The weather finally has the feel of autumn, cold nights and chilly mornings. Now that everyone is into their fall routine, this is a great time for me to have some former colleagues over for brunch.
 
I had eight guests, including myself, so I planned on preparing brunch with the hopes of having everything done ahead of their arrival. With everyone trying to eat healthy, I tried to balance the rich breakfast items with some alternatives. My menu consisted of Grand Fruit Salad, Individual Zucchini Frittatas with Pecorino and Chives, Orange-Vanilla French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup, Crustless Broccoli Cheese Quiche, Cranberry-Orange Scones, English Muffin Toasting Bread, Bacon and Maple-Brown Sugar Breakfast Sausage. With careful planning, everything was done prior to my guests’ arrival and was kept warm in the oven and my gas grill that I utilized as a warming oven.

I made a do-over 40th birthday dinner for my son this past weekend. He, his wife and son tried to have a birthday weekend in Cape May, however, traveling with a toddler presented some unique challenges.
 
Many, many years ago, I made a pasta casserole recipe from “Gourmet Magazine” (January 1998), Baked Ziti with Mushrooms, Peppers and Parmesan; my son loved this dish. Despite my challenges post-surgery, I decided to prepare a dinner in his honor. I did however, prepare this meal over two days so I wouldn’t be on my feet too long.
 
For the recipe you’ll need yellow peppers, an onion, fresh garlic, olive oil, heavy cream, white button mushrooms, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, ziti, scallions and Parmesan cheese. ​

Next week marks the end of the 2024 CSA season from Dreyer Farms. It has been a truly wonderful experience trying the variety of produce that our box holds each week. I’ve tried not to repeat recipes, but to find new ways to prepare the old standards sprinkled with exciting flavors.
 
Such was the case with the apples that came in our last few boxes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell what variety they gave us and after eating one or two, I realized they would be better baked. My husband enjoys breakfast baked oatmeal casseroles that I’ve been preparing. I came across one recently on “The Southern Living Magazine” website for Baked Oatmeal with Apples, Cranberries and Pecans. For the recipe you’ll need eggs, whole milk, vanilla extract, apple pie spice, kosher salt, light brown sugar, melted butter, an apple, uncooked old-fashion rolled oats, pecans (I substituted walnuts as that’s what I had) and dried cranberries.

​It’s been a busy start to September and I can’t believe how far behind I am in updating you on the wonderful recipes I’ve been making. I’m hoping that you can find some late season peaches to prepare Pork, Pistachios and the Perfect Peach recipe. Matt’s Farm Market in Belmar had sweet, juicy peaches from Idaho that were fabulous and Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck also had some peaches from out of the local area.
 
The recipe is from the “Financial Times,” which is a British daily newspaper. This past August, they published a recipe by Ravinder Bhogal (on Instagram @cookinboots). For the recipe you’ll need pistachios, panko bread crumbs, lemon zest, salt, pepper, an egg, Dijon mustard, pork loin steaks, olive oil, fresh sage and fresh peaches. One thing to note on their recipes, is that some of the measurements are in metrics. Not to fear, you can Google for conversion or use a digital scale switched from grams to ounces.