Those Bunny Bits

 Everyone knows what to do with Easter leftovers. Make ham sandwiches and serve them with the leftover potato salad. Reheat the asparagus with butter. Slice the lamb for stew. Yet what do you do with all that leftover Easter candy? How much chocolate can one family eat? Luckily there are a few fun recipes to deal with those bunny bits.

All kinds of chocolate can be meted down and refashioned into bark. Think of melting those leftover  milk chocolate bunnies and hollow dark chocolate eggs to create a two tone or truffle bark. You can add the leftover over coconut from those bunny and lamb cakes , nuts and pretzels. You can also roll pretzel rods in the chocolate for dipped ones. A second roll in pastel colored sprinkles lends a festive air.Another idea is chopping up the chocolate and adding it to any ice cream. Think of a strawberry or raspberry gelato chock full of chunks or create you own version of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia by combining cherry vanilla with cut up chocolate eggs or Kisses. What about those  solid creme, nougat and coconut eggs? Slice those and put a scoop of chocolate ice cream on top for a kind of Easter egg sundae. It's a fun way to get rid of those giant eggs that always seem to last forever.  If you were lucky to receive those huge Perugina eggs with the toy inside. then they're a double bonus. The halves make for excellent cups for ice cream, puddings, custards or mousses. Add whipped cream and some sprinkles for a truly decadent treat or dessert.

Easter candy can also be baked into sweet treats too. You can take all that leftover chocolate and turn it onto a decadent mousse pie. This is perfect for any milk chocolate (although you can do the same with dark too ).It's  melted  and mixed with mini marshmallows, milk and whipping cream, then poured into an already made pie crust. The entire pie is refrigerated for about three hours in the fridge.  Of course you can also add the chopped bits to cookies and brownies. Try a chocolate chip recipe but sub in sliced solid or Krispie  eggs. You could also sub in pastel M&M's too for a festive looking cookie.Brownies can also be stuffed with chopped candy too. You can use a scratch recipe or just a box of any brownie mix. Even marshmallow eggs can be used for a creamy chewy middle. Peeps can even be repurposed. Think fun Rice Krispie bars decorated with whole chick or bunny Peeps. You can also cut these up (if you can bear tearing up all that cutemess) and put them into the treats. The results are pretty rainbow colored bites. Chocolate can also be thrown into the recipe too.

Don't worry about all that leftover Easter candy. It can easily be repurposed into fun treats everyone will like. It will be like finding that candy all over again!!!

A Happy Easter

 A happy Easter full of happiness and sweet treats. Enjoy the foods of the season ,from ham to asparagus.

Nibble those bunny ears, munch on those Peeps and chew on some jelly beans, including the black ones!!!

A Giving Good Friday

 It's Good Friday and all Christians are observing this holy day of observation. We think of Christ and His sacrifices but we should also think of His generosity. Planting a Spring garden for not just yourself but for others exemplifies this .

Think of others as you plant. Aim for overage where you can donate your harvest or give to neighbors or family in need. It's a good thing because everyone loves fresh fruit and veggies. It's also good for kids to show them that there's a world beyond processed food and sweets. They can even help in picking tomatoes and strawberries. If you're turning that bounty into pickling and jams , remember to make a few jars extra too. They make nice gifts for any essential workers you may know.

This is a day for reflection and sacrifice. It's also a day of planning and how you can help your community. Think about this when you start planning your Spring garden.

Easter Givings

 Today is Holy Thursday and it starts the beginning of the four day Easter holy days. It's a time of celebration but also reflection too. Think about those who don't have what you have and those who don't have your bounty. 

We are getting vaccinated at astonishing rates yet there is still so much to do for a safe recovery. Try to help those in need. Share your Easter dinner with  them or treat them to groceries so they can have a sumptuous meal too. Bake extra cupcakes or cookies and bring them over along with candy for the kids. If everyone has been vaccinated , then think about a socially distanced barbecue. Throw in an Easter egg and candy hunt too.

We may not be able to go to church to celebrate but we can celebrate each other. Start with generosity. It will go a long way and brighten up Easter for everyone.

A Food Star Trims Down

 Action Bronson is a renaissance man of sorts. He's a chef, TV host and rapper. He was also vastly overweight which was posing a problem for him. However he took it upon himself to become healthy - with the same gusto he reserved for eating. Now Action has become an action hero, thanks to exercise and dieting.

Jon Caramanca, who usually write for the entertainment section of The New York Times write about Chef Bronson in today's New York Times Food section. Action Bronson is a kind of Anthony Bourdain for Gen Xers and Millenials. Before he lost 130 pounds Chef Bronson looked like ZZ Top's version of Henry VIII. He was obese with a long, frizzy red beard, creating all sorts of dishes (and swearing like a rapper). This thirty seven year old, born Ariyan Arslani in Flushing Queens was the host of F$%* This Is Delicious along with being a trained chef. Yes, he ate on his show,(which is not for the faint of heart). He also brought that home, getting take out indiscriminately and not paying attention to his health.It also infiltrated his home life where his fiancee, Valeria, a licensed master social worker criticized him . He got so big he was denied health insurance. His clothes, a very big 3XL and 4XL were becoming tight. He had trouble breathing at night along with problems in the bathroom.

Something had to be done. The ultra rich sandwiches he is known for making had to be gone. Bacchanal eating had to be a thing of the past. Luckily  he had become fascinated with body building as a teen ager. He went to gyms. Now it was time to go back to them. Chef Bronson drinks smoothies or branched chain amino acid supplements. During lock down, when everyone else indulged, he ate extra lean meals. There was grilled chicken and sweet potato along with green juices and protein shakes. He has slackened up a bit, which was good for his fiancee. She was worried that he was being too strident  and too conscious of what he was eating. For a recent taping of Delicious Chef Bronson took a  sip of liquid chocolate mousse, then headed to the his car where he retrieved a gorilla faced kettle bell and starts swinging it in the street. In another episode he did three hundred squats in between tasting focaccia and lahmucan,a kind of Turkish ground beef pizza He also owns a line of olive oils with Grove & Vine, the perfect ingredient for healthy eating.

Action Bronson is taking action in creating a healthier lifestyle for himself. He has become a good role model for his fans that maybe have over indulged themselves. He has learned to eat well and eat healthy.

Spring Reawakenings

 If it's Spring it means cleaning time. That means getting into those dusty and cob webbed corners. It's amazing what could be found there. It's usually a long forgotten treasure that can be reused or repurposed.

That's what happened to me today when I decided to clean in the crevices by my stove. I stored a slew of pans there, from cupcake to pizza. I also found some interesting things, I've forgotten about.

One is the broiler plate. form my Mom's original stove that we replaced four years ago,

I don't think this can fit into my new oven but I do have another use for it. It can be used to grill veggies , especially corn and even meats on the outdoor grill. Veggies like asparagus and eggplant slices usually fall through the grill plate's wide opening.This makes cooking them impossible. Using this will make grilling any kind of veggie  a snap.

Another treasure I unearthed is my madeleine pan.

I have never made them and now am looking into a vegan recipe.The recipe usually requires two large eggs, which I can use Vegg baking substitute for this and a whole stick of butter. I may just experiment and try I Can't Believe It's Not Butter which gives a nice buttery flavor. The other flavors come from the addition of vanilla and lemon zest.Madeleines are a labor intensive with halving the dry ingredients and adding them to the wet ingredients after careful stirring. Then there's chilling the batter for an hour before baking. The result is worth it howevermm

You never know what you'll unearth during Spring cleaning. Some items may be useful, some may be repurposed.  They 're all treasures and should be tried out. Some good stuff may come out of it.

The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor

 Sometimes the best restaurants are  right in your backyard. This was the case with The Plank Company Beer Parlor in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Who knew a place this good  - and hip existed in the suburbs?

I decided to give this place a shot after hearing so much about it. Yes it is a beer parlor, done in the hip unfinished style seen in Hoboken's or Manhattan's West Village beer parlors or gardens however it also offers it's signature plank pizza served on a plank.

This was a tasty , super cheesy bite with a very thin crust. The sauce was excellent and there was a lot of it. as opposed to the sometimes skimpy dollops some pizzerias put on their pies.The pizza  is a long oval and cut into easy to handle slices.  There are all sorts of toppings from what I had The Red, which is a traditional pizza to The Chopped Salad which is pick any of The Plank Pizza Company or PPC's different salads. on a sour dough crust. There is even one called the Sunday Dinner which is meat loaf and mashed potatoes with gravy and mozzarella cheese. I do want to try the Click Click Bangkok which is spicy marinated chicken with peanut and Sriracha sauces . The dough is also topped with cucumbers, scallions bean sprouts and chopped peanuts.

There are also appetizers like the avocado egg rolls and tacos like carne asada ones which has tender bits of steak , guacamole and diced onions. This is a must order for steak and taco lovers. PPC also has soups, and even desserts. Yet this is a beer company and with that there are several different kinds, local sourced from nearby microbreweries ( Hackensack Beer anyone???) along with ales from all over the country.

You first taste the brew and then if you want it , the waiter brings a growler or jug of it. You can take this home and bring it back to be refilled with any beer or even  cider of choice. Stout and IPA lovers will appreciate the beer parlor's wide array of various brews.

If you're in Saddle Brook then stop at The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor. It's a great place for food and drink. Come for pizza  stay for the beer along with the appetizers , soups salads and desserts.

The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor is located at 383 Market Street, Building D, Saddle Brook, New Jersey 07663. They're right behind the BP Gas Station.PPC also does delivery and take out. Their number is 201-843-2426  and are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.