Seriously..one of the easiest AND best dishes you will ever make.  I don’t even want to tell you how many I ate.  Wok fried shrimp coated with copious amounts of salt & fresh ground pepper, chunks of fried garlic and hot cherry peppers.  And an ice cold beer…..I’m in heaven.

I totally recommend this for any party or get together…so easy but looks and tastes awesome.  All you will need is :

1 lb shrimp..i used jumbo

3-5 cloves garlic

1/2 jar hot cherry peppers

salt & pepper

scallions/cilantro for finish

Wash and devein shrimp.  You can leave the shell on or off.  There is definitely an added boost of flavor if you leave them on, but if you just want to get down and dirty, take ‘em off!!  Just like your jeans baby!!

Get your wok or pan super hot.  I let mine heat for about 15 minutes over medium to high flame.  Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and throw your shrimp in…cook about halfway through…take them out….re-add some oil….throw in your cherry peppers, garlic…saute about 3-5 minutes…throw in your shrimp again..add salt & pepper…toss…toss…toss…..done!

You will need:

2 cups chopped apples…I used 2 Cortland (delicious!!) apples..peeled..cored

1 c. sugar

After the typical whirlwind holiday race to the finish, decompressing never seems more satisfying.  Being of Italian American descent, Christmas Eve in my family is a tradition marked by a lavish party.  We do the mainly Italian American tradition of the seven fishes that evening, with my two sisters and mother all working feverishly to top the party from the year before.  Outside on the patio sit cases of beer, cases of champagne and on the bar inside, sit premium liquors and mixers..all that rival the best of any upscale drinking establishment.   

For this years Christmas Day brunch, I made a platter of smoked Nova Scotia salmon and cream cheese on cocktail rye with all the favorite accoutrements…capote capers, caper berries, olives, pepperoncini,  fresh sliced cucumber, tomato, and this time, some crunchy spicy radishes sprinkled with a little sea salt.  As we sat around sipping glasses of champagne and opening our presents, I mused that the the hectic pace of pre-holiday chaos, makes moments like this…sooo worth it.

 Throw everything into a food processor and process until your desired consistency. I prefer a finer blend since anything less can resemble salsa. Serve in chilled bowls topped with fresh jumbo lump crabmeat and a squeeze of lime. Grill up a juicy ribeye sprinkled with spicy salt and cracked black pepper for one of the best meals of your summer, guaranteed!!

Hey, have fun out there, let me know how your dinner turns out, and don’t break any bones!

*featured in the blog pic

This Greek salad has become a mainstay of my daily diet considering I can’t rollerblade off pasta tossed in olive oil, butter, parmesan cheese, sea salt  and cracked black pepper….*drools*…with a glass of red wine.  Ugh.

Sooo…I take 20 minutes out of my day to cut and prep all my veggies…bell peppers, red onions, cukes, and juicy tomatoes, throw them in a plastic container and leave them there for when the munchies strike.  I add the olives and the feta cheese whenever I decide to make a salad.  The dressing couldn’t be more simple: dried oregano, lemon juice or red wine vinegar, garlic or kosher salt, bit of olive oil…light, simple, healthy.  Of course, a big hunk of toasted bread slathered in olive oil would be a nice accompaniment. 

 Opa!!!!!

A singular, defining taste that is purely…American.  

Rock on.

One of the great things I love about living in Cape May County is I can seek out local farms and farmers and buy their produce. Nothing excites me more than when I am driving along on a hot summer day and discover a little roadside stand, humbly poised by edge of a farm or a vast property, offering a beautiful little selection of eggplants or tomatoes. I absolutely delight in this. This is my contribution to the earth, however small it may seem. It’s also my contribution to the community in which I live and love. I urge everyone else to do the same. Support your local farmers. Purchase only what is in season. Why? Well, buying local ensures shorter travel time from field to your kitchen. Out of season produce can be picked up to 6 weeks before you even see it. Seems like a no brainer to me. Why buy local? When buying local, you’re investing your money into the community and supporting the local economy. Imagine how much of your dollar goes to the middleman instead of straight to the farmer when purchasing produce in the larger markets. I don’t even think it’s twenty cents.

While I understand convenience and time is at a premium in today’s hurried lifestyle, if going green is something you are interested in, I think this is a nice way to start. In the end, your grocery bill at check out will be a bit smaller, you will have done something to preserve the environment, and you will have given something back to the community. And I’d bet the farm (!), that those plate of grilled veggies are going to taste just a little bit better.

Here are a few resources to get you in the know.

http://www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/inseason.htm    

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“No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”

-Edmund Burke

One pair of bamboo salad tongs I purchased the other day from Cook in Somers Point.   Actually, I bought four.

Sleek, simple, inexpensive for a utensil that looks like objet d’art.

The company that makes them is called bambu and is devoted to an environmentally sound philosophy.

I’m sold.

Read more about their initiatives here.

And read more about Cook here.

Hey, I know it is March, but I still think any futile resolutions you made for the New Year are still salvageable. So, there is absolutely no excuse for you not to make good on those diet and exercise promises you made to yourself. Curves, the national fitness chain is in the midst of their 11^th Annual Food Drive. Donate one full bag of groceries and they will waive their registration fee. I spoke with Chris, the owner of Curves in Marmora and she told me the groceries are split between The Food Bank in Ocean City and the other half makes its way to The Food Bank of Upper Township. They accept all canned goods, peanut butter, rice, breads, etc. In doing this, a tremendous amount of food finds it’s way to local communities and families, who as we all know, could never use it more than now. So, give a little, lose a lot!

Walk in with a couple extra pounds to your local Curves, and walk out with a couple less! Everyone wins..and loses!

Curves Upper Township, NJ
74 Tuckahoe Rd.
Marmora, NJ 08223
  609-390-7766  

Curves, Cape May Court House, NJ
1 W Shell Bay Ave.
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
  609-463-1530 

http://www.curves.com/