Posts Tagged ‘summer’
Tags / Categories / Comments
milford community gardensSeptember 10th, 2010You may remember Nicole, she was our amazing PDX tour guide!! She recently returned to the East Coast on a PR tour for Rejuvenation. I was relieved not to rendez-vous in NYC, as her visit coincided with a blazing hot weekend in August. Instead, we met up with Nicole at the Milford Community Gardens where [...] |
|
Tags: Connecticut, d50, eisenhower park, milford, milford community gardens, summer
| No Comments | See Full Post
Posted in: Connecticut, food |
You may remember Nicole, she was our amazing PDX tour guide!! She recently returned to the East Coast on a PR tour for Rejuvenation. I was relieved not to rendez-vous in NYC, as her visit coincided with a blazing hot weekend in August. Instead, we met up with Nicole at the Milford Community Gardens where her uncle was tending to a plot of vegetables. 
I’m not sure what D plans to do with these habaneros, but I am going to keep my distance! They look beautiful, but dangerous. 
Above is Uncle Paul as he tends to his brother’s double-sized plot. We were impressed that he and his fiancee Laura drive here at least 3-4 times a week to tend to their vegetables and sunflowers. It was great fun to tour the gardens and see all the different ways you can manage a small plot of earth! Hopefully that inspiration will rub off and we’ll get back to gardening next summer (when the backyard isn’t under construction).
I had idea there was a community garden in our hometown of Milford, but my husband and my mother-in-law knew exactly where it was located… inside Eisenhower Park.
A beautiful white eggplant!
Laura hooks us up with some fresh-cut sunflowers…
that definitely perk up our kitchen.
Unsure of what to do with these 2 eggplants, we roasted them based on a recipe from Frankies Sputino cookbook!
Tags / Categories / Comments
tai comes to visitSeptember 7th, 2010What a minute, what happened? Fall is here and it’s back to school, back to business and back to my morning traffic jam. We’ve been trying to meet up with Peter, Salem and little Tai all summer long, to no avail. We finally squeaked in some hang time on Labor Day. Like any fun-loving 1 [...] |
What a minute, what happened? Fall is here and it’s back to school, back to business and back to my morning traffic jam. We’ve been trying to meet up with Peter, Salem and little Tai all summer long, to no avail. We finally squeaked in some hang time on Labor Day. Like any fun-loving 1 year old, Tai loves bubbles! She’s not afraid of the camera and has the most beautiful blue eyes. They’re so shiny, sometimes I can see my own reflection! 
Tags / Categories / Comments
leFarm’s pink lemonadeSeptember 4th, 2010Feeling disappointed you didn’t score a spot at second Souterrain on October 3? There was a mere 6 hour window before this dinner sold out! Don’t despair, you can whip up a taste of Souterrain in your own home. The fine folks at leFarm in Westport, Connecticut have graciously shared the recipe for the “pink lemonade” featured at the August Souterrain. On [...] |
Feeling disappointed you didn’t score a spot at second Souterrain on October 3? There was a mere 6 hour window before this dinner sold out! Don’t despair, you can whip up a taste of Souterrain in your own home. The fine folks at leFarm in Westport, Connecticut have graciously shared the recipe for the “pink lemonade” featured at the August Souterrain.
On this long holiday weekend, why not embrace raspberry season? Mix up this refreshing cocktail and be sure to enjoy in the late summer sun.
Cheers, liz
leFarm’s pink lemonade
servings: 1
Ingredients
2 oz vodka
2 oz St. Germain
½ lemon, juiced
½ lime, juiced
1 tsp agave nectar
handful of raspberries
splash of club soda, Prosecco or Sprite
Instructions
Add raspberries to the bottom of a glass and gently muddle. Fill glass with ice cubes.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka, St. Germain, lemon & lime juice, and agave nectar. Shake vigorously.
Strain contents of cocktail shaker into the glass, leaving room to top with a splash of club soda, Prosecco or Sprite.
Garnish with lemon & lime wedges.
Recipe courtesy of Andrea Dinan of leFarm in Westport, Connecticut
Notes:
- leFarm’s vodka of choice is Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
- St. Germain is a sweet elderflower liqueur that can be found at many liquor stores.
- Agave nectar is natural sweetener with a lower glycemic index than sugar and a more neutral flavor than honey.
It can be found in many grocery and heath food stores.
Tags / Categories / Comments
raspberries at bishop’s orchardsSeptember 1st, 2010It’s raspberry season here in Connecticut. Many folks seem to be surprised that it comes so late in the summer, but typically picking starts in mid August and runs into September. On Sunday, Eunice and I drove out to Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford. Hours vary so be sure to call ahead. (203) 458-PICK.It was hot out there, [...] |
|
Tags: bishop's orchard, Connecticut, d50, Guilford, raspberries, summer
| 2 Comments | See Full Post
Posted in: Connecticut, food |
It’s raspberry season here in Connecticut. Many folks seem to be surprised that it comes so late in the summer, but typically picking starts in mid August and runs into September. On Sunday, Eunice and I drove out to Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford. Hours vary so be sure to call ahead. (203) 458-PICK.
It was hot out there, even at 10 am. My advice? Go raspberry picking on an overcast day. 
Every year “sin bin” sign is out. I never realized the proceeds go to the Guilford Land Trust.
I don’ t snack in the fields. I’m there to fill that white bucket up as fast as I can and head for some shade!Check back after Labor Day, next week the blog will feature a raspberry lemonade recipe from leFarm in Westport.
Tags / Categories / Comments
robert treat farm in milfordAugust 21st, 2010I’ve done a number of posts about the Woodmont Farmers’ Market, but I wanted to share a few shots from Treat’s, the farm that hosts this Wednesday event. It broke my heart when they got rid of the ramshackle shed a few years ago. It was always dark and sweltering hot in the summer, but [...] |
I’ve done a number of posts about the Woodmont Farmers’ Market, but I wanted to share a few shots from Treat’s, the farm that hosts this Wednesday event. It broke my heart when they got rid of the ramshackle shed a few years ago. It was always dark and sweltering hot in the summer, but you felt like you were buying produce on a farm. The new barn/market is much bigger & cooler inside and now Treat’s is such an enjoyable place to shop on a warm summer day. 
I have a few favorite things here…
- native corn (don’t touch! tell them how many you want and they’ll hand select the ears for you)
- orange flesh melon (appearance: honeydew-like on the outside, cantaloupe-like on the inside. Taste: always amazingly sweet)
- Smyths’s Trinity Dairy milk (you’ll get your deposit back when you return the thick glass bottle)
- Judies baked goods (my favorites are the the assaggio shallot and the peasant baguette)
- pies from Blackbird Bakery (wild blueberry crumb!) and Scratch Baking’s mini pies
- jumbo-sized fresh eggs in the refrigerated case (so big, there are often double yolks)
- chocolate cookies with nuts (see glass jars between the middle cash registers). This is my #1 impulse item.
I wish they would bring back Milford’s own….Buck’s ice cream… but not really… who needs that kind of temptation every weekend!?
Tags / Categories / Comments
a doorstep surpriseAugust 19th, 2010Yesterday morning, there was a surprise waiting on our doorstep. A huge THANK YOU to my loyal reader Karen shared some herbs from her garden!!! And extra bonus points for delivering the herbs in such a cool hinged glass jar! |
Yesterday morning, there was a surprise waiting on our doorstep. A huge THANK YOU to my loyal reader Karen shared some herbs from her garden!!!
And extra bonus points for delivering the herbs in such a cool hinged glass jar!
Tags / Categories / Comments
summer cocktails at pegu clubAugust 11th, 2010Decisions, decisions. The three of us couldn’t make up our mind. Death & Co. Painkiller, Vandaag, Angel’s Share? In the end, we went with the reliably fantastic Pegu Club for our Saturday night cocktails. Pegu welcomes you at 5 pm, which is an hour earlier than most cocktail hotspots. Getting there at opening is the key to [...] |
Decisions, decisions. The three of us couldn’t make up our mind. Death & Co. Painkiller, Vandaag, Angel’s Share? In the end, we went with the reliably fantastic Pegu Club for our Saturday night cocktails. Pegu welcomes you at 5 pm, which is an hour earlier than most cocktail hotspots. Getting there at opening is the key to getting in, getting a good spot at the bar and getting full attention from your bartender.
Below is Michele’s off-menu gin cocktail, muddled with cucumber and apples.
Burke bemoaned that his drink selection often seems to include floral decoration. Hmm, no comment, but I did love the unusually petite-sized dendrobium orchid that coordinated perfectly with the coconut and kaffir lime flavor of his cocktail. In just one sip, this refreshing taste of Thailand transports you to a tropical happy place.What do you think about these black straws? You absolutely need a way to get to your drink without disturbing the beautiful garnish on the rim of the glass… but the black definitely ruins the photograph in my eye. Would a clear straw be that much better?
Tags / Categories / Comments
sour cherry pie with almond crumbleAugust 10th, 2010No sooner than I announced that I do not like to bake, I found myself seduced by the shiny tart cherries from upstate New York. They’ve been selling them at Trader Joe’s, but unfortunately, I think the end of the season this short cherry season is upon us. I grabbed a few of the remaining baskets and improvised based [...] |
No sooner than I announced that I do not like to bake, I found myself seduced by the shiny tart cherries from upstate New York. They’ve been selling them at Trader Joe’s, but unfortunately, I think the end of the season this short cherry season is upon us. I grabbed a few of the remaining baskets and improvised based on the Sour Cherry Pie with Almond Crumble recipe from Smitten Kitchen. (Please see their blog for WAY better photos and the full recipe)
I didn’t have time or energy to bake a crust from scratch. I found salvation in the freezer section at Whole Foods and used a spelt pie crust! It was all that was in stock, and I wasn’t going to another store just to get an Oronoque Orchards pie shell. It actually wasn’t bad, though you can never compete with a crust made with butter! The almond crumble comes together very easily in the food processor, so that leaves pitting the cherries as the only daunting task. I will definitely try this recipe again with other fruits, the possibilities seem endless in the summer.
PS: I don’t have a cherry pitter and don’t want yet another kitchen utensil sitting around unused for most of the year. I used a metal toothpick. I don’t endorse this method, but it worked in a pinch. I’ve also heard of using a paper clip or a chopstick, but after doing a little research online, it seems like a lot of folks like using a pastry tip. I wouldn’t mind trying it, except I don’t own this kitchen accessory either! What’s your favorite way to pit cherries?
Tags / Categories / Comments
I LOVE: the place in guilford, connecticutAugust 2nd, 2010This past weekend a few college friends came to town and I wanted to show them a unique summer dining experience, so we headed to The Place in Guilford, Connecticut. I’m not sure why it’s so much fun to sit on a tree stump and enjoy your food in the great outdoors, but everyone always loves it here.I HATE eating corn [...] |
This past weekend a few college friends came to town and I wanted to show them a unique summer dining experience, so we headed to The Place in Guilford, Connecticut. I’m not sure why it’s so much fun to sit on a tree stump and enjoy your food in the great outdoors, but everyone always loves it here.
I HATE eating corn on the cob in public, but I’ll make an exception for this roasted version. Our table always ends up littered with black bits of charred corn husks. My other favorite is the roasted clam special. The littlenecks are served up on a hot grill, already doused in cocktail sauce. By the time our 1 lb lobster arrived, it was too dark for photos. Plus conditions were *way* too messy to be touching my camera.
Everything (including your lobster) can be cooked on the outdoor grill and below is the one-and-only menu:The Place is BYOB and you can fill-in the rest of your meal by bringing other sides from home. You may have read about my incomplete broccoli quinoa salad, but we still did manage to put out a nice cheese selection from Villa Gourmet, a tomato and mozzarella salad and a strawberry JELL-O pie.
If you go: A tablecloth isn’t a bad idea and forget the plastic, The Place is cash only.