My niece is having a baby in September.  I figure if I say it often enough I'll start to believe it, so far it's not working, I know she's grown, but even seeing her it's hard to believe! 

I left Friday morning to drive to Pittsburgh for the shower.  I really like driving and the car was loaded.  My husband went also and we had a nice picnic lunch in Virginia on the way up.  I like to stop, relax and enjoy a meal. 

We got to my sister's about 9:30 Friday night because we had to have dinner before I went to my sister's.  In fairness I did call her and ask if she wanted to join us at Carl's Tavern but they had already eaten.  I have to go to Carl's when I go to Monroeville to eat the fried fish, fried zucchini and onion rings.  Yes, everything is fried.  Lots and lots of fried. 

It has been ridiculously hot and even with the air conditioning in the car on the way up, I headed straight to my sister's pool when we arrived.  After eating.  So refreshing to be in the water.  We chatted and floated and all was well.  We made our Saturday plans which for me was cooking dinner Saturday night at my sister's.  Of course that meant a trip to the Strip! 

Saturday morning we picked up my nephew and headed downtown.  It's all about food in the Strip so we waited in the hot, hot sun at DeLuca's for breakfast.  Not as long a line as it was when we left.  I had to have the seafood omelet with Italian toast.  My husband had a breakfast burrito, my nephew French toast.  Once fortified with food, we shopped.

Yes, I made Scampi with Linguine again.  We needed Italian bread from Mancini's, produce, cheese from Pennsylvania Macaroni, a steak for my sister Cathy, shrimp from Wholey's.   We also needed to stop in at Penzey's Spices because we could.  We didn't do too much extra shopping, it was hot and after about 2 hours we were done.   And ready for the pool again.

Saturday afternoon my nephew made salsa for an afternoon snack.  He is growing peppers and wanted to use them.  I made a Caprese Salad, Romaine Salad, heated bread, made scampi for 12 even though we had 10 for dinner we like leftovers and my sister cooked her steak.  On the way home from the Strip we stopped for dessert at Moio's Italian Bakery and picked up a carrot cake, German Chocolate Cake and fruit tart, again planned leftovers.

Back to the pool after dinner. 

Sunday we had the baby shower.  I didn't have to do anything Sunday but attend.  I rode with  my sister Cathy and we headed back to the Strip to Lidia's restaurant for a brunch shower.  The grandmothers and my niece's best friends did a great job with the shower.  Lidia's did a great job with the food. 





We headed home bright and early Monday morning.  Just a quick visit since my gift to my niece is a personal chef service.  I'll go up in my car with all my cooking stuff early in September to stock the freezer before the baby gets here.  He's due September 17th.  My niece loves to eat and this will give her and her husband some easy to get to food when things are busy.  I have to take care of the people who are taking care of the new baby!

We left Monroeville about 6:30 am so we stopped for breakfast about 10:00 and had a real treat.  Breakfast was good but the parking lot was the best part of breakfast.  The Budweiser drivers also stopped for breakfast and gave the horses some air and let customers ask questions and take pictures.  They were headed to the Greenbrier for a golf tournament I think. 





Back to work now.  I have all my paperwork ready for my personal chef client tomorrow.  I have a first  meeting with my contact at a school in the area as part of Chefs Move to Schools and I have two library programs this week also.  Lots of fun, no boredom.

Wow, what a fast couple of days.  Since I did not have camp this week I had free days , or so I thought.  Not so.  I had tons of stuff to do. 

I had to do sheets and bedding from the spare room where my sister and nephew stayed.  I had to go to Costco and get lots of things that fit well into the Element.  I went to Jazzercise after a week away and oh my am I feeling it!  Three times this week, I feel much better even with the soreness.

Yesterday I went to BJ's and Kohl's to pick up the items that Costco did not have.  I think I'm set now on paper towels, cheese sticks, new pillow for husband, plastic wrap, hummus, and yes two new cookbooks. 

I know, it's a sickness.  I bought the Williams Sonoma Preserving cookbook at Costco and Planet Barbecue at BJ's.  I glanced through them last night and they both look great.  More cooking!

Yesterday I decided to make dessert since dinner was simple - ribeyes on the grill, pasta with pesto and fresh green beans.  I made Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler and it was good.  And pretty.  Not too difficult.  I did use pecans rather than walnuts, we are in Georgia and I like them better. 

Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler from Taste of Home Magazine
serves 12

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup water
• 9 cups sliced peeled peaches

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda; cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended.
2. Transfer to a floured surface; knead 10-12 times. Pat into a 12-in. square. Brush with melted butter.
3. Combine the walnuts, cinnamon and remaining brown sugar; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edge. Roll up jelly-roll style. Seal dough; set aside.
4. For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon peel. Gradually stir in water until blended. Add peaches. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
5. Cut biscuit dough into twelve 1-in. slices; arrange biscuits over filling. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
   

Today I worked a few hours at Macy's for KitchenAid, then the library, Trader Joe's, the bank, and home for laundry and dinner.  I am ready to relax!  I will be leaving tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh for my niece's baby shower.  I hope to get an early start, but still have to pack my clothes and gather the mountain of stuff from my sister's shopping spree last week. 

I am so glad that I finished the baby blanket a while ago.  I am in process on another for my stepdaughter and need to get back to that.  Life is good, all works out as it should, now to deal with the shopping mountain!

Last week was a whirlwind!  Lots of fun and very busy.  I had the third session of kid's cooking camp and it went very well.  We had the cooking competition on Thursday with wonderful judges Nancy Waldeck and Rosemary Rutland.  All three groups did a great job as usual which makes it difficult for the judges.  The scores were very close again but the winning team was The Three Foodkiteers. 



Everyone worked hard on Thursday for the judges and Friday for guests.  We cooked for 30 on Friday and all went extremely well!









I was scheduled to do cooking camp today through Friday for the 6 to 9 year olds but the registration was too small.  Not to worry, I won't be bored.  I have a call with a potential client at 8:00, a meeting with a potential client at 10:00, another phone call at 1:00,  business is looking good.

I also have little things to do like finally get to Costco.  We're actually out of things I never thought we'd run out of.  I'm also leaving on Friday to go to Pittsburgh for my niece's baby shower.  I have presents to get ready, packing, and since I'm driving to Pittsburgh my sister did some shopping while she was here and there is a small mountain of her purchases to get in the car.

I love my job and life and would so much rather be busy! 

This has been a busy week.  I sometimes have busy weeks, but this one was exceptional.  Lots of fun though!

My sister and nephew arrived Saturday, camp started Monday which is why my sister and nephew came so they knew this was a working week for me.

Monday in addition to cooking class, I had my monthly class at the Y.  I teach in the senior center and I have 14 to 18 regulars each month.  This month's theme was Stone Fruits and I made Plum Crisp, Cornmeal Coated Chicken with Peach Salsa and Nectarine Salad.  I get there at 6:00 pm for prep, the class is 7 to 8 and leave about 8:30 after cleaning up.  I love this class!  Everyone has fun, asks questions and enjoys the food.

Tuesday was the library program in Jackson, Georgia.  This was a little bit of a drive but we didn't run into any traffic traumas and didn't get lost so all was well.  Of course my family came with me, they had never been to Jackson!

We had a great time. I did Quick, Healthy Meals for Teens and had a pretty big crowd.  The teens were a little hesitant to volunteer to help at first, but once one person came to help, the rest were eager.  I have pictures thanks to my sister.







In addition to the teens that attended the party, there were 2 college students who have received scholarships from the library.  To repay the scholarships the students give 30 hours of service to the library.  A great deal!

I need to get ready for camp now.  Yesterday was the competition and there are pictures.  Today we'll feed friends and family. 

Our judges for yesterday enjoying their cocktail (no alcohol!).

Another busy and fun week for me, this is the third session of cooking camp this summer.  This week there are 8 in class, 2 guys, 6 girls.  Also this week my sister and nephew are in camp.  My nephew is attending and my sister is assisting. 

I have trouble sometimes in the summer with my calendar.  Since I am doing the same thing everyday when I have camp, I occasionally don't look at the calendar and when I do I discover that I have a little too much fun scheduled.  This has happened this week!

I teach a cooking class at the senior center at the Y every second Monday of the month.  So yes, that was last night.  I mentioned to my sister and nephew that not only would there be no dinner but that we were going to the Y for a class after camp.  My nephew helped during the recipe preparation in class and my sister helped with dishes and serving.  We had a fun time and were home to watch The Closer.  I did stay awake until the end!

There will be no dinner for my guests again tonight because after class we are heading far away to a library to do a cooking class for teens.  This will be another fun class, I think there are 20 teens signed up.  We'll eat a good lunch at camp and then journey to the library. Today we have southern region foods at camp so we'll lunch on shrimp and grits, turnip greens and hummingbird cake.  Not bad before a long journey. 

After tonight  we're done with double days of classes.  I promised a good dinner for Wednesday - Scampi and Linguine.  This is one of the favorite meals in the family so we'll have a relaxing delicious dinner tomorrow.   

They arrived from Pittsburgh on Saturday and we just relaxed around the house.  I did feed them - grilled steelhead fillets that were delicious.  Sunday we had fun before the week started.  We went to the aquarium and had a good time.



No fish for dinner Sunday, we had macaroni and cheese with broccoli.  This was for planned leftovers so when we foraged for meals there was food for foraging. 

Have to get ready for camp now.  We leave the house around 7:20.  My husband gets to have fun while working at home today.  He will be ready to accept delivery of the new mattress!  I'll sleep well on it tonight. 

This week went by quickly!  I cooked for a client on Tuesday and then I've just been doing stuff all week.  I teach cooking camp again next week so I'm conserving my energy!

It has been hot here again as it has been almost everywhere.  I don't totally change the way we eat in the summer, but after the holiday weekend I was feeling overloaded with meat.  I like meat, often I crave it, but I needed a rest.

Tuesday for "whatever" night I had leftover mashed potatoes for dinner.  My husband came home from his meeting, asked about my dinner and was a little surprised by my answer.  He had the usual meeting pizza.

Wednesday I had planned for steaks and zucchini but was still feeling too heavy from the weekend.  I decided on the leftover pasta that I had - penne, two kinds of mushrooms, no meat.  I also had zucchini boats  - garlic, butter, parmesan.  Delicious.

Last night I ventured into some animal protein.  My husband works with people who cook and quite some time ago came home with a photocopied recipe.  I have had it on the counter waiting for the perfect time.

I don't know the source, nothing on the page, but it was quick and easy and perfect for summer.  Also no mayo in the slaw!  I made the slaw about 2 hours before dinner and kept it in the fridge.  It was nice and crunchy at dinner, some water was released.  I served it with black beans.

Shrimp Tacos with Citrus Cabbage Slaw
serves 4

1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sour cream
kosher salt and black pepper
8 ounces cabbage, shredded
1 cup corn kernels
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
8 small flour tortillas, warmed

1. In a large bowl, whisk the orange and lime juices, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 
2. Add the cabbage, corn, and jalapeno and toss to combine.  Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
   
4. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Serve with the tortillas and slaw.

Today is continuation of errands and cleaning.  My sister and nephew arrive tomorrow from Pittsburgh for camp week.  I think I may stop at the grocery store so we can avoid that this weekend. 

My menu plan for next week is hopefully easy since my week will be harder.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled the week, but in addition to camp everyday I have the Y class Monday night and a library program for teens Tuesday night. 

Tonight I am smoking my first turkey breast with high hopes that it will give me leftovers for next week!  I'll also make a blueberry cake for snacks.

This was a long weekend for me.  A few weeks ago I asked my husband if he'd be off on Friday or Monday for the 4th of July and he wasn't sure.  I decided to mark off both days for me and take an extra long weekend.  Turns out he was off today, so I had my extra day Friday.

I had a peaceful day of a little work and a little knitting planned for Friday.  I did my weekly menu planning early Friday and saw fudgy brownies in Fine Cooking.  I had everything I needed so I made brownies pretty early Friday.  After I cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher, I decided the kitchen was closed for the day. 

I had to run out to get a printer cartridge to get some library program printing done, then home for lunch and knitting.  Small trauma - when I heated my lunch the demon cat ate my knitting needle.  She's fast with powerful teeth!  After eating I ran to the yarn store for new needles.  I need to be very vigilant while knitting. 

We ate dinner out on Friday night and shopped for a new mattress and looked at new refrigerators.  Saturday morning was Jazzercise, grocery shopping and the kitchen was open again for dinner - pork piccata.  I also needed to make my breakfast casserole that was on the menu for Sunday.

I love the cookbook A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.  The Sunday morning breakfast was another casserole and it is delicious.

Almond-Cinnamon Toast Featherbed

Butter deep 9- or 10-inch baking dish.

Slice bread approximately 1/2 inch thick. Toast slices until crisp and golden (If they are too thick for your toaster, this can be done on a dry griddle or on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven.) Stir together 4 tablespoons softened butter, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Spread mixture evening over the toast.

Arrange 2 to 3 equal alternating layers of the bread, bits of almond paste, and mascarpone in the baking dish. Cut or tear the bread slices if needed to make snug layers.

Whisk eggs with half-and-half, amaretto and salt. Pour custard over bread mixture. Drizzle the 3 tablespoons melted butter over the surface. Cover and refrigerate strata at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Remove strata from refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before you plan to bake it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Plan on a total baking time of 55 to 60 minutes. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and scatter almonds over the top if you are using them. Continue baking, uncovered, until puffed, golden brown and lightly set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve hot.

I used challah bread, a 13 x 9 baking dish and made 2 layers, mascarpone and did not use almonds.  We had some home made breakfast sausage also.  After breakfast we relaxed, read a little, took a little nap and went to a friend's house.

My chef friend Rosemary invited us to her pool for the holiday.  The pool in her neighborhood.  We arrived, got organized, went to the pool, there was a catered bbq lunch, we ate, talked, relaxed in the pool, back to the house for chatting and then home.  We had a very pleasant 4th of July.

This morning we were up and ready for 7:15 Jazzercise.  I had to drag myself there slightly, but did feel better after.  Home for breakfast which was Migas from the same cookbook.  Migas are roasted poblanos, roasted jalapeno, roasted tomato, eggs, corn chips crushed, cheese, cilantro and they are wonderful.

Tonight will be ribs on the grill. Slow cook, easy cook.  Maybe another nap and some knitting.  Maybe the pool.  The weekend weather has been perfect.

Back to work tomorrow with a personal chef customer.  I'm ready though after my long weekend.