I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and Randy Wayne White’s books about Southwest Florida. If I could just find a good author that writes about Hawaii, Seattle’s islands, or  Maine, I would be all set (suggestions welcome).

Porch Lights is about an army nurse whose firefighter husband is killed on the job, leaving her and her 10 year son in Brooklyn. They pack up and head to her mom’s house on Sullivan’s Island, North Carolina for the summer to heal and put their lives back together. There is, of course, a burgeoning romance. And then there is the matter of her separated parents who may not be done with each other. And a neighbor with a tragedy.

None of that matters much to me because I mostly read the book to read about the ocean, the sand, the dunes, the sea grass, the Low Country humidity, the southern way of life, and of course, glass after glass of sweet tea served with crabs, peaches, tomatoes, and flounder. This one has the added bonus of a pimiento cheese ball being made in the book (super exciting!).  I fall into the book and suddenly I’m staying in a cottage on the beach with the sea air blowing the white eyelet curtains on my window. I’m sitting on a porch watching the waves or I’m walking the beach, finding driftwood. Frank’s books are like a mini-vacation for me. I usually end up skimming when I get to the predictable happy endings but I can’t put them down. And I anxiously await the next one.

What I’m reading next: Wife22 by Melanie Gideon.

I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and … Read more →

We spend every July 4th at Conesus Lake in New York state’s Finger Lakes region. While the 4th is a great holiday, it’s the 3rd that is the big day here. On the night of the third, everyone with a home on the lake lights flares they’ve lined up near the water at 10 pm. The red lights circle the lake, making a ring of fire. There are also bonfires at just about every home, and there are fireworks everywhere. Municipal fireworks are shot off at Vitale Park at the north end of the lake, but about every third house has fireworks they shoot from the ends of their docks. One of our neighbors has so many that he backs a trailer up to his house every year to unload and then spends the day carrying stacks of boxes out onto the dock. It makes for quite a show. In fact, it’s hard to even know which direction to look in, there are so many spectacular lights in the sky. Fireworks are very different when they are exploding directly over your head!

People start “practicing” during the afternoon and by 9 pm there are fireworks everywhere. It lasts until the wee hours of the morning and I’m always in bed hearing more explosions happen outside.

A recent addition to the festivities are Chinese lanterns, tissue paper lanterns with a square of flammable tar at the bottom. You light the tar, wait for the hot air to fill the lantern and let it go. It rises up, up, up until you can’t see it. The sky is filled with these, but I admit they make me nervous that one will end up in a tree or on someone’s roof.

All of this fun has a few downsides. Our dogs go completely crazy. They hate the noise. We leave them in the house and try to get them to stay in an interior room with the doors closed. Another big issue is that the next morning there is debris everywhere. The deck is covered in dust and scraps of paper. The water has garbage floating in and we clean up what washes ashore. Any cars that are outside are covered in debris. At least this year we didn’t hear any sirens, so hopefully there were no injuries.

We spend every July 4th at Conesus Lake in New York state’s Finger Lakes region. While the 4th is a great holiday, it’s the 3rd that is the big day here. On the night of the third, everyone with a home on the lake lights flares they’ve lined up near the water at 10 pm. … Read more →

We had garlic scapes in our CSA haul again and this time I decided to use them to make garlic bread. The photo of this did not turn out at all- it looks yellow. In reality, this was bright green. It was very simple to make. I sliced a loaf of bread and put a handful of scapes in the food processor (maybe 10) and half a stick of butter and some salt. Then I just whizzed until I had a paste. I spread it on the bread and baked at 400 for about 15 minutes, until the bread was browning and the paste was bubbly. It was delicious. Not as sharp and garlicky as garlic bread, but it had a lovely fresh green taste in addition to the gentle garlic flavor. I still have some scapes left and may make some pesto with them.

We had garlic scapes in our CSA haul again and this time I decided to use them to make garlic bread. The photo of this did not turn out at all- it looks yellow. In reality, this was bright green. It was very simple to make. I sliced a loaf of bread and put a … Read more →

herbs and cutting flowers

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and more. This week something new started: u-pick. You can help yourself to as much as you want in the u-pick fields that is ready for picking. They put little signs with labels so you know what is ready. This week it was herbs and cutting flowers. I planted my own herb garden this year (which is much handier because I can just pop out the back door and grab what I need for dinner each night), but I don’t have any dill, so I picked a bunch of that and some flowers (daisies and black-eyed Susans).

It was so fun to walk back into the fields and cut what I

Note to self: wear closed toe shoes next week!

wanted.  I’m already wondering what will be ready next week! And in the meantime, I need to roast the beets I picked up today so we can use them in a salad.

Heading back in the fields made me think of my grandfather, who was a farmer and built a successful greenhouse business with his brother, now run by my uncle.  By the time I came along, everything was grown in the greenhouses, but I did go with my grandfather to pick corn in his brother’s field a few times. The CSA fields aren’t far from my grandfather’s fields. On the way home I was wondering what he would think. I can hear him saying “Why cripe, why don’t you just plant it in your own backyard?”

view of the fields not yet ready for picking

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and … Read more →

Perfecting Pru has chosen Vanilla Cabinets with Fresh Fruit (actually a kind of milkshake) for 7/9.

Perfecting Pru has chosen Vanilla Cabinets with Fresh Fruit (actually a kind of milkshake) for 7/9.

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general I just don’t find it too exciting. I would rather slice the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and eat with some fresh mozzarella than this way I think.

This photo is a total cheat by the way. I completely forgot to take the pic, then when I remembered the grill was off so I just recreated it on an ungrilled piece.

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general … Read more →

Gull Pond in Wellfleet, Photo by Alexandra Grabbe

I was given a review copy of this beautiful ebook, Wellfleet: An Insider’s Guide to Cape Cod’s Trendiest Town by the author, Alexandra Grabbe and I wanted to share it with my readers.

I’ve driven through Wellfleet and must admit I didn’t understand the treasures to be found there. Now that I have Grabbe’s guide, I will definitely go back and this time I will stop. Grabbe is an innkeeper in this beautiful Cape Cod town and her personal experience creates the perfect guidebook. I loved the thoughtfully written history of the town and a resident’s view of the festivals and events, as well as the month-by-month guide of what to expect. Where the book really shines though is in the detailed descriptions of the beaches, ponds, restaurants and shops. There are all sorts of fun places to go, including a flea market, yoga classes, seal watching, paragliding and mushroom-picking – things I don’t remember reading about in the guides I used when I visted the Cape. Wellfleet looks and sounds like such a fun place to visit that I really am planning to return.

Here are the insider’s secrets that will make your stay the best it can be. I really appreciated the lists of things to do at the beach, with or without kids. The restaurant reviews are extremely personal and share details of the meals Grabbe enjoyed at each location. The photographs are stunning and after years of relying on Frommer’s and Fodor’s guides, I am shocked by what a difference they make. Instead of having that moment where you drive up to a restaurant and realize it might not be the place for you, you can see photos ahead of time which, coupled with the detailed descriptions of the destinations, really help you make an educated decision about where you want to spend your time and your money.

If you are planning a trip to the Cape, this is exactly the guide you want.

You can visit the Facebook page for the ebook here: https://www.facebook.com/WellfleetGuide

I was given a review copy of this beautiful ebook, Wellfleet: An Insider’s Guide to Cape Cod’s Trendiest Town by the author, Alexandra Grabbe and I wanted to share it with my readers. I’ve driven through Wellfleet and must admit I didn’t understand the treasures to be found there. Now that I have Grabbe’s guide, … Read more →

My mom recently made this amazing (and super easy) carrot dish for us at the lake. They were crunchy on the outside and roasting them brought out their inner sweetness. They were awesome and I am totally stealing the recipe:

Mix whole egg and some milk together. Dip carrots in egg mix and then roll in plain cornmeal. Drizzle with olive oil. Spray baking sheet.  Roast about 20 -30- min.  at 350.

She used whole carrots with the stems on and cut the stems down to an inch or two. I would love to find REAL baby carrots with stems on and make this as an hors d’oeuvre. I would make a fab dipping sauce to go with it I think – maybe something with bleu cheese. These were awesome as is though, as part of a meal.

My mom recently made this amazing (and super easy) carrot dish for us at the lake. They were crunchy on the outside and roasting them brought out their inner sweetness. They were awesome and I am totally stealing the recipe: Mix whole egg and some milk together. Dip carrots in egg mix and then roll … Read more →

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are something I had never tried before. I ran across them in the grocery store recently and brought them home. They look kind of like a round ginger root when raw. I researched how to use them. I ended up quartering them and tossing with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper and roasting at 400 for about 45 minutes. When I served them, I tossed them with some fresh chives.

These taste surprisingly like potatoes, but just a tad sweeter and the tiniest bit crunchier. We really liked them. They are actually healthier than potatoes, so that is a big plus for this veggie. I’ve got big plans to do lots of other dishes with them if they appear at my store again. Have you ever tried these?

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are something I had never tried before. I ran across them in the grocery store recently and brought them home. They look kind of like a round ginger root when raw. I researched how to use them. I ended up quartering them and tossing with olive oil, garlic, and salt … Read more →

Sassy Suppers has chosen bruschetta for Monday’s project. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Sassy Suppers has chosen bruschetta for Monday’s project. I hope everyone enjoys it.