Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
People complain about how much time is spent on ph People complain about how much time is spent on phones sometimes, but if it wasn’t for phones. I wouldn’t have these awesome little snippets of them growing up. I only wish I had more. Appreciate and document the little mundane things, for they are the very fabric of your life.
happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’v happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’ve been waiting for the seasons to change and I’m so excited that Mother Nature was on board today! ☀️ There is nothing like the energy from the sun and it makes me happy. Hope you got some today!
Weekend photos in review, old school style. Contex Weekend photos in review, old school style. Context: 1) saying goodbye until Easter, 2) sending him back with good bagels, 3) sunlight charging station, 4) the sun was out all day yesterday and it was glorious, 5) hitting the farmers market for my favorite garlic butter, 6) make a wish, 7) sun patterns, and 8) my sous chef
I don’t eat French fries often, but when I do, I I don’t eat French fries often, but when I do, I’m going to make it count. Doo Wop Eats opened a few months ago in downtown Denville and their fries are LEGIT. They are hand cut and taste the way fries should … like potatoes! I add a sprinkle of salt and dunk them in a side of their special sauce and they are pure perfection. You can order a small bucket or a large one (better for sharing!), or as a side item with one of their other delicious menu items like their cheeseburgers, fried chicken sandwiches or cheesesteak. I do believe they’re the best fries in town. I said what I said. Doo Wop’s menu celebrates all your favorite Jersey shore boardwalk treats, including Fried Oreos, clam strips and milk shakes and has a fun vibe for kids and families. 😍
The Grinder Salad, a recipe I found on tiktok that The Grinder Salad, a recipe I found on tiktok that takes all of your favorite ingredients from a grinder (or sub) sandwich and makes it into a delicious chopped salad. It’s as easy as putting everything in a bowl and chopping it up. Perfect for busy days and lazy nights, light meals and warm weather choices. Ingredient list below. Enjoy!

One bag or arugula
One container of cherry tomatoes 
Quarter pound of hard salami
8 Oz of fresh mozzarella
One small red onion
1/3 cup banana peppers 
Handful of fresh basil
Half cup Italian salad dressing
3 T Kewpie mayo
2 T red wine vinegar 
Sea salt and black pepper

Chop it all up, add a half box of ditalini pasta, cooked. Mix to combine.

Recipe from GrilledCheeseSocial.
We had a fun little board party this week and the We had a fun little board party this week and the delicious whipped Brie I shared earlier was front and center. If you haven’t heard of board parties, it’s when every guest makes a different type of food board and brings it - so much fun noshing ensues! With toasted baguette slices, cornichons and local honey, this was mostly a French-inspired board. So simple to pull together and totally my kind of meal.
Lunch date with one of my favorite people. 😍 We Lunch date with one of my favorite people. 😍 We popped into Cafe Crevier downtown and I finally got to try one of their burgers. It was thick and juicy and cooked to perfection. Love that the lettuce was shredded, and that the bun was toasted and slightly crispy. If you’re local, pop in and give them a try - don’t miss the fries!
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Food and Life

June 2010 Recipe Round-Up

July 19, 2010 · Narrative

Earlier this month, I debated if I could continue doing the new recipe round-up, because with the way we’ve been eating over the past month or so, there hasn’t been a lot of new-recipe-making-from-cookbooks. Or from any other place, for that matter.  Our meals were quickly consisting of heavy rotations of stir-fries, grilled proteins and vegetables, salads, things on the fly with no recipe.  But then the tides turned and I started finding more and more recipes that fit in with our eating lifestyle (four new recipes tonight alone!), so even though the June round-up is a tad tardy, I think we’ll be able to keep up with it.  As long as the lack of chocolate (for now) doesn’t keep you away. ;)

  1. Turnip Green Soup – Paula Deen magazine.  A decent hearty soup that isn’t so thick you can’t have it in the summertime.  Reviewed here.
  2. Lemon Chicken with Potatoes – WW magazine, May/June 2009.  Simple and easy, but not exceptional.
  3. Lindsay’s Chocolate Cafe Chocolate Chip Cookies – voted a “best of.”  They were good, but didn’t wow us.
  4. Cheesy Rice Fritters – Food Network magazine.  Very good, review coming.
  5. Zucchini Fritters – Michael Symon.  Love these.  Review coming.
  6. Open Chef Salad Sandwich – Cheeky Kitchen.  Good quick meal that you can feel good about serving and eating.  Reviewed here.
  7. Best Ever Banana Bread – I Am Baker.  Good, but still like Nigella Lawson’s better.
  8. Mushroom Ramen – Food Network magazine, January/February 2010.  Think it might be worth writing about, slightly on the fence.
  9. Beer Battered Fish and Chips – Cooking Light magazine, November 2009.  Had such high hopes for this one, but nothing special and not repeatable.
  10. Veggie Quesadillas – Weight Watchers magazine, May/June 2010.  Your average quesadilla, nuthin’ special.
  11. Gemelli with Spicy Sausage and Spinach – Woman’s Day magazine, May 2010.  Not bad, nothing to write home about.
  12. Cucumber-Feta Toasts – Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, July/August 2010.  Love these.  Made for the first time and reviewed here, and enjoyed several times since.  Favorite of the month.

Project 365
July 19, 2010, Photo #129

Lights Out Laura Ingalls Style

After dinner, we were outside in the backyard for awhile and all the sudden, I noticed the kitchen go dark. And the ceiling light come back on, but only faintly so. We rarely lose power here (maybe three times over the past nine years or so) and when we do, it comes right back on. This time it didn’t. My bet was a brown-out. Wonderful. Jamie had just gotten home and finished dinner, so we quickly got to work digging for matches and candles before we lost complete light. I remembered we had a bunch of those glowsticks, leftover from Halloween, in our seasonal drawer, and they were perfect. The kids had fun with them, and I used a bunch to light up the stairs for them, and added more in their room. In the meantime, we took ourselves back to the days of Laura Ingalls and Little House on the Prairie… no ac, no tv, no computer, no ice machine. Lots of talking, a little bit of laughter and a slight panic from the kids as they slowly realized just how much we use electricity on a regular basis. But two hours later, the power was back on and a peace fell over the land.

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Cooking Light magazine, Food Network magazine, Martha Stewart, recipe round-up

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    July 20, 2010 at 6:14 am

    I love the round up! I just made Michael Symon’s zucchini fritters and am posting them tomorrow! I loved em.

    Reply
  2. Kris #40 says

    July 20, 2010 at 7:34 am

    We were at Rutgers watching the one son at wrestling camp when the 22 year old called to tell us about the power.

    If you see my facebook message I posted from my cell on the way home it read “Little House on the Prairie time. No power”. I laughed when I read your description.

    Thank goodness it came on not too long after we got home and didn’t have to sleep without the ac on

    Reply
  3. The Neighbor Wife says

    July 20, 2010 at 9:16 am

    We used Payton’s DSI has a flashlight. Because of course, our flashlight needed batteries. :) Thank God it came back on. We slept nice and cool.

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    July 20, 2010 at 9:50 am

    You stinker! “Good, but not as good as…” is going to haunt me forever. ;)

    Reply
  5. Claire says

    July 20, 2010 at 11:22 am

    I always enjoyed pretending I was LIW when the power went out!!! Of course, when it went out with Katrina that was no fun. We were seriously lying on the bed not MOVING because it was so hot…I was so thankful when I heard a whir and realized my parents’ power had been restored…mine wasn’t for a week. I guess, though, if you don’t have AC your body adjusts and you just get used to the heat!

    Reply
  6. Ramona says

    July 20, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    After Katrina we were out 13 1/2 days without power. That’s here in Central Mississippi, miles from the coast.

    Was a bummer.

    Reply

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Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
People complain about how much time is spent on ph People complain about how much time is spent on phones sometimes, but if it wasn’t for phones. I wouldn’t have these awesome little snippets of them growing up. I only wish I had more. Appreciate and document the little mundane things, for they are the very fabric of your life.
happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’v happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’ve been waiting for the seasons to change and I’m so excited that Mother Nature was on board today! ☀️ There is nothing like the energy from the sun and it makes me happy. Hope you got some today!
Weekend photos in review, old school style. Contex Weekend photos in review, old school style. Context: 1) saying goodbye until Easter, 2) sending him back with good bagels, 3) sunlight charging station, 4) the sun was out all day yesterday and it was glorious, 5) hitting the farmers market for my favorite garlic butter, 6) make a wish, 7) sun patterns, and 8) my sous chef

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Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
People complain about how much time is spent on ph People complain about how much time is spent on phones sometimes, but if it wasn’t for phones. I wouldn’t have these awesome little snippets of them growing up. I only wish I had more. Appreciate and document the little mundane things, for they are the very fabric of your life.
happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’v happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’ve been waiting for the seasons to change and I’m so excited that Mother Nature was on board today! ☀️ There is nothing like the energy from the sun and it makes me happy. Hope you got some today!
Weekend photos in review, old school style. Contex Weekend photos in review, old school style. Context: 1) saying goodbye until Easter, 2) sending him back with good bagels, 3) sunlight charging station, 4) the sun was out all day yesterday and it was glorious, 5) hitting the farmers market for my favorite garlic butter, 6) make a wish, 7) sun patterns, and 8) my sous chef
I don’t eat French fries often, but when I do, I I don’t eat French fries often, but when I do, I’m going to make it count. Doo Wop Eats opened a few months ago in downtown Denville and their fries are LEGIT. They are hand cut and taste the way fries should … like potatoes! I add a sprinkle of salt and dunk them in a side of their special sauce and they are pure perfection. You can order a small bucket or a large one (better for sharing!), or as a side item with one of their other delicious menu items like their cheeseburgers, fried chicken sandwiches or cheesesteak. I do believe they’re the best fries in town. I said what I said. Doo Wop’s menu celebrates all your favorite Jersey shore boardwalk treats, including Fried Oreos, clam strips and milk shakes and has a fun vibe for kids and families. 😍
The Grinder Salad, a recipe I found on tiktok that The Grinder Salad, a recipe I found on tiktok that takes all of your favorite ingredients from a grinder (or sub) sandwich and makes it into a delicious chopped salad. It’s as easy as putting everything in a bowl and chopping it up. Perfect for busy days and lazy nights, light meals and warm weather choices. Ingredient list below. Enjoy!

One bag or arugula
One container of cherry tomatoes 
Quarter pound of hard salami
8 Oz of fresh mozzarella
One small red onion
1/3 cup banana peppers 
Handful of fresh basil
Half cup Italian salad dressing
3 T Kewpie mayo
2 T red wine vinegar 
Sea salt and black pepper

Chop it all up, add a half box of ditalini pasta, cooked. Mix to combine.

Recipe from GrilledCheeseSocial.
We had a fun little board party this week and the We had a fun little board party this week and the delicious whipped Brie I shared earlier was front and center. If you haven’t heard of board parties, it’s when every guest makes a different type of food board and brings it - so much fun noshing ensues! With toasted baguette slices, cornichons and local honey, this was mostly a French-inspired board. So simple to pull together and totally my kind of meal.
Lunch date with one of my favorite people. 😍 We Lunch date with one of my favorite people. 😍 We popped into Cafe Crevier downtown and I finally got to try one of their burgers. It was thick and juicy and cooked to perfection. Love that the lettuce was shredded, and that the bun was toasted and slightly crispy. If you’re local, pop in and give them a try - don’t miss the fries!

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