All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
This Watermelon, Tomato, Feta Salad is a wonderful salad to serve all summer long. It shows off all the bright, wonderful flavors of summer in one bite.
This salad screams summer with every bite. Juicy watermelon, ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumber, zesty onion with a simple dressing- pure summer perfection.
…I wish I could tell you I have been in a scrapbooking rut. Why else would I not be posting any layouts? I have not been in a scrapbooking rut. I just have not been following through and posting them after I am done. I’m still making messes, finding strips of paper in the sofa, and unearthing ‘old’ photos and papers to rediscover. I’m having a blast.
My mom took this picture of our dog Piper this past May. Piper is 13 years old now so we let her get away with everything. She is slowing down but she surprises us when she takes off like a bullet after Cobi. She does whatever she wants, which usually means ignoring me and paying attention to Price. She is just about always happy, except when she gets shots from the vet. She greets you at the dog and practcally climbs up your leg to be held. If you stop rubbing her she will nudge you to start again. Pipes knows when you need some cuddling and some extra love.
Last night I finally picked everything our blueberry bush had to offer….10 delicious blueberries.
Well worth the time (3 years) it has taken to grow and fruit. They were plump and soooo delicious!!!
Now I’m really excited about next year!!!
1 weekend camping on Lovell Island
23 total campers
our group of 4 had a TON of to lug on/off a ferry
2 coolers of food
25 pounds of ice
5 gallons of jungle juice
15 minutes until price lost his contacts in the water
2 boys looking for us. Price and Jason walked all around the island looking for us. We were just on the other beach.
2 bathing suits
4 gallons of water- 1 gallon per person per day
1,000. Number of times Natalie yelled at me to get in the water.
0. Number of times I went in the water.
2 Frisbees
1 brand new flip cam
74 photos
1 hookah. Yes, our friend Essa brought that, along with its peach tobacco, tin foil, and charcoal. We thank him for it.
spf 12 for my body (oops forgot my back!)
spf 45 for my face
75 pumps of hand sanitizer
1 avocado. yes it is necessary to bring 1 camping
0 paper towels
1 bottle of rum to go with Dr Pepper and Coke
1 headband. Price’s hair is so long that it is always in his face. Natalie was kind enough to gift her headband to him. 
8? refills of sangria and wine in brightly colored cups.
12 seconds between fog horn bellows. Price counted, I slept.
3 hour nap once we got home
PS- totally stole this #’s thing from Emily Frame’s blog- Ruffling Feathers
I’m really starting to love Thursday nights. I pretty much always had class on Thursday nights so I never got to go out. My only experience with the typical Thursday night bar hopping/drunk were my T rides back from school. Those rides home were horrible. The absolutely last thing I wanted to deal with were drunk, loud, rude students after I had just spent the day working and going to 3-6 hours of class. But now that I am done with school I am starting to enjoy my Thursday’s. A couple of weeks ago I went to an after show party for Semi Precious Weapons and last night I went out to see Wakey!Wakey! IObne of the positive things that the BAC taught me is how to function without sleep, which is why I can I can handle staying out late (such as 3am for SPW) and make it into work on time and function!
So last night I went to Great Scott, a local bar, to see Wakey!Wakey! Here is where I admit to still watching shows on The CW. I know I’m too old for it but I can’t help it. As much as I think One Tree Hill has taken a horrible turn this last season I still watch. All of this watching made me notice this bartender on there who’s role began to increase to include some singing. I finally noticed that ‘Grubbs’ really is Miachel Grubbs- a real life musician (much like Kate Voegele who plays Mia Catalano) who’s the lead singer and piano player for Wakey!Wakey!
Brian Bonz, another Brooklyn artist, opened the night. He was really funny explaining that they got a speeding ticket on the way up from NY. ‘”It’s not Rock ‘n’ Roll, until you get pulled over for speeding”. Very True. I enjoyed his set because it was new to me. (top 2 photos)
Wakey!Wakey! put on a great show. I really loved it. Their album is great but hearing it in person takes it to another level. It made me love their songs even more. New favorite is ‘Twenty Two’ because of all the fantastic whistling. Best whistling ever! 🙂 So Boston/Allston/Mass thanks Wakey!Wakey! for putting on such a great show.
I was in CT this past weekend so I could be in the Tri-State area to see Dave Mathews Band on Saturday at Citi Field. Plus it was my way of seeing Price, who is doing another week in CT for work. Friday night drives to CT with Emily always include opening up all the windows and breathing in Greenwich air. As we are heading down the exit we start opening up the windows and yelling about being home. I doubt I would ever live there again but that is part of the reason why I get so excited about being there. Weekends to bring me back to where I grew up.
Price and I met up with TJ, my brother, and his girlfriend, Laura, for lunch on Saturday. I had not seen my brother for his birthday (7/2) so this was a nice way to check out the Greenwich Sidewalk Sales and have lunch.
Kris and I while Zac Brown Band was opening
Then we went to the Dave Matthews Band Concert on Saturday night with Kristen, my sister, and brother in law, Michael. This was my 3rd DMB concert and my sister’s millionth. It just does not get old. The music is fantastic but if your attention seems to lag from the endless jamming then just turn your attention to the crowd to stare in amazement at the drunk/high people ‘dancing’. Just hilarious.
Zac Brown Band opened for DMB. Price and I were really excited about this since we have been listening to their CD, The Foundation, for a while now. They played their hits like ‘ Toes’, ‘Highway 20 Ride’ and ‘ Chicken Fried’. They ended their set with ‘ Killing in the Name’ (Rage Against the Machine) which was funny hearing it from a country band.
As always, DMB was fantastic. They played a great show with newer songs off last years album, as well as the classics like ‘Crash’ and ‘Satellite’. My favorite was ‘Funny the way it is‘. As much as I like smaller shows there is something really amazing about the energy that 40,000 people gives off. It was such a fantastic night with the 4 of us going out together.
Sunday included very little aside from getting lots of sun. Perfect Sunday! Price and I ended up getting up early to go to my stepdad’s boat since we did not see him for his birthday. Unfortuantly my mom had to take off as soon as we got there but she did pour me a solo cup of white wine before she left 🙂 Both wine and sun make me red… double whammy! We ended up going out on his friends fishing boat to hang out in the sound to catch some blues. I had no desire to fish, nor the required license, so I spent my time getting lots of sun and taking pictures. Every time I was about to dose off someone caught a fish!
The above photo is the exact reason why I am nice and rosy this week. We are going camping next weekend on an island… must tan the back of me and those poor pasty legs.
Price is staying in CT again to work for the next 2 weeks. We miss each other but there are some ‘advantages’ to being alone. Like getting to make the food I like Price does not like- hello fish dinner! While Price is enjoying having an entire bed to himself since I’m a hot sleeper who ‘needs’ lots of blankets, making the bed sauna like.
Also I get to make the food I really like without having to worry about Pricer eating it. Nothing’s worse than coming home expecting to find leftovers, drinks, 7days croissants, or sorbet but they are all gone. Well there are a lot of things worse but it is disappointing. If I remember, I try to get extra of things just in case or getting him his own so he won’t get mine.
So that leads me to this watermelon sorbet. I previously wrote that I love sorbet when I posted a recipe for Raspberry Sorbet. It’s completely true. I really love sorbet. So when I saw a watermelon at Trader Joes I knew what would be in store for (just) me this week…. Watermelon Sorbet. Just like the raspberry sorbet, this is really easy because it is just a few ingredients and steps. Basically just: 1) cut fruit 2) blend fruit 3) put in ice cream maker. The lime juice adds a slight subtle kick, which helps offset the sweetness from the watermelon and simple syrup.
Now don’t feel bad for Price since I just explained that I don’t like to share. He knew what he was getting into. Besides, I am looking forward to making ice cream recipes and ice cream is meh to me so that can be all for him.
1) Over medium heat, combine the water and sugar in a small pot. Cook until the sugar has melted. Cool completely!
2) Cut up chunks of watermelon and put into a blender to make a puree. Strain the puree for see bits and larger fibers.
3) When the simple syrup is cool, put into a 4+ cup measuring cup. Add watermelon puree until you reach 4 cups total.*
4) Add the lime juice and mix well.
5) Pour into your ice cream maker and chill according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
*This recipe is for a 1 1/2 quart ice cream maker. This amount works. Please don’t think that some extra watermelon is okay because it will overflow out of your machine!!*
It’s funny that in almost 7 years here in Boston neither Price or I had really walked the Freedom Trail. Well, I had done portions on class outings but never a real outing to walk it. I mean, I walk by/on it every workday to get to my office from the T stop, but never count that. So we decided that we would make a point of doing it, along with other touristy things, this summer. It was also sooo annoying to be in class when a teacher would be shocked that I had never been to various local museums, gardens, cemetaries, and other landmarks. How am I supposed to see a new exhibit when you just assigned me 6 hours of homework for the week? Now we have a summer completely free of classes and school prep we are making the most of it here.
This past Saturday we stayed in Boston and took our turn at the Freedom Trail. I thought out recent trip to DC was hot and humid to sightseeing- well this was so much worse. We knew a storm was going to pass through in the afternoon, which made it soooo oppressive. So we did the trail pretty quickly, having seen some of the places already and trying to beat out the storm.
I was happy to reach the North End around (late) lunch time. We stopped in some place to split a calzone and salad. Of course lunch was not timed properly/long enough for the rain to start while we were there. No, it had to start about 3 minutes after we left. So we ran down the street with my teeny tiny umbrella into a local bar to wait out the rain. It came down in buckets, resulting in some pretty severe flash flooding in Somerville, a neighboring town. Visibility was reduced to 100 feet or so. Luckily* the rain passed within an hour and we were out again to finish the rest of the trail.
We walked over some bridge to head into Charlestown to see the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument over there. In the end we decided to skip the monument since it is just a mini Washington Monument and we just saw that. One obelisk is like another. We got the last tour of ‘Old Ironsides’ which was nice since there was little wait time. So glad I was not a sailor on there since I learned that they got 1 gallon a water a day to do with water they wanted- which generally was drinking. Man on stinky, cramped boat.
*I’m having some pretty big issues with rain this year. First the flood in March and now this intense storm trampled my newly planted tomatoes and my flower squash. There goes half my veggies this summer. 🙁
One night, while falling asleep on the Cos I was ‘watching’ a recorded episode of Everyday Food and I managed to actually take in the genius that was making a pizza with a sandwich wrap. Yeah genius. I love all the Martha does. Martha is hardcore. She is a Jersey girl through and through and will give you the stink eye on her show if you ‘f up the cooking/decorating segment. So going to prison just made her more bad ass to me.You know she had the best decorated cell in there too. So I love her more now, esp since her staff made this amazing looking pizza starting with a sandwich wrap. Feel free to check out their Thinnest Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Ricotta since I used that to inspire me for my own pizza.
I really like pizza but I’m not often in the mood for making dough or getting it at the store. It is so much work and is so heavy. While, I enjoy regular pizza, using a whole wheat sandwich wrap will be my go to crust for pizzas. Why? Inexpensive. Fast. Thin. And fast. In total you can assemble one of these thin crust pizzas in 30 minutes. It’s a quick assembly and pretty quick baking time too. It produces a light thin crust pizza that makes for a great appetizer for a party or a personal meal.
I really suggest getting a whole wheat wrap since it has more flavor than the regular white ones. It’s like getting whole wheat bread or Wonder. Put down the Wonder Bread. You can use a tomato sauce, pesto, or just cheese, but just be sure generously top it with thinly sliced veggies. The thinner the veggie, faster it cooks. So if you are considering mushrooms I suggest that you purchase them whole and slice them yourself to regulate the thickness. Don’t be cheap with the toppings either- you basically want to completely cover the wrap since unadorned spots will be naked and may burn.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil
Lightly oil the edge of the whole wheat wrap. Evenly coat the wrap with pesto.
Place 5 spoonfuls of ricotta on the wrap. Place your sliced mushrooms evenly, covering most of the surface. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the red onion on top of the mushrooms
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
When every I hear or see Raspberry Sorbet I think of the Prince song ‘Raspberry Beret’. I guess I’ll be thinking about the song even more now since I have an ice cream maker. Yay!! I had actually been planning this purchase for a while so when we stopping into Trader Joe’s this week I knew I just had to grab some fruit for some sorbet. The raspberries looked the best, plus we has an amazing red raspberry gelato from Dolcezza when we were in DC. Perfect way to escape a summer thunderstorm while in Georgetown.
Back to the sorbet… I love sorbet because it is so simple. Just fruit and simply syrup. The fresher the fruit the better the sorbet tastes so sorbet is a summer time treat for me. While you can use frozen fruit I think the color and flavor is not exactly the same, compared to fresh fruit. While the fruit is ready for picking, pick it and use it.
July is both National Grilling Month and National Ice Cream Month. One extreme to another and it works so perfectly in this summer month. It’s the time for vacations, pool parties, beaches, swimming, running after ice cream trucks and getting that perfect tan.
July1st- Second Half of the Year Day
July 2nd- I Forgot Day
July 3rd- Stay Out of the Sun Day
July 4th- Independence Day (1776)
July 5th- Work-a-holics Day
July 6th- Fried Chicken Day
July 7th- Chocolate Day
July 8th- Video Game Day
July 9th- National Sugar Cookie Day
July 10th- National Pina Colada Day
July 11th- Swimming Pool Day
July 12th- Pecan Pie Day
July 13th- Embraces your Geekness Day
July 14th- Bastille Day
July 15th- National Gummi Worm Day
July 16th- Peach Ice Cream Day
July 17th- Yellow Pig Day
July 18th- National Caviar Day
July 19th- National Hug Your Kids Day
July 20th- National Lollipop Day
July 21st- National Junk Food Day
July 22nd- Hammock Day
July 23rd- National Hot Dog Day
July 24th- Tell an Old Joke Day
July 25th- Thread The Needle Day and Parents Day
July 26th- National Coffee Milkshake Day
July 27th- Walk on Stilts Day
July 28th- National Milk Chocolate Day
Jult 29th- Rain Day
July 30th- National Cheesecake Day
July 31st- Jump for Jelly Beans Day
Last night Price and I went sailing for the first time. One of my coworker’s sent around an email in the morning asking if people would want to go sailing that night. I jumped at the opportunity since we had never been sailing before. In fact, one of our goals was to going sailing on the Charles this summer. When I’ll meet that and raise you sailing in Boston Harbor. Goal set, and clearly surpassed.
So we met Larry at the launch to take us to the sail boats on the moorings for boats in the Boston Harbor Sailing Club. He explained the parts of the 27-foot boat. Like the keel- which will keep you from capsizing since it displaces around 2,000lbs. Loving that.
Price took one and side and I took another to handle the jib sail while Larry took the back to go from side to side as we tacked from side to side. We crisscrossed the harbor as we watched a group of sail boats race. It was unbeliebale how fast they were going and how far over they were leaning. It was such a beautiful night.
The ride was amazing since it was pretty windy. So windy that when my side was closer to the water a wave came across the bow and got me soaked. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. So I loved it even more when Price got his turn and got wet. Mauhahaha!
Thanks again, Larry!
You must be logged in to post a comment.