120 V Electric Chain Saw for Sale

Today the hubs was feeling jolly...  an unusual space for him...  happy, contented, sure...  jolly?  Not usually...  he constructed this tool purely for fun...  it was hysterically funny...  I was so pleased...  the hubs having fun...  YAY 🥳

Summer Celebration Supper: Watermelon Feta Salad, Summer Fruit Salad & Ground Turkey with Turnip Greens

Quarantine supper tonite...   Live from NYC...
The heat and humidity were back again today after three days of blissful weather...  it’s not like we were surprised...  this is usual for September in the Big Apple...  a few lovely fall like days followed by the mugwump...  as the month proceeds we have fewer muggy days until summer comes to a close.

Folks are already craving pumpkin spice and hoodies...  that should be interesting this fall...  face masks and hoodies...  the big push is on for folks to make Labor Day weekend not become another super-spreader event...  hope springs eternal.

Tonite’s supper was a celebration of summer...  watermelon feta salad with fresh basil and mint from the garden...  summer fruit salad of Georgia peaches (they are incredibly delicious right now), red plums (sweet as sugar) and black plums (firm and tart) alongside ground turkey breast simmered low and slow with onions and za-tar...  baby turnip leaves from the greenhouse stirred in last minute to wilt...

Yesterday I thinned the turnip greens planning for today’s supper...  as I washed them in a large bowl of cool water I saw a green catapillar trying to keep from drowning on one of the leaves...  she was air lifted to safety and placed gently in the grass to continue her journey...  I wonder if she will become a butterfly in the near future...  and if so, will she remember me?
How was your day?   What on your plate?   Thoughts?

Happy 90th Birthday to My Dearest Mom

Happy 90th birthday to my dearest Mom!!

Today was the perfect weather here in the Big Apple...  temps just below  80°F...   comfortable humidity level...  blue skies...  a light breeze...
the perfect day to have Mom enjoy a barbecue on our deck...  her first time out of her apartment in five months...  first visit with family since COVID...  she was thrilled and excited to see everyone and enjoy her celebration 🤗❤️  and we were delighted to host her...

With the hubs manning the grill we began with sausage bites...  they disappeared fast  (just barely got a photo 🤣)  moved on to chicken wings in a spicy marinade... yummy...  (luckily got a pic of the last few)

Our main dishes were grilled marinated chicken kebabs...  grilled veggie kebabs...  NYTimes black bean & corn salad...  & a crisp garden vegetable salad... the hubs did a fabulous job getting all the food cooked and on the buffet in time (not an easy task)

Mom is a lifetime chocoholic (that’s where I get if from for sure) and so dessert encompassed a refreshing summer fruit salad (mango, peaches & plums) and chocolate chocolate chip brownie cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting...  soooo good...  the tang of the cream cheese helped cut the sweetness of the frosting and a bit of coffee in the batter gave the cupcake a rich dark chocolate taste...  

Mom had a terrific time...  so pleased to see everyone...  spend a day outdoors...  socialize with family...  a blessing all around...  next year she will have the big bash she so deserves 💞😷❤️❤️❤️❤️
How was your day?   What’s on your plate?   Thoughts?


Eggplant, Chicken, Goat Cheese & Tomato Frittata with Crispy Chicken Skins

Quarantine supper tonite...   Live from NYC...
Today we got the remnants of Laura...  it rained and blew a bit in the early part of the day but by 3:00pm the sun emerged from behind thick clouds...  drops glistened like diamonds on the plants, deck rail and greenhouse roof.

I spent the day in the kitchen prepping for Mom’s 90th birthday bbq Sunday...  it will be her first trip out of the apartment in five months.  We are so excited to be able to have her here with a very small group of family...  just ten of us socially distanced on the deck with a breeze at Mom’s back.  I spent the day chopping...  mixing...  marinating...  baking and cooking...

The hubs made Mom a small table for her personal use outside on our deck...  came out lovely...  so creative...  extra pieces of oak floor slats glued together to form a table top and attached to a stand from another table not being used...  brilliant...

Chocolate chocolate chip brownie cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting...  a nod to Mom’s little chocoholic heart (that’s where I get it from 😂) will be our dessert so each person can have their own little cake and she can blow out her candle...

The menu...  chicken kebabs...  sausage rings...  chicken wings...  NYTimes black bean corn salad...  veggie skewers... mango peach plum blueberry fruit salad...  it’s going to be a delightful day with perfect weather...  high just below 80°F...  low humidity...  can’t wait...

Hoping she has such fun...  we will have the big bash she deserves next year...  post COVID...

Supper was an eggplant, chicken, goat cheese & tomato frittata...  quick easy and delicious...  crisped up the skins from the thighs in the oven while the frittata baked...  a crunchy delight...
How was your day?   What’s on your plate?   Thoughts?

Sausages, Onion bread and Garden Salad

Quarantine supper tonite...  Live from NYC...
Today was another one for the books...  Laura consumed the gulf coast overnight...   we gasped at the complete destruction left in her path...  seeing the devastation on the news our hearts are heavy...  we NYers remember Sandy vividly...  the days and weeks without power...  the overwhelming loss of property and too many lives...  days and sometimes weeks when folks couldn’t purchase gasoline or food...  not having the funds needed to rebuild their shattered lives...  We mourn with you 😓

Just prior to supper the monsoon arrived...  skies turned black...  angry winds howled...  soaking sheets of rain poured down...  trees flailed wildly in the wind... our supper was quietly slipped into the oven as we ogled nature’s wrath...  the storm raged for about 30 minutes and then as suddenly as it  arrived...  it was gone...  skies cleared and the stars peeked out from behind the clouds...  night had fallen...

A salad of greenhouse tomatoes, red onion, olives, fresh basil harvested before the storm, a bit of fennel, radicchio and romaine dressed with vinegar and olive oil cut through the fattiness of the sausages...  onion bread made a delicious accompaniment along with a glass of wine...  a pinot noir for the hubs...  sauvignon blanc for me...
How was your day?   What’s on your plate?   Thoughts?

Mark Bittman’s Pasta with Corn Zucchini & Tomatoes... subbed Eggplant

Quarantine supper tonite...   Live from NYC...
Today was sunny...  bright...  high of just below 80°F accompanied by low humidity giving the feel of late summer into autumn...  delightful...  energizing...  uplifting...  joyful day...  

Pasta with corn zucchini and tomatoes by Mark Bittman...  the recipe said it was a framework for a dish...  subbed out the corn and zucchini for eggplant and chicken thigh meat from yesterday’s roasted chicken  (it was supposed to be grilled chicken but the weather gods gave us a downpour just at cooking time)  pívot...  into the oven it went...  still delicious last night and again as a protein for tonite’s pasta...  also added a huge dose of Parmesan to the hot pasta then once again on the plate...  simple... delicious and a terrific fridge clean out dish...  something I always appreciate... following supper the hubs enjoyed homemade mango sorbet with his evening coffee...

Laura has become a life threatening hurricane...  winds topping 150 mph...  15’ storm surge and at least a foot of rain...  catastrophic damage and flooding expected...  we are holding the residents of the gulf coast in our hearts tonight...  please stay safe and evacuate if you are in the path of this monster storm...
How was your day?    What’s on your plate?  Thoughts?

London Broil, Elote and Greenhouse Salad

Quarantine supper tonite...   Live from NYC...
...and so it begins...  the heat and humidity ramped up today in the Big  Sweaty Apple...  the air feeling like a wet blanket under a broiler...  even with an 8 mph breeze the slightest bit of work created overheating and exhaustion...   91°F with 70% humidity...  triple H...

By early evening it was time for the hubs to grill corn, peppers and london broil...  trying to enjoy a glass of wine on the deck while he cooked left us both with mosquito bites...  so inside we fled.  This is the summer of corn and we are enjoying Mexican street corn (Elote) again and again...  alongside a crisp garden salad with tomatoes, radishes, radish greens, spinach leaves and basil...  a greenhouse salad.

As Marco loses strength, Laura seems to be winding up for a throat punch to the gulf coast of Louisiana and Texas...  amidst the COVID crisis this is the last thing the shore needs.

Fires raging in California displace thousands of residents...  burning millions of acres...  our hearts grieve for the magnitude of loses in both areas...
Please keep all these folks in your hearts...  frightening times...
How was your day?   What’s on your plate?   Thoughts?