Category Archives: Road Trippin'
wordless wednesday – old montreal edition
Click here to view more photographs from our visit to Old Montreal. Next Wednesday, photographs from Montreal’s Jardin Boutanique.
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chewy chocolate chunk-cherry cookies
As you are reading today’s post, I am in a car with three of my favorite people (ok, I really like you too, but there wasn’t enough room in the car for anyone else) traveling through America’s heartland from Akron, Ohio to St. Louis, Missouri. No road trip is complete with out a great selection of treats. When Greg and I travel there is always a can of Pringles (original flavor, please) and after a stop at a gas station, a bag of pretzel and nacho cheese Combos. How’s that for class? For this trip I made some homemade goodies too. There were the dark chocolate and pretzel crispy treats that I wrote about earlier this week. Also, after receiving the new issue of Martha Stewart Living (the chocolate issue!), I just knew that I needed to make the chewy chocolate chunk-cherry cookies. They are insanely good. Insanely, I say! That means that I can’t stop eating them. I find excuses to go to the kitchen and walk past the container on the counter. Well it would be rude not to eat one…two…three… The tart dried cherries matched with rich chocolate chunks and sweet cookie base….You have no idea how great these are until you eat one yourself. I’m pretty sure that they’ll make for three happy friends in the car with me. Hopefully they’ll be so happy, they won’t ask me to take a turn driving. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and be sure to check out that new clear glass bowl on my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. That was my most favorite birthday gift from Greg this year. Now I’m just like all the celebri-chefs on tv.
july in random photos
Show of hands, who was getting tired of logging onto made by mike, and being greeted by the smiling tomatoes? It was kinda cute the first time, right? Well, it’s the first of August. And I pledge to blog a bit a more regularly. Even if that just means throwing up a random photo from time to time. Today, I’m throwing up six random photos from July. Together, they don’t really tell much of a story besides the story of what I saw in July. A wedding, a vacation, and a thirst for something fruity. If you had to write a headline for your July, what would it be?
tomatoes make me smile
A happy assortment of some of the first heirloom tomatoes of the season from my garden. From top to bottom, we have Nayagous, Speckled Roman and Sun Gold. We’ve tasted them all, on salads, except for the speckled. I’m probably going to slice that one for a sandwich. The Sun Golds are amazing. They are kind of like nature’s skittles. So sweet and wonderful. I purchased that handsome summery napkin while we were on vacation at Ginny Gordon’s, a charming kitchen store in Morehead City, North Carolina. It was a suggested stop from my Aunt Sally. They’ve got a great unique selection of kitchen gadgets, linens, pots and pans and tons of other items. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area.
the peach fritters at yana’s
While others on the island were still sleeping, or jogging, or cycling, Greg and I were headed to nearby Swansboro for a visit with our local breakfast destiny. A few days back when we meandering around Swansboro we read a tip about the fritters at Yana’s Restaurant. Evidently, they were not to be missed. And evidently, we were not going to miss them.
The restaurant was small and decorated in a charming 50′s motif. We were seated at table 12, a.k.a., the Marilyn booth. We knew that we going to get an order of fritters, we just weren’t sure which flavor. The very kind waitress steered us towards the peach. But of course, peaches were in season, and we were not disappointed. For just $7.95 we got a piping hot plate of ten good-sized, homemade fritters generously dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a single cherry. A small tear formed in the corner of my left eye as it was presented to our table.
We each savored one, well one of us had two, and brought the rest back to the beach house to share with the family. Our waitress was kind enough to write the reheating instructions on top of the take out box. I’m very sure that Yana’s will be a morning stop on our return visits to the area. It’s one of those local gems where near the back of the restaurant you’ll find a large table were the local men gather for coffee, maybe a bite to eat and lots of conversation.
smores on a stick
Tonight’s the giant family dessert get-together at the beach. We’ll all converge on Aunt Sally and Uncle Ike’s big pink beach house. Without all of my cooking tools, I was having a difficult time trying to decide what to bring. Greg suggested my famous Smores on a Stick. It was the perfect choice. The only cooking involved a quick melting of the chocolate in the microwave. Stab a marshmallow with a bamboo skewer, dip it in the molten chocolate then a quick dip in crushed graham crackers. It could not have been simpler.
fake summer on a cold winter day
Greg was in some need of a warm summer day. Well it’s January in northeast Ohio and that’s a pretty tall order. Unless, that is, you have a membership at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. We trekked up to Cleveland with Michele and enjoyed a nice fake summer afternoon in the refreshingly warm Glass House. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. There’s always something new to see and experience. In a couple of weeks they’ll have their annual orchid exhibit. I’m sure we’ll be up for a visit then too. Below are just a couple additional photos I took. There are more on my flickr page. Click here to see them.
a birthday
My good friend Michele’s birthday is today. Last night a group of us celebrated the occasion at the new O’Charley’s. Food was good, service was a tad lacking. It was still a great chance to all be together to celebrate Michele’s special day. After dinner we headed back to our place for red velvet cupcakes.
Today, Megan and I are taking Michele to Chagrin Falls for some lunch and shopping. I know what you’re thinking, how very “Sex in the City” of us… Hum, which gal-pal would I be? I’m sure there’s a facebook application or quiz that could tell me. I think I’m somewhere between a Miranda and a Charlotte.
chili for a chilly day
It’s been downright cold since this new year began. To warm our selves up a little bit, I decided that Sunday was the perfect time to make a batch of chili. On Saturday we headed up north with our friends David and Marc to do a little shopping in the Beachwood area. We stopped at the mall where David found out that, “sugar is not just sugar.” We also hit the Eton Collection of shops which feature a Trader Joe’s, Sur La Table, Orvis (which may soon become the new official outfitter of Michael Derr) and Penzeys Spices. The spice shop is where I found Chili 3000, The Now Chili. It’s an interesting combination of ancho chili powder, garlic, cumin, onion, cilantro, cayenne pepper, lemon peel, mexican oregano, black pepper, citric acid, natural smoke flavoring and jalepeno pepper. It’s hailed as the chili of today with a bright modern flavor. Near the spices was a recipe for chili that, of course, included this particular spice.
The chili is pretty good. Not quite as good as Greg’s mom’s chili, but still pretty good. On the way home we stopped at Whole Foods, where I picked up ground buffalo. I used it instead of the ground beef. I liked the substitution. The chili simmers on the stove for three hours. This was the perfect amount of time to finish a few thank you cards and to take down the Christmas decorations. Well, the decorations inside. The one’s outside may wait a few days until it warms up to at least the 20′s.
