Have a Happy..

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

Being Thankful

On Thanksgiving it wasn't a family tradition to
go around and say what we've been thankful for.
I always wondered why there was no
actual "giving thanks" in our Thanksgiving, and I
always wished that we could do that.  But I think
I was also aware of the cheese factor that it can bring
to the table-so I never brought it up.

Now I try my best to make sure that it happens at
whatever table I happen to be at for the holiday.
Since we're attending a rather large feast this year
I'm thinking that it'll be too much to have everyone go
around and say something so, I'm going to post mine here.

I'm thankful for...

*My husband and our home together

*Family, the one I was born into, the friends that are close
enough to be family, and the family that I married into.

*Having a job that allows me to be a part of something that
I am passionate about.

*Being able to slow down and appreciate small stuff,
whether it's a delicious cappuccino, the sun shining on my
face, or just a good song.

*Friendships that can stand the test of time/busy lives/
different schedules. The comfort of knowing that you
can always pick right back up where you left off.

*Adventures. National, international or even just within
my own city.

*Art, and being able to express myself in various ways
whether it's through dance, collage, or my greeting cards.
Having that outlet is incredible.

*Having love in my life, in various ways and intensities.


I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving,
surrounded by friends and family. <3

The Eleventh Month Itch

A few days ago the husband and I both expressed how we were both
slowly getting into the Christmas spirit but, because we know it is still
only November and Thanksgiving is not even here yet, we've decided
to fight the urge.

I did declare that as soon as Thanksgiving dinner was over I was going to
go into full blown Christmas mode.  So that's happening.

To hold myself over I've been pinning away on my
Wallace and Davis  holiday board finding ideas for the season and getting
so excited for  everything that comes with it <3

A Year in Books: September/October

I've forgotten to post this 2 months in a row, eek!
Sometimes I just get out of blogging mode;
I start to feel like I don't have much to say
or that some things aren't worth sharing.
But the itch to post things inevitably comes back
and once again I start to share my thoughts and whims
with the masses (and by masses I mean friends and family who
happen to read this )

So here we go, this is what I've read

September
Back to Bologna-Michael Dibdin
The Apprentice-Jacques Pepin
Expecting Better-Emily Oster

October
Nasty Bits-Anthony Bourdain
Clementine in the Kitchen-Phineas Beck
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies-Ben Macintyre

It's been a good bunch. I plan on making some of the recipes from
Clementine in the Kitchen. French fare is perfect for winter time!
I also really loved at the end of Bourdain's book, which was all different
essays from different points in his career, how he commented on each
of them. Sometimes agreeing with what he said and sometimes
admitting how ridiculous he sounded. That was fun to read.

I also went in to a mystery store that is right by work
and it is floor to ceiling stacked with every mystery writer you
can imagine. and they have TONS of first editions!
(which always come at a price-but how cool?!)
I'll be going back there to find some new authors
and to grab some more Agatha Christie's.

As usual I'd love to hear what everyone is reading.
comment, text, call, email, write a letter. tell me.

Latest Obsessions

*First Aid Kit-This Old Routine
Swedish sisters making songs that have me wishing
that my sisters and I could sing. Perfect soundtrack for
this time of year.

*Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake
From Lottie & Doof. Made this yesterday and
it turned out perfectly. I recommend using fresh
cranberries.


*Learning about Burgundy.
So many things to memorize. Communes, vineyards, producers, vintages...
The bonus of studying wine is that drinking is a form of learning.
Last night we had a 2004 Bruno Colin Les Gravieres, Santenay 1er Cru.
I had forgotten what the vintage was and could not believe it when
the husband told me that it was almost a decade old.  The acidity was
so fresh and still pretty bold.  We're going to get another bottle and
cellar it for a few more years and see what happens.


*Finding some vintage Indian cookbooks
It's another cuisine that I find slightly overwhelming
but LOVE to eat. So I'll be heading to my favorite cookbook
shops in the city and finding a good starter guide.

Total Relaxation

Amid this stressful week of trying to put together an event at work, 

I'm currently enjoying a serene moment.  I'm drinking my

favorite hot chocolate (raw cacao powder and cinnamon) and watching 

the snow fall from my living room.  I've turned on the fairy lights that we have 

hanging around our bookcase and for just a short while-everything will be perfect.

Latest Obsessions

*Wine poached pears
making these tomorrow night

*Aged Leather Candle from Cold Spring Apothecary
One of my favorite places to visit when we go up to Cold Spring.
This candle makes you feel like you're in an old library, surrounded by
leather chairs and ancient books.

*Sherry
El Maestro Sierra is a producer that I'm diggin',
the flavor profile is funky- definitely not for the faint of heart,
what does it for me is the umami quality and the finish that sometimes
reminds me of pancakes and syrup.

*Being able to drink regular cappuccinos again.
Who knew that my caffeine intolerance was all because of
the bcp.  Wish I would have had this informations about 10 years ago.
I would have had a lot less anxiety...

*Dracula
What can I say, I'm a sucker for vampire period pieces, and watching
Jonathan Rhys Meyers seduce women.
I'm sold. (if only it wasn't on NBC.)

*The Grand Budapest Hotel
Cannot wait for this. So many favorite people.

Latest Obsessions

It's been awhile since I've posted. There's been a lot going on
between my best friend's wedding (an actual event, not the movie),
new job starting, 2 person dance parties,  having a friend visit last weekend,
and just keeping up with the house.

It's been a mixture of not having enough time, and also not having too
much to say. It happens.  But I'll jump back into things with some
new obsessions. Feel free to share yours as well- I love finding new things
to be completely and utterly obsessed with.

*This grad speech
Contrary to the header, I don't find this depressing or horrifying at any point.

*No No No Cat
I caught our resident Tomcat doing something similar to this
back in the spring time and it made my day.

*Pumpkin Swirl Brownies via Smitten Kitchen
I'll be making these later today. It's officially time for pumpkin mania.

*Decorating for Halloween today
I love Halloween. To me it has a season similar to Christmas.
Only with a focus on witches, pumpkins, cider, cider doughnuts, and ghosts.
It's the one time of year where I can get the husband to watch scary movies
( and Halloween is Grinch Night) with me.

*Searching for Reykjavik restaurants
I love experiencing other cultures through food, and since we are
going in a few months I figured I'd better start my list of places now.
The city is fairly small so it won't be as intense as my list was for Berlin.

*How I Met Your Mother/ The Mindy Project
diggin' the new seasons.

*Sergio Muffin
I met a dog that reminded me of him- though not as handsome.
Made me miss this little gentleman.

Aurora Borealis

It's no secret that I love my birthday, but I have embraced
the husband's birthday with a similar love and enthusiasm.
So naturally I think about it months before it is even
a light in the distance. I know he questions my sanity when
I bring up birthdays this early- but I love the idea of
doing extravagant things for the man that I love.

The other day I found a deal that was too good to pass up.
4 days and 3 nights in Iceland. The price included flight,
hotel, boat trip to see the Northern Lights, and an upgrade at
the Blue Lagoon.  This for the price of what I saw as 2 normal
flights to Iceland just a few weeks before.  Can't pass these things up.














Credit

My original idea was to keep this as a surprise, but if you know me at
all you will know that I cannot keep secrets.  Especially if they are fun.
So I told the husband that I had a surprise for his birthday planned already,
and that began the guessing game that we usually play with surprises.
Yesterday he managed to guess Iceland as one of the destinations
so, as our rule goes, I had to tell him.
I made it 4 whole days of secret keeping haha- somewhat impressive for me.













Credit

 It might not be as dreamy as a beach in Mexico would be in January
but to (hopefully) see the Northern Lights is an experience that will be just as amazing.
I'm looking forward to eating fermented shark,  drinking whatever is local, and
immersing myself in Icelandic culture for 4 days.
It'll be our own Icelandic Saga.

Greenmarket Finds

This is my 100th post on this little blog!
Time sure does fly.  We're a little over a month away
from our 1st Wedding Anniversary, and I've got my
best friend/life partner's wedding next weekend.
This year surely flew by.

What better way to celebrate 100 posts than to have
the summer harvest colliding with fall!
This is that magical time of year when you can
get cantaloupe and spaghetti squash, concord grapes
and peaches, and cauliflower and tomatoes. Much like Gem,
this is truly, truly outrageous.
















*Pint of fresh pressed cider
*onion
*garlic
*eggplant
*celery
*okra
*spaghetti squash
* 2 cantaloupe
*lettuce
*kale
*cauliflower
*milk (not pictured)
*2 small pieces of tuna (not pictured)
*2 zucchini

Can't wait to make:
Cantaloupe Gazpacho
Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini Fritters
Grilled Eggplant with Herbed Quinoa
Cauliflower Soup

Latest Obsessions

*Concord Grape Cornmeal Cake
This cake is a quick and easy way to use those great concord grapes
that just showed up at the market. The most time consuming part is seeding them.
But the end result is well worth the trouble.

*Filling my Halloween Pinterest board
I cannot wait to decorate the house and watch scary movies,
while drinking hot cider. I heart Halloween.

*GMO OMG
A documentary about GMO's, which judging by the trailer many
people seem to be totally unaware of what they are. It's so important
to know what we're eating.  Looking forward to watching it.

*The candle light yoga class I took last night
At the time I wanted to walk out after feeling like the class
was not only above my abilities but moving way too fast.
I managed to leave class feeling more peaceful and with a clearer mind
 than I had in awhile,  took a long walk down Houston, up Lafayette and
all the way to the Strand. Finally found the books I had been looking for,
headed home, and laid in bed reading.  It was also the most restful sleep
I've had in awhile. I don't  really want to go back to the class
-but I kinda do...

*Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH
This is the book I've been looking all over for.  Now don't get
all crazy- we're not trying to have a baby right now.  But this book
is so much more than that-it's about getting to know your body
and your cycle.  Which, after being on the birth control pill for
about a decade is something I am sadly unfamiliar with.
So I'm reading about it,  and it's extremely interesting.

*Andre Heimann's Hungarian Cabbage Strudel
This photo makes my mouth water. Apparently Andre's shop
is in Forest Hills-which isn't too far from Sunnyside!  I feel a
trip is in order. I'll have the real thing then I'll try to replicate it.
German/Austrian/Hungarian food is the BEST in the fall.

*This song from this movie
The husband and I watched the end of Empire Records a few nights
ago and that movie is one big nostalgia trip. It reminds me of being 15,
in all good ways. Now I can't stop listening to this song.  I also added
other favorite songs from other favorite teenage movies.  And even if
no one else cares about the songs I know that Zach Mack and I always will.

Beams

I didn't live here when the towers fell, but each year I see
the beams that rise up into the sky from lower Manhattan.
Both beautiful and haunting, they serve as a reminder to me
(and hopefully others) that each day is a gift and should be
treated as such.

















photo credit

A Year in Books: August

I felt like I did  a lot of reading in August, but apparently
I just started a bunch of books but didn't finish any!
So I have nothing to show for the month of August.

I've also been doing a lot of studying for my new job
so that is taking up a lot of treasured subway reading time.
I'm sure that for September I'll have finished the 3
books that I'm currently working on :)

Latest Obsessions

*Seckel Pears
Spotted some at the market yesterday and had to have them.
These tiny fruits are so decadent with their flavor. Their season
is from September-February.

*The anticipation of a season change.
The return of scarves and long sleeves, the autumn
harvest at the market, and our backyard becomes accessible
again after the mosquitos disappear.

*I've got a mean travel itch right now.
 This post by David Lebovitz has me desperately wanting to
travel to Chablis. London, Piedmont, Vienna, and Hawaii are also
on the list.

*Focusing on a semi-detox
By detox I really mean more veggies and less cheese.

*Yuck: A 4th Grader's Short Documentary about school lunch
This looks interesting, it's impressive that a 4th grader is taking this
kind of initiative. When I was in 4th grade all I was concerned with was
reading Babysitter's Club and Goosebumps books.

*Morning Hot Chocolate
large scoop of raw cacao powder, sprinkle of cinnamon,
dash of cayenne pepper. whisk into warmed milk and enjoy.
*for an energy boost add a small scoop of maca powder.
(it's kind of expensive so I haven't bought it in awhile)

*Cat and Bunny Cookies

Greenmarket Finds

The Union Sq market is always so wonderful.
At this time of year the smell of peaches, plums, and
lavender is so strong. It's intoxicating.
Seasonal produce at its absolute finest.
















Today was a 3 bag kinda day.

*sourdough bread
*1 pint of heavy cream (not pictured)
*purple carrots
*2 cucumbers
*4 plums
*2 doughnut peaches
*5 yellow peaches
*1 small cantaloupe
*dinosaur kale
*mint
*cilantro
*1 summer squash
*green beans (not pictured)
*crimini mushrooms (not pictured)
*heirloom cherry tomatoes
*heirloom tomatoes
*gigantic okra (I forget the special name for it)
*garlic
*beef cubes (not pictured)
*chicken thighs (not pictured)


And just for an idea of how gigantic the okra is...

yeah, that's a quarter. Ridiculous!!

Cannot wait to grill these up for lunch.

I also noticed that concord grapes were at the market today, 

which means that you should enjoy the peaches and tomato

abundance while you can! Fall is on it's way.

A Small Rant

I watched this video yesterday and it really hit home.
The girl sans smartphone is me.

I'm tired of seeing iphones on tables in restaurants or on bars,
I don't want to look at photos when we could be talking,
there is no need to go right to wikipedia if you
are stumped by something, and maybe watch the event with
your own eyes instead of watching it from behind a screen.

I do see the plus side to it. Having directions to anywhere is a great thing,
so is Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds, but the negative outweighs the positive
for me.

Life is too beautiful and too short to waste so much time
on a little device.

Greenmarket Finds

If you've been thinking about doing
some greenmarket shopping-now is the time!
Whatever you pick up will taste 100x better
than anything from the grocery store.
Especially cantaloupe-yes, still talking about
that cantaloupe.
















*dozen eggs
*loaf of sourdough
*raw wildflower honey
*carrots
*beets
*3 ears of corn
*1 yellow peach
*3 donut peaches
*2 white nectarines
*blueberries
*okra
*dinosaur kale
*2 bell peppers
*cantaloupe
*heirloom tomatoes
*2 small pieces of tuna (not pictured)
*1 large filet of pollock (not pictured)
*1lb andouille sausage (not pictured)
*1lb chicken thighs (not pictured)

I have a friend visiting next week so
I'll be making chicken and sausage gumbo
for our Monday night dinner. It will
most likely be accompanied by jalapeno
cornbread.

In other kitchen news, we put up our world map
and will be filling it with pins of places we've been
as well as places that we want to go.

Latest Obsessions

*Okra
hit it with some olive oil, salt & pepper
and throw it on the grill. Best. Thing. Ever.
Also a goldmine as far as health/ digestive benefits go.

*The LIC Flea
Forget about Brooklyn. If you want awesome food,
nice scenery, and affordable vintage- definitely check
this place out.  I picked up a sailor's shirt from the 40's
(now I can't wait til fall!) and the husband scored this
amazing mexican blanket that probably is from the
50's or 60's. It now resides on our couch.

*Mar's
Finally, Queens is getting some good places.
We had some shrimp cocktail and a sparkling
gamay rose'.  Loved the decor and that it's
right near the Museum of the Moving Image.

*Editors-Weight of Your Love
new album. diggin' it.

*Summer Fruits
Is there a more glorious time than when cantaloupe,
watermelon, apricots, and donut peaches are at the market?!
Cannot get enough of these right now.

*Interesting article about happiness

*Boodapug tumblr
If you like looking at photos of pugs as much as I do.

A Year in Books: July

July was not a very epic month in terms of books,
I only read 2, but both were fun and educational.
(and one was wonderfully outdated)

*Animals of the Past-Frederic A. Lucas
*Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs

Animals of the Past was printed for the American
Museum of Natural History and I have the 4th edition
which is from 1916.  It's a really interesting read, partly because
a lot of the speculations about the animals is not correct-
or rather has been proven otherwise since 1916. (i.e: dinosaurs
having feathers) But the pictured are beautiful and
who doesn't love reading about dinosaurs?

The husband picked up the Rasputin book for me at the Strand,
and I think he picked the best of the bunch because the author
really tried to be as historically accurate as possible.  So much myth
surrounds Rasputin, it's hard to know the truth but Colin Wilson
really makes a point of getting as close to it as possible.  Noting
the discrepancies in many other books on the same topic.
Another good read, loaded with so much history-not just
on Rasputin but the history of the Czars leading up to the Revolution.
Really fascinating.

Birthday Month: Part 3

We've reached the end of my birthday month, and I have to say
that it went out with a bang.  Our weekend in Charleston
was amazing, so much good food, beautiful places, and
tasty drinks.  We stayed at the Elliot House Inn, which is a cute
little hotel that ended up being right next to Husk-which
is where we went for my birthday dinner!

We used the hotel bikes to see a lot of the city very quickly,
and with that southern humidity it was nice to have a little
bit of a breeze on you.


We had our first drinks at the Gin Joint,
we caught their happy hour and, it was the
perfect start to vacation.



















We had our first meal at the Ordinary,
and we had that magical moment
when the food is just mind-blowing.
No exaggeration. Seriously.
Eat-this-with-your-eyes-closed-savor-
every-bite kind of good.

The two standouts were the fried oysters
with beef tartare.



















and the swordfish schnitzel with zucchini
and chanterelles.  But the buttery-ness
oh the buttery-ness!!! This made me want
to cry it was so good.

The next day we rode our bikes down to the battery
with a Big Dipper sandwich from Groucho's

then made our way to my most favorite place in
the whole city: The Pineapple Fountain.



















I got right in.




















What better place to be on your birthday than
one of your most favorite places of all time?
After our afternoon ride we dressed for dinner
and headed over to Bin 152 for some delicious
champagne and 2 cheeses.  Next was the big birthday
feast at Husk. The food was so delicious but so
rich,I felt like I was going to explode by the end of the meal!



 For an appetizer the husband ordered hand cut pasta
with house pancetta, chanterelles, english peas, poached
egg, buttered with Husk manchego

I ordered the wood fired TN veal marrow bones with
pickled Edisto fig "jam" and chive biscuits.
*Sidenote: 3 pieces of marrow is a lot!

This was our wine, a lovely Cru Beaujolais.
It was exactly what I wanted.

For entrees the husband ordered Cornmeal crusted
NC catfish with fried cabbage "chow chow", lady peas,
peppers, onions, and tomato gravy

I ordered the Tanglewood Farms pheasant with chanterelles
(I really love chanterelles), woodfired peach and eggplant, and
pickled green tomato-peach relish

We also got a "side" of cornbread with Benton's
bacon in it.  So good, but so rich. We barely put a
dent in this.















And finally a candle in the lemon curd/blackberry trifle




















Easily, one of the best birthday's I've ever had.
The next 2 days we continued to ride our bikes all
over town.  We brunched at the Grocery, meandered
through the alleyways and former rum-running areas
of the city.  Ate banana pudding, had more drinks at
Husk's bar, lunched at the Hominy Grill on our last
day and still managed to eat a 1/2 dozen oysters and a
1/2 pound of lowcountry shrimp about an hour before we
left for the airport.

It was great to be down there again, and to create a whole
new set of memories with the husband.  We can't wait to
go back :)

Untitled

"Be not the slave of your own past.  Plunge

into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so

shall you come back with self-respect, with new 

power, with an advanced experience that shall explain

and overlook the old" -Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1838

I was going to write a long post about my 20's, 

but I think that this quote says it all.  

Birthday Month: part 2

Last Sunday was another great day with the husband.

We went to see Monkey: Journey to the West, which was

amazing.  Music by Damon Albarn, animation by Jamie Hewlett-

it's got a little bit of everything: contortionists, kung-fu, opera, 

plate spinners, electronic music, buddhism-it really is a whirlwind

of a show.  It was also my first time seeing something at 

Lincoln Center, so I was extra excited. 

It's always fun to visit different parts of the city, 

we are almost never on the west side.  That also means

seeing different subway art.  I especially liked

the mosaics at the Lincoln Center 1 stop

After the show we headed down to familiar territory
for a mini crawl, the only rule was that we had to go to
places that we had never been before.

We started at Desnuda, which I had definitely heard
of before but wasn't really sure what the deal was.
It was the perfect first spot, it had a bit of a
cuban vibe-no tables just a long bar with about
16 seats.  They had a fun wine list with only
South American and Spanish producers.
I had a chard-gewurtz blend from Uruguay
and the husband had a glass of Vinho Verde Rose.

We got there just in time for dollar oysters, so the husband
quickly ordered a half dozen.  While he enjoyed them I
scarfed down the fresh popcorn that had been sprayed with
truffle oil



















then came the tiger prawn ceviche, it was perfectly
spicy with tons of flavor. Ceviche is one
of our favs, it's really the ideal summertime food.

After this we wandered over to Porsena.  This is a place
that has been on my radar for so long, and I happened
to see that they were doing taco specials on Sunday-
but by the time we got there we both agreed that pasta
(which is what they are known for) sounded much
better to us.

For drinks I had the Txakolina, which is a slightly fizzy,
refreshing white from the Basque region in Spain, and the
husband had a Ciliegiolo Rose from Liguria-the Italian Riviera.

















We started with crostini topped with
mozzarella and bottarga. I was a little
nervous about the bottarga-which is cured fish
roe- but it ended up just being rich, salty,
and delicious.  Can you really go wrong with
crostini??



















Next was the Pasta al Ragu, which we assumed
would be in a red sauce but were surprised to find
that it was just the most tender and juicy pork
ragu you could imagine, sans tomatoes
















Next stop was the Gin Palace.
Great interior, awesome drinks, we
will definitely be visiting again















Then came the intermission, one drink at ABC Beer Co















We finished off this epic crawl at Alder.  It's Wylie
Dufresne's newest place and the husband actually spotted
him when we were there!



















We shared the sea scallops with hush puppies and
kimchi puree



















and for dessert had the cheesecake stuffed cherries





















Both were so satisfying.
For drinks I had the Red Zepplin:
Gin, Sumac, Strawberry, Tonic.
The husband had a German pinot
noir rose from von Buhl.

After that it was time to head home.
I feel like the luckiest lady in the whole
wide world.  The husband has made this birthday
month so magical, I'm so thankful for him
it's almost hard to put into words.

I should also note that 7 years ago today
the husband and I had our first kiss, and
that was the beginning of us.

Greenmarket Finds

This week is a meal plan week, and for once
I actually kept to my actual shopping list!
There were a few things that I needed that they
didn't have but I was pleased to find
eggplant, plums, and what might be the last
of the cherries.















*whole milk
*greek yogurt
*2 fillets of pollock (not pictured)
*loaf of sourdough
*cherries
*sugar plums
*4 mini eggplants
*beets
*3 ears of corn
*2 tomatoes
*1 shallot
*mint
*3 peaches
*lettuce
*swiss chard
*blueberries

Anticipation

We leave for Charleston in exactly one week.
I was going to write a Latest Obsessions post
today but I really only have one obsession
right now and it's this trip.

I went to the College of Charleston
for 1 year, from the fall of 2004 to
the spring of 2005.  I felt like I was
stuck in a rut living in NJ and I knew
that I needed an immediate change.
So I found the College of Charleston,
applied, was accepted, and moved down
in August.

I immediately was faced with what I had known
all along, that I didn't want to live there-
I wanted to live in New York.  But looking back,
this was a necessary stepping stone on my path
to the big city.  So I spent the year down there,
loving the town but never really feeling a part of it.
At the time I felt extremely lonely and slightly lost.
But in hindsight, I went out more than I thought I did,
I had a small social group, and was having the most
amazing art experience ever. (though I wouldn't realize
that until I started classes at Pratt)
I have nothing but good memories from my time there,
and I think about the city so often because it played such
a big part in the transition period that it one's early 20's.

So now the husband and I will be going down, and it makes
me so emotional just thinking about it.  About being able
to show him a place that is so special to me, and being there
-in the place where I felt my loneliest- with the person who I am
spending the rest of my life with.  It's overwhelmingly exciting.
It will also be interesting to see how the city has changed,
I have been down there twice since I left CofC, but I feel like
the real renaissance is happening right now.  We've got
a reservation at Husk for my actual birthday, and we're
planning on checking out the Ordinary as well.  I'm sure
I'll have a massive post about all of it once we return.

Recipe of the Week

I love this weather.
Everyone complains about it, but I'm
in my element. I like heat, and I can even
tolerate humidity better than the average person.
But it does make me want to eat/make frozen
treats all the time.

So, if you need to cool it now
then I suggest making this mega refreshing
mint chocolate swirl ice cream.

The recipe can be found here
and really the only change that I made
was the amount of sugar, I probably put in a
quarter cup total.  I also scraped a vanilla
bean pod into the custard (as seen below) I think
it gives it a little something extra.

I'm also going to stress getting high quality dairy
for this.  Not ultra pasturized, not homogenized,
full fat and raw if possible. (For all my Jersey/Philly friends
that may read this, you can buy raw dairy at the
Reading Terminal)  Trust me, you want full fat
because it means better flavor.
















It's not going to be electric green-and that's a good thing.
But the mint packs an extremely refreshing punch and
definitely tastes fresher than any mint ice cream I've
ever had.

I don't think that mine looks as beautiful as David's does,
but it was my first batch and as long as it tastes good,
    I'm happy.  The husband and I have been snacking
on it pretty frequently, and it is a great way to beat the heat.

A Weekend Away

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Rachel's wedding,
had a family birthday dinner at Bistrot la Minette,
partied at Dave and Buster's, hung out by the inflatable pool, grilled out
and had a big family dinner, and then the Chambers children
piled in the van and went to the Custard Shack.
(Which I still love doing after all these years)

The wedding was at Normandy Farms, and we were
lucky enough to get a room with a fireplace!
Thankfully it was chilly and rainy so we took
full advantage




















Joel trying to wink, or as he calls it
"the shady eye"

The gals and I at Dave and Buster's

This pool was great, would it have been nice to float around at
the same time? yes. But you gotta take what you can get
in the summer.

It was the kind of weekend that you wish would never end.