School Ready

 School is going to start in the next few weeks or right now depending where you live. Are you ready with  school lunch?  while it's easy to get a fun container and bag  it's not so much fun to pack something that cylospora and salmonella free. Can school lunch ever be the same?

There are a few things that's= should cheer up any mom or student. Dollar Tree and Dollar General have some neat sandwich and Bento lunch box cases.Get the sandwich boxes that feature such a characters as Bluey, Stitch, Disney princesses and a baby Spderman. These hold a regular sandwich and keep it fresh.It's just so much fun to have too.  There are also checkered lid  food containers in pink sage and blue. (these are on my radar to get) Dollar Tree as Bento boxes that kids can use too. Other places to buy them is Amazon and Temu. Dollar General has food containers as well.Also look to Temu and Five Below for modern takes on lunchboxes. A more expensive version is the Stanley All Day Mini Lunch box for $33.75 on sale from Stanley. This looks like a designer purse and comes in a variety of different colors from deep burgundy to light aqua. You can get cheaper from Vera Bradley for $14.99 and has cute cat and dog prints along with a red quilt pattern. You could also just get sandwich bags and stas time in your kid's knapsack too.Stock up on sporks too for easy eating, whether for a cold pasta salad or pudding.

What to bring is a big trickier than what to bring it in. Cyclosporine makes it difficult to create salads and salmonella seems to be everywhere. Sometimes the best choice is the classic one. Peanut Butter and jelly should work if there are no peanut or nut allergies.A simple ham and cheese sandwich is also good . Also vary it with chicken and London Broil slices (Stop & Shop has this for a good price and it tastes like homemade)For both  big and little vegans there is plant based versions.One of the best is Tofukey's Peppered Tofurkey slices that have a nice black peppery bite and the texture of actual meat. This is one of my go to s and works well with vegan mayo on any kind of bread (rye really brings out the flavor).Try Tofurkey's turkeym again good with mayo and the bologna. Have this last on white bread with a good dollop of sharp mustard.It would be tempting to add bite sized veggies like broccoli and carrots yet even these may be too risky.I would lean towards avocado , banana or orange slices . These have thick rounds that can protect the actual flesh. As for dessert get fresh apples and pears and peel the skin off . Also raisin oatlmeal cookies are great too and the occasional Hershey's kiss.

The school year is about to start. Be ready .Be smart about having a good lunch ready.

Ferragosto Feasts

 This is a big day in Cahtolic and Orthodox Europe.I'ts hug ein Italy where many celebrate and observe the feast of the Assumption of Mary.--when the Virgin ascends to Heaven. It is a day full of grilling and feasting on harvest.

You can easily celebrate the feast's foods here. Many American Catholics go to church today and then have a brunch or dinner out where ever they are. If you stay at home you can have the classic Italian grigliate - any grilled meats.A typical dinner would be a variety of sausages, pork ribs and chicken this can be made at home.Use a light marinade of lemon juice ,olive oil and a mix of dried herbs.This last could be oregano, dried basil and rosemary. You can add minced fresh garlic or garlic powder, depending on your tastes. This can be used for beef and chicken. What about the sausages? A fiery one, filled with not only beef and pork but also red paper flakes toasted  fennel and garlic.Keep in mind that fresh sausage or saucisse takes a good fifteen to twenty minutes to cook.Pre cooked sausage takes only ten to twelve minutes. You don't have to oil them.Just put them on the grill and cook evenly by rolling them every so often.  They can be eaten plain or on long rolls. 

The sides are mostly veggie .A note here.Cylospora is still prevalent here in the US. Wash every fruit and veggie in warm for twenty to thirty seconds. Don;t use bleach or soap to wash.You'll ruin the taste.Many Italians, have bell pepper recipes.They can be stuffed with arborio rice and herbs You can also grill zucchini or eggplant too. Both  can be marinated in just olive oil with salt and pepper and grill for about three to five minutes on each side. You can also make a tasty panzanella - that tasty bread salad with ripe tomatoes. Dried bread cubes can be used for crunch but a better variation is using torn up Italian or French bread. Soak the chunks and quartered tomatoes in olive oil, Onions can be added if you want a stronger taste but a milder flavor can be had by using a pinch of onion powder. Add plenty of basil and oregano too. Another idea is creating a tomato and mozzarella salad.Cold pasta salads can also be made. Just skip the mayo and just add olive oil. Desserts can be sliced fresh peaches in Prosecco or Asti. Tasty dessert is afogato - drowned ice cream.Usually made with ice cream and hot coffee, you can add cold coffee to vanilla or chocolate ice cream for a lovely late into the night dessert.

A Ferragosto meal can be had at any time. It's especially wonderful  on this Holy Day. Feast and enjoy the summer harvest.

A Classic For Summer

 it seems stranged to make soup in ninety degree weather yet a from scratch one is actually comforting.The trick is making a simple one.The Piedmontese pane pesto or pompeist is just this easy.

This is a three ingredient soup. It should comtain two large eggs but I wanted mine vegetarian.Just Egg filled in the need.

Of coutse you need broth and againI used veggie instead of chicken broth.As for the breadcrumbs I used up my panko.I ran out and I used the regular breadcrumbs I had.

Pompeist cooks up really thick and it was more of a potage.

Adding just a little bit of water, about quarter of a cup thins it out.

The taste is still eggy, bready and wonderful.It did become a bit custardy so more broth was added for next days lunch.

A simple soup is the perfect dinner for a hot day.It is soothing despite the heat.It's a nice comfort , different from tge usual cold summer deal.

New California Cuisine At Home

 California cuisine has had a reputation ever since Alice Waters created it fifty five years ago.It was made a certain way with certain ingredients.It was supposed to  - in a way-represent nouvelle American .Yetit coild be considered elitist..A new cuisine is emerging from the state and it's more representative of the people there.

Regular contributor and chef  Genevieve Ko wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. California cuisine started, again by the famed Alice Waters for her restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971. She championed using fresh  local produce, preparing it with a French sensibility.For five decades and more chefs up and down the state did the same, drawling largely from European recipes. Mostly the influence came from Italy.Yet a lot for people from all over moved to California in the half century following Cehz Panisse's opening. They brought their native food flavors .Meanwhile native Californians looked over their recipes and reinvented them. There was fusion, two cuisines fsed together to form one. diaspora - the immigrants recipes and third culture - that reflects a chef's history.I'ts less defined now. It's less Mediterranean and there are fewer mash ups It's freer and more curated as chefs take inspiration from around the globe, instead of one place.

The recipes Ms.KO give reflect this. The ingredients can be picked up at any farmer's market anywhere in the country. There is pluot tomato salad with suya pistachio crunch. Suya is a coating West Africans use to coat skewers of various meats like pork ,beef and chicken.The salad itself is an interesting mix of tomatoes and the apricot - plum hybrid.Rhe dressing is a rich pistachio cream made with shelled, insulated nuts blended with whole cream Greek yogurt and lemon juice and topped with pistachios spiced with cayenne,and ginger along with onion and garlic powders. Its a combo of California produce mixed with African and European flavors.There also is summer melon spoon salad.There's me long cucumbers and avocados with a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil, flavored with fresh basil and dill leaves. Since it;s corn season all over America ,there  is a charred corn and cheddar salad to celebrate that. Fresh corn is charred on an outdoor grill until it's charred brown in spots. An aoilis sauce is the dressing. This is classic aioli made with homemade mayo, with fresh egg yolks missed with Dijon mustard and lime juice use a neutral oil like grape seed to emulsify this. The cheese can be a sharp cheddar but crumbled queso Fresca, feta or Cotija can be used. Ground Aleppo peppers are also used for heat.

A new California cuisine can be made anywhere in the US.I;ts just a trip to the farmer's market to get the ingredients. Its then adding fresh flavor and taste to  dishes that fit in easily anywhere

Cool Ice Cream For A Not City.

 New York and it's boroughs have always been known for pizza and hot dog. Yet ice cream is also a city classic and must have during these hot days. Now there's a list of the best places for the coolest and coldest scoops. All a re deliciously creamy and flavorful

Restaurant  critic and new contributor Mahira Rivers compiled this list in todays New York Times Wednesday Food section.Not all the booughs are mentioned however . Staten Island and the Bronx are not (both areas have really good ice cream parlors and gelaterias)Gelati is always the cool choice for hip New Yorkers so try Pamina Dolce E Gelato.Try the summery flavors of peach and apricot along with the rich nocciola studded with Piedmontese hazelnuts.Not far from there is Unnecessary an ice cream parlor opened by - former bartenders. Another lower Manhattan offers Il Laboratorio Del Gelato which gives such interesting flavors as cheddar cheese and cactus. They also have chocolate and passion fruit sorbets for the less adventurous. The scoops have a cocktail twist to them.There is a vodka infused soft serve along with a minty grasshopper and the Garibaldi cocktail, a mix of orange juice and Campari.Chic Gramercy Park has Caffe Panna.They have the popular Red Flag, vanilla ice cream swirled with graham crumbles and strawberry jam. Midtown Manhattan may have great delis but it also has a good ice cream parlor.A La Moe Shoppe. They have the fun Partly Cloudy  - blue cotton candy ice cream dotted with mini marshmallows and Cooks  -a mix if chocolate and vanilla ice cream with a fudge swirl.Julia Jeans on the Lower East Side has good old fashioned flavors with a twist.The orange sherbet tastes like a Creamsicle while the butter pecan has a salted ice cream base.

Brooklyn and Queens has some fun places to visit too. Bedford Stuyvesant is the home of Brown Butter Creamery.They do classics right here with a fudgy dark chocolate and a Bourbon unfused vanilla flecked with vanilla beans.They also celebrate the Caribbeans with flavors like crema and spiced bissap -  aspciy clove cinnamon,ginger and honey drink.Forrest Hills has the old fashioned Eddie's Sweet Shop. Here ice cream is served in silver coups or cups and the flavors are classic too. There are chocolate coffee and rum raisin along with hot fudge ,whipped cream and cherry toppings. Greenpoint Brooklyn  along with the East Village and Moynihand Train Hall has Davey's  where al the ice cream is homemade There is fresh strawberry and coffee. scoops along with sundaes and milkshakes. Inwood Queens hosts Lost Borough Ice Cream.Patrick Cruz and Kawana Jefferson the owners do shoots out to Dominican vanilla and bizcocho,the vanilla cake features at birthdays and baby showers.Another Queens must go to is The Screen Door. The ice cream is old fashioned but go for the Ice Cream Nachos - waffle cone buts that can be dipped in vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Go to Soft side in Morningside heights for more soft creamy ice cream.

Happiness is ice cream. Go to New York to have the best. It s cool comfort.

A Simple Summer Curry

 Curry many not  be associated with summer yet a simple one is the perfect hot weather meal.. The good thing about curries is that they can be as simpler as complex s you want. meal Try a simple one for easy cooking.

This is what I did. I had plant based chicken strips that are sauteed to doneness in a saute pan.

the sauteed  starts with a good tablespoon of melt butter and a few tablespoons of olive oil.

A quarter of a white onion is added .You can add tomatoes and peas.

 Potatoes were microwaved and added later.

These were cooked for twelve minutes in the microwave.

Curries have to be creamy. Coconut milk is usually used but I opted for almond milk and also veggie broth for a thinner sauce.I used quarter of a cup for both.

Since this was a mild curry I only used curry powder and garam masala.I could have used turmeric and ginger but I felt these would be a bit too fiery. A god two tablespoons each worked.

the spices and liquids were a

added later.

This is the final cook before the potatoes were added.

With the chicken, potatoes and onions, this was a tasty change up from the ordinary. I may add tomatoes and peas in the future to vary it.Still it was great this was.

A simp;e summer curry is easy to make during these hot days. It;s a few ingredients mixed together to create a big flavor. Make this for a fun got weather dish.

Finally Steve's Burgers!

 Steve's Burger is not just a Jersey place or thing but it's becoming a national thing too. The small roadside eatery is known for its' juicy thick burgers ,large onion rings and crispy fries.It is the place to go any time for the week.

I had to go there and see what it's alabout.Friends have recommended dit fo rso long. So I went. It's a tiny place with three tables and a counter area to also eat. There's a full menu of burgers dogs, nuggets and even grilled cheese.It started as a small ice cream truck and expanded into the tiniest place you'll ever want to eat in.The place may be small.but the food is big.

The hot dog was fried and it was good on it's on(although I could have had a variety of toppings).Is it better than Rutt's Hutt> the other Jersey burger and dog place? Maybe they're on the same par.

The hamburgers, thought are unlike any other serve din New Jersey.They are big and juicy with all sorts of toppings The onions rings - pure heaven. These are large and golden fried the circumference of the burger itself/ 

The fries are Jersey boardwalk fries, They are thin and super crunchy.I love the tiny fried bits at the bottom the plate. To be honest I could have just made a meal with the fries and rings.

Steve's also has their own sodas made by Island Girl Sodas.There are a wide variety of flavors, from birch and root beers.to cherry orange and raspberry lime.

I had to have the birch beer.I've had stronger but it wasn't that bad. Next time I'll try the black cherry or maybe the grape They also have root bear floats and chocolate, vanilla and strawberry shakes.End dinner with one of these along with their deep fried Oreos.Prices are very good ,from the burgers to the sides.

Steve's Burger s is the road trip destination of the summer. Have a fun old fashioned burger and fries there. The food is a throwback to when eating out meant good food for only a few dollars.

Steve's Burgers is located at 506 Route 46 West in Garfield New Jersey.