Tag Archives: summer

Blueberries and Zucchini!

Well it’s that time of year…the summer is starting to wind down. The days are getting shorter the zucchini is multiplying by the bushel full and like everyone else I’m thinking “hey summer where did you go?” I literally have 2 weeks and 6 days until my kiddies are back to school. My summer fun list has kinda dwindled, but still has many things on it that we just didn’t get too and I’m running out of steam. But one item on our list that I have been wanting to do is blueberry picking. Blueberry season is starting to dwindle here in the north-east, but there are blueberries to be picked if you have the patience.

I decided I would try going in the evening vs day time. It’s been in the upper 80′s and 90′s for the past few weeks. I knew if I took them during the day they would be complaining after 10 minutes, and that’s not fun for anyone. So tonight we headed out, bug spray in hand and had the best time! It was so quite, hardly anyone there. The kids were really into it. They each had their own personal picking bucket and it was funny to listen to their bantering conversations. Some of their chit-chat was too cute…”omg this one is totally huge”, “wow I’ve hit the mother load”, “this one is rainbow”, “this bush has a hundred million”, “ahhh this ones guts are coming out”. My daughter caught a toad and she proceeded to carrying it around. I felt so bad for that toad. He kept trying desperately to hop away. He must have fallen out of her hand 5 or 6 times. I finally was able to convince her to put him back under the bushes. But he (the toad) will have a great survival story to tell and a headache for sure.

We picked 3.75 lbs of blueberries! WOW- and it only cost $8.48. Now the fun begins… what to make with all those berries. Some will get frozen for sure. Other will be made into treats for our trip to Block Island later in the month!

Here are some things I plan to make a Cucumber-Blueberry Smoothie for myself tomorrow morning. Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake, and Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. I’ve also gotten requests from the “peanut gallery” for blueberry pancakes. If you have a great blueberry recipe please share, I’m always willing to try something new.

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Categories Mom at Play, Tantalizing Tuesdays

Do You CSA?

29 Jul

My favorite summer treats! So I haven’t posted in a while. Ok a really really long time. I’m so desperate to post that I brought my computer to the pool club. Lets just say there are lots of things going on here. The first was the birth of my two new twin nephews in June. They are the cutest little peanuts. You forget how tiny newborns are when yours are all grown up. I also went on vacation with my fam to the Jersey Shore. Yes I am a Jersey girl born and bred. No I didn’t see Snookie, although that would have been interesting. But I did have a lot of laughs with my fam. More recent is I am being treated for Lyme disease..although the results are inconclusive and they are checking for other things. At least it’s not baby #4 (pregnancy) which is what I thought it was. I think I might have had to be committed. So given all of the above I’ve had to take a step back from my fitness routine, running, blogging, basically anything that wasn’t of immediate need to slow down, rest, rest, rest and wait it out whatever I’ve got. Lyme is exhausting…I would want to blog or go for a run but then would decide taking a nap was better!

But one thing I have been so excited to share with you since the winter is our participation in our local CSA organic farm. What is a CSA you ask? It is Community Supported Agriculture. We support a local organic farm, Fort Hill Farm in CT, and each week we get the most unbelievable harvest of fresh, local, produce. Unlike some farms, we don’t have to do any of the harvesting, although they welcome your help and participation and have pick your own days throughout the season. The veggies we get taste amazing. The taste of a vine ripened tomato is out of this world. As my father in law and I will debate… he says “a fresh tomato, it’s like candy”. However sweet I find it hard to make that connection, so the debate continues, but they are something to savor. Each week we get new and exciting produce. Our share is delivered on Wednesdays. So I cannot really plan my weeks menus until Thursday because I need to wait and see what we get. It’s really exciting.

This is our share this week!

1. The box that we pick up. 2. Such a beautiful site to behold,the weeks bounty. 3. Holy tomatoes and basil. (Pesto here I come). 4. Getting the goodies out of the box ready to wash.

Here’s a few recipes on tap for my CSA share…

Thr. cinnamon grilled chicken with raita (I grilled it instead of broiling), zucchini pancakes (these are awesome, the kids ♥ them and today I put chopped rosemary and garlic wisps in them) and sliced tomatoes

Fri. cocktails at the pool or home weather pending-mediterranean platter mezza platter & middle eastern platter (I’m going to combine these two recipes to make it more of a picky meal) and a beautiful bottle of “Seduction”, a light white pinot grigio from Obrien Estates in Napa CA

Sat. birthday party at the lake with cousins, I am bringing an app- roasted eggplant and feta dip

Sun. zucchini “pasta”

Mon. nicoise salad

Tue. edamame bread salad

sweet treat- I’m making these beachy inspired cupcakes for our party at the lake! shark and beach cupcakes

If your interested in a CSA or organic farm in your area, check out this website www.localharvest.org. I’m glad to be back blogging…I’ve missed you!

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Categories Mom at Play, Tantalizing Tuesdays

Sole Mom’s Summer Wish List

2 Jun

So this is it! The three..sometimes four seasons of New England living… Colorful Fall…Brutal Winter that melts to Cold Rain, some mud and semblance of Spring…and BANG hot humid weather. No real prep, no time to switch over the closet. If your lucky enough to have a walk in closet that houses all three seasons of clothes then Whoot Whoot! But for true New Englander’s like myself, who live in an “antique home”. “Antique” meaning over 100 years old, charming to look at but realistically nonfunctional in the modern era. A quaint home with zip zero, nada closet space. For someone like me this drastic weather change is a clothing nightmare. But on the bright…or should I say sunny side, I am usually the only one dancing for joy at these 80 degree days. While everyone else immediately starts complaining it’s too hot, sticky, uncomfortable blah blah blah… I am in my sun shiny glory, rifling through tucker tubs full of warm weather clothing!

But as I digress my point is that with this drastic weather shift comes a drastic need to change over the closet. I had tried to do it about a month ago, only to get teased with a few 60 degree days and then back to raw bitterly cold wind and rain. A few years ago my close friend and I decided we would try to tame our shopping habits which had gotten slightly out of control. The solution…we would only allow ourselves 1 splurge on clothing per month. This was good because it made us rethink and repurpose items in our closet. It also gave us pause when shopping to say, “Does this item truly make me happy?” or “Does it fit the need of my wardrobe?” Because lets face it we tend to buy the same things over and over again. Seriously how many pairs of Tevas or white shirts can one woman have? Last summer I purchased only a few key summer pieces and I was sooo happy. My favorite was the tunic dress from Boden. You can see me in it on the about me page in the summer pic! (Loved it! it reminded me of Twiggy.) I tended to wear those items more and spend less. Who doesn’t love that. So with this big weather flux, my closet switched to summer, I took a needs assessment played around and here’s what’s on my summer wish list!