Fall is in the air! With the weather cooling down, I took a trip with J and his mother to Alstede Farms for some good ole fashioned apple picking! Alstede Farms has a lot to offer like hay rides, corn maze, pony rides, and play areas for the kids. They also have wine tasting for the adults which we definitely took advantage of. You can pick your own crops or you can go into their market and buy fresh produce from the farm.
With apple sauce and pies on my mind, we headed off with our box in search of apples. Not only did we pick apples, but other fruits and vegetables as well. Here are some photos from our visit.
Apple trees all in a row.
J reaching for the hard to get apples.
They also had raspberries, blackberries, and yellow raspberries.
They also had a ton of veggies we could pick including all kinds of peppers. I love these purple peppers.
Hot peppers!
So many eggplants – big and small.
I don’t know what these guys are, but they were begging for a photo.
We did a good job filling up our box.
They also had a ton of animals on the farm that you could feed and pet.
This goat loved the carrot.
This goat wasn’t so sure… Continue reading
Maple-Soy Roasted Almonds & Cashews
While settling into the couch on this rainy afternoon to peruse some food blogs, I came across this quick and easy recipe for roasted almonds. With all the ingredients already in my pantry, I thought this would be the perfect snack for some college football watching that was about to ensue (go Huskies!!).
A 4-5 ingredient recipe (depends on how many kinds of nuts you use).
Round 1 roast. The original recipe calls for just almonds, but since J is allergic to almonds, I also did some cashews but kept them separate and mixed the nuts in separate bowls.
After the 5-7 minute roast, mix with sauce, roast again. Continue reading
Dinner at Má Pêche
Over Labor Day weekend, J’s brother came into NYC for a visit. We went into the city to go out to dinner. The criteria for dinner was something J’s brother couldn’t get where he lives. Má Pêche, a restaurant in the Momofuku family by David Chang was the lucky winner. The Má Pêche experience is includes dim sum dishes coming around on carts to compliment the chefs specials of the day. I took photos during the meal, and to go with the restaurants name, all the photos came out very peachy-orange. While these photos do not do the meal justice, we had an amazing time and really enjoyed all the dishes we had.
We started off the meal at the bar with wine and cocktails. My lemon peel looks like lips.
We were seated at a long communal table. We lucked out and got seated at the end. The plus of a party of three. The family at the end had a very tired diner.
We started off with pork buns with pickled cucumbers. I could have had three or four of these.
One of the best things we had was this buttered corn. It was served with grains, little pumpernickel croutons, and fresh horseradish. Continue reading
Month Through My Lens: July 2014
Before I am two months behind, here is a look at what I was up to in July. It involved a lot of beach time.
My family takes a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico every summer. It was full of tacos, huge waves, jet skis, and margaritas. Here are some photos from the trip.
Good representation of our trip. This is only after day 1.
View from our beach.
The southern most tip of California de Baja Sur.
We camped out under these palapas every day.
World Cup viewing party in the clubhouse.
Cactus tostadas.
Walking into town for dinner.
We had our own pool. I wore a swimsuit 90% of the time. Continue reading
Corn with Miso Butter
Before moving to New Jersey, many told us we were moving to the land of tomatoes and corn. So far, they have been right.
Here is a quick, easy dish that takes advantage of all the delicious fresh corn out there. We had corn last night for dinner and I had one ear leftover. This recipe can be made with one ear for a single serving or a big bunch of corn for a large group. The corn can be boiled, steamed, or grilled.
Corn with Miso Butter
(measurements for 1 ear of corn)
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon miso paste (I used white)
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
1 cooked ear of corn – kernels cut off of cob
1 tablespoon chives – chopped
salt and pepper
In a small pan over medium heat, melt butter, miso, and water. Add ginger and mustard. Once mixture begins to bubble, add corn. Toss to coat and to heat through. Add almost all of the chives, save some for garnish. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Once corn is heated through, remove from heat and pour into bowl. Top with extra chives and serve. This dish is good hot or at room temp. Enjoy! 
Month Through My Lens: June 2014
Hello everyone! Long time no blog! Sorry for the pause in posts. Life has been jam packed these last two months. Between work, vacations, and life in general, J and I have had a full plate. The largest reason I have been absent on the blog is J and I had to pack up our life in Pennsylvania for a new adventure in New Jersey! J accepted a job at Rutgers University, so we made the move to NJ. In less than a month we totally relocated and are now surrounded by boxes and bubble wrap as we make our new home feel like home.
So, to make up for lost time, let’s rewind and I’ll show you what my June looked like. Enjoy the photos!
We took a trip to Virginia Beach, VA to visit some friends and play in a beach Ultimate Frisbee tournament. This photo is in the tunnel on the way to VA.
Beach ultimate frisbee tournaments come with the best view.
I can’t get enough of this face! This is Luke, the cutest most handsome dog in VA.
When in Virginia Beach, eat seafood. I was in heaven.
Continue reading
Grilled Peach, Arugula & Goat Cheese Salad
Listen up everyone. Grill fruit. Trust me. It’s AMAZING!
This salad came together super quickly and with stone fruit coming into season this would be good with nectarines or plums too. Other veggies can be added if you like, but I decided to keep it simple so the sweetness of the peaches and the bitter and peppery flavors of the fresh arugula would be the star. And who ever said no to goat cheese? I know I never have.
Gathered up the ingredients. Some quick pickled onions would also add a nice zing.
Before putting the peaches on the grill, brush them with a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Then put it all together. Tip: dress the the arugula first, then top with peaches, goat cheese and sunflower seeds. Serve with extra dressing on the side. Continue reading
Iced Coffee Ice Cubes
What I’m about to share with you will change your life forever. Seriously.
Well, I think it’s kind of a big deal. It is an amazing life hack that will leave you saying “why didn’t I think of that!?!”
Warm weather = iced coffee season. For all of you that make iced coffee at home to save a few precious dollars here are there, this is just the post for you.
Make a pot of coffee – either with your coffee maker, french press, cold brew, Keurig, or AeroPress. Let the coffee sit on the counter to cool (unless you did cold brew coffee). Pour into ice cube trays. Freeze. Done!
Now you have coffee ice cubes that won’t water down your coffee! It’s amazing. I love how the small things can make me so happy.
Trust me you guys, just make this. You will thank me later.
One note: when you pop out the ice cubes be careful they don’t pop out and hit your clothes. Remember it’s coffee and it will stain.
I feel silly writing a recipe for this, but here ya go.
Coffee Ice Cubes
What you need:
Room temperature coffee (examples: leftover from the morning, make a pot, use your french press, do cold brew, use your AeroPress and add some cold water after it’s brewed to double the amount)
Ice cube tray(s)
Pour coffee into ice cube trays. Freeze.
Once frozen, pop out of ice cube trays and pour your fresh coffee (hot or cold) over ice cubes. Add any milk or sweetener, or keep it black. Enjoy!
two coast kitchen 
