Summer Sangria

Sangria. The word just sounds summery. It's a great way to use up the wine that people bring to your dinner parties, and an economical way to provide drinks for a crowd. This afternoon I diced some pineapple, apple and watermelon into small chunks....that goes in the bottom of the pitcher. A generous splash of triple sec, plus a half cup or so of lime vodka gets poured over the fruit. I always let that sit for a bit before adding the wine. Today it will be an ice cold bottle of pinot grigio. In cooler weather I use brandy instead of lime vodka with pinot noir. You can add sugar to any sangria combo if you think it needs it. You can also add seltzer to make more of a spritzer. And you can get really creative with the fruit....frozen blueberries and orange wedges, diced strawberries and lemon slices, cranberries and lime. Well, look at that! It's 5 o'clock.....enjoy.

Lemony Zucchini Bread w/Recipe

I got four lovely zucchini in my weekly veggie share and I had a bag of lemons to use up, so I hit pinterest to find a quick bread recipe to use both. Several recipes called for buttermilk, which I don't have on hand today, but I found a good one.....a nice amount of zucchini and not too much sugar. I think that quick breads (ie, loaf breads made with baking soda and baking powder instead of yeast) which contain vegetables or fruit often work best with vegetable oil instead of butter. This applies to carrot, zucchini, banana, pumpkin and squash. I also find that grating the zucchini on the largest holes on a box grater works better than shredding it in the food processor. The grated version is dryer and somehow lighter, probably because it doesn't become weighted down with extra moisture. My 4 zukes made enough grated for three full size loaves with a bit left for freezing for my next batch of vegetable soup. This is the recipe I used:

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil

Using a mixer, blend to combine. Add the dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Grated zest from 2 small lemons

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Leave in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely. 

The loaves turned out great, with a lovely lemon flavor and aroma. I may add a lemon glaze. Just some confectioners sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, stir until smooth and drizzle over top. Enjoy!

Rainy Season = Kitchen Time

Yesterday I picked up my share of organic fruits and veggies from Annie's Organics. After a long hiatus, it felt like Christmas in July! When I resumed my weekly subscription to Key West's version of a CSA, I switched to a half share and added two dozen organic eggs. I love getting these boxes of organic goodies but I hate wasting any of it. Hopefully the smaller share will prevent much waste. I like to use the box as inspiration for my own personal 'Chopped' competition. And perfect timing with all of this rain! This is my fourth summer in Key West and I don't remember this much rain in any other rainy season. This is the RAINIEST of rain seasons. Lots of indoor time, for sure. Monday evening I made a pan of baked ziti with sausage. I've been using Al Fresco brand chicken sausage in place of pork sausage in recipes with great results. Great flavor, much less saturated fat. After emptying my box of stuff from Annie's, I gave myself extra points in my solo 'Chopped' competition for coming up with a meal using a new item PLUS finishing up leftover ingredients already in the refrigerator. I added the box of assorted cherry tomatoes to baby arugula already here, along with sliced red onion, blue cheese crumbles and bottled balsamic dressing. A perfect salad with the ziti. This morning, I dumped the leftover salad into a non stick pan with a touch of oil. A few of those organic eggs scrambled made for a lovely frittata. Now I have to figure out how many points I get for that...

Baked Ziti and Arugula Salad on Monday evening.

Leftover salad sauteed this morning.

Frittata!

A Summer Friday

We have taken this week off to regroup after our hectic and long trip north. John had a few business things, we did some clean up on house and garden, and I went to the grocery and bank. That is it! A rare occurrence, and it has absolutely wonderful. The girls have been satisfied to play and swim at home with just a few outings....that is how I know they are tired. No requests for lunch out, movies, and errands like usual. Today I met one of my lady friends for lunch, and John and the girls had planned a picnic at Ft. Zach. Can't wait to hear about their adventure when they return! My lunch was tasty and fun. We went to Ambrosia on Simonton Street for sushi. I have to return soon to try the bento box lunch deal I have heard so much about.... today we shared rolls and tempura. I always enjoy the atmosphere at Ambrosia...water wall, back lighting, modern. I had planned to take some food photos and write about the meal but once we started talking an hour and a half flew by. Those are the best kind of lunches. :)

Home Sweet Home

Wow. What a trip! Key West to Savannah, GA to Frederick, MD to Altoona, PA to New York, NY to Altoona, PA to Frederick, MD to Savannah, GA to Key West. It was a GREAT trip. I really enjoyed the time spent with family and friends. I shopped. I ate at some favorite places. I enjoyed the green mountains, northern flowers, and farmer's markets. We got home last evening, twelve hours after starting out from the Hampton Inn in Savannah, our regular half-way stop over. I am completely exhausted, and I can't imagine how John must feel since he did all the driving. Traffic was pretty light until we hit our home state. There was an accident on the Florida Turnpike that diverted us to I-95 past Jupiter, FL.....we probably lost an hour on that. As soon as we got off the turnpike onto Route 1, just above Key Largo, the real traffic started. Bumper to bumper at several points in Key Largo and Islamorada. As soon as we crossed the bridge from Stock Island into Key West the girls started cheering and saying hello to their favorite things....Moolah the Manatee at First State Bank, Old Publix, Baskin Robbins, the road where we turn to go to school. We were ALL cheering when we finally pulled up to our house! It must have rained quite a bit while we were gone....the grass is tall and every plant is lush and full. John found the energy to unload the car and I made some margaritas. Sitting outside enjoying the tropical breeze felt absolutely fabulous after a two weeks in northern parts. I grabbed a quick shower and collapsed into bed....always so good to be back in my own bed after a trip! Josie woke me up at some point to ask if she could sleep with us. I honestly didn't know where I was for a moment. But then it hit me - we are home and the only plan for the next week is a 'staycation' to recover from our travels. So yes, Josie, you and your red flapper dance costume can snuggle in and we can sleep until we wake up on our own. Ahhh, vacation. :)

Strawberry Preserves

Seeing all of this lovely produce during my travels in Central Pennsylvania sent me to the canning section at the local Martin's grocery store. I got an updated copy of the Ball Blue Book, the guide to canning any fruit or vegetable, plus some jam jars and a container of pectin. Those small, sweet strawberries I found at Way Fruit Market got trimmed and put in a large, heavy pot with pectin and sugar. The berries were so sweet I used half the amount of sugar called for. I heated a separate pot of water to sterilize the jars and lids and brought the strawberry mixture to a rolling boil. Hot preserves into hot jars, add two part lids and turn the jars upside down. I should have added more preserves to each jar...they have a bit of empty space after settling. But not bad for something I haven't done in years! I used 4 quarts of berries, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, 12 tablespoons of powdered pectin and 6 cups of sugar. The jars are already packed up for our return trip to Key West over the weekend. A bit of homemade strawberry preserves on my toast and in the girls pb and js will be a tasty reminder of a great trip north and time spent in my mom's kitchen.

Taking a little bite out of the Big Apple

We are back at my parents home in Pennsylvania after a few days in New York. The girls asked to go six months ago and have been talking about it ever since, and I think it definitely lived up to their expectations. They rode in several taxi cabs, saw the Statue of Liberty and the city lights from the harbor, visited Chinatown and a Chinese celebration in Columbus Park, and made new friends at an awesome playground located right next to the Hudson River in Battery Park. The giggles during the first cab ride were my favorite part....they were truly thrilled! I had forgotten how much I love being in Manhattan....the energy, the views, and knowing that ANYTHING you want or need is someplace close by and can probably be delivered. Our hotel had a very cool rooftop bar from which we could see the new One World Trade Center building rising above all the other skyscrapers. They had just added the tower to the top the previous week. Of course my mind wandered back to a visit in September 2001, six days before the 11th. John had business on Sixth Avenue, as he often did in those days, and I tagged along for a day alone in Midtown. I headed past Central Park, stopped in the Plaza, drooled over the opulence at Bergdorf's, and then walked the whole way up to Bloomingdale's for some shopping. I chatted with a bunch of different people that day, and I was still buzzing with the city's energy many hours later when me and my shopping bags met up with John at the end of the day. I talked non-stop the whole way back to Frederick....I had so much fun. Less than one week later as I watched the planes tear into the Twin Towers I was crushed. We visited again in May 2002 for several nights in Tribeca. We were literally welcomed with open arms.....the lower end of Manhattan was still reeling, and business and restaurant owners were thrilled to see customers from out of town. Over the years, before the girls came into our lives, we spent many weekends exploring the city's neighborhoods. Chelsea Market and the hotel where Sid killed Nancy. Union Square Green Market and tiny Gramercy Park. Irish pubs filled with ex-pats, Murray's Cheese, Zarela's for Mexican, and Home on Cornelia Street in the Village, probably my favorite restaurant visit ever. Great, great memories. The pace of this 'vacation' from Key West is starting to take its toll, but I am really glad we got the girls to NYC so they can start building memories of their own.