Summer picnics are a great way to get the family outside in a different environment for a dinner that is light and cool for those warm summer nights. Having some really great gourmet cheese shops and specialty shops to choose from are a good source of many different prepared items that you can turn into a great meal. We have a bunch of them here in Essex County, New Jersey -- Italian shops, produce markets, cheese shops, bakeries and chocolate shops! With all of these resouces, you can create a picnic meal quickly and effortlessly.
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There's nothing better than a great poolside dinner after spending the whole day sitting poolside and relaxing in the sun. It doesn't matter if it's by your own pool, a community pool, or at a friend's house with a pool. I know this since my mom has added a beautiful pool to her yard recently. We didn't have this treat growing up, but now I spend many hot days cooling off there.
Summer, summer ,summertime. We all want to feel good, look great, and eat better and in the warmer months it's easier to eat right. I think it's because the fruits, vegetables are so abundant and juicy...I can't resist!! During the summer, our lives tend to be a little less hectic, maybe it's because the kinds are out of school and we aren't running around getting them to school, rehearsals, and practices.
The weather is warm. The sun is shining brighter. You can just feel that school is almost over for the kids. It's the perfect time to prepare a grilled meal and eat outside on the deck. Try my recipe for Grilled Asian Chicken with Ginger Cilantro Rice. It's one of my favorites for when the weather starts getting warmer. This recipe is simple with a nice twist: adding some Asian spices and ingredients is easy and always tastes great.
Summer is my most favorite season because everything is soooo abundant! The fruits and vegetables are just wonderful, gardens and farmers markets are flourishing! It's so rewarding even watching my own (or I should say my husband's) garden grow. He has the green thumb, but I am definitely involved. He grows it and I cook it!
Spring is in the air, I think I have ants in my pants when I hear I can have fresh artichokes and spring peas, that the asparagus is abundant, and mushrooms are flourishing from the ground. I know that it is menu changing-time. Happily I am figuring out what will be CulinAriane's spring menu. Rabbit? Lamb? What fish is coming from the sea??
However, this blog is for our vegetarians.
My closest friend is a vegetarian and I call her a veggie. She used to eat 'meat' several years ago but that only consisted of chicken, turkey or fish. Today she eats none. However, when I entertain and she is on the guest list, obviously, I have to stop and think what will she eat??
However, this blog is for our vegetarians.
My closest friend is a vegetarian and I call her a veggie. She used to eat 'meat' several years ago but that only consisted of chicken, turkey or fish. Today she eats none. However, when I entertain and she is on the guest list, obviously, I have to stop and think what will she eat??
Spring has Sprung! Yeah!! I love when the weather starts getting warm, this means that the Easter Bunny will be here. And yet another reason to have family and friends over to cook a nice dinner! Easter is my holiday, meaning that this is when my family and friends come to my house. Growing up we always had baby lamb. Yes, the whole lamb. It is something my grandmother always cooked and being Italian, my grandfather always wanted a reminder of his childhood in Italy.
Ahhhhh the luck of the Irish! St. Patrick's Day! Many of us kiss the Blarney Stone or wish on a four-leaf clover and of course eat corned beef and cabbage. I am not Irish but I do eat corned beef once a year on St. Patty's Day at my Dad's favorite tavern, Tierney's. They make some of the best corned beef I've ever had! I wanted to share with you a recipe that you can make at home that is different then corned beef, but one that still makes me think of St. Patrick's Day. You can make this delicious Cheddar Beef Shepherd's Pie at home and it'll make you think you are in Ireland. So on the 17th of March, enjoy the day, drink a green beer, eat some corned beef and do a little Irish jig.
February reminds me of romance. I guess because Valentine's Day is on the 14th, but also because there is snowfalls with white fresh snow, winter getaways, skiing, and cozying up by the fire. Maybe I am crazy and no one else is feeling this but me, but I just feel that it's a time of year that it's easy to get close to the ones we love, no matter who it is. I feel that after all the hustle and bustle with the holidays and the new year rolling in that in February we all kind of take a deep breath and get the opportunity to slow down. Which I welcome.
Well, I hope everyone's year has gotten started off on the right foot and that 2010 will be all you hoped it would be.
For me I have been traveling a lot. Which isn't a bad thing, it just keeps me so busy. My most recent trip was to Las Vegas: the glitz, the glamour, the showgirls, the casinos... it never stops in Vegas! And let me tell you neither did I.
I wasn't there too long, but it was nice to get home. I don't mind getting away every so often, but you know after a while you start missing the normality of living your life and having a comforting home cooked meal. I sure did. So that is why I am going to share with you an amazing macaroni and cheese that is easy and delicious and worlds away from that little blue box we are all used too.
For me I have been traveling a lot. Which isn't a bad thing, it just keeps me so busy. My most recent trip was to Las Vegas: the glitz, the glamour, the showgirls, the casinos... it never stops in Vegas! And let me tell you neither did I.
I wasn't there too long, but it was nice to get home. I don't mind getting away every so often, but you know after a while you start missing the normality of living your life and having a comforting home cooked meal. I sure did. So that is why I am going to share with you an amazing macaroni and cheese that is easy and delicious and worlds away from that little blue box we are all used too.
