Bent Spoon

If you're after a cool summer treat in central Jersey, look no further than the Bent Spoon in Princeton, NJ (unless you're looking for delicious iced toddy, that is--then you go to oqcoffee.com)

Family was in town and I offered to treat them to some gelato.  Still full from lunch, the gang said, "oh, no, Jessica--we'll just have a bite of yours."  Little did they know, this not your average serving of gelato.

After everyone had their little licks of honey sage and blueberry passionfruit*, dad disappeared into the Bent Spoon with Amy trailing behind.  Mom sat on the bench, but soon enough, she disappeared too.  Minutes they, they returned with the following:

more photos from the life-changing experience:

*all from NJ; some as close as the garden across the street at Princeton U--except passionfruit, but hey!  Sometimes you need a little from the tropics to jazz it up.

Summer of Sowing Seeds

If you've ever thought about gardening and then thought it was too much work, think again.  Granted gardening takes time and care, but what you get at the end is definitely worth the little effort!

New Brunswick, with quite a bit of help from Elijah's Promise (and Paul) and several others, set up a community garden.  You can purchase a box for $15 for a year.

Swiss chard has really been quite the productive little plant in the box.  It just keeps growing!  You cut it, it grows more.  Wonderful.  I would share photos of them in the box, but those photos are on my phone still...will upload later.  For now, I'll share the finished product:

This leafy vegetable (I'm afraid to call it lettuce) makes no ordinary salad (or whatever you're making).  It's definitely flavorful, albeit a bit bitter.  It is also has a relatively thick, chewy, yet crispy texture--quite filling. Here it is simply tossed w/ some olive oil, a teeny pinch of sea salt, diced tomatoes (from a friend's garden), and a thick grating of Parmesan.  A little reading tells me it also tastes good sautéed, especially if you are not willing to take on the bitterness.  Varieties of it produces some really bright, vibrant stalks--from the sunshine yellow you see here to a bloody orange grapefruit pink.

The vodka sauce rotini served as a good supporting dish ;)

Banana Nut Bread Muffins

Bananas are all over the place in the summer.  It felt wrong not to use them as much as possible!    I originally planned on making bread, but last minute made them into muffins.  Ben Schellack said they were pretty good, so I'll consider it quite the success.

I look at two recipes*, used them both, and somehow ended up with this:

I was a bit delayed on the crumble (wonk, wonk), but it worked.  summary of key ingredients?

brown sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, baking power + soda, an egg! and sour cream

*Janet's Rich Banana Bread + Banana Crumb Muffins