjustment for me in many ways, between waking up earlier and being really organized with all meals, to keeping up with all the driving to activities and such.  Plus, have you noticed it’s still really hot out??Continue reading
Supermarket tomatoes have nothing on summer, garden tomatoes. Â Tomatoes need sunlight, heat, and rich soil to develop their sweet flavor and juiciness. Â And once picked, they should not be refrigerated in order to preserve that sweetness. Â Even though tomatoes are super versatile and can be showcased in a million ways, my favorite way to eat them is literally picked right off the plant with a sprinkle of salt. When I was growing up, I would go out into the garden with a salt shaker! Â Continue reading
The favorite meal during my summer week on Long Island is always, hands-down, the clam boil. Â What’s not to love? Â It’s super fun, delicious, and just screams summer. Â In past years my son and my nephew have actually collected mussels at the beach to contribute towards the clam boil. Â They require a lot of cleaning, so that doesn’t happen every year.Continue reading
Summer fruits are my favorite and I often put them in pitchers of water with or without fresh mint, with or without cucumber, and tell my kids it’s “spa water.”  🙂  The fruit flavors the water so subtly and makes it look beautiful which is my goal so that everyone is more inclined to keep hydrated during the hot summer months.Continue reading
