Impromptu Peach Pancake Brunch

The entire week of vacation I spent at home was hot and sunny, that is until a big group of us had plans to spend the day at the pool all day Saturday. That morning I woke up and it was drizzly and overcast (of course). Instead of letting the rain ruin our plans, we hit the farmer's market for a big bag of ripe white peaches and sliced them up for pancakes. I used this recipe with a few adaptations. Instead of making ginger syrup, pancakes were served with real maple syrup (my favorite!) and the amount of milk was reduced to only two cups. The end result was crispy on the outside, but fluffy on the inside pancakes, with lots of peaches and of course laughs with friends. 

Mixing all of the ingredients together.

Table set with brightly colored napkins and gerber daisies.

Pancakes on the griddle.

Camera fun with glassware.

Hot pancakes ready to be smothered in syrup.

The perfect brunch!

Thanks to David for snapping lots of great photos!

Around DC: The Eastern Market

It's crazy to admit that I spent most of my life living in the DC area and never once made the trek to Capitol Hill for the Eastern Market, the oldest fresh food public market in the city. Fortunately, I remedied the situation last weekend. My mom, sisters, Max, and I navigated into town, squeezed into a too-small parking space, and spent a couple of hours weaving in and out of the numerous craft, jewelry, and produce stands. It was the perfect way to spend a steamy Sunday and we left with lots of local fruits and vegetables, as well as some pretty baubles and inexpensive friendship bracelets. The peaches, corn, and tomatoes were all in their absolute prime of the season, and complemented various dinners throughout the rest of the week. I definitely recommend visiting the market if you find yourself in the DC area. I can't wait to go back next time I'm home!

Miniature eggplants in pretty shades of purple.

I'd never heard the term 'ecoganic' before.

Heirloom tomatoes that later made juicy BLT sandwiches.

Rows upon rows of colorful friendship bracelets. 

Vendors as far as the eye can see!

Panama hats in a variety of textures and colors.

Softball-sized peaches that Chef Max turned into pie for Sunday night dinner.

Gummy sharks at the candy shop inside the market.

Tiny, piping-hot doughnuts fried to order before being sprinkled with cinnamon + powdered sugar.

You Drive Me Bananas

I loathe bananas. Seriously, I cannot stand them at all, but these miniature bunches at Whole Foods were begging to have their picture snapped. They were just so cute! I couldn't bring myself to actually bring a bunch home (because they would go to waste and I might gag), but they were fun to look at from afar. Everything is better in miniature form, don't you think?

What's a Mangosteen?

A couple of days ago, Tiane's 365 photo was of mangosteen, a tropical super fruit native to Asia that I had never seen or heard of before. Since she's such a good friend, she brought a bag of them over to our crab feast last night and I was able to try them for the first time. I have to say that they were surprisingly tart and tasty, despite their tough exterior and slimy texture. Now I have to scout around the Asian specialty markets in Providence to track them down for myself. I love trying new things, especially when they're so healthy and packed with antioxidants.
Thanks, Tiane!

Hurricane-d In

So I've been stuck inside for most of today, aside from a quick trip out for coffee this morning, and have been glued to Irene coverage (like everyone else on the east coast?). My cousin and I decided to try out this recipe for key lime pie, which I've been craving lately, complete with a homemade graham cracker crust. She squeezed almost an entire pound (54 halves to be exact) of golf-ball sized key limes-by choice, I offered to help-which only yielded one cup of lime juice. It was definitely a labor of love and made the final product that much more rewarding! The rest of the night is going to involve movies, popcorn, and magazines by candlelight if the power goes out! Good luck all you east coasters.

Summer Sorbet

One of my favorite treats is the summertime is sweet, icy sorbet after a warm day. M brought home this hand packed blueberry variety from a local farm and it was tasty!

Frozen Dinners

Temps over 100 degrees call for Trader's Joe's tart froyo + blueberries + a honey drizzle for every meal. I can't even think about turning my oven on in this sauna.

I still love summer, though.

Big News from the Smallest State

Pinkberry has finally arrived! Watermelon is my new favorite flavor.
Tastes like summer!

Healthy Treats

I've been working on perfecting a healthy recipe that also satisfies my sweet tooth. I started with this basic oatmeal cookie recipe, and after a couple of trial runs, have improved it with the addition of fresh blueberries and dark chocolate chips. The best part is that the cookies use whole wheat flour, applesauce, and a little bit of olive oil instead of butter or shortening. They taste great right out of the oven with a cold glass of milk!

Fiesta, Fiesta

I love Cinco de Mayo. It's basically just a fun excuse to drink margaritas and have some tasty Mexican food (but do you really need an excuse to do that?!). This year, instead of fighting for a seat at the bar of one of my favorite tacquerias, I opted to throw a little at-home fiesta. It was low-key but delicious and a nice way to kick back after a long week. I made these grapefruit margaritas, which were really refreshing and not at all syrupy sweet, and tried this fajita recipe for the first time (amazing). The pairing was spot-on, especially when some homemade guacamole was added to the mix.

Let's just say we'll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo all summer long at my house!

Berry Good

I feel like I've been eating my weight in blackberries lately. They're easily one of my favorite fruits, but I prefer eating them at room temperature rather than refrigerated. Guess I'm weird like that.

Juicy Fruit

Meet my new favorite afternoon snack. I don't know how they do it, but Whole Foods has the sweetest, juiciest, reddest ruby red grapefruit I've ever eaten.

Anyone else feel like this has been the longest. week. ever.?

Ciao Bella

I'm a sucker for pretty packaging. Big time. This can make going almost anywhere dangerous because I can suddenly "need" things that I'll never really use, but that are colorful and eye-catching. Today, I caved into temptation at the grocery store and bought a pint of sorbet by Ciao Bella. Their bright, bold packaging jumped out at me in the frozen section and before I knew it, I was deciding between blood orange and blackberry cabernet (both fat free-yay!). After spending most of the day cleaning and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow, a refreshing scoop of blood orange sorbet sounded like the perfect way to end my vacation. I just hope I can finish my dinner before digging in!

Cherry on Top

Cherries are my all-time favorite fruit. They're sweet and tart and great to snack on. I love this time of year when the first batches of fresh cherries start showing up at local markets. I bought a bag just yesterday and I've already gone through almost half of it! They're just that good. I'm also looking forward to finding some juicy peaches and local tomatoes at the farmer's market in the coming weeks. I love summertime! Nothing beats simple summer suppers of grilled veggies and chicken or shrimp. Now I just have to get my little herb garden planted so I can cook with home grown basil and cilantro!

What's your favorite summer fruit?