The STUFFING!

My mom called it "filling."  We called it a "lot of work" but necessary and the greatest, all the same.  I grew up tearing the bread for the "filling" as did my sister and brothers (I think my brothers did but come to think of it - I can't remember them actually doing it)........My boys did it for my mom when she made it at our house over the years and then one year she recited the recipe to me over the phone (unsolicited) and said I would need this one day.  It really never occurred to me that I would be making it on my own at some point.  I scribbled it down and tucked it away.  Well, of course there did come the day that my mother was no longer with us and the responsibility came to me.  One or both of my boys was always around to help tear the bread but this year I found myself on my own.  That's no fun plus I figured now is the time to teach the next generation how to make the FILLING.  Enter my niece, Moira!

Moira is a wannabe cook.  Her favorite is Rachel Ray and her non-fave is Tyler Florence (she doesn't think he is very nice)......So Moira tore four loaves of white bread into bite size pieces.  To that she added 2 Tablespoons each of Thyme, Poultry Seasoning, Sage and Salt and Pepper.  We ground a huge bunch of fresh parsley in the Cuisinart and added to the bread.  We then sauteed an onion in one half stick of butter and browned the bread in that.  To that was added 1 cup of water with another half stick of melted butter.  We cooked that for about 10 minutes and the house instantly smelled like home.  Now I realize this "filling" sounds probably a little bland and where are the chestnuts and oysters and sausage and cornbread and all that other cool stuff?  I have been tempted over the years to try something new but there has always been great resistance in the family - it's all what you grow up with - this may have been a depression stuffing - my mom was full of stories of awful food during that time - like ketchup on bread with sugar instead of cookies!  In addition, we are Irish and not so good with the food all those years ago.  Nevertheless - Moira and I made another batch of stuffing and the family will be enjoying it soon at my sister's house for another year.

We weren't finished yet!  We still had to make an apple pie!  Moira doesn't even LIKE apple pie but she humored me and I peeled the apples while she sliced the apples with a little help from Uncle Harry.  This recipe is actually from Harry's mom.  He has many fond memories or her making TWO pies (and not just for Thanksgiving) because they had EIGHT kids and the pies barely making it to the table before they were gone.  He loved when she burned the crust before she even added the filling because he got to eat the crust that she would discard.  Anyway (back to me) - this is the first year I made my own crust.  I was so proud of myself because I had chilled it just like they said and took it out of frig and smashed it on the counter and started rolling and it came apart - just wouldn't work - I was frustrated - Moira took over because she had seen on tv how BARNEY did it.........I let her go and went about my other tasks and when I returned Moira had rolled out a BEAUTIFUL pie crust!

Here is Mrs. Noel's Apple Pie recipe.  

1 Cup of sugar

2 Tbspns flour

1 tspn cinnamon

1/2 tspn nutmeg

1/4 tspn ground cloves

Mix together with 5 or 6 peeled and sliced apples.  Sprinkle with 1 Tbspn of lemon juice.  Bake the pie crust covered in foil for 15 minutes on 450'.  Then add apple filling - reduce oven to 325' and bake for 1 hour.

This is Uncle Harry's favorite pie and if you want to keep him happy you learn his mom's recipe and bake the pie - it's that easy!  It also helps if you have a Moira around!

Bourbon-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Well I guess it's "that time of year again"...how many times are we going to hear that in the next month........but it's true - and "that time of year" begins with Thanksgiving.  My sister, Sheila is usually the one who hosts the big day in our family.  She does a beautiful job of creating a delicious meal and at the same time making it look decidedly easy - PLUS HER HOUSE ALWAYS LOOKS IMMACULATE - she's one of those people you hate - I am not a cleaner.  I don't see the dirt!  How can two sisters come out of the same family and be so different?? But I digress.

So I always bring a few dishes to the Thanksgiving table and today I prepared the Sweet Potatoes.  I had never made this recipe but thought it looked sweet and simple to make.  The recipe was in the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper.  I found it while I was down there and because they are so big on the sweet potato down there I thought this might be the ticket!  So here goes and I might add they turned out swell and tasted syrupy and succulent and delish.

BOURBON-GLAZED SWEET POTATOES

4 to 6 sweet potatoes peeled and sliced about 1/2 in thick

4 T butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup bourbon

2 T maple syrup

salt and fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 375'

Butter an ovenproof casserole dish.  Arrange sweet potato slices in prepared dish and season with salt and pepper.

In a large saucepan, combine butter, sugar, bourbon and syrup and bring to boil over medium high heat.  As soon as the sauce starts to boil,  pour over the potatoes.  Bake and baste and turn potatoes occasionally until soft and tender, 45 to 50 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

I'd love to hear what other sweet potato recipes you people use out there.  Some people don't even feel the need for them if they have the regular white potatoes but because I try to stay away from the white stuff (as a diabetic) I always come equipped with the sweet potato.  ENJOY!

We should have weighed ourselves before entering South Carolina!

We have been eating our way through Charleston and her suburbs.  Yesterday we ventured to Sullivans Island which is literally down the road from Isle of Palm and had a stupendous lunch at Poes Tavern - I say stupendous because Harry took a gander at the beer menu and his jaw dropped......this from a man who prides himself in locating and tasting the latest brew out there.  He said this was the greatest selection he had seen!!  So, we sat down to a nice lunch of fish tacos and LaFolie New Belgium Flanders Style Brew (which turned out to be too sour) and Hoptober New Belgium (which was delish) and Sweetwater 410 (outstanding).........We could have stayed there all day - we were sitting outside and the sun was shining and the beautiful people were piling in - one gorgeous southern babe after another.......but I said we should visit Ft. Moultrie while we're here - Harry (reluctantly - who is usually such a history buff) agreed and we went down the street to the Fort - which was very interesting because it was the sight of our 1st victory against the British during the American Revolution.  It was also famous for many other wars including the 1812 and Civil War.......pretty cool.

After the tour and mass at a beautiful old world church in Charleston, St. John the Baptist we went to dinner at Cypress on East Bay Street.  Everybody is out and about in Charleston....students and tourists and locals...a very busy happening place and this restaurant was the place to be.  It had a contemporary ambiance and the menu was really different.    I had the Cioppino which was out of this world!  Harry had the Wreckfish which he wasn't that fond of but loved the butter lettuce salad with bacon jam and  pumpkin cheesecake which preceded and  ended the meal.  Then we crossed the street to a European like cafe with open air doors and windows for some coffee - it was delightful and a nice way to say goodbye to Charleston!

Tonight after the beach we ran over to the bay to catch the sunset...and  that was a nice way to say goodbye to beautiful Isle of Palm!

Greetings From Charleston

Charleston has got to be the most MOST city.  There is not a lot to not like about Charleston - the people are among the most genteel I've ever been around and the city is so picturesque it's almost scary!  Everywhere you look there is some beautiful iron work fencing surrounding some awesome historic building or just a delicate brownstone that is not brown but a pink or a corral or a yellow and then there is the Charleston Market that goes on for 6 blocks and is host to many many vendors and their unique wares including the sweetgrass baskets created by the locals and the local foods packaged by the locals and the jewelry and clothing and bags - it's a shoppers' paradise down here for sure.  The boutiques are numerous and antique stores and galleries - you could go on for days but you must stop to eat!  Not a problem there - last night we had a MAGNIFICENT dinner at Magnolias, which came highly recommended by friends and for good reason!  It had all the southern hospitality you would expect and more.  I had the Bouillabaisse and Harry had the parmesan encrusted flounder but for our appetizer we ordered Fried Green Tomatoes like no other!  They were fried to a crisp and served with caramelized onions and a delicious chutney sauce served on a bed of GRITS - out of this world.  A stop in Charleston is not worth it unless you check out Magnolia on East Bay Street!

Because Charleston is so gorgeous and steeped in history we decided to go back this morning. We would have a contest - we would split up (each with our own camera) and take our own pictures and decide at the end of trip (by some unbiased people - maybe our boys) who had the winning photos!  This was an excellent idea because I got to ditch Harry and GO SHOPPING and he got to ditch me and go out on his own to do his thing and not have me yelling at him the whole time - this is how we have come to enjoy 29 years of wedded bliss.......

We did meet 3 hours later and compare pictures and notes and we were very proud of ourselves - I got some neat purchases (and a few photos) and Harry got MANY photos and found a great bar where we tasted some craft brews and had homemade chips and salsa - unbelievable!  He had the Ranger IPA New Belgium and I had the Allagash White Ale from Portland, ME.  The bar was called Griffon on Queen Street and has the look of a dive bar but you're in Charleston so THIS is not possible.  The walls were covered in dollar bills that travellers had written various sentiments over the years - kind of like Captain Tony's in Key West where everyone leaves their business card or the place in Phoenix where they leave their ties.........Then we went for another walk around the town before heading back to beautiful Isle of Palm........NICE.

...On My Way To Carolina...

6AM was our estimated departure and we ended up pulling out of our driveway at 623AM for our destination:  Isle of Palm, South Carolina!!  Usually we are an hour or 2 behind our desired departure but this morning we were on a mission and that was to drive the 95 corridor in as little pain as possible.  We are vacating at the condo of our friends, Chris and Carl who graciously offered us their place for a long weekend and I am thrilled to show Harry this part of the East Coast -

The ride was surprisingly painless.  We ran into traffic at the usual spots like DC but after that is was clear sailing and because we wanted to make it in under 12 hours we whizzed by the countryside.  We didn't even have time to stop at the Ava Gardner Museum in North Carolina.  Who even knew there WAS an Ava Gardner Museum!  But we did stop at the South of the Border because you couldn't miss it and Pedro would have been so upset!  I had a corn dog and Harry had a chili dog and it wasn't good..... but we were there!

We arrived in Isle of Palm at 630PM and it was DARK.  The cable was dark as well as cell phone bars but these are the things you're supposed to get away from when you're on vacation - enjoy the serenity - enjoy the landscape - enjoy each other!  Whatever.......it will be fun!

RED ALERT IN SEA ISLE CITY, NJ

This weekend I spent in Ocean City, NJ at our condo by the sea.....or about 8 houses from the beach........with 2 friends from college, one of which is my sister-in-law, Merl and 1 of my bridesmaids, Chris S. - (this may be scary for some of you to think of.......but I had bridesmaids 29 years ago and they were and continue to be gorgeous and smart women!) ANYWAY.......we spent Friday Night doing our usual beer and wine and nice little picky foods like Asiago Cheese and olives and Abbruzzio cheese spread and whole grain crackers and nuts and Chris made a delicious pizza.  This is how she did it...........she purchased a really thin crust like a flatbread and on it she spread cream cheese with chives and then added thinly sliced tomatoes, sliced red onion (we can do this because our other bridesmaid, Susanne, was not in attendance - she ABHORS anything onion) crumbled bacon and then drizzled olive oil on it before baking in 350' oven for 8 minutes.  Chris said she usually grills the pizza but this was easy and it was delicious!  So after many hours SIPPING and noshing and talking and re-hashing and solving and supporting and yelling and screaming and laughing with each other....we went to bed.  Saturday the sun was shining and the day was crisp and clear.........so we did what what we always do in the Fall, something I wouldn't dare do in the summer......we drove down the ocean drive.  Our 1st stop was Chris' sister's new house in Sea Isle.  This house was just completed in July and we were invited to view it for the 1st time.  Chris' sister, Patty wasn't there so she gave Chris EXPLICIT instructions how to enter the house.......she gave us the code to open the garage.  DONE.  Then walk directly to the back of garage past the sink and reach past the bar that holds up the heater and look for the hide-away key.......this we all did (and we're so proud of ourselves) but we couldn't locate the hide-away key - 20 minutes later we FOUND IT and fiddled with it to open the hide-away thing and then unwrapped the paper towel that the key was wrapped in...........HUGE FOR US........then we put the key in the door - 12 minutes later we figured that out and entered the bottom of the house - but still another hurdle - we had to take an elevator to the main floor - this was a little tricky but Chris navigated us through that maze and VOILA! we are IN the house and what a house it is - gorgeous and gorgeous view of the ocean - just a lovely house!!   On our way out - disaster struck - we tried to go out the front door instead of the way we came in and all of a sudden the alarm went off!!!!  It was quite loud and we were quite confused........after much hair raising and arm raising and Merl and I trying to distance ourselves from the whole fiasco Chris saved the day and stopped the insanity............so we got in our car to continue on down the road and Sea Isle's finest FINALLY showed up......we could have taken all 10 of their tvs by this time.  The policemen checked our IDs and laughed with us for a minute and released us on our own recognisance...

We were exhausted after this.....so we went to Lunch.  It's always an Adventure......

BIG Weekend

Well it all started on Friday when countdown began for PHISH to begin their siege at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City NJ.......this was the long awaited and very-much planned 3 night HOOPLA and son, John was at the epicenter of the celebration.  A packed cooler and many costumes in back pack was all he needed to head down the Atlantic City Expressway...

With Johnny gone all we needed to do was pack ourselves and get on down 95!  First stop was the Convention Center in Washington DC to pick up Harry's race number for the Marine Corps Marathon the next day.  The Marine Corps Expo was packed with runners and marines.  As cool as the expo was this year the big draw was the Jon Stewart Rally a few blocks away!  We could hear the speeches from where we were but by the time we got out there it was over.  This did not deter the husband, Harry - we had to venture down to the Capitol to see what was going on.  When I say there were a LOT of people I mean there were a LOT of people - people streaming all up and down the roads - and the roads were shut down except for pedestrians and characters with Halloween costumes and many many funny signs - 1 of the best....."tights are not pants."  It was a pretty extraordinary sight to see - all ages and shapes - just out to voice their opinion in a mild mannered and fun way - another sign - "I'm mad as hell but in a passive aggressive way!!"

After a very exciting couple of hours in DC we drove to Georgetown to meet my sister, Sheila and brother-in-law, Brian and niece, Bridget at the Tombs for dinner........we had to devise our plan of attack for the next day at the Marathon.....The Tombs is part of our tradition when Harry runs the 26.2........it's a great place to go for a casual meal and see the college kids in action.

On Sunday we were blessed with a GORGEOUS DAY for a runner and his followers!  The Race started across the street from Arlington National Cemetery at 8AM......I wish I could figure out how to upload the video of the guy announcing the beginning of the race and inspiring all these runners and marines to DO THEIR BEST....TO BEAT THE BRIDGE...  TO TAKE THE IWO........

After Harry took off in a flash I had to high tail it to the Key Bridge to catch him at the 4 mile mark and meet TEAM NOEL (Sheil, Brian and Bridge) - needless to say this was easier said than done - the marines blocked me at every way - the security was much more intense this year and I couldn't talk them into letting me jump that fence or crawl under that wire...."no Ma'am , we can't let you do that."... consequently I missed Harry at the 4 mile but the TEAM did get a glimpse of him and we all caught up with him on M Street at the 8 mile mark.  Our next stop was COFFEE at Dean and DeLuca and then over to the Lincoln Memorial for the 16 mile mark.  We had our Phillies Flag so it would be easy for Harry to see us and we got more comments about that.....one runner actually took a picture of US and another runner said "that is HANDS DOWN the best sign I've seen all day - GO PHILS!" - We had a great time all day cheering everyone on - it was a very emotional time watching all these people give it everything they have.  We saw Harry again at the 25 mile marker and he was looking like a star........we were glad to see he was still standing but, not only that, he looked like he was having no problems!  He ended up finishing 4 hours 1 minute and change..HE WAS AMAZING and we were all very proud of him.  After gridlocking our way to the Family Link Up and Linking up with our runner we walked back to Georgetown and had a celebratory lunch at J.Pauls on M Street - this, too, is a sweet tradition......they have delicious omelets and spicy Bloody Marys and cold special brews for the runner and his favorite brother-in-law.

IT WAS AN EXHILARATING DAY

Oh Those Wildwood Days!

Who knew Wildwood was so nice?  This weekend we stayed with our friends, Susanne and Denny (known as America's Favorite Guests) at their sister's condo a half block from the beach.  And what a beach it is - HUGE and in front of the beach is a walkway that covers a nice expanse of the jagged coastline (who needs the West Coast) - this was gorgeous and let me just say we don't have this in Ocean City either... both mornings we had an invigorating walk greeting many Phillie clad fans along the way............we were all still wearing our Phillies garb on Sunday too!

Our other friends, Suzanne and Kelly were also in attendance.  On Saturday we made the roadtrip to Cape May.  It was a spectacular October day and many people had the same idea - to shop and walk around.  We ended up on Sunset Beach at the end of the day just in time for a beaut of a sunset .... I guess it's protocol for everyone to clap when the sun goes down because this was done in Cape May just as it was done in Carmel, Ca 30 years ago AND Key West 22 years ago - it's funny how the customs are carried on all around the place - maybe they do it in Europe and Asia too!

So we are in Cape May and what is in Cape May?  The Lobster House, of course and if Denny is near the Lobster House he must go to scope out the seafood.  We bought Grouper and Shrimp and Scallops.  Denny wrapped prosciutto around these humungous shrimp - brushed with olive oil and grilled them on this cool electric grill...in the meantime Susanne is creating this delicious rub to put on the Grouper.  Denny grilled the salt and peppered scallops and grouper....Susanne made a nice fresh salad and some baked potatoes and it was delicious!  Nothing like a fresh seafood meal at the shore.  We settled in to watch the Phillies beat the Giants - oh that's right  - the Giants BEAT the Phillies............I forgot.

We had a great weekend though!

GO PHILLIES!!!!

It didn't look good for a while because we lost on Saturday night but we all knew it was just a fluke and the Phightin Phils would bounce back - AS THEY DID - quite nicely on Sunday Night with Roy Oswalt at the helm.  We had the family over for the game on Saturday and we wanted to do something to give them the flavor of the ballpark.........our 1st thought was PEANUTS and sad to say we couldn't serve our normal Planters Peanuts in the shell from the Ocean City Boardwalk so I did the next best thing and purchased them at our local Acme - they weren't too bad!

Next we had to serve some other type of nourishment so we decided to do cheese steaks OF COURSE but because we are ALL conscious of our health and how much fat we are eating we decided to do chicken cheese steaks and smother them with cheese whiz.  It's kind of like having a diet coke with a salad?  Anyway I bought chicken chip meat from a good deli around here and the freshest rolls from a great bakery that just opened up in our neighborhood ($3 a dozen!) and I caramelized a TON of onions and we were good to go with some jarred hot peppers.  Everyone (kids and elders) loved them.

I also made some Applesauce Cupcakes with a Chocolate Glaze - we used to buy something like these cupcakes when we were kids on our way to our cousins' house in DE and in our adult years have never been able to find anything like them so I went hunting online for ANYTHING that would remind me of our childhood deserts - I found this Martha Stewart recipe (of all things) and they were pretty good....

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn’t have any and the recipe was just as tasty)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• Preheat the oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add applesauce and then flour mixture, beating until just combined after each. Stir in pecans by hand.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to two months, in airtight containers.

Glaze ingredients:7 oz. high quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup hot water, milk, half-and-half
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground ancho chile powder
½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. dried ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
16 Red Hots candies, for decorati

To make the glaze:Carefully melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or on the stove with a double boiler. Stir the hot liquid, the spices and the vanilla into the melted chocolate until smooth.
Spoon the glaze over the cupcakes immediately, while glaze is still hot. Decorate each cupcake with one Red Hots candy in the center.

We had a fun time on Saturday Night but the bad thing was the Phils lost and now nobody wants to come back because it might be bad luck - I keep telling them we watch every game....every pitch....every night and they USUALLY WIN!  But the good thing is they did pull it off on Sunday Night and we didn't even have dinner.......we were too stuffed from the night before!


Here are some of the nieces and nephews ready for a BIG week of baseball!

Home Ec

So last we spoke - I don't know I can't remember. I have been subbing so much my mind is in a tizzy! I have decided that I like the Middle School kids best......they are easy and fun to be with - they don't seem to mind having a strange mom around...they try to help me instead of the other way around! Today I learned Spanish and how civilization was born. I even witnessed a science experiment with fire and ice.......had some more Spanish and some lunch and then went to Home Ec where we learned how to follow a recipe....

With all this "working" I have had to plan meals a little more in advance......mind you I get out at 2 or 3 but I am depleted by then and can't do anything except schlepp home and watch Oprah.......we still have tomatoes in the garden so we are having nice fresh salads with kirby cucumbers and red onion but the farm stands also are full of butternut squash and the local papers are featuring many recipes for this fall staple.

Yesterday I bought 2 pounds of the squash already cut up at Trader Joes. We were having Pork Tenderloin so I roasted some of that squash with some sweet potatoes for a healthy and delicious side dish. Just clean and dice a sweet potato (I like the white sweet potatoes) and mix with butternut squash along with olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 400' for 20 minutes...stir and bake 20 minutes more - the result are some tasty caramelized goodies!

For the remainder of the squash I made a Butternut Squash Soup that looked good from Epicurious.com and it turned out to be fantastic.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107688

It was a nice thing to come home to on a rainy Thursday after a grueling day in Home Economics!

Washington DC and Soup

Yesterday we visited Johnny in Washington, DC. We were surprised he was waiting for us and actually carved out part of his day to spend time with Mom and Dad. He relocated to a new house in the U Street area of the city and we were anxious to see his new digs. We were pleasantly surprised with the neighborhood and his house. He lives in an 'English Basement' with another roommate and they share a kitchen and bath. It has all been renovated with granite counter tops and nice woods. I was impressed! The boys are even paying for a cleaning service to come in every 2 weeks  - which is HUGE for my son who still lives like he did in COLLEGE and if you saw THAT house you would turn around and yell FIRE.

I was happy to see John looking so content in his new room and clearly having a good time in this adopted city of his........he has goals and ideas and a million things going on......which is great!

We walked to lunch a few blocks from his house. I thought to myself, I would LOVE to be able to walk everywhere and live in a city - where he is it seems like a neighborhood not like center city and if you can't walk you can take the metro........there are a bunch of neat bars around there too. We ate at Eatonville which is a new southern style restaurant and was a bustling hive of people. It came highly recommended by Matt, one of John's roommates and it was a good choice. If you're ever down there here is the Washington Post review:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/eatonville,1155907.html

Today is Monday and that means ROOT CANAL for Nancy. I spent the afternoon flat on my back with my jaw wide open. And the fun is not over yet - I return in 2 weeks when the inflammation goes down. So I knew I wouldn't be eating steak tonight and since it is a cold rainy day here in Marlton I decided to make soup and this is a good thing for you 20-somethings to do out there. It's full of fresh veggies and really whatever you want to add. You can make a pot of it in the beginning of the week and take it to work all week or just heat up for dinner after your Yoga classes or your Run or your Grad School classes or your book club or your just long long day!

I started out sauteing chopped onion, zucchini, red pepper and pancetta in olive oil (don't worry if you don't have pancetta or even know what it is - I just happened to be listening to the radio at the same time that Mark Bittman from the NYTIMES was saying every soup tastes better with a little bacon and having no bacon I added pancetta from my last visit to Arthur Ave. in The BRONX) - You don't even have to have those certain vegetables - onion, carrot, celery - whatever you have in frig. Add broth - today I had College Inn low sodium chicken broth - 32oz box and half of another - a 14oz can of diced tomatoes and some type of carb - today I cooked barley in advance and threw that in there but you can use any kind of pasta or rice or QUINOA. Just make sure you cook it first. I also baked some chicken and chopped that up. You could buy a rotisserie chicken and tear that apart or buy some chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper, olive oil  and some seasonings you like - bake in 400' oven for 35-40 minutes. This soup can become your own because you can make it what you like and with experience you might become famous and have your own food show.

Now, I'm going to see if I can slurp down some of this soup.

Nightmare on Elm Street!!!!!

Did you ever have a day??? Today I had such a day. With my bags unpacked, my camera on the shelf and the days open before me I signed up to be a substitute classroom aide right here in River City.  I have to say I have been on the list for probably a year and a half and every time they call - I HANG UP.....but I know my days are numbered and I have to get out there - so they called last night and I accepted a job at one of the grade schools beginning at 845AM and ending at noon........how tough can that be? I was still remorseful - I wouldn't be able to sit and read the paper for 2 hours with my coffee in my comfy chair.....I wouldn't be able to get my 2.5 mile walk in....

One of my first thoughts were 'what to wear?' - my feet have not been in real shoes since June (except for sneakers) and I really don't have nice work clothes anymore - as it turns out this was not a problem to be concerned about - I showed up 15 minutes early in my nice black pants and black and white sweater and pearls......rude awakening - HELLO?????? They directed me to the preschool wing where I opened an interior door and was greeted by 8 4yr. old autistic kids.........they were screaming and running around and crying and so I started doing the same thing.......did I need to be here?  Was it noon yet? where is the beach? Where do I put my purse? Where is the Purell?

THEN they asked me could I stay till 330? SHOOT! Of course, I said yes - these people needed assistance and truth be told - I ended up falling in love with these little creatures - they were the cutest little things - 7 boys and 1 girl (OK the girl was a screamer and very needy but I ended up jelling with her too) - at the end of the day I was exhausted to say the least - each child had their own aide and these women were phenomenal - so dedicated - I expected to sit around and chat with all these moms and gossip all day - not the case, they engaged those children every second of the day - it was wonderful to see and I hope the parents appreciate these dedicated women - unbelievable..........and at the end of the day when I had to put my little Ryan with the dimples on the little bus to go to DAY CARE  I wanted to take him home - he just seemed so fragile.......

So that was my day which ended at 330PM so I know nobody feels sorry for me - I had 6 full hours of not spending 1 minute thinking about myself and my blood sugar or my family or whatever -for the first time in 2 years I went to work.........so I really don't have a plan for dinner - I'm just going to have Tilapia - leftover pasta with zucchini/ tomatoes and the last of the corn on the cob and oh yea - WINE!!!!!!

BAM!

So I'm at the Portland Airport - which is REALLY NICE - there is a guy playing the piano (I feel like I'm at Nordstroms) and then as you move further down the moving sidewalks there is a another guy playing a VIOLIN!! They have WIFI all throughout too. I took the MAX (metro) for $2.50 from our B and B - 30 minute ride. So easy except for my heavy bags!!

This morning Mike and I parted - we have been roommates for 10 days - I'm sure he's going to miss me - he's probably crying at work missing his mom.......don't you think? He was a great traveler and we saw so much this past week - too much beauty to even take in - but the best part was having that 1 on 1 with my youngest son.......It's funny how one day you're making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your son for grade school and the next day AT THAT SAME KITCHEN COUNTER you are making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a trip across the country with that same little boy....HE'LL BE FINE - HE'LL FIGURE IT OUT....

Arriving At Destination On Left

The GPS (I call her Karen) told us we arrived at our destination, Portland, OR on Saturday evening the 18th of September. We knew this because it became cloudy and drizzly about an hour outside of the city. This, apparently, is the norm for Portland and don't bother using an umbrella. People just seem to tough it out and get a really good jacket and walk OR bike. This is a HUGE place for bikers......nice wide streets with bike lanes and the bikers actually adhere to the rules of the road and stop at red lights and for pedestrians.

The drive from Boise was about another 8 hrs - what's 8 hrs anymore? NOTHING.... it was another spectacular trip once we got into more western Oregon. We followed the path of Lewis and Clark along the Columbia River (2nd largest river in the US the first being the Mississippi) The coast was a winding cliff with waterfalls and mountains - gorgeous. I think I am jaded now with the vistas around here - I am going to kill myself when I get back to FLAT NJ - thank GOD we have our beautiful beaches and wonderful people (I have to say there are a lot of homeless people out here - a lot of them are young girls just begging - and older folks too .....We're not used to seeing that since Philly and NYC cleaned up their act)

We are staying at a lovely old Victorian B and B called the Lion and the Rose. The Innkeepers are Dusty and Steve and they couldn't be more welcoming or more interested in Michael and why he is here. HOWEVER if anyone saw our room they would throw up - you can't get anymore flowers or pink pink pink or knick knacks in a double room with twin beds.......Mike is like a bull in a china shop - slamming doors and tromping around and knocking little bows and other 'stuff' to the floor. You can't help it - it's everywhere.

Mary, Mike's girlfriend came to meet us on Sunday and she was full of information about Craigslist and Target and getting around town - she is an hour and a 1/2 south of here and working for Americorps as well. Those crazy kids went off on their own and I took the FREE max line down to the Saturday Market (even tho it was Sunday) they have this every wknd and it's huge - music, food, all sorts of cool things to buy - like a giant Flea Market. I, of course was in heaven!

If you come to Portland you have to go the Cadillac Cafe for Sunday Brunch - If I didn't know any better I would have thought I was in NYC except for the prices. The food was delicious and they have an actual Cadillac on the premises. They served neat breakfast martinis too - the Cadillac with bacon infused vodka and Kahlua and something else. I had a delicious fresh omelet with spinach and fontina and bacon and tomatoes for HALF the price it would be at Balthazar! This is one of the reasons they say Portland has so many people between 18-34. They are attracted to the outdoor lifestyle but also how reasonable it is.

Anyway today was Mike's 1st day of WORK!!!!!! He is working at the Clackamass Community College in their Renewable Energy and Sustainability Initiative - something like that. He doesn't have a place to stay yet so he'll be living out of his car...

Tomorrow Destination - HOME

This Great Country of Ours

Last we spoke we were gearing up for Yellowstone National Park.....One of the first things we saw was this Bison - he was with his friends and they were just grazing along side the road.....the whole day was amazing - pristine weather and not a whole lot of people added to the majesty of the park - I was not prepared for the beauty surrounding us - water falls and valleys and mountains and geysers and wild flowers...not to mention how well-maintained everything was. We even saw a bear! We were driving along the road and noticed cars stopped for nothing and then realized everyone was staring up into the glen and there was a black bear just looking back......each car took a picture and moved on - it was a riot...what I noticed was a lot of older folks (meaning 70s maybe) - the wife had a camera and the husband had a camera and they would just do their own thing.......a lot of cameras which got me thinking that we need to enjoy this and not worry about the picture all the time - so by the time we got to Old Faithful (the famous geyser) - I enjoyed the moment when it actually gushed - very cool - but I also got some good video and pictures!

We spent ABOUT 8 HOURS IN THAT PARK - Mike was in and out of the car - he was having a BALLLLLLLL!!

We dumped the Honda and picked up this little ditty along the way......this is the way to tour Wyoming.....

Anyway I was exhausted by the time we exited the park which was late late - by the time we got to the Grand Tetons it was just about sunset which made it all worth it - breathtaking....

We pulled into Jackson Hole too late to enjoy a dinner out so we ordered take-out from Bubba's BBQ - don't do it - just go to bed......you'll feel better.

OK so I know I said Yellowstone and everything was so unbelievable and that's all true but the really great thing about Wyoming is Jackson Hole - such a COOL town!!!!! Unfortunately, we couldn't spend a lot of time here so I didn't have a lot of time to do some damage in their shopping area - but this place has everything - 1 shop is cuter than the other plus great restaurants - we went to THE BUNNERY for breakfast - a definite for anyone coming here - there was a line out the door - delicious Starbucks coffee and all home made pastries and granola - it would remind you of Penny Cluse in Burlington - delicious .....so that got us going and I'm thinking we'll shop a little bit before we depart and Mike says (shades of his dad) I'm going to climb that mountain and I'll see you after you shop - fine with me - turns out he hiked to the top, no problem - I shopped, no problem and before you know it  - WE'RE BACK IN THE CAR -

The drive to Boise, Idaho was a very pleasant surprise - we thought we would just zip on down the highway - instead we took a "less traveled route" and saw how vast Idaho is - at first it is beautiful mountains and switchback roads and trees and even many babbling brooks and then all of a sudden it's a flat wheat field that goes on forever and then hay and flat, flat, flat.......and cows and buffalo............then it's nice and quiet and an antelope or gazelle or elk ran in front of us very gracefully.......we're not sure what the heck it was!

We arrived in Boise late as usual and would have crashed but we had a good recommendation for a restaurant 4 minutes away in downtown Boise so we checked it out - A GREAT FIND - it was called Asiago - an Italian bistro offering very fresh and different food - we had a nice night after a very looooong interesting day...

Tomorrow is our last leg - we are expected to arrive in Portland in the evening sometime - It's hard to believe - we thought we were just driving around and it turns out we are going somewhere.....

Good Morning YELLOWSTONE!!!!!

We arrived in Cody, Wy last night around 7 after a breath taking ride from Colorado to Wy.......it's just a majestic part of the US - vast and wide and NOTHING GOING ON for miles and miles and then mountains and vistas and sunsets and deer and cows and did I mention we listen to PHISH quite a lot during these nice rides - it's all by design......

During all these days Mike is also wheeling and dealing with his new best friends - the people on Craigslist with whom he is trying to live with in Portland - we are in and out of service for the cell phone so sometimes this is quite hilarious trying to talk to these people and seeing if it will be a good fit - I'm confident by the time we pull into Oregon he will have a place to put his pillow (cause that's all he has)

Did I mention that a good thing to have on a trip like this is an Iphone or Ipad? I would recommend this to anyone attempting to travel across the country - it would be informative to know what the heck you're passing and what is the Great Plate Archway Monument on 80 West and what's the significance of Boysen State Park in WY other than it is magnificent and treacherous driving and what was that movie with Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt where the brother falls in love with the girl and brings her to his family ranch and she falls for Brad after the brother dies in the war and how the heck do these truck drivers stay awake for all these miles for the love of GOD???? Of course, we could always buy a Lonely Planet book or if husband Harry was along he would know it all - he is a walking font of info on every bit of minutia and my niece, Bridget would know the movie in a minute!

We are off to the Grand Tetons today and Yellowstone National Park and will sleep in Jackson Hole tonight!

Cornhuskers

Why do we need all this corn????? You wouldn't believe the corn growing in these United States! The corn in Iowa was bad enough on Day Whatever but the corn in Nebraska was endless.......it is soothing to look at for a WHILE but then you fall into a daze and like Mike says "no wonder a lot of these people are hooked on meth out here." But to be fair, the people could not have been nicer in Nebraska.....they would do anything for you and are so interested in what you're doing. We drove across the entire state with a few stops at some sweet truck stops and then moved on.....

But it all became worth it as we drove into Ft. Collins.....such a neat town and the first stop was the New Belgium Brewery home of Fat Tire - thanks to my nephew, Timmy Garvey and his sage advice, we arrived just in time for the FREE Happy Hour and Tasting........we were given 3 tokens each and the choice of any brew to taste.....we sat at the bar and partaked - I usually just like my light beer but everything I tried was smooth and delicious - the bartender was really nice (originally from MA) and steered us to the perfect place for dinner that night....after checking in to our generic Marriott we ventured to the old town of Ft. Collins and went to Lucky Joes for dinner - sat outside in gorgeous weather - Mike had his 3rd favorite meal of his young life ......pulled pork dressed in a coca cola barbecue reduction sauce placed on a 4 cheese mac and cheese - to die for - really rich!!!!!!

Ft. Collins is a really neat town - would remind you of Burlington, VT - college town - I had the best coffee this morn at Snooze in the old city - it almost rivaled OC NJ - coffee from Guatemala. Mike had the largest buritto in the state!

Then we went to Colorado State U - and OK I DID BUY A FEW THINGS AT THE BOOKSTORE - Home of the Rams (not Fordham - but we are out WEST people!!)

EZ Pass is OVER

Today we basically spent the day in the car. We knew it was going to be a long day but really had no idea how BIG Iowa is! We started out in IN on Ronald Reagan Memorial Parkway and continued through Iowa (home of John Wayne) and stopped off to check out the University of Iowa - and yes, I did stop in the bookstore BUT I RESISTED. Then we continued on to Madison County and looked for Clint and his pick-up truck.......

The ride was easy while the weather was sunny and clear - we started off with some Moth and This American Life podcasts and moved onto the ipod with indie groups like Signal Path and Local Native (you always have good music with Mike)and then the drive got really boring with corn pasture after corn pasture (it was beautiful in the beginning). We started listening to To Kill A Mockingbird read by Sissy Spacek. Mike never read it and I only saw the movie. She is really good reading it and it just goes with the landscape somehow - we are enjoying it so far.

Pretty much these pictures depict Day Three.

Day Two - Chicago

Day Two was spent on the Ohio Turnpike. Not a bad road and we like it even more because they still take EZPASS although they call it IZOOM out here and it still works.

We stopped in South Bend, IN to check out Notre Dame - it was awesome as expected but everybody who knows me knows that I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Mt. St. Mary's is just as gorgeous......

We couldn't have picked a better day to tour the campus - sunny and cool - kids riding bikes all over the nice wide paths. The coolest thing about the place (besides the revered stadium, of course and the library) was the bookstore!! I have never seen such a huge bookstore - 2 floors and mammoth. This is me in the bookstore - "I'm not going to buy anything here - I didn't go here - I can buy ND stuff anywhere." Hello????? I'm in a store and I'm a tourist - we bought 2 shirts - BUT you won't find these shirts in NJ - they are cool.

We headed back onto the turnpike - destination Chicago. The ride should have been under 2 hours but we hit major traffic closer to the city. I think a White Sox game had just ended. We ended up at the Millennium Park in downtown Chicago because Mike wanted to see the Cloud Gate (or the mirrored bean) - this was a sight to see - apparently everyone knows about this and a photographer's dream - Mike went to town. There was a lot of neat artwork in display all throughout the park . We walked down to Lake Michigan and looked at the boats - much like Ocean City, NJ but the people on the boats talk like they're from the Midwest.

Mike met up with his college buddy, Lenny and I went off on my own to the bed and breakfast Harry set me up with in Oak Park (a suburb). This is where Frank Lloyd Wright designed his house and that of his MISTRESS - it's a beautiful neighborhood - full of huge trees and people walking their babies and running. Unfortunately, the lady who runs the B and B (called the Ghingko Tree) is visiting her daughter and unable to serve breakfast this morning. This is a tragedy - why else do you go to a B and B? I walked up to a coffee shop today to get my coffee.

Next stop - Lincoln, Nebraska -

Day One

A great day on the road! We departed around 730AM from Marlton, NJ and arrived at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH around 330PM. Along the way was easy going turnpike driving.... we had NPR to keep us entertained in the morning and then we put on The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and when that got too heavy and we had eaten lunch and Michael LET ME DRIVE we put on some Lotus and he snoozed for a bit and before you know it My Morning Jacket is on and we are wide awake finding our way to the Hall of Fame - parking was a breeze and cheap by city standards - 10 bucks and a close walk! The Hall of Fame is a tourist trap, no doubt, but still really interesting..... the actual guitars of Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison and all Hendrix's outfits (unbelievable) plus the lyrics to the songs in their actual handwriting on looseleaf....John Lennon too - and then a whole exhibit on Bruce Springsteen on the top floor - his very first concerts in '74/75 and candid interviews plus letters from his mom to the papers who were writing about him in the late seventies - so cool....The whole Born To Run album was one long Saturday Night down the shore (in Bruce's words)....and a great gift shop where I picked up a few little things - I'm such a tourist - Mike wanted nothing!! He's a cheap date. BUT WE DID SEE THE HOT DOG THAT PHISH RODE IN ON DURING THEIR NEW YEARS EVE '94 CONCERT AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN........day over as far as mike was concerned .

It's a lot of fun traveling with your son all day - I am lucky.

IT'S OVER

The summer is over - this is what my sons keep telling me and everybody else who knows what they're talking about. Apparently Labor Day is the end as we know it even tho the weather is still beautiful at the shore and the water is warm.....such a shame.

So we are onto a new phase - Mike is moving to Portland, OR for about a year to work with Americorps. He tells us he will need a car out there and since we didn't want him driving by himself I volunteered to assist him - I find myself with no job at the moment and lots of time to see the sights! Mike and Harry weren't too enthused with the idea initially (in fact they laughed in my face) but John thought it was a great idea and soon we were planning a trip across the country nancy style.........meaning marriotts and no tents!!

We begin tomorrow....no beach for a while!

Quinoa

Mike has been adding Quinoa (Keen-wa) to his Oatmeal all summer. It's a half and half deal and maybe would include a banana or peach or some blueberries...

I always thought of this whole grain super food as a savory substitute for rice or pasta so I was surprised when he was using it for breakfast and he was surprised I was using it for anything else........funny how these things go.........I just knew it was a super food and very low on the glycemic index which is good for the diabetic and anyone else looking for a full fiber meal - which we should all be doing and it really is good - as good as brown rice!

I was at Whole Foods the other day searching for Quinoa and this lady approached me to see if I had ever cooked the stuff before - she was a very crunchy sort of person (maybe right out of burlington, vt or portland, or) - she offered her insight which I gladly soaked up........look for your quinoa in the bulk foods section (cheaper)......I asked her how she cooks hers................she sautees onion, carrots and celery till they are carmelized in olive oil then adds the quinoa to toast  and then adds some vegetarian broth to cover and brings to boil and down to simmer and covers and cooks for 20 minutes...........When I got home I sauteed peppers and onions instead of carrots because they are available local now and very fresh.......I got some red, yellow and green and added chicken broth instead of the vegetarian.................Turned out really well - Harry and Mike lapped it up - I also roasted Atlantic Cod from Whole Foods.........350 bake for 20 minutes after brushing olive oil and salt and pepper on fish......served it with the corn salsa they are featuring these days at Trader Joes. It all turned out really well with a tom jerry tomato salad with mozzarella and fresh croutons smothered in balsamic vinegar and olive oil..........mmmmmmm

Marathon Ready Pancakes

Ok Harry is training for his 4th Marathon and looking for the most delicious carb ready meal he can eat before his loooooong training runs. He just finished Born To Run by Christopher McDougal who talks about all the runners before us and what they ate in their normal day.

So he mixed up some delicious pancakes this morning to go with his long run on the boardwalk. To Whole Wheat Pancake Mix he added some cornmeal, cooked brown rice and bananas..... They smelled really good and it seemed like everyone liked them. They were very filling and we have some left over to freeze for the next run - a good idea and even more delicious with some fresh jersey peaches.........

Rum and Tonics

Everybody is always looking for the drink of the summer.....I used to like Margaritas, like everyone else, but I kind of had too many of them.......then the Mojito faze rolled in and that just seems like way too much sugar for a diabetic....

Of course, my favorite beverage in the summer is a Miller High Life Light.....it must be freezing cold and preferably come in a bottle......the best thing to have with a High Life is peanuts in a shell fresh from the boardwalk in Ocean City - they are usually warm and ready to crack open on the beach...........now when you come home from the beach the drink to make is a Rum and Tonic........Cruzan Rum (first imbibed on a visit to St Croix a million years ago) is the rum of choice - no other rum even entices me.....and some nice new tonic AND A FRESH LIME.................if any of these elements are not there - then just stick with your High Life - you'll still have a good time ---------------and here are some of my favorite people pre-gaming with a rum and tonic on a beautiful summer evening in Ocean City, NJ on their way to Sea Isle, NJ - Niece, Bridget and friend, Amanda and girlfriend, Missy with son, Johnny............OH THOSE CRAZY DAYZZZZZZ OF SUMMER....