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​Side Note: I originally posted on June 29th on Facebook, "If Baby Santo doesn't arrive today, I'll be making this for supper." Well I'm delighted to say that little Emilia June did arrive on Tuesday, August 29th at 12:11 pm. I am currently at her home watching over her as she naps and Mom and Dad have a quick lunch in town.

Recently, I popped into Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner. I glanced over to the fish counter and saw that they had scallops on sale for $14.99/lb. I hesitated to purchase them as I thought Wegmans may have a better price.
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I went Whole Foods yesterday in hopes of being able to take advantage of the great price they had on scallops on Sunday. However, when I went up to the counter on Monday and read the placard, I discovered the scallops were previously frozen from Canada! What a disappointment, I was hoping for local scallops for my supper last evening.

I  perused the local meat counter and refrigerators for ideas for supper. What was a great price yesterday was the Bell & Evans whole chickens for $1.69/lb. Bird in hand, I was off to now find a recipe for last evening.
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As someone that usually purchases chicken sausage, I recently tried Pat LaFrieda's sweet Italian pork sausage that I found at ShopRite of Wall Township. You get four links, one pound of sausage, for $3.99. The sausage isn't fatty, in fact, I added about a tablespoon of olive oil to a fry pan before browning up the sausage. There was little if any fat left in the pan after I was done sautéing. The meat was perfectly seasoned and included fennel seeds.

I was at Wegmans yesterday. Local scallop prices have now come down to $16.99/lb. My son tells me that last Sunday, he was able to purchase scallops at Wegmans for $14.99/lb.  Perhaps the price came down further as it was Sunday and these scallops were part of a Friday shipment. I'll be at Wegmans on Sunday to test my theory.
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Early in the season, my daughter had in her CSA box, a kabocha squash. What is kabocha squash? Kabocha squash is a variety of winter squash, based on the Japanese variety Cucurbita maxima. Since my daughter didn't want it, it was passed along to me.

​Last evening I finally had a chance to cook up this squash. Based on its shape it provided a bit of a challenge in slicing into pieces for baking. Internet research brought me to a recipe found on www.food.com for sweet & spicy roasted kabocha squash. The reviews by other cooks seemed positive, so I gave it a try. All the items for this easy recipe were in my pantry, including sesame oil. Once I cut the squash, I made the seasoning mix and placed the squash slices in a large plastic bag to coat the squash. Once done, I placed the slices on two rimmed cookie sheets lined with silicon baking sheets and baked for approximately 30 minutes.
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As I was leaving for the gym the other day, a neighbor stops me and offers me a zucchini from her garden. I was delighted for the offer and my thoughts immediately turned to zucchini bread. I've had this recipe for years, and again, I can't recall where I got it. It's similar to my carrot cake recipe in that it uses vegetable oil instead of butter or shortening. The texture is dense, but moist.

I'm visiting my brother and his family on Long Beach Island this week, so this extra loaf of zucchini bread will be accompanying me for the trip.

Zucchini Bread
Corrected 10/21/20 (error in amount of cinnamon)
Yield 2 loaves
 
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups of grated zucchini
2 teaspoon vanilla
 
Preheat oven to 350°
Blend together eggs, sugar, oil, and baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add flour; next add zucchini and walnuts and blend well. You’ll need to grease and flour to loaf pans. Divide mixture evenly. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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I had a temporary lapse of memory this morning so I emailed my husband several options for supper this evening. (I forgot that last night we agreed on grilled steak, Jersey corn and a salad for supper!). Two options were pasta and one was for grilled chicken. Yup, you may have guessed it, pasta is what  he chose. One of the recipes that I have for tonight's recipe is orecchiette baked with olives, vegetables and mozzarella. This recipe came out of some long ago food magazine that I had and can on longer remember the name nor have the name on the clipping.
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The opportunities to try new recipes this summer has been great. I was growing tired of the usual summer fare of burgers and basic grilled chicken. In Signature Tastes of Charleston cookbook I came across a recipe for shrimp burgers from Hominy Grill. This is one restaurant that my husband and I haven't tried in Charleston, however, their shrimp burger recipe sounded delicious.
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I'm loving the fact that my new job allows me time to be creative in the kitchen. I don't have the stress of preparing dinner at 11 a.m. any more.

Recently I purchased a bottle of Woods' Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup for my husband to try. Everyone once in awhile he loves to have a glass of Jack Daniel's on the rocks. I thought this maple syrup would be an interesting flavoring on Sunday morning pancakes. So this past Sunday he topped his homemade buttermilk pancakes, with a side of chicken breakfast sausage, with this syrup and enjoyed his special breakfast. I tried the maple syrup later in the week, but I couldn't taste the bourbon flavoring. Perhaps, since I'm not a bourbon drinker, I may have overlooked it. Wood's also makes other flavored maple syrups such as Ghosted Maple Syrup, Smoked Syrup (with hickory and oak) and rum barrel aged syrup. These syrups may be great additions to your weekend cocktails!
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I recently caught up on all my back issues of Southern Living Magazine. In the June 2017 issue I found a recipe for stuffed eggplant Parmesan.  I had just purchased New Jersey eggplant at Delicious Orchards for /$0.99/lb. Rather than the standard eggplant Parmesan casserole of egging, breading and frying, this recipe sounded delicious. 
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My husband suggested pizza for our Sunday night supper. He didn't want the normal pizza, but something a little different. I suggested doing half of a pizza with goat cheese, caramelized onions, arugula salad and a drizzle of traditional balsamic vinegar. The other half of the pie I suggested spreading with fig jam, crumbles of goat cheese, arugula salad and the balsamic vinegar. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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