sea kittens

My dear friend Schwatts came to visit weekend before last. She's not only one of my favorite people on the planet, but also a/an:
-real good time
-awesome chef
-hi-freakin'-larious lady
-sweet as all get-out

I wanted to, nay, needed to make a fantastic lunch for her arrival. She's fed me so many fabulous meals over the years, taught me lots, and I wanted to impress her while making it all seem, you know, effortless.

She arrived at noon that Friday (I'd taken the day off), and Barbara got home from work not long after that. After a tour of our place, a little walk with the dogs, and some chatting, I got our lunch on the table. I made:
-watercress salad with fuji apples, Cypress Grove Purple Haze chevre and a lemon vinaigrette
-Spicy Autumn Vegetable Burgers with sharp cheddar on homemade hamburger buns
-carrot and sweet potato oven fries with chipotle-orange dipping sauce
-chewy-chocolate ginger cookies for dessert


Those hamburger buns were amazing. One of my favorite things I've ever baked. They came out so well, and were so soft and tender. Loved them! I think I might make some more this week.


The cookies are heavenly. I made them for my holiday cookie exchange at work. They have such a fantastic flavor and texture, and the little crust of sugar is super. YUM.


After lunch we just visited until it was time for our next meal--a stupendous feast at Eleven. I was extra excited about the dinner because they'd just received a really fantastic review the day before.

I'd been considering starting to include some seafood in my diet for a while. A month or so ago I tried a few bites of a delicious tuna dish E-dawg was having at Kaya. So, I decided to indulge at Eleven. I know that they have options that are sustainable, and preparations that honor the ingredients.

But, I never do anything halfway. I had four courses of seafood. It was stellar. A truly memorable meal. My guts hated me for about a day and a half while they were readjusting to fish and the like, but it was truly fantastic. Eleven's food is so thoughtful and so precise that I think I had an Eleven-hangover that still lingers.

Here's the menu:
1/2 dozen Long Island Sound oysters on the half shell
(we each got a cocktail - mine was the Badlands-hattan and she had something cucumbery)

then the Chef's Tasting with Wine pairing:
-Spicy Tuna Tartar & Yellowtail Sashimi
kumquat ponzu, seaweed salad, lemon miso, cucumber, radishes, spicy soy
(the ponzu was served in a tiny little kumquat half!)
served with champagne (Leon Palais Blanc de Blanc, Doue La Fontaine)

Wild Striped Bass
calamari, Israeli cous cous, oven roasted & sundried tomatoes, watercress and caperberries
served with some delicious red wine that tasted like dried cherries and smoke (2003 Poderi La Collina Platinum Nebbiolo-Barbera)

Chatham Cod
Jonah crab risotto, forest mushrooms, leeks
served with a really great white wine (not sure what this one was, but I just emailed the restaurant to ask)

Black Forest Trifle
dense chocolate cake, dried cherries, Kirsh, milk chocolate cream, a little fudge on the bottom and a cocoa nib tuile
served with an unbelievable sparkling dessert wine (2007 Castello Banfi Brachetto d'Acqul Rosa Regale)

Wow. Just wow. Chef Derek Stevens is a rock star.


So, anyhow, to get to the title of this post, Katherine (aka "Schwatts") said that she'd read that PETA are now referring to fish/seafood as "sea kittens" to discourage people from eating them. And, we talked about the irony in that anytime anything is Super Cute we want to bite and/or eat it--you know, like babies' toes and, well, kittens. Oh, those wacky PETA-ers. I was down with them when I was younger, but the parade of blatantly sexist shock ads over the years, among other antics, soured me on them. But, that said, I do feel a little guilt at eating fish. I've been a vegetarian on and off since I was 13, largely because of the treatment of animals. But, I've also constantly and consistently missed the fish. My plan now is to occasionally eat seafood, but still primarily with a vegetarian diet. And, to make sure that the seafood I eat is sustainable. Just fyi.

Okay, so back to the incredible Schwatts. I mentioned to her that I have a problem with groceries. I buy A Lot of groceries. I spend a lot of time reading cookbooks and food magazines and food blogs and such, and every time I read about some new exotic or esoteric ingredient I feel like I.Must.Have.It. Even though, I already have a pretty bangin' pantry. I want to change this because I want to spend less and not overflow my space. So, she marched me into the kitchen with some boxes of glass jars and a sharpie, and we went through the entire kitchen--pantry, freezer, refrigerator--and cleaned out stuff that was old and/or unused and labeled and dated everything. And, then we went grocery shopping, and got some things to make some bulk snacks for the week. She made an enormous fruit salad, and we roasted four pans of veggies. She labeled all my leftovers. It was brilliant and such a lovely sight to behold! I feel so much more organized, and prepared to cook from my beautiful and well-stocked pantry. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Schwattzie-Bear.

I took fruit salad to work every day, and some incarnation of the roasted veggies. Here are some pizzas I made last week. One used the roasted veg, the other some sauce from a big batch I made, and I made a big batch of pizza dough, and froze some, so we've been able to just grab it and make a quick lunch or dinner any time.


I'm trying to be better about planning out our meals ahead of time, and having yummy stuff already ready to cook and eat. AND, trying to eat down the huge stockpile of food from the pantry.

Last night I made a variation of this wonderfully simple recipe from Mark Bittman's column "The Minimalist" in the NYT. I started my water boiling with some carrot, onion and garlic, and then swapped out the rice wine vinegar for an umeboshi vinegar, added cubed nigari tofu, swapped out the egg noodles for soba, and added some frozen peas right before serving. All told it probably took me twenty minutes, and it was completely delicious (and pretty low-fat and low-cal) and super fragrant. I brought the leftovers for lunch today, and it was even better. I love this recipe!

sea kittens

My dear friend Schwatts came to visit weekend before last. She's not only one of my favorite people on the planet, but also a/an:
-real good time
-awesome chef
-hi-freakin'-larious lady
-sweet as all get-out

I wanted to, nay, needed to make a fantastic lunch for her arrival. She's fed me so many fabulous meals over the years, taught me lots, and I wanted to impress her while making it all seem, you know, effortless.

She arrived at noon that Friday (I'd taken the day off), and Barbara got home from work not long after that. After a tour of our place, a little walk with the dogs, and some chatting, I got our lunch on the table. I made:
-watercress salad with fuji apples, Cypress Grove Purple Haze chevre and a lemon vinaigrette
-Spicy Autumn Vegetable Burgers with sharp cheddar on homemade hamburger buns
-carrot and sweet potato oven fries with chipotle-orange dipping sauce
-chewy-chocolate ginger cookies for dessert


Those hamburger buns were amazing. One of my favorite things I've ever baked. They came out so well, and were so soft and tender. Loved them! I think I might make some more this week.


The cookies are heavenly. I made them for my holiday cookie exchange at work. They have such a fantastic flavor and texture, and the little crust of sugar is super. YUM.


After lunch we just visited until it was time for our next meal--a stupendous feast at Eleven. I was extra excited about the dinner because they'd just received a really fantastic review the day before.

I'd been considering starting to include some seafood in my diet for a while. A month or so ago I tried a few bites of a delicious tuna dish E-dawg was having at Kaya. So, I decided to indulge at Eleven. I know that they have options that are sustainable, and preparations that honor the ingredients.

But, I never do anything halfway. I had four courses of seafood. It was stellar. A truly memorable meal. My guts hated me for about a day and a half while they were readjusting to fish and the like, but it was truly fantastic. Eleven's food is so thoughtful and so precise that I think I had an Eleven-hangover that still lingers.

Here's the menu:
1/2 dozen Long Island Sound oysters on the half shell
(we each got a cocktail - mine was the Badlands-hattan and she had something cucumbery)

then the Chef's Tasting with Wine pairing:
-Spicy Tuna Tartar & Yellowtail Sashimi
kumquat ponzu, seaweed salad, lemon miso, cucumber, radishes, spicy soy
(the ponzu was served in a tiny little kumquat half!)
served with champagne (Leon Palais Blanc de Blanc, Doue La Fontaine)

Wild Striped Bass
calamari, Israeli cous cous, oven roasted & sundried tomatoes, watercress and caperberries
served with some delicious red wine that tasted like dried cherries and smoke (2003 Poderi La Collina Platinum Nebbiolo-Barbera)

Chatham Cod
Jonah crab risotto, forest mushrooms, leeks
served with a really great white wine (not sure what this one was, but I just emailed the restaurant to ask)

Black Forest Trifle
dense chocolate cake, dried cherries, Kirsh, milk chocolate cream, a little fudge on the bottom and a cocoa nib tuile
served with an unbelievable sparkling dessert wine (2007 Castello Banfi Brachetto d'Acqul Rosa Regale)

Wow. Just wow. Chef Derek Stevens is a rock star.


So, anyhow, to get to the title of this post, Katherine (aka "Schwatts") said that she'd read that PETA are now referring to fish/seafood as "sea kittens" to discourage people from eating them. And, we talked about the irony in that anytime anything is Super Cute we want to bite and/or eat it--you know, like babies' toes and, well, kittens. Oh, those wacky PETA-ers. I was down with them when I was younger, but the parade of blatantly sexist shock ads over the years, among other antics, soured me on them. But, that said, I do feel a little guilt at eating fish. I've been a vegetarian on and off since I was 13, largely because of the treatment of animals. But, I've also constantly and consistently missed the fish. My plan now is to occasionally eat seafood, but still primarily with a vegetarian diet. And, to make sure that the seafood I eat is sustainable. Just fyi.

Okay, so back to the incredible Schwatts. I mentioned to her that I have a problem with groceries. I buy A Lot of groceries. I spend a lot of time reading cookbooks and food magazines and food blogs and such, and every time I read about some new exotic or esoteric ingredient I feel like I.Must.Have.It. Even though, I already have a pretty bangin' pantry. I want to change this because I want to spend less and not overflow my space. So, she marched me into the kitchen with some boxes of glass jars and a sharpie, and we went through the entire kitchen--pantry, freezer, refrigerator--and cleaned out stuff that was old and/or unused and labeled and dated everything. And, then we went grocery shopping, and got some things to make some bulk snacks for the week. She made an enormous fruit salad, and we roasted four pans of veggies. She labeled all my leftovers. It was brilliant and such a lovely sight to behold! I feel so much more organized, and prepared to cook from my beautiful and well-stocked pantry. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Schwattzie-Bear.

I took fruit salad to work every day, and some incarnation of the roasted veggies. Here are some pizzas I made last week. One used the roasted veg, the other some sauce from a big batch I made, and I made a big batch of pizza dough, and froze some, so we've been able to just grab it and make a quick lunch or dinner any time.


I'm trying to be better about planning out our meals ahead of time, and having yummy stuff already ready to cook and eat. AND, trying to eat down the huge stockpile of food from the pantry.

Last night I made a variation of this wonderfully simple recipe from Mark Bittman's column "The Minimalist" in the NYT. I started my water boiling with some carrot, onion and garlic, and then swapped out the rice wine vinegar for an umeboshi vinegar, added cubed nigari tofu, swapped out the egg noodles for soba, and added some frozen peas right before serving. All told it probably took me twenty minutes, and it was completely delicious (and pretty low-fat and low-cal) and super fragrant. I brought the leftovers for lunch today, and it was even better. I love this recipe!

i solemnly swear

I really do. I solemnly swear to blog some time this weekend. I have SO much to share!

-a truly memorable meal at Eleven
-a visit and kitchen overhaul from my dearest Schwatts
-some baking adventures
-some other assorted good eatin'
-a change in the way i'm eating
-trying (and struggling) to get back on track

a big day!

It really is a big day for me. I am executing my first-ever paying personal chef gig. I've already learned a few things about timing prep, setting prices, etc. And, I think it's going to be a smashing and delicious success (keep your fingers crossed just in case though, k?).

Here's the menu (the blacked out portion is the client's info):


Like the logo? I'm pleased as punch. But, I am kind of a nervous wreck. My friend Schwatts has an Aunt Fran that gets a little out of control in the kitchen. Whenever she feels like that, she says that she's "Aunt Frannin' it". I'm totally Aunt Frannin' it today.

I'm delivering at 7pm, and then I will be a relieved and free lady, and will have a lovely and relaxing dinner at Abay with PYT, and then go check out the Queer Songwriters Night at Modern Formations. Good times. You should go--Ember Swift, Tracy Drach and Stefanny!

In other news, I just signed up for my 2008 CSA! I feel super excited to start imagining fresh, local, organic, delicious produce! I've done Kretschmann's for several years, but tried to get into Mildred's Daughters last year. They have a very small number of slots (and a portion of those are work-exchanges), so I wasn't able to get in last year, but just found out I got in this year! They are the only working farm within the city of Pittsburgh, women-owned and run, and they also do things a little differently. You actually go to the farm to pick up (fun!), and get to select your items, sorta farmers' market style. I cannot wait. I mean, I love Kretschmann's, but I'm excited to check out the 'daughters. E-dawg and I are going to split a share, and take turns making pick-ups. Hooray!

Other big news for this weekend is that I'm attending this workshop to be hypnotized to quit smoking and lose weight. I really, really hope it takes. Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend, pals!

hello, my lovelies!

How I've missed you!

Okay, actually I was having way too good of a time with Schwatts in York to miss anything. I didn't want to come home! First of all, it was just great to see my gal since I hadn't seen her since our beach trip. She's one of my very favorite people on earth, and I don't know anyone else like her. If there were any justice in this world I would be able to clone an extra to keep in my pocket at all times. Plus, even before she went to culinary school she was one of my favorite cooks ever--always beautiful and delicious food infused with love.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we had some wine, ran some errands, and then came back home and made dinner. She made grilled pizzas--three varities! I was in charge of rolling out pizza dough, and she was in charge of making the magic happen. My favorite variety was arugula, pears, honey, olive oil and brie. Oh, dang. It was amazing! And, then we had a tomato-veggie version and a pepperoni-veggie version for her main man, Joe.






The next morning she let me in on her plan of attack (personal cheffing takes a LOT of organization), and we shopped, made sauces and then made ourselves a fabulous dinner. Firstly, I gotta say, I'd never made homemade mayo before. I've made vegan mayo, but never the real deal. It makes such a difference! We made a regular mayo and then an herbed aioli--which is one of the Best Things Ever To Touch My Taste Buds EVER! Seriously, rich, fragrant, gorgeously velvety. I'll never buy store-bought mayo again (unfortunately I *just* bought a jar of Hellman's). I could've eaten a bowl of it!

That evening we made ourselves a pasta dish with lots of veggies and a rich cream sauce (I've always been terrified of making cream sauces and gravies, but Schwatts let me do it with her guidance). It turned out so well that I forgot to take pictures! Suffice it to say, it was heaven with a side of garlic bread. For real. We ate it, and then both passed out on our respective couches moments after she said, "now, let's not fall asleep out here...".

The next morning we got up early and went to the local culinary school where she rents a kitchen (for her Jon & Kate clients since she can't cook there), and whipped up a Chicken and Veg Soba salad with peanut sauce, scalloped potatoes, roasted asparagus and crabcakes (with the glorious herbed aioli). And, I got to have her teach me to make a roux (for the potatoes), which is another one of those creamy things that I'm a-scared of. I meant, again, to snap some photos, but forgot until we'd already cooled and packaged everything. But, it looked gorgeous and delicious. It was so fun to get to work in a big kitchen like that, and so fun to cook with Katherine (aka Schwatts). I normally get all uptight if there are peeps in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking, but we worked like a well-oiled machine (well, I thought so, she might have been telling me to get offa her land! in her head). Then we stopped off for some giant and tasty burritos at a local spot.




That night for dinner she made a big salad (arugula, toasted pine nuts, parmesan, gorgonzola, red peppers, sugar snap peas, carrots, scallions) with a fantabulous pomegranate vinaigrette and I made some grilled cheese sandwiches on pumpernickel with triple cream brie and some hard farmers' goat cheese and, Schwatts' brilliant addition, herbs de Provence. It was heavenly. Really. The perfect meal.


I got to see all the ins and outs--the cooking, the scheduling, the writing menus, making grocery lists, cooling, packaging...I didn't get to do the delivery with her because they pushed it back a day, but it was all so much fun!

And, when we weren't cooking, we were hanging out with her fabulous fella, Joe, and their dog, Gus (The Gutmaster General, Baby Lambda--half lamb, half panda, Guttercup) and two cats--Natalie (who I dearly, dearly love and who has the sweetest cat face ever) and Goya (who is kind of a jerk, but has the cutest spotted back left foot and moments of pure sweetness).

I wish you could see her face straight-on because it is seriously gorgeous:


Goya, doing his every-two-minute ritual of being let in/out the door:


The Gutmaster General, and I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but he is huge. Seriously, his head is at least twice the size of mine. He's a St. Bernard, and weighs almost 150 pounds. And, all those pounds are comprised of sweetness and love. He could be the K-Bear's long lost soul mate.
Here he is taking up almost a whole couch:


And, here's his glamour shot on the porch:


Speaking of the porch, it's beautiful. They have a beautiful home, and the back porch is very reminiscent of our porch at the beach, but even bigger and more beautiful!


All in all, it was a dream visit. Katherine and Joe are incredibly gracious hosts, have a lovely and comfortable home, anticipate the needs of their guest, and I learned a ton. I wish they would adopt me! Thank you, Schwattzie-Bear!

let the games begin!

I just had one good thing happen, one bad.

The bad is that I'm done with pet-sitting Emmett and crew for now. It was heartbreaking to leave my little love. All of them are sweeties, but EK + Emmett = TLA! For reals! For keeps!

But, the good thing is that when I went over to Emmett's house at lunch, Kramer met me over there with two hot vegan reubens! Like, two for me! And, they were pipin' hot! 'Cause I was supposed to get in on some reuben action last night, but I was exhausted from lack of sleep the night before and begged off to curl up on the couch with Emmett and watch a bunch of episodes of Weeds on demand. So, Kramer did a wonderful good deed by not letting me miss out on the reuben fun. These are the reubens she made last night for herself, Mags and E-dawg. That is a pile o' love right there if I ever saw one, son! Kramer is a reuben fairy.


Actually, I ate pretty well all day yesterday. For lunch I got some take-out from a little spot near my work called the Orient Express (that link is actually to a not-so-good review, but what I had was excellent). I got the General Tso's Tofu, and it was outstanding. Not the overly sweet goopy sauce I usually see, but a bright sauce that was sweet and spicy. The tofu was lightly fried and was the texture of little clouds. The rice was great. The veggie eggroll was great. Yuh-um. I'll be back (and yes, I did say that in an Arnold voice. so?).

Guess what I'm gonna do this weekend (actually Sat-Tues)? I'm going to visit my friend Schwattzie-Bear in York, PA. She has a personal chef business there, and so I'm going to be her volunteer sous chef (we're actually cooking for a reality show--"Jon & Kate...Plus 8!", so that pretty much means I'm famous by association. For real. No, really. For real, as in reality show. Feel me?). It's gonna be so fun!

So, you're probably wondering where the games come into this post since the title is "let the games begin!", right? Well, when I was parting ways with Kramer this afternoon she said, "This is gonna get a mention in the blog, right?". And, it gave me an idea. You, dear readers, can now compete to do wonderful things for me so I'll mention you/it in the blog. I know you're probably really, really, really excited right now, and may not be thinking straight in the moment so here are some ideas. Please feel free to mix-n-match and make up your own. Please also feel free to do as many as you can. Because, through the wonders of the internets and this-here blog, you Could.Be.Famous!!!

--foot rubs!
--neck and shoulder rubs!
--cupcakes!
--mashed potatoes!
--pretending to be me and going to work in my place!
--being my personal driver!
--buttermilk biscuits!
--your own perfected and healthy version of java fried rice!
--a lifetime subscription to Spice Island!
--items from my amazon wishlist!

Have a good weekend, loves. See you on Wednesday!

housekeeping light

First things first, I got some spammy-ass comment the other day, so I changed things up so that you have to enter some code to prove you're not a bot. Hopefully you're not actually a bot, and won't mind this minor inconvenience. (But, if you are a bot, I'm sort of jealous--not that you spend your days spamming, but just 'cause being a [ro]bot sounds like fun. For one, you could dance like a mo-fo. Personally, I enjoy dancing like a mo-fo).

Can someone give me the definitive answer on a grammar question I constantly struggle with since I'm quite addicted to parentheticals? So, when you're ending a sentence--especially in a series of sentences--inside a set of parentheses, where does the punctuation go? What if the parenthetical is a question, but the sentence as a whole is a statement, of vice versa?

Okay, anyway. I'll wait for your answer while I continue about my blog post, and, will, abuse, commas, as, is, my, custom, and, will, not, care.

I was planning on posting yesterday, but took off at lunch to go to Pitt to attend the PA HB1400 hearing, and decided to stay and take the rest of the afternoon off. It was really interesting. The gist of the bill is that it will include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the language to prohibit discrimination for employment and housing. Luckily, in the 'Burgh, we already have that language, but most of the rest of the state does not. The committee requested more personal stories (of instance where discrimination has occurred based on these factors), so if you have a story, please share. Rep. Dan Frankel is sponsoring this bill, so I'm guessing his office would be a great place to send that, as well as to your very own personal legislator. Take action, peeps! It's important! Even if you don't have a personal story, please express your support!

In other news, I just was able to catch up with one of my favorite ladies on the planet, via the telephone, a couple days ago. Schwatts is one of my dearest friends, if not the nearest. She currently resides in York, PA, and recently started a personal chef business there: Dish! And, she's already super-busy and pretty much taking York by storm. So, I'm going to visit and volunteer as a sous chef for a couple days next month to get a taste of the Day In The Life of a Personal Chef! And, I get to have some Schwattzie-time. I can't wait!

Oh, and here is a pic of the Squash Spice Bread that I made the other day. It was very, very moist (like, puddin') and not very sweet, but good. But, I think it was especially wet because I used some water in baking the squash, and then didn't drain it after. I liked it, but next time I'd remove more of the moisture from the squash (or, um, just cook the squash like the recipe says to), add a little more sugar and a little dash of cloves. Or, mix it up entirely, and use some Indian spicing. Hmmm...


Guess where Mags and I are going to lunch today! Guess! Okay, here's a hint. It rhymes with Brice Bisland Bea Bouse. Say that three times fast. Again! Again! Okay. You can access the menu here, 'cause they don't have their own site. Hello, Brava Bried Brice.

Also, TGIF, my peeps! That is what I'm talkin' about! I'm headed to Gist Street and then a drag king show at the Eagle. And, I'm dog-sitting my special little guy, Zeke, this weekend! And, Sunday is the return of the epic battle: EK vs The Gooch in: Scrabble Smackdown! Weeeeeeeeekkkkkkkeeeeeeennnnnnnnddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

back in bidness

Well, quite often during my beach week I remembered to photograph the food, but sometimes I forgot and sometimes it was too good for me to get up and grab my camera. I took a couple old standbys with me--Heidi's wheatberry salad and otsu. Always good. We ate the otsu in the car after picking Dra up at the Philly airport, and ate the Wheatberry Salad right after arriving at the beach and settling onto the back deck. But, everyone there was a talented cook, and a couple of them are honest-to-god chefs, so believe me when I say we ate like queens.

I held strong with sticking to my vegetarian ways and didn't eat any seafood even though it looked and smelled dreamy. Seafood was always my favorite. I considered just making an exception for that week, but then I opted not to go the route that would ensure guilty feelings. So, no fish for me, but I'm including a couple pictures with seafood because it looked so good.

What I made: otsu, wheatberry salad, mesquite chocolate chip cookies, lemon soup, zucchini-feta-herb salad, crepes w/ lemons and sugar and/or berry-rhubarb compote, veggies burgers (based on the sprouted garbanzo burgers and a bunch of extra stuff throw in), fresh rolls, Heidi's Yucatan street corn, marinated tofu filets, and, um, that's all I can remember.

wheatberry salad on fresh greens (based on Heidi's recipe from Super Natural Cooking):

lemon soup (Molly Katzen's recipe from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest):

corn and fixin's (crema w/ lime zest, queso blanco and limes dipped in chipotle chili powder):


fresh rolls with spicy peanut sauce and mango relish:

crepes with lemons and sugar and cherry-strawberry-rhubarb compote:

marinated and grilled tofu filets with grilled veggies:

veggie burgers with nowlzie's remoulade sauce and the best gaucamole in the world:


And, here's a sampling of food my friends made:
Dra's famous Caesar Salad with Dina's famous croutons:

Dra's famous "fancy boli" that we like to call "The Dra" (half with procuitto, half without):

Dina's potato cake:

Schwatts's clam extravanza:

Schwattzie-Bear's lobbie madness:

Also, some highlights not pictured: Doggie's effing amazing raw dairy whole grain waffles with raw cottage cheese, fresh strawberries and maple syrup; Dina's famous lobster bisque; Schwatts's famous bacon-wrapped scallops; Schwatts's awesome potato chowder (and seafood chowder variation); Dina's chicken salad and faux-chicken salad; hardshell crabs; Dina's bananas foster bread pudding. I know there was more, but that's all I can think of right now. If you would like any of the recipes, lemme know and I'll hunt them down and post 'em up. But, suffice it to say, we had a fabulous week--and not just the food. These are some of my favorite peeps on earth. And, look how happy they are!
Scwatts:

Doggie:

Dra:

Nowlzie:

Dina:

Me:


p.s. Doggie gave me starters for both kombucha and kefir. Stay tuned for more about this!