3 Birthdays, Gardening, & Part 2 of July

We have been so excited over our garden!  I can't help but take photos of Tom & I with our veggies because we are so proud of our crops!  We have so far eaten tomatoes, cucumbers, & eggplant that we've grown ourselves.  

My eggplant Parmesan came out so good tonight!  My mom used to press the eggplant under a pile of dishes to get the bitterness out, but I learned from my school's custodian (who was also an awesome cook) to salt the eggplant.  I promise it is the sweetest eggplant you will ever eat if you try it!  Salt each slice and put it in a strainer for 30 minutes.  The bitterness will "cry" off the eggplant.  Then rinse well and dry the slices before frying.  Yummy, eggplant Parmesan!  My dad had dinner with us tonight and we all loved our home grown eggplant! 

5 steps to Italian deliciousness!

Some other things I've been cooking...

I made a yummy chicken primavera with white wine, trying to replicate Tom's favorite meal from a local Italian restaurant.  

I made a salad, minus lettuce today with carrots, broccoli, celery, and garden grown cucumbers & tomatoes.  Then, I drizzled red wine vinegar dressing on the top, it was so yummy and easy!

I used our garden zucchini to make some zucchini fries! Tasty & fairly healthy!

Tom and I used our mason jar mugs from my co-worker Karen to have some ice-tea/lemonade!

I also attempted to use the BBQ (Tom's usually our griller) and made chicken wings.  I have decided grilling is a great way to cook!

 Tom and I celebrated the 5th year since our first date this past July 18th. Every year we go back to the Sonoma Grill, where we had our infamous "Are you Tom?"  "Are you Jamie?" moment...  We also wear our "first date" outfits too, Tom is so good to play along with me.  I hope they always fit us, even when we are seniors! This was our first time going to the new location, but I am glad it is still around!

I also had some fun girl time.  I got to see my old neighbors from when I lived at home.  Can you believe these 4 girls are the reason I wanted to become a teacher?  They used to be so little!

And I hosted a "Girls Night" filled with appetizers, desserts, prizes, and so much fun!

Tom and I also had a great time at the beach in Jamesport.  He used to have a boat there when he was younger so it is a favorite beach of his.  So pretty there!  

Maybe someday?

We celebrated 3 birthdays for three very special kids in my life.  Stevi's daughter Juliet turned 1.  I was the party photographer and had a blast!  

 And my nephew's turned 4 & 7.  I had so much fun making their cakes this year, monster trucks & dinos!  I hope to make their cakes every year!

 

Tom really liked these chainsaws they got.

 Lastly, so much has gone on regarding the Crochet Sale.  This year, for our 7th sale it will be "Crocheting, Crafting, & Cooking for a Cure."  The cookbook is at the publisher and is supposed to be here by the sale. I can't wait to see it in print and I am so appreciative of everyone who submitted a recipe.

I have decided that this year, instead of donating the money raised to the American Cancer Society, that I want to help real families.  I went to a really sad wake this past week.  My first Kindergarten aide's daughter passed away at only 39 years old, after battling cancer for 7 years.  She has 2 young boys and it was just devastating.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about them, so this year the money raised will go to families who have children under the age of 18 with a parent who has cancer or who has passed away from cancer.  They will be sponsored for a "Day of Fun", where they can have an awesome day, all expenses covered and get a break from cancer.  I am so proud of the thousands we've donated to the ACS, but now I am ready to help real families here on Long Island.  If you would like to nominate a family, reach out and let me know about them.  And please say a little prayer for Melanie's family...

The sale will be:

Saturday, September 13th from 10-5 at Hallockville Museum Farm: 6038 Sound Avenue Riverhead

They will be having a huge country fair and I am so happy and excited that I found out today they accepted my application!!  We are going to do it big this year mom....I love you!

July So Far = Summer Fun!

The month of July has been filled with house projects and summer fun!  Here are some pictures of Tom trimming the giant tree in front of our house.  The branches were hanging so low that it was hard to see the house and the branches were also covering our driveway quite a bit.  Then we used our town pass to fill up our pickup with all of the branches.  Tom did a great job allowing more of our house to be shown, but we still have a lot of landscaping left to do!

I also had an awesome "play date" with Stevi and her kids Leo & Juliet.  We played at the sprinkler park and I had so much fun running with Leo and watching him laugh as I got splashed by random kids!  It felt good to cool off with two of my favorite kids!  Then, we went back to Stevi's house, dined on a McDonald's lunch (you should see Juliet attack a chicken nugget!), and overall I loved playing with them!  I hope to have a lot more play dates with them this summer!

I've also been trying to do some creative cooking.  I haven't eaten a whole artichoke in so long, but my mom used to make them often in the summer.  I tried to remember how she would make them.  I drizzled olive oil, salt, pepper, and some garlic on top.  Then I let them cook in boiling water (not completely submerged) in boiling water until the leaves were tender. If you have never eaten a whole artichoke, it is a fun process.  You scrape each leaf with your teeth until you get down to the middle where the artichoke heart is hidden, which is the most delicious part.  Before you eat the heart though, make sure you scrape out the hairy part because it can be quite pinchy.

Along with the artichokes Tom grilled these beef, spinach, and cheese pinwheels and I made a salad.  

Our garden has also really been getting underway.  We have little green tomatoes and a lot of flowers on our cucumbers, eggplant, and pumpkins.  The corn is getting really tall too!  We love being farmers, can't wait until the veggies are ready to be picked!

I also made my dad's first month of treats from his Father's Day gift, sesame seed cookies!  Here is the recipe I used from Emeril:

 Ingredients

1 pound all-purpose flour (3 1/2 cups)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 pound vegetable shortening
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
1/2 pound sesame seeds

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl or pan, mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Add the shortening and work it in with your hands until well mixed. Add the eggs and vanilla, and 3/4 cup of water, and work in well. The dough should hold together but not be sticky. If needed, work in a little more water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Place the seeds in a shallow baking pan. Pinch off a small amount of dough, about the size of a small fist, and cover the remaining dough with a damp dish towel. Roll the dough out into a long rope, about 1-inch in diameter. Cut the dough into 2-inch pieces. Drip a small amount of water through a fine mesh sieve, and sprinkle over a small portion of the sesame seeds to wet them (but do not wet the seeds until they will be used). Roll the dough in the seeds, pressing slightly to make them adhere. Place the seeded dough onto a large ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven until the bottoms are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn the cakes over and place the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on cooling racks. Serve at room temperature, or keep in tins for up to 2 weeks.

We also had a fun 4th of July at Tom's aunt & uncle's house.  We made these fun pretzel rods dipped in white and dark chocolate and then sprinkled with red, white, & blue!

Last weekend, we had some local fun down at Riverhead Raceway.  It is really cool since Tom is a huge NASCAR fan that we can watch a real race so close by.  We got to see a few different races and then they ended the night with a fireworks show since it was 4th of July weekend.  If you would like to catch a race visit: Riverhead Raceway

On July 6, we went to Oysterpond's Heritage Day.  It was fun because we got to see an old-fashioned parade, they read the Declaration of Independence aloud, and the scenery was beautiful!  

We also got this really cool fountain for our deck in our backyard.  It is so relaxing and fun to listen to.

And another recipe I made was for this zucchini bites.  It was a recipe that Tom's friend Andrew's mom Donna, shared with me for my cookbook.  I am still working hard to type all of these recipes, but I am thrilled with how many awesome recipes friends and family have shared with me for my "Cooking for a Cure" cookbook.

I also made this cherry water, in an attempt to offer us a healthy but flavorful beverage.  I made it with sliced fresh cherries and just a little sugar.  

A cool restaurant to try out in Riverhead is Joe's Crab Shack.  It is a chain restaurant that we were very excited that they built out by us.  We had shrimp and it was really good!  And I got to take a photo with this giant fish.

I also made a cherry cobbler when I visited my sister-in-law and her cousins for lunch one day.  The recipe I used for this was also from Emeril.  It was really yummy!  The recipe I used is:
 Ingredients
Filling:

6 cups tart red cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Topping:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a saucepan combine filling ingredients and cook, stirring until bubbling and thickened. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish. Meanwhile, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until it is crumbly. Mix together egg and milk. Add to flour mixture and stir with a fork just until combined. Drop topping by tablespoonfuls onto filling. Bake for 25 minutes until browned and bubbly.

I also was so thrilled to be invited by my friend Katie (fellow teacher from my school and fellow blogger) and her mom Linda (loyal blog reader, love that she reads it!) to see the Band Perry at the Brookhaven Ampitheater.  We had so much fun!  We even had VIP bracelets which meant no port-a-potties for us!  To say the Perry siblings put on a great show would be an understatement!  Katie and I sang along the whole time and it was so much fun!





Lastly, Tom and I visited two local events today.  First we went to the Mattituck Love Lane Street Fair.  We had so much fun and bought this awesome North Fork sign for our loft.  Then, we went to Hallockville Museum to see the Long Island Antique Power Association's Tractor & Truck show.  Tom and I were in our glory with a day of country food, crafts, and tractors.

 I truly love the North Fork and couldn't be happier that Tom and I have made it our hometown.  Here was the sunset we saw today when taking our nightly walk by the cornfields.

Overall, July has been so busy!  Hope you are having a great summer so far!  Thanks for reading!