An End Of Summer Food Fest

If you live in the Lodi,New Jersey area, you're well familiar with the Labor Day Saint Joseph's Feast.It's to celebrate the area church ,Saint Joseph of Naples. Neopolitans and Sicilians brought the saint to the small country town of Lodi, in Northern Bergen County.Now fourth and fifth generations are in charge of this amazing food fest.

As you can see, every Southern Italian festavale has a zeppole  stand.Dried puffs of dough are deep fried and then heavily dusted with powdered sugar.

Another perennial is the torrone and chichi beans.They are dried and salted chickpeas.

Parishioners are in charge of some of The food stands.You can get every Southern Italian dish, from sausage and peppers to my favorite pizza.Filipinos make up the new generation of Saint Joseph church goers.This is from a Filipino stand- one potato cut and fried on a stick.

Along with one of my favorites.

The treat truck.Tonight a candy apple.Tomorrow popcorn and cotton candy.Maybe a grape SnoCone.

This is the seats on for feasts and fests all over the country.Take advantage of the fun food offerings.It's a delicious way to contribute to a parish and community.

A kick Of Watermelon

It may be the end of watermelon season but thanks to a new drink, you can have it year round.Wonder Melon is a new drink, that's not only good for you but tastes good too.

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical. Homemade watermelon juice can be a bit bland.Kayco, the company who makes the drink has decided to punch it up.One has the addition of cucumber which is refreshing. The other flavor is the watermelon mixed with lemon and cayenne, a nod to the lemon and cayenne pepper diet drink.Both possess clean, crisp flavors, which will appeal to juicing buffs. I can see Wonder Melon bottles gracing lunch boxes and late summer beach hampers.

Wonder Melon is a juice with a texture between thick and thin.Again, it 's just perfect with ice but you could also fizz it up with seltzer.For a kicky kind of ice, pour some into a Slushie cup.I guess Wonder Melon would also be good as a base for a few cocktails like the watermelon margaritas.Could you make a kind of Bellini with them? Yes, for a buzzy brunch drink. Save the bottles too.They'll  make cute candle holders, thanks to watermelon like shape.

Keep summer with you all year long with with bottles of Wonder Melon.They're fresh , with the definite taste of the season. You'll be reminded of balmy days and warm nights when the temps start dipping.

A Chef's Diary

To look into a chef's  heart, look into their daily schedule. It is a whirlwind of planning, shopping  preparing and cooking. It is also a diary of an artist, someone who constantly creates and tweaks classics. It's a fascinating look inside , especially if it's by Clare de Boer. You can learn from just spending one day in her life.

That's what the New York Times Food section did yesterday.British born de Boer gave Times readers an interesting peek inside her kitchen. The section asked her to keep a journal for one week in July of what she made at home and not at her restaurant, King in Manhattan.,It was actually a story of two kitchens - her home in Brooklyn and her weekend place near Dover Plains, New York , a bucolic Duchess County hamlet.She cooks not only for herself but for her husband, Luke Sherwin, and his family.Although he's not a chef, more of founder to companies Block Renovation and Casper, he contributes recipes as well. I loved this diary. It gave me a lot of ideas for recipes and got me excited about adapting them for fall produce.They're relatively easy to recreate and would be perfect at any end of summer gathering. They're not fancy. You can find them at any farmer's market or grocery store.Like me, you can even adapt them for the upcoming autumn harvest, subbing in apples and pears for berries.

What are the recipes? The one that intrigues me most is the frangipane. This is a mix of almond flour, butter and egg yolks. It's then mixing them and slathering the mix on slices of buttered sourdough bread. Chef de Boer then piles sugared stone fruit such as peaches, plums and apricots.The slices are then baked for twenty to twenty-five minutes and afterwards broiled for only one to two minutes. It would be good with apples and even pears subbed in , topped with vanilla ice cream or plain cream. Another have to try recipe is the sformato, an easy kind of a souffle. It's combining the kernels of six ears of corns, and combining it with ricotta cheese and four whole eggs.Fresh basil leaves and lemon juice zing up the flavor.It's fluffiness comes from separating the eggs and whipping the whites into a meringue,What a great brunch dish this would be, especially with toasted and oiled Italian bread. One of her recipes, chicken baked in bread dough sounds amazing. Chef de Boer didn't list the recipe but you can find similar ones online. Her other recipe was a chicken with pepper and vinegar along with her husband's BLT one - the last a perfect Saturday lunch.

Chef de Boer gives us an interesting insight into her world. There is just more than shopping, prepping and cooking. There is creativity and thought - along with fun - the most vital ingredient in cooking.

My Mochi An New Take On Ice Cream

Can pastry and ice cream exist together? Yes, if it's My Mo Mochi ice cream. It's an interesting take on an Asian treat, combining a world favorite with an old concept.

The idea starts with enrobing blobs of ice cream around the Japanese rice dough mochi  .It's a gooey, chewy dough.The company My Mo takes this recipe and expands on this.They have a variety of different flavors from the appropriate green tea to the trendy dulce de Leche. 

Of course I had to try it.

It was different.The dulce de leche was creamy and  flavorful.I liked the surprise of caramel in the middle.What was a bit off putting was the mochi.The texture, with the ice cream was a bit gooey and even saggy in texture.Maybe I should have tried the chocolate instead..Maybe if My Mochi had put the mochi  in the middle, it would have tasted better.Again, it's an acquired taste.

If you're into mochi hybrids, then try this.It's different and flavorful.Try My mochi today for a marriage of two classics.

Baby Nutritionists

With school starting during the next few weeks , it's times to talk about the ABCs of nutrition. It's important to teach those little scholars about what's good to eat.The earlier they know, the better their futures, without obesity and sickness.

Parents with their eldest or only children going off to kindergarten or pre-K have it the luckiest and the easiest.Their little ones have not heard about snack or lunch swapping yet.Sliced peppers and tomatoes will still have appeal as will cubes of low cal cheese. Emphasize that healthy food leads to being smart and better grades. Also stress that potato chips and candy are fine at parties but not at lunchtime. This will be hard so it,s important to make the  food fun.Start with lunches or snacks at home.There are food cutters that come in all sorts of shapes from dinosaurs to hearts.Amazon has the best selection with prices ranging from eight to fifteen dollars.The more advanced kits also have fun animal topped forks and picks .Remember that these can also be used on such fall fruits as apples and pears. Another must do is taking the baby nutritionist shopping.Get him or her acclimated with the produce section. Show them the different kinds, try samples if they have them. Ask for their input when it comes to choosing.Always praise.Never criticize.

Here is the big poser: can you raise a baby vegan? The answer is a surprising yes. A child can live without meat.Just remember they do need vitamins and some protein.Children expend more energy per pound and need to take an equal amount or more in.Try to have healthy proteins such as almonds, nut  butters, and avocados. Try cut out almond butter sandwiches on whole grained vegan breads.Create fun guacamole for afternoon snacking.Show them the different types of nut butters on your next grocery trip. If they're intrigued by sunflower seed butter, buy it. butter.It's a nice alternative to the other butters and expands their palates.During the same trip introduce them to the avocado section. Let them feel the different textures and see the differences between ripe and green ones.Baby vegans also need Vitamin B-12, iron and calcium.The first can come from soy milks, veggie meats and non sugary cereals. Soy milk comes in chocolate flavor so you can interest them that way.Iron comes from vitamin C products and calcium can be found in fortified orange juice.

A baby nutritionist is easy to create.Get them interested in healthy food from pre K and kindergarten.They'll eat better and you'll feel better.

Authentic Health A Guide To A New You

This is the time for transitions.We're changing our diets, We're  changing  our easy , summer  days for weeks and weekends of non stop activity.It's a perfect time then for a better lifestyle. Can it be done? Yes, thanks to a new book.

Dr. Gus Vickery has written a new how to book, Authentic Health: The Definitive Guide (Morgan James Publishing 2019).Dr. Vickery, who is an MD with a family practice in Georgia, believes that it's self modification and will that can change a person's life - and diet.His ideas do resonate but I feel that he may be jumping on the latest diet fad - fasting.A normal fast, from night to breakfast is fine by extending it to lunch can be distracting and hurtful. Read this chapter with caution.Embrace the other recommendations and chapter. What is excellent about the book is Dr. Vickery is also a doctor which means he includes chapters on physiology. They help readers understand how the body works and how it sends messages, letting us know when we're on and off track health wise.Another excellent chapter is on sleep and getting the proper amount of it. This is the one to read,especially with the upcoming season and our addiction to our devices and late nights. Another must read is the one on getting out and actually playing - whether golf or just for a swim. Type A types may want to

Since this is a diet book, there are chapters devoted to what to eat. There are no recipes save for 
a smoothie recipe.Dr. Vickery  does have a list which is broken down into three categories.There are proteins, oils and  fats and oils.Recipes can be created by taking a protein like chicken then mixing it with kale and spinach.Use a fat like grass fed butter or ghee along with spices to cook with . The doctor prefers and strongly advised buying organic meats.Some dairy is allowed such as cream cheese, surprisingly , along with  whole fat Greek yogurt and milk. He also emphasizes the need for fiber and omega fatty 3s.Its not just for fish for the last. You can also sub in leafy green veggies too. There is the usual warnings against soda and alcohol. He does approve of tea and coffee because both can be ingested in moderation. Just stay away from sugar, use honey instead along with vanilla and cinnamon.Wheat is taboo but if you feel like having pasta occasionally do so.

Changing your habits for a better life is a great idea.Use Dr. Vickery's book to do so.  Authentic Health The Definitive Guide is your transformation  go to for a healthier diet and lifestyle.

Back With Caution

I'm  back and it comes with a caution. The blog was not on holiday.Thanks to a person's carelessness,I had a throat infection and cold, one of the very worst. Unfortunately, even though it's summer, we still need vitamins and all the produce we can eat.

Tomatoes are a must have if you're sick. One, they're loaded  with nutrients and two they're versatile. They're also light. A good tomato salad is easy to make. Just take a couple of vine ripes, slice and then cube. Put into a bowl with minced garlic, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Add fresh basil or oregano for more flavor and serve on slices of super crusty Italian bread. I like the fact that they can mix with eggs for a uovo e pomidori easy meal. For an easy meal with a lot of protein , stuff beef steaks or again vine ripes with a mix of tuna in water, and chopped celery. Nix the mayo. If you're sick, you're not going to want it anyway. Cauliflower and broccoli are also chock full of necessary Vitamin C. Try to get them riced. Stop & Shop has them mixed together. They are wonderful sub in's for traditional rice. Add some olive oil and lemon juice and you've got a great meal or side. Sliced carrots and peas can be tossed in for color and flavor.

Fresh fruit is important if you have a virulent summer cold. This is the time that you really crave ice, thanks to rough, sore throat and the nasty heat. What you can do cut up chunks of strawberries and peaches, add a bit of water (or even flavored water) and puree. This can be done by immersion blender or food processor. Pour the fruit into a slushie cup and  - voila - instant Italian ice. It's actually closest to the earliest versions of true Italian and Roman ice where real fruit purees were used. You can also pour the mixture into ice pop molds and have later as a dessert or snack. Another idea is layering fresh fruit in a creamless parfait. Stay away from any dairy when you have a summer cold. Ice cream and frozen yogurt unfortunately do produce phelgm. Try whipped frozen banana instead to sub in for any ice cream. Another sub in aquafaba meringue if you want to fool with making it.

A summer cold is pure hell. Eat right to keep it at bay. Use the produce of the season. It's your best medicine.


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