Fleeting Moments

Happy Fastnacht Day!

Others call it Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival—but here in Central Pennsylvania, today is Fastnacht Day!

Insalata Caprese

 
It's my favorite dish, and I can never wait for my EarthBox tomatoes to ripen each summer.

But a few of the grape tomatoes were finally ready yesterday, and we made the trip to Wegmans for the fresh bufala mozzarella. The basil was plucked from another container in our patio garden, and my first Insalata Caprese of the season lovingly assembled. A drizzle of good olive oil, a sprinkle of fleur de sel and...well, maybe a few photos before that first bite!

There is no better salad in the world, and I'm looking forward to an embarrassing number of Insalata Caprese plates between now and Labor Day. Summer is good!

Fizzy Lifting Drinks

Let's see -- the forecast is for temps in the mid-90s on the eve of a full moon. And Geddy Lee is in town. Let the craziness begin!

But I am here to offer an antidote if it gets TOO crazy for you:

I recommend blue raspberry slushies for the kids and Gourmet's Fizzy Sour Cherry Lemonade for the grown-ups. As for us, it's a cool kiddie pool kinda day. But you can bet that will happen only after we make a quick run to the grocery store to procure ingredients for aforementioned fizzy lifting drinks.

Mmmmm, Forbidden Donuts...

When I went out to get my celebratory donut yesterday (it was National Donut Day, did you know?), I thought I'd make it a Really Big Day and go to Starbucks first. After all, what's a donut without a spot of coffee? And when I got to my local Starbucks, quelle surprise!, I found that we finally can buy those famous Top Pot donuts here in Central PA.

I can vouch for the vanilla glazed. It's not Krumpe's, but it's also not an hour's drive from my home. And I apologize for the link to a news article up there. If you want to see the real Top Pot site, click here instead. And if you want to make today your own personal Donut Day, I give you permission. Enjoy!

Happy Chocolate Mousse Day!

It really is National Chocolate Mousse Day, and I am posting in the morning so you have some time to plan to honor the day in the only appropriate way.

So go out to lunch and order dessert first. Or pick up some quality ingredients and make the Julia Child version.

And have a decadent day!

Feasting On Asphalt: My Whiny Review

So.

I got my long-awaited, pre-ordered copy of Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run last week, and I have to say it was worth the wait. Kind of.

I mean, I love the writing, the spirit of the book, the focus on small-town locally owned eateries. I adore the "inspired by" recipes and the original recipes and can't wait to try some (fudge is first on the list, even after the Easter chocolate fiasco extravaganza).

But what I was most looking forward to (sorry, AB) was Jean-Claude Dhien's photography...and all those brilliant colors of ink just got soaked up into the uncoated non-white stock. Who spec'ed the paper here? And might that have been the same person who created the cardboard cover? Clever idea, but all I can think of is how that cardboard is going to separate over the years. If my kids don't spill grape juice on it first.

Can I have a do-over? The same book with a nice coated ultra-white stock, so those gorgeous, perfect photos have a chance to shine?

In the meantime, I think Amazon is still offering the book at $18.15. Which is a steal, uncoated paper and all.

And Speaking of POTUS...

Well, technically not POTUS, but his plane. But it reminded me that I needed to post a little post about our weekend. We spent some time near Camp David. Not because we were there at the invitation of the Dubya family, because my own brother and his family live nearby.

Anyway, I was just noodling around with the camera and the kids, not expecting to get any decent images. The sun was bright and the grass hasn't really greened up yet and the kids were going a mile a minute. So imagine my surprise (again! that's two surprises in one day!) when I loaded the images from camera to computer and starting seeing some OK photos. This was the third image I opened -- of more than 200. So now I'm all excited about seeing all those weekend images!

And one final note. Although I hate to share such an amazing little secret with the world -- at least until I have some good photos of that little secret, anyway -- I have to tell you that the best doughnuts in the world are made in Hagerstown, Maryland. At Krumpe's, a little store in a back alley. But I swear -- The. Best. Doughnuts. Ever.

Now make a pilgrimage to Hagerstown and try some. But leave a few jelly-filled and glazed for me, OK?

Happy Easter from The Incredible Hulk

Nothing reminds me of the Easters of my youth more than the acrid scent of white vinegar in a cup of colored water.

We colored eggs for Easter this morning. Now there's an activity that's more fun after you've had kids. It's also a LOT more unpredictable and a good measure more messy.

Carly has a wonderful eye for design, and she's becoming more experimental in her egg-painting approach. After all, she's an old pro at seven. At the tender age of two, Kai is just beginning his egg-coloring career. He insisted on doing all his eggs in Neon Green (have you seen the cool McCormick Neon colors?), after taste-testing the dye and splashing around in it a bit.

The results were nice and bright, although maybe not quite neon. The bright green color on Kai's hands will last a good long time, too.

Ladies' Day Out

Over the weekend, Carly and I had a chance to leave the boys behind and play tourist for a while.

We headed to Hershey's Chocolate World and had the best time together! It reminded me of all the times we would visit Chocolate World when Carly was in preschool. She was an only child for a long time, and it was easy to pick her up from her morning at school and do the tour ride at Chocolate World. Free, and highly entertaining for the preschool set. But now Carly has a little brother and a full-time school gig, so it's not always easy to fit in those mother-daughter tourist jaunts.

We followed our tried-and-true schedule and headed right for the tour ride. If she learns nothing else in her life, Carly will always be able to recite the chocolate-making process from bean to bar.

On our way out of the ride, we were pulled over by Hershey marketing to taste test some candy. Their qualifying question to us was: "Do you eat chocolate at least once a week?" Heh. They had no idea. Once they determined we were enthusiastic chocolate tasting amateurs, we were taken aside to taste and fill out a survey. We loved being testers, and Carly enjoyed being treated as an adult -- she  had her own survey to complete.

Then we headed to my favorite little corner of Chocolate World and did some damage to the bank account. At the tender age of seven, Carly already has mom's expensive taste and chose Starbucks Chocolate Tasting Squares as her treat for the day.

And finally, I have to say that even on the greyest of days, the light in the center garden at Chocolate World is phenomenal for portraits -- it's a great rainy-day alternative for a photo session!

Hershey's Cacao Reserve

It's fun to be a chocolate lover living in Hershey. There's always so much to ponder.

By way of example, I haven't mentioned Hershey's Cacao Reserve line here yet, but I can no longer contain my curiosity.

What the heck are these Cacao Reserve Ultra-Thin Squares and which German company is making them for Hershey? I haven't been able to find answers on any of the Hershey sites. Hmmmmmm.

I know about Cacao Reserve, and I really like the idea. The Cacao Reserve Single-Origin Chocolates are fun to taste, and they offer a real alternative to the highly processed milk chocolate for which The Hershey Company is known. I understand the company's move to introduce premium chocolate lines.

And the Orange Dark Chocolate is good -- in fact, it's greatish with an after-dinner coffee, and I bet even better than greatish with an after-dinner Grand Marnier.

But I still don't see where the Ultra-Thin Squares fit in. And Germany -- what the?

So...who will help me solve this conundrum?

UPDATE: That was fast! Thanks to Michele, I was able to get the 411 from a reliable source at The Hershey Company. So...now is as good a time as any to force other curious types to click here and discover my new blog-in-progress. That's where you'll find the answer!