Holding onto Summer

I woke up this morning to glorious sunshine however it was quite chilly here on Long Island hence the multitude cups of Green Mountain Breakfast blend coffee - nothing like a warm cup of jo while blogging with the sunshine. Although it feels like fall already the first day of fall is actually not until Wednesday!!!

My eats over the past week have been nothing too exciting - trying to enjoy the last of the late summer produce and fruits. Precisely my impulse to buy a fresh pineapple despite the colder weather. Pineapples not only taste good but are a great source of Vitamin C and also contain bromelin - this is an enzyme that helps aid in the digestion of protein, helps prevent indigestion and also has antiinflammatory properties - great for those suffering from any arthritis or sports related sprains or other injuries.

I personally like my pineapples very sweet - slightly overripe if you must!!!! How do you pick a ripe pineapple????? Ive heard million of different tricks - if you can pick a leaf easily from the center of the stalk - its ripe, if it smells like a pineapple its ripe, if it looks yellow then its ripe - the list goes on!!!! I actually use a combination of all of these but i have had the most luck with smelling the pineapple and also looking at the pineapple. The "eyes" also known as the cotyledons on the skin should be big and firm with a nice yellow (not green) hue. Smell the base of the pineapple - it should smell sweet - if you can't smell anything then don't buy the pineapple!!!! Once you get the pineapple home place the pineapple UPSIDE DOWN - yes you heard me right and let it sit for about a day or so. When a pineapple is placed upside down all of the sugar that is concentrated at the base gets evenly distributed throughout the flesh of the pineapple. Trust me - it works. If you don't do this when you cut it open you will see that the riper pineapple pieces are at the base and the flesh toward the leaves tend to be less ripe and often bitter.

I love pineapple freshly cut - i could eat tons at one sitting - hence part of my morning snack today. I love pineapple plain, mixed with yogurt, added to a banana smoothie, grilled with cinnamon or added to my salsas!!! What are your favorite ways to enjoy pineapple??

I've been trying to incorporate different grains into mydiet recently and made a wonderful recipe of quinoa with roasted red pepper tomato sauce served on top of spinach and roasted broccoli and eggplant slices. If you've never tried quinoa is delicious - a perfect grain to try because its actually a complete protein. The key to making quinoa however is to be sure to rinse it thoroughly before boiling to prevent a bitter taste to the grain. What i like about quinoa is how quickly it cooks and how versatile a grain it is. I have seen it used as a breakfast grain, in baking or simply just boiled. It has a nice texture with a slightly nutty flavor. What are some of your favorite grains??? I am hoping to try millet, and barley this week - any suggestions???

I am finding a new inspiration as i read through your blogs - my love of cooking and health has enabled me to broaden my horizons and include foods that i once enjoyed years ago but have strayed away from. Through blogging i have met so many wonderful people and am grateful for all of your words of encouragement!!!!! I am also thinking about changing my blog to worldpress - any thoughts on this or any suggestions???? I'm not the best on the computer so if anyone could help me id appreciate it!!!!! Enjoy your Sunday and ill be back tomorrow with a delicious new FOOD REVIEW - a delicious healthy cookie i tried - but you'll have to wait till tomorrow!!!

Labor Day Outings

I still can't believe the summer is finally coming to an end - marked by Labor Day weekend. I am very much looking forward to the fall - love the crisp mornings, smell of cinnamon, vanilla baked apples and fields fun of blooming sunflowers.

Yesterday i embarked on one of my favorite outings - i took a ride out to eastern Long Island to visit the wineries and little farmstands. It was glorious - the sun was shining and there was a nice cool breeze - perfect weather for the beginning of fall. I was able to get loads of fresh veggies, pick the last of the peaches and visit my favorite sunflower farm to get a bunch of my beloved flowers for my kitchen table. I also picked up a bag of fresh ginger gold apples. My favorite kinds of apples include ginger gold, macoun, and mitzu.

Ginger gold are one of the first apples of the fall and are a mildly sweet yet tart apple. They have a nice crisp crunch and are a perfect eating apple. They are a hardy apple and will hold their shape during baking. I love baked apples or homemade applesauce on a cold fall night topped with freshly grated cinnamon!!

Before heading out i started my day with a usual summer breakfast of vanilla almond milk topped with fresh berries (the last of my blackberries - how i will miss them!!!) along with my favorite Kashi cinnamon harvest.

We were out for most of the day and I came home quite famished (ate lunch in the car) and was too tired to even think about a new recipe to whirl up soI decided to fall back on a favorite - breakfast for dinner - egg white omelette with fresh spinach, red roasted peppers and a fresh ripe tomato topped with basil and oregano. Alongside i toasted an Ezekial pita bread.

Well today im off to run some errands that desperately need to get done (food shopping and the like) and then im off to my brothers house for a Labor Day barbecue with friends.

Oh and here's a picture of a lovely creature I happened to spot earlier this morning -

A beautiful Praying Manthis - aren't they the most delicate creature you have ever seen???

Hope you all have a great and relaxing Labor Day and enjoy the fall like weather!!!!!!

xoxo aimee

Tuesday blues

Woke up again to the dull patter of rain against my window pane - what happened to my beloved summer weather???? It feels like fall will be upon us much sooner than i expected!!!

Although i love the change of seasons especially from late summer to early fall - i love September and October months im not quite ready to give up the beautiful weather and blooming flowers that i love most about summer.......

As fall is coming soon - what are your favorite things about the fall ?????? I love apple and pumpkin picking, pumpkin spice coffee, harvesting fresh sunflowers, the crisp morning air, comfy wool sweaters and wool socks, roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes, fresh spinach and broccoli, sipping warm cinnamon tea, the smell of baked apples with cinnamon ....

As thing have been quite busy in my life my eats have been quite on the go - the other night i was craving pizza and roasted veggies - i was so hungry that i could not wait for my beloved whole wheat dough in the freezer to defrost and instead tried pita pizza - at first i was a bit hesistant to try it - would the pita stand up to the dough.....

Pre baking................

The final result.................

The verdict???? A winner!!! The pita was crisp - held the veggies and cheese nicely and was quite tasty in my book - a definate repeat when in a bind for a quick meal. To think that in the past i had deprived myself of pizza - why??? Why not i say!!! What are some things that you have recently added back into your diet that you are now in love with???

Another "random" snack that i made over the weekend - banana fig smoothie!!! My fig tree is bursting with fresh figs - i don't know what to do with all of them - i was craving a smoothie and had tons of frozen bananas so i took 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk, 3/4 frozen banana, 2 fresh figs - tossed in the Vita-mix with a handful of ice -

all topped with a remnant of fig - perfectly sweet!!!!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week - enjoy the last few days of summer!!!!!!!!

xoxo aimee

Overabundance!!!

One of my most favorite things about summer is a nice super ripe red tomato. Nothing compares to fresh tomatoes during the summer. Growing up in a largely Italian household tomatoes were a staple at almost every meal - fresh tomatoes in our morning omelettes, plates of cut up thick tomato slices drizzled with olive oil sea salt, pepper and fresh basil and oregano with lunch and of course fresh tomato sauce with roasted garlic.

So far this summer i have already eaten my weight in fresh tomatoes. Between my brothers garden and many friends garden every day i have been given tomatoes and now have quite an overabundance!!!!!

Some fun facts about tomatoes:

1. Tomatoes are actually a fruit - more accurately part of the berry family and not a vegetable!!!

The Supreme Court in 1893 actually declared it a vegetable because it is typically eaten with lunch or dinner!!!

2.Tomatoes are actually the world's most popular fruit - the second is bananas followed by watermelons!!

3. Tomatoes are very high in lycopene - this is what gives them their bright red hue - its the lycopene that helps prevent many forms of cancer.

4. A horn worm can eat an entire tomato plant b

y itself in one day!!!!

5. Americans eat an average of 80 pounds of tomatoes each year!!

Sunday night i decided to make my favorite - fire roasted tomato and garlic sauce which i served over whole wheat linguine and fresh spinach topped with roasted asparagus - here's the recipe - simple and easy!!

Take super red, ripe tomatoes and chop into chunks - i like my sauce chunky - take tomatoes and place in aluminum tin and and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil, fresh ground sea salt, crushed red pepper flakes and sprinkle of sugar. Toss and place on barbecue and roast for 30 minutes - you could also do in oven - while tomatoes cook take fresh bulb of garlic and slice off thin layer of the top to expose garlic - next drizzle with olive oil = wrap in aluminum foil and roast till soft. Once tomatoes have cooked combine garlic with tomatoes and add lots of freshly chopped basil and oregano!!!! Serve over favorite pasta, grain or even pizza!!!

What are your most favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes????? Would love to hear all your ideas!!!

xoxo aimee

Holidays for Everything

Happy August - can't believe that the summer is quickly coming to a close - it feels like just yesterday it was Memorial Day Weekend.  Although i love the summertime i am looking forward to fall - one of my favorite times of the year.  As i was surfing the web early this morning i across a website that lists american food holidays for almost every single day of the year.  Since we just started a new month - i figured i would educate us all on foodie holidays for this month!!!

       First off August is National Peach Month!!!!  I love fresh peaches - especially white peaches.  have you ever had a white peach???  They actually have a smell quite similar to a rose.  Why??  Peaches are actually a member of the rose family!!!!!  Peaches are a great fruit - high in fiber, Vitamin A and other vitamins and have been found to have high levels of antioxidants - great for preventing many types of cancer.  Not only are they good for you but this time of year they are the sweetest!!!!!   How have i been enjoying these fruits???

      Some of my favorites include:  greek yogurt topped with fresh peach slices, green smoothie made with fresh berries, peaches and frozen bananas, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest topped with fresh peaches and vanilla almond milk, peach preserves on top of freshly made waffles (check out Jessica's recipe at Healthy Exposures for the world's greatest waffle recipe!!!!!) or even better - just straight up cold from the refrigerator!!!!

                                                             

                                                              

                                                     

                                                 

    The other day when i went to my mailbox i was so excited to see a package from the lovely company Larabar!!!!  I had contacted them a while back because i had really wanted to try the new carrot cake flavor as well as any of the minis that i had seen - i think the minis are perfect for a quick snack when you just want a little something - i had searched all over and could not find them anywhere - well they were nice enough to send me 2 cherry pie, 2 carrot cake and 2 coconut creme minis - can't wait to try them all.  What are your favorite bars and if you like Larabars which flavors are your favorite????  What's great about Larabars is that they are all natural - made from fruit and nuts and provide healthy fats - which is what im really trying to incorporate more of in my diet these days.  These healty fats will not only provide us with energy but give us great looking skin, hair and nails !!!!

Well  i hope you all had a relaxing and fun - filled weekend and hope you have a wonderful week!!!!!!   xoxo aimee 

                                                                                           

Ten Little Facts

             Sitting down after a long day - physically and mentally exhausted I turned to my laptop to catch up on my favorite blogs - quickly my mood became lightened as i read many of yours - they always bring a smile to my face.  I can't believe how many different types of people i have met, from all over - we each have a unique story that we unfold to each other sometimes each and every day - our deepest emotions shared - our ups and downs, good times and bad, recipes, loves, hates, struggles.  Yet although we may seem different - our love for blogging ties us together.

This week i received an award from the lovely Mel at neon flamingos and white peacocks  - if you haven't checked out her blog I highly recommend it!!! It's filled with lovely re

cipes as well as great fashion finds and amazing pictures - 

      Well here goes - 10 little facts:

1.  Yes I am obsessed with SUNFLOWERS - always have been.  They truly are my favorite flower - nothing brings a smile to my face quicker than seeing these majestic beauties blooming in late summer and early fall.  

2. I currently live in a condo on a golf course and do not know the first thing about playing golf!!   However i do get a kick out of sitting on my porch with my morning coffee and watch the daily golfers hit many of the golf balls directly into the pond in front of my terrace!!!

3. I have an intense fear of getting stuck in an elevator ever since I got trapped in one about 5 years ago.   It was 2 o'clock in the morning and I was at work in the hospital - i got into the elevator and then it just stopped between floors - i panicked, had to pick up the bright red emergency phone and be rescued by hospital security!!!

4. I've never had my hair longer than my shoulders.  For as long as i can remember i've had my hair cut very short.  I love it - its easy and fun!!!  Although there are times when i wish i had long hair (like for my sisters wedding) and have contemplated "extensions" but i love my hair!!

Every time i try and grow it out - i get frustrated and end up cutting it!!

5.  My dad breeds and races homing pigeons.  Yes - ever since i was little my dad has had these birds - currently he has about 100 of these amazing birds.  What is amazing is that they will fly distances up to 500 miles away and return to their birthplace in the same day.  Amazing right??

6.  To date i have probably delivered over 400 babies.  

Still to this day the birth of a child is truly an amazing thing.  Although stressful i still cannot believe what an experience this truly is.

7. I love FRUIT!!!!   Eat it with almost every meal -you will always find my fridge stocked with fresh berries and the like as well as see my counter stocked with a fresh bowel of fruit.

P.S. How cute are these bananas - they actually are mini-ones - hard to tell from the picture

8. My favorite colors are Yellow  and Green

9.  I must admit - i love wearing my Teva flip-flops in the summer and i love warm cozy wool sweaters in the wintertime!!!

10. Nothing beats a relaxing morning with a warm mug of coffee watching the sunrise!!!

Hope you enjoyed these 10 random facts!!!!!!   There are so many people i would like to pass this award to - i think many of you have already told us your random facts - here goes:

       Emma from Love from Emma 

       Maggie from My Breakfast Blog 

       Eleanor from Pieces of Her

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and Happy first day of August - the summer is flying by!

                                                               xoxo aimee

Finally.....

       I love the morningtime - especially on the weekends - i can sit leisurely with my morning coffee on my terrace and watch the sunrise.  Yes, even on the weekends when i don't HAVE to get up at such an ungodly hour (usually 5AM) , my internal clock still awakens me and i usually just start my day as usual.  Today was like no other - i was up by 5 - had my coffee and went for a short walk around my neighborhood and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise.  Today they are expecting the temps to reach a record of 104 degrees !!!!  I plan on sitting in my pool and just finally relaxing with a good book and catching up on my blog reading.  What are your plans for the weekend?????

          This week i was finally able to find fresh figs - i love fresh figs just as much as i like dried ones.  Figs are a wonderful fruit - so versatile and sweet.  They have been called the "fruit of the gods" In biblical times figs were considered to be "restorative"  They fed fresh figs to those who were suffering from long time sickness and found that it aided them in their recovery process. It removed both physical and mental exertion and gave the body renewed vigor and strength.What i found to be an interesting fact - figs contain tryptophan which can induce sleep and help cure insomnia!!!!

        So here are my fresh figs!!!!!!!  I enjoyed them sliced as so on top of chilled fage as a snack!

 Some other things i enjoyed this week:  Sweet potato black bean bites!!!   Now i love black beans and sweet potatoes and i figured why not combine the 2!!!

Here's the recipe as promised!!

          1/3 cup black beans drained

          1/2 large sweet potato - cooked (you can either boil or bake it till soft)

          spinach

          diced vidalia onion

          cumin

          chili powder

           garlic

           salt/pepper

Its actually quite a simple recipe - i took the onion - diced it and cooked in olive oil till translucent , next i added fresh spinach till cooked.  In a separate bowel i simply took half the beans and mashed half with the back of a fork and left the rest whole.  Next combine the sweet potato beans and onions and spinach and the rest of spices (i don't measure my spices  - sorry!!)Form into 4 balls and place in refrigerator till chilled.  Once chilled i spray will olive oil spray and place in aluminum pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

         I served mine on top of fresh romaine salad with roasted red peppers and with additional roasted sweet potato fries.  Toppings i like for the sweep potato black bean bites: organic mustard or ketchup or else greek yogurt seasoned with chives, salt, pepper and garlic.

         Hope you like the recipe and have a wonderful weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!   xoxo aimee