Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen

WE WERE HUFFED AND PUFFED AND POURED UPON

                    What is worse, the big wind or the unbelievable amount of rain? Together they were a formidable team and the havoc that was  wreaked on not only the east coast of our nation but in upstate New England was and still is dreadful. So many homes were ruined, roadways and entire infrastructures are in shambles, and so many people are still without power. My family were lucky this time...we have power in our house, my parents in Pennsylvania are good, my daughter in Vermont had her first day of classes postponed due to major flooding on campus, but all in all we are a little soggier but okay.

                 Was there too much hype prior to the arrival of Irene? Yes and no...the Governor of NJ and the Mayor of NY were overly cautious and that turned out to be a very good thing. I believe that many lives were indeed saved by the professionals who helped our politicians make the calls that they did. There was, without question no need for the major television stations to constantly air "news" of what was happening. A big portion of what the news anchors had to say just went to show that they don't have a clue and just read from the cards. During a major weather event do we really need people standing by the beach being blown away or showing us that the ticket stand was blown over? Surely we are better than that. I don't see how it is helpful to have a news reporter standing in a foot of water just to show that it is there. I for one would like to see the reporting of big events to be by reliable and accountable people who are smart enough to come in out of the rain. Now this is just my two cents and others might thoroughly enjoy the slapstick humor that comes out of some kids running through the wet roads only to stop and moon those watching, however, I think that the producers of the news shows need to stop trying to copy one another and freshen their ideas of how to deal with situations such as these.

                For those who have actually read todays rant...I thank you for bothering.  Thank you so much for your concern about our well being. From here on it will be good news and blue skies.

♥, Susan

 

BEAUTIFUL NIGHT BEFORE THE STORM

              Living on the Jersey Shore does have one draw-back when it comes to big storms coming up the Atlantic Coast we have our share of them. Looks like Irene will definitely be visiting our little town. We have prepared as best we can...outdoor furniture put away, batteries for flash lights bought, extra containers of water...yup, we are prepared. So, what do we do on the night before...well, if you live in Fair Haven, you go to the Fireman's Fair!
For the last 21 years we have come here to celebrate the end of summer. It is a wonderful time to enjoy a delicious seafood meal...there is a fantastic restaurant under a tent and I am a little embarrassed to say that I ate my scallops before I remembered to take a picture...they were that good.
Under an ominous sky we saw neighbors and friends who we haven't seen in months. We saw children who we knew from the time they were in elementary school all grown up...some with children of their own!
The kids were mesmerized by the rides, the games, the prizes and the lights.
For me, it is always the ferris wheel...it just holds its own kind of magic.
So, I don't know how this glitzy bit of happiness will make out through the hurricane coming our way but I am so glad to have had this night to party with those who are in the same boat.
Because in the end, the fair is about all of the above, the community and the volunteers who put so many hours into making so many happy memories every year. We have spent the day Planning for the worst and hoping for the best...seems to be Irene's catch phrase. I am hoping to remember the fair of 2011 and the hurricane that wasn't that big a deal. Hope to have that update, maybe with pictures.

           Linking this post to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday, Smiling Sally for Blue Monday, and Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

♥, Susan

CAVOLO NERO AND NEVER A DULL MOMENT AT THE JERSEY SHORE

                  The Governor of New Jersey had a news conference this morning. In it, he declared a state of emergency in preparation of a visit from the hurricane named Irene.
He said that anyone with plans to stay at the shore this weekend should stay home. There is the possibility of evacuation. We live on a peninsula between two rivers that ends at the Atlantic Ocean. Having grown up on the south side of Long Island, I have seen hurricanes come up the coast and I know how to prepare for this. To be honest, this time I feel a little nervous. 

                  In preparation, this morning I picked some of what is ripe in the backyard garden.
It is doubtful that there will be anything left after the 80 mile per hour winds that are expected. Most of this I was going to pick next week anyway, but I was going to leave the squash for another few weeks. Better to have them safe in the house than ravaged by the elements. 

                I also picked the Cavolo Nero or Dinosaur Kale. My husband searched high and low for the seeds to grow this plant and we want to enjoy what has grown in the garden.
Also called Lacinato, this black kale is rather unique in flavor and appearance. I will be making soup (my favorite way to use it) tonight and put some away in preparation ...just in case we need it next week.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours,

Ingredients:

• 2 black leaf kale plants, about 2 1/2 pounds (1 k)
• A medium onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• A medium carrot, minced
• A stalk of celery, minced
• A sprig of fresh thyme
• Olive oil
• 3-4 canned plum tomatoes, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 quarts (2 liters) simmering vegetable or meat broth (unsalted bouillon will work)
• Slices of toasted Italian bread
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preparation:

Begin by washing the kale, stripping the ribs from the leaves, and slicing the leaves into strips. Next, heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a pot, add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and sauté until the onion is translucent and begins to color. Add the thyme, and the kale, and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few more minutes.

Add the tomatoes and broth, mix well, check seasoning, and simmer the soup for an hour. In the meantime, slice and toast the bread, and use it to line your soup bowls.

Ladle the soup over the bread, and serve it with freshly grated cheese, extravirgin olive oil, and black or red pepper for those who want it.

This particular recipe came from About.com.

                 Hoping for the best this weekend for all who will be touched by Irene. I am linking this post to Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

♥, Susan

VINTAGE CAR SHOW...SO PATRIOTIC

                    We walked through town the other night and enjoyed all of the sights at the vintage car show. There was live music on every few blocks, and that set the "oldies" mood.
The streets were lined with vehicles dating back to the 1930's and advancing through the 1960's. There were more red cars than any other color with blue following red.
Please click on the pictures to make them larger. There were also more photographers walking down the street than I ever remembered....is everyone blogging now?
Such stunning shades of red and blue, but no pink? I thought for sure that someone would show up with a pink Cadillac...
but it was not going to happen...not one pink car and in the end, I had to settle for the pink poodle skirt. Thank goodness for the retro clothing store.
That's my sweetheart looking at a for sale sign on this old Caddie...uh oh!!
At the end of the street, as daylight started to fade, the crowds became louder and more festive. The bars were starting to fill up, and the restaurants were packed.
I spied with my little eyes these last two sunshine yellow vehicles. A very nice walk in town and then a short trip home to have dinner and open a nice bottle of wine. We sat on the back porch and reminisced about old cars...so much fun!

        This post is being linked to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday, Smiling Sally for Blue Monday, Little Red House for Mosaic Monday, It's a Cherry World for Rednesday, and Mellow Yellow Monday.

♥, Susan

SQUASHED UNDER A TON OF TOMATOES

                Mid-August and the season to reap what has been sown is upon us...in other words....we are up to our eyeballs in tomatoes, butternut, zucchini, and pattypan! 
Even the sunflowers are taller than usual this year...this one has to be somewhere between 9 and 10 feet!
Last year I wrote about my friend Marks heirloom tomatoes...this year, the yield is from out own little gardens. Yes, it probably is weird to get so excited over produce...but this is just like magic to me.
We will be making and freezing pesto and canning tomatoes for sauce in the middle of winter.
I have been skewering the pattypan with steak and marinating in a little olive oil and garlic...a few minutes on the grill and delicious. 
It seems that mid-August is when everything in the garden becomes over sized...huge. The bee in the picture above is about 3+ inches...no exaggeration...scared the heck out of me! After the crazy hard rain we had this week, I of course had to go over to my favorite tree in the garden and check on the hornet's nest. There is some kind of lesson in this...it doesn't seem to be attached to anything specifically, but it does not budge...not even in a deluge. Maybe we should be building houses out of the same stuff this nest is made from. 

                My recipe for Foodie Friday this week actually comes from Susan Branch...I love her books and her art work and I really love her blog which can be found here. If you want a reason to be happy, visit her blog. Her recipe for these little ice cream sandwiches is just inspired! Could not be simpler. Buy the Famous chocolate wafers, a little scoop of your favorite ice cream, wrap them up in wax paper and pop in the freezer ...I made about 50...there are 2 left :)  and I will not apologize. They are that good! ( Truth be told, I had lots of help eating the little ice cream sandwiches)

                Linking up with Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time and Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.  Also to Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer.

♥, Susan

 
 
 

NATURES EMPORIUM

                    There are some things about living in a small town that become staples in your life...comfort zones to visit and revisit on a regular basis....come with me on a pictorial adventure...
Natures Emporium has been a Fair Haven staple for the past 38 years, owned and run by my friend Perk, it is the best place to find the unique and unusual as well as the hottest trend. It is the place I look in first for a gift when I am clueless as to what the perfect gift would be for someone. 
The store is like a modern day general store selling everything from natural fiber clothing to hip and modern jewelry, books, candles, candy, the best smelling lotions and soaps, great greeting cards and the most unique wrapping paper to make that gift the one everyone notices first. 
It is the perfect place for a pet lover too as you can see in the picture above.
On many occasions I have popped in to find people in their 80's chatting with Perk while she rang up their purchase...and I would be just as likely to find a Mom or doting Auntie exclaiming to have found that latest craze that was sold out in all of the other stores.
This shop carries the card that will make you laugh, or the perfect sentiment when words fail. It is my go to place when I need a new pair of leggings or yoga pants and it is a great place to pick up a new pair of socks for the picky males and females in your life.
 

                   Natures Emporium is one of those stores that you like to walk through more than once, peeking into corners and around walls because surprises are hidden in the most unlikely places and you never know what you will find in there next, but I promise, you will not be disappointed.

                  Natures Emporium can be found at 769 River Rd, in Fair Haven, NJ. This post is being linked with Smiling Sally for Blue Monday and Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Thank you Sally and Mary for hosting these events.

♥, Susan 

PINK SATURDAY JOINS THE MIRACLE MAKEOVER

                  Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound has joined with Design Gives Back as a fund raiser. For each comment left $1.00 will be donated to Design Gives Back for a Miracle Makeover for a cancer patient's room. In the worst of times, having an uplifting and positive environment is such a good and important thing.

                    Asking for an inspirational thought, prayer or blessing, I remember this Shel Silverstein poem. It reminds us that we are not the only ones who have trouble falling asleep at night and although the Whatifs that keep us awake might seem silly to some, to those with the Whatifs, they are very real.

 Whatif                  by Shel Silverstein

                  Last night while I lay thinking here

                  some  Whatifs crawled inside my ear

                  and pranced and partied all night long

                  and sang their same old Whatif song:

                  Whatif I'm dumb in school?

                  Whatif they closed the swimming pool?

                  Whatif I get beat up?

                  Whatif there's poison in my cup?

                  Whatif I start to cry?

                  Whatif I get sick and die?

                  Whatif I flunk that test?

                  Whatif green hair grows on my chest?

                  Whatif nobody likes me?

                  Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?

                  Whatif I don't grow tall?

                  Whatif my head starts getting smaller?

                  Whatif the fish won't bite?

                  Whatif the wind tears up my kite?

                  Whatif they start a war?

                  Whatif my parents get divorced?

                  Whatif the bus is late?

                  Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?

                  Whatif I tear my pants?

                  Whatif I never learn to dance?

                  Everything seems well, and then the nightime

                  Whatifs strike again!

♥, Susan

HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU KID

                   Every once in a while I will remember to check the lower right hand corner of my blog page to see who has stopped by...it thrills me to see visitors from across the pond, and the other day I saw this...
Really? How cool it that?

                  When the Plaza Hotel was sold a while back, I felt sad...another New York City landmark was to be made into something it was not....at least not in my time. I have memories of that place...culinary memories. When I was a little girl, my parents took me to the very exotic Trader Vic's Restaurant at the Plaza...the year was 1964. This picture of the Oak Room is courtesy of the New York Times.
Some years later there was tea at the Palm Court and a few meals in the Oak Room. There are some things that you just think are going to be around for ever, but of course that is never the case. The thing I remember most about the Oak Room was the atmosphere...the grand manly clubbiness of the place. Like the steak houses of old, there is just something very cozy about a room clad in intricately carved and polished wood. Interestingly, I cannot remember what I had to eat when I was there, and I remember most events by the food first. 
Then I remembered that I have a vintage copy of the Plaza cookbook. Nestled on the shelf with the other New York City books that I have been collecting...Mama Leone's, Luchow's and a Village favorite The Cookery. They are a great way to remember those special moments ...and  possibly meals that can be prepared again.
What came back to me about the Plaza meals looking through the cookbook was that the food was not memorable. Indeed, it was rather basic, simple  and uninspiring (that was in the mid 70's). There are pages and pages of salads in the Plaza cookbook and the majority start with iceberg or romaine lettuce. Some include canned peaches, cottage cheese, maraschino cherries or the more exotic hearts of palm.
I am not knocking salads that are composed like this, just pointing out that most restaurants are serving more intricate salads and that most home cooks and foodies might look back on these recipes with nostalgia. Four pages of composed salads ...with such interesting names! The cookbook was published in 1972 by Prentice Hall, written by Eve Brown. Did she know then that this would become an archive, a treasure for those looking to remember olden times? There is a bit of history in this book, the information about the formal opening in 1907, the balls and parties that welcomed the elite of New York. 

            Flipping through the pages of the cookbook I found the recipe...the one that turned on the memory switch in my head. I was on a date with someone I worked with...his name eludes me, but the meal does not. I had baked stuffed lobster...it was delicious!
Linking up to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. Thanks for hosting Michael!

♥, Susan

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY....HISTORY

Notre Dame.....

Joining in with wordless Wednesday.

♥, Susan

SUNNY SUMMER AT THE JERSEY SHORE

               It has been one incredibly sunny season over here, making it difficult for me to get outside much. (lupus=no sunshine) So, I am out very early in the morning and later in the evening. The gardens in our little world though...they love the sunshine!
From the asparagus fronds to the black chard, this garden is just chugging along. My favorites this year are the cucumbers and eggplants, but the butternut squash, well that plant has a "mind" of its own.
Wending its way all over the yard, we are finding squash plants hidden like Easter Eggs. When the kids were small, this would have been an issue because they would run through the yard with their friends, but you don't see too many twenty somethings running through the sprinkler these days.
We have also seen an abundance of heirloom tomatoes ripening on the vines. It took us a while to figure out the the green tomatoes are actually ripe, even though they stay green, and they are just as delicious as the red. The yellow and orange tomatoes tend to be a little less acidic. While we are on the subject of orange,
I found some lovely orange items growing in the community garden including those big fat pumpkins peeking out from under the leaves...which tells me that Autumn is fast approaching.
Some pretty yellows also caught my eye in the community garden, and I would be remiss if I didn't bring you an update on that hornets nest...
It is still in the tree and still very active. These pictures were taken yesterday...if you want to see more pictures of the nest, you can see them in this post.

This is a picture of the tree that the nest is in, which is right next to the community garden and not too far from this playground.
I haven't heard of anyone getting stung this summer, so I am thinking that the bees are busy enough in the garden and as long as no one bothers them, they won't be interested in us (I hope).

Linking up today with Little Red House for Mosaic Monday and Smiling Sally for Blue Monday.

♥, Susan