 According to my parents, I took my first boat ride before the age of 1.👶🏻 Actually, in the interest of total accuracy - I should say that I was boating while I was still in utero. I don't remember being on the boat as an infant obviously, but I'm told that it was a sure way to put me to sleep when I was fussy. I spent a good part of my young life, on a boat. It was just a part of growing up, and I loved it. 🚤 When I had my son, I carried on the tradition and I took him for his first boat ride at just a few months old. He loved it and the boat also proved to be a great way to rock him to sleep when he was fighting a nap. 😴 When my second child came along, I took her on her first boat ride and I got sea sick. And not just a little sea sick - I'm talking siiiiick. 🤢 The girl who grew up on a boat!?!  After many tests and doctor visits, I still had no explanation for my sudden onset of sea sickness. Was it a coincidence that it coincided with my second pregnancy or was it a terrible side effect of an otherwise normal pregnancy? Hard to say. But, I'm happy to report that around the 15 year postpartum mark, my sea sickness started to dissipate. 🤷🏻♀️ And now that this second child is 23 - I am declaring myself completely, over the sea sickness. I was obviously hesitant about getting on a boat during that time in my life. I didn't love the queasy feeling in my stomach or the subsequent rocking when I got off the boat. Who would? But I never gave up trying. I'm just stubborn like that. 🤪 I feel that way about foods that I don't love too. For a long time, I was in a phase where I didn't like asparagus. I had no reason for being averse to the stalky green vegetable - I just decided that it wasn't good. Then one day - my tastes started to change and I decided that I really kind of enjoyed it. A simple salad with farro, asparagus and fresh herbs is such a nice treat as a tasty summer meal.  Farro Salad with Asparagus and Parmesan 1 Tablespoon + 1/3 cup olive oil 2 thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 3 Tablespoons minced shallot 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 Tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 12 ounces asparagus, sliced thin 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 3 Tablespoons fresh basil 1 1/2 cups uncooked farro 3 cups baby arugula 2 ounces parmesan cheese, shaved
 Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and serve.
My family is still in what I like to refer to as their "anti-asparagus phase" but I still have hopes that they'll change their minds one day. Ciao!
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 I've got big news... I'm going to Greece!!! 🇬🇷 Eeeek. 😁 This is a trip that's been on my bucket list, for a long time. I logged in quite a few hours on my computer last month, planning the trip and I can hardly wait to see this amazing place for myself. There's just so much that I want to see, eat and experience while I'm there. I've booked so much for us to do - I'm not sure there will be any time for us to sleep in the beautiful hotel that I researched so thoroughly. 😅 One of the adventures that I planned for our Greece trip - a cooking class in Santorini. We're also taking a fishing charter in the Agean Sea. 🎣. How cool is that? We're taking a tour of the Acropolis in Athens and planning some epic hikes while we're there. Of course, I looked into the restaurant scene in the towns that we'll be visiting too. Bring me all the fresh Greek seafood... and the baklava. 🤪  There are only a handful of foods that I really don't enjoy eating. At the top of that list is feta and capers. I love olives and I like salty food - but I don't like capers. 🫒 🤷🏻♀️ I also really love cheese. Hard cheeses, soft cheese, stinky cheese, melted cheese - pretty much every single kind of cheese ... except feta. 🧀 Can you guess what foods I saw on every single Greek menu that I looked at? Feta and capers? 😬 The thing is, I want to taste ALL the flavors of Greece during my short visit - including the feta and capers. I'm doing my best to keep an open mind and hoping that authentic feta and Greek capers tastes completely different from the ones that I've tasted here. 😂 I also saw a lot of fresh vegetables - especially eggplant - on the Greek restaurant menus. And since my eggplant bush is producing more eggplant than ever, I decided to create a simple Greek pasta dish to get us ready for our trip. The instructions for this recipe are very basic - it really IS just that easy.  Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Pasta 1 pound plum tomatoes, chopped 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano 1 clove garlic, minced ½ teaspoon ground pepper ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices ½ cup chopped fresh basil 8 ounces whole-wheat penne ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese
 Dice vegetables. Toss together with 3 T oil, oregano, garlic, pepper, crushed red pepper, basil and salt in a large bowl.  Cook pasta to al dente and add to tomato mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese.  OK, what advice do my fellow travelers have for a first time visitor to Greece? Where do I need to go? What are the things that I absolutely need to see and do and eat? I want to experience all the things while I'm there so send me all your suggestions and tips.
Ciao!  I'm happy to announce that as of July, the love of my life and I are BOTH working from home. 😬 Working from home isn't new for me. I've been running the show (and my business) out of our house for 26 years.😅 I thrive on the quiet stillness of the empty house during the day and unlike my extravert husband, I cherish the time that I spend alone. Working from home is an ideal situation for me. This whole work from home scenario is something totally new for my hard working husband though. Safe to say - there's going to be an adjustment period - for both of us. 😂 I'm cooking - he's working on his computer. I'm whipping buttercream in my mixer and vacuuming spilled salt up off the floor at the same time he's taking conference calls with overseas colleagues. I'm trying to bake a couple dozen cupcakes.🧁 He wants to use the kitchen to make his lunch.🍝 Adjustments. Now that we're 7 or 8 weeks in to this whole co-working from home situation - I feel like we're getting into the groove though. My industrious spouse made himself a work space in the basement and even though I make frequent trips down there for extra baking supplies throughout the day, it's worked better for us to conduct our business on separate floors.  I'll only speak for myself, but it's really been more of a joy than a disturbance to have my hubby home during the day. I actually really enjoy his company during the day. As a girl who hardly ever stopped to make lunch in the afternoon, having someone to eat with me everyday at noon, has been one of the biggest changes. It's honestly been one of my favorite things about having him home though. Our lunches aren't fancy. We usually eat leftovers or sandwiches but it's a chance for us to connect and talk to each other without having to wait until the end of the day when we're both tired and worn out. Safe to say that I'm slowly working my way up to making lunch. Right now, I'm comfortable heating lunch.😂 I don't love the word "leftovers" but I'm still trying to intentionally prepare "extra" food when I make dinner. I'm learning which meals make great second day lunches and which ones aren't so great. Pastas have always been a favorite in our house. We love pasta dinners so much that we actually argue over which one of us is gets to eat the extras for lunch. 🍝 And when I combine fresh basil and the cherry tomatoes from my garden and some of my favorite cheese into a deliciously simple pasta dish - I know I better make a lot because we're going to be fighting over these leftovers. This was a favorite pasta dish, for sure.  Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes and Burrata 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon sugar 5 Tablespoons oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound pasta 8 ounces burrata 1/2 cup fresh basil, torn
 Cut burrata into 1" pieces and sprinkle over pasta.  Drizzle with 1/4 C. oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with basil.  Seeing this pasta dinner makes me want to make it all over again tonight. I still have fresh tomatoes and basil in my garden so I'm thinking that this meal is going to be on our table again in the near future. 😉
Ciao!  The term "stay at home mom" has always seemed so misleading to me. "Work from home" mom would be a more accurate job description, in my opinion. I feel really blessed to have been able to be a "work from home" mom for a long time. Some of that time I was doing full time mom duties and some of those years I carved out time for catering jobs in between carpool, soccer practices, baseball games and homework tutoring sessions. I honestly wouldn't have wanted to do it any other way. For those of you that don't know - I run a cottage food business out of my home. I started my business at home, 12 years ago and to say that I had a lot to learn about being a business owner back then, would be an understatement. I did zero advertising, I was terrible at promoting myself or even talking to strangers and I didn't like to sell anything. 🫣 (It's truly amazing that my business ever took off. 😅) And if I'm being honest, I was perfectly fine with taking on the odd baking job here and there so that I still had the flexibility to be involved in all of my kids activities.
There are advantages to a business that grows slowly instead of becoming an overnight success. Over the last decade, I've gained new culinary skills, learned how to better communicate with customers, how to keep more accurate business records and just how many things I can/should juggle at one time.🤹🏻♀️ I had to learn the hard way that I shouldn't take on a wedding reception and a graduation party in the same weekend. 🤪 I've picked up a few tips and tricks over the years to make my business, more efficient. Things like storing cookie dough - in portions - in my freezer, has been a game changer. When I make a batch of cookies, I always make extra dough, portion it out into dough balls, pack them into ziploc bags and put them in the freezer for another day. You have no idea how many times I'm thankful for ready-to-bake cookies at my fingertips. #lastminutedinnerinvites If you keep a batch delicious M&M cookies in your freezer, you can pull a few out at a time for an after school snack, for afternoon tea with a friend or for a festive Tuesday night dessert. Oh, and if the mood strikes you, these cookies also make amazing ice cream sandwich cookies. 🤗  Soft M&M Cookies 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter, room temperature 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup mini M&Ms + 2 Tablespoons for topping
 Portion into 18-20 cookies and sprinkle with additional 2 T. M&M's. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Bake 12 minutes at 350 on silpat lined cookie sheets. 
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Ciao!  Have you ever gotten to the end of a day and thought to yourself, "I don't think I ate a single vegetable today"? 😶 #hopingitsnotjustme 😅 I would like to tell you that my diet is plant based and consists primarily of vegetables. But... if I'm being honest, most of the time, I struggle to eat enough vegetables everyday. It's not that I don't like veggies - I just like carbohydrates and sugar better. 😅 🥖 🧁  If you're like me and you struggle with vegetable consumption, or if you have veggie-phobic kids - this recipe in for you. Summer vegetable pasta is a sneaky way to incorporate more vegetables into your meal. The 007 of the veggie world, if you will. And we can all agree that sometimes, undercover vegetables are the best vegetables. 🍆 This vegetable based pasta sauce is amazing. It's loaded with garden fresh zucchini and eggplant. Pair those with some canned tomatoes and whole wheat pasta and you've got a delicious, healthy dinner that comes together in minutes. Sneaky Summer Vegetable Pasta.  Summer Vegetable Pasta 1 pound eggplant, cut into 1/2" pieces 1 zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2" slices 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons salt 3/4 teaspoon pepper 1/3 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon oregano 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 cup crushed tomatoes 1 pound pasta 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped 1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped ricotta salada
 Season with salt and pepper and adjust consistency with reserved water. Top with remaining basil, olives and drizzle with oil.  Serve with ricotta salata.
Garden Update: I got exactly 0 usable cucumbers off of my cucumber vine this year and my sunflowers were a bust. On the up side: I still have bushels of cherry tomatoes from my single tomato plant and I've picked no less than 9 eggplant from my single eggplant plant. (Eggplant plant sounds weird but I'm going with it.) This is my way of saying send me all your eggplant and cherry tomato recipes - I love picking produce from my own backyard. 🍆🍅 Ciao! |
