The weekend is over and summer is almost gone too. Now that I live in California though, this isn’t a problem since September and October are our best months! Gone is the June/July/August gloom that living near the beach allocates during the summer. And yes, that’s me complaining. I complain in December now too, when it doesn’t snow and doesn’t really feel, or look like Christmas. Oh touché, I know. 

Living in Rhode Island and Chicago up until now, I am used to hot, sticky summers and cold, down to your bones winter, shoveling snow and sipping on hot cocoa. Now all that has changed. What a way of life we have here! I can’t believe my hubby couldn’t talk me into moving here sooner! Andy moved to California before he was age two, so for 16 years, before moving back to Illinois where he was born, he had it real good. Now I know why he freaked out during his first driving-in-a-blizzard experience back in Michigan, years ago!

With fall approaching, I’ve been considering purchasing a slow-cooker. Pinterest is full of amazing soup, chili and and cobbler ideas that can be made while I’m at work which is BRILLIANT!!! Why didn’t I buy one of these babies sooner? I found one this weekend for $15! Steal!

My new bestie.

I just created a new recipe for butternut squash chili and plan to try it out tomorrow. I’ll post the recipe and outcome of said experiment this week. I cook with butternut squash a lot. It reminds me of my mama and her delicious squash dish that is a staple on our Thanksgiving table and I love the way the seeds taste after roasting! Don’t ever throw away the seeds of your vegetables and fruits. Big waste! I make the most unique salad dressing using the seeds of papaya! Stay tuned for that one…

So girls night was a success on Friday night, of course! Name me three girls who don’t have fun when wine, cheese, chocolate and gossip are involved. Please. Not gonna happen. The three of us are pretty much vegetarians, and I use that term loosely, for I indulge in ALL varieties of fish. Andy and I had a lobster clambake at our wedding! Oh yea, and this bride did eat.. two lobsters, a pound of steamers, mussels, chowda, quahogs (yea, those are real not just from Family Guy) all after munching from the biggest and bestest cheese table EVER! And I’ve been to a lot of weddings!

Bride and Groom Feast. New England Style, no less. All while jamming out to our reggae band!

Onto cheese then. I’m obsessed!!.. and pretty much allergic to cow’s milk. Boo. What’s a girl/chef’s wife to do? Substitute! Goat’s, sheep’s, ewe’s milk.. whatever… I’ll eat it! And I won’t lie, cheese plates are HUGE in the Nelson house. Anyone who comes over to our place always jokes, “So this is how it’s done here.” And Andy and I are both like, yea, “that’s how we do!”

Friday night I made a “charcuterie” board for the girls, minus the meat so more like a glorified cheese plate except I love saying and typing the word charcuterie. So there. 

The meat-less charcuterie board!

I love pairing cheeses, wines, nuts, fruits and the lot, so each board that I create is different. It also depends on what I really need to get rid of in the refrig and the wine I’m drinking. Start in the center. Place your cheese in the middle as the focal point and go from there. Here we have four cheeses from Trader Joe’s. Goat’s milk gouda, Manchengo, Leicester Cheddar with red pepper and a goat’s milk brie. I still had extra peaches and raspberries from a student, so I added those too. Quince paste pairs lovely with goat cheese and no Nelson board is complete without cornichons. Those mini pickles are packed with flavor!

My neighbor keeps pawning off her extra cherry and heirloom tomatoes on me, and I am NOT complaining this time! Slice two tomatoes up and add small leaves of fresh basil from your garden in between each slice to add to the flavor. Salt and pepper and wallah! My favorite nut blend is the Oh! My Omega individual packs from TJ’s so I added those too. It’s got almonds, walnuts, cranberries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Add chocolate, or in this case a Pluot Kuchen (see Friday’s post) plus chocolate!

Pair all of this goodness with white white or Prosecco, according to me, Tamara and Lynn! Or is that Tamara, Lynn and I? Whatever, our selections for the evening were yummy, cheap and crisp! Currently, I’m hooked on these two white wines from TJ’s, $3.99-$4.99 each. Can’t beat it. The first here is a Gruner Veltliner and the second, a Pinot Gris. Both are equally mouth-watering.

Today is usually Sunday Funday but Andy had to work so I spent the day hanging at the Stone Soup Music festival, giving Corduroy and Sugar baths, napping, sun-bathing, reading a Jodi Picoult novel and cooking!

Wet dogs in the house!

I couldn’t let the hubby leave for a 10-hour shift without something in his belly, and since he doesn’t usually eat or like breakfast, I knew I was going have to make it smell super yummy up in here. The thing about professional chef’s though is that if they didn’t have to cook it, they will certainly eat it, but it’s gotta smell good. So here’s my “Real Men Eat Quiche” recipe. It’s vegetarian, and can be made dairy free with Smart Cheese instead, and is only 80 calories per serving. Win win there!!

Real Men Eat Quiche- makes six large servings

Ingredients:

-3 cups fresh spinach

-1 cup baby bella mushrooms

-1/2 red onion

-1/3 cup Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Leicester Cheese

-3 eggs

-3/4 cup almond milk

-1 crown broccoli

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In large pan, spray coconut non-stick and sautee’ onions, mushrooms and spinach together until golden brown. In separate pot, boil 3 cups water with broccoli until tender. Add the veggies and broccoli together. Beat the eggs, milk and cheese together with salt and pepper and add to veggie mix. Stir all of the ingredients together and layer into a greased round or square baking dish. Grate a little of the cheese on top and bake for 40 minutes or until set.

It’s past 9:30 p.m. now and almost my bedtime. I’m listening to the Sunday night reggae set on 95.3 The Beach while waiting on some flour-less Banana Walnut Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies to cool down before I go night night. Figured I’d leave a little “something something” out for Andy and I’l leave the recipe for all of you! Sweet, yummy dreams!!

Banana Walnut Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies- makes 15 

Ingredients:

-2 bananas, mashed

-2 tsp. vanilla

-1/2 cup almond butter

-1/2 lite brown sugar

-1 egg

-pinch of salt

-1 tsp. baking powder

-one handful each of walnuts, pecans, and dark chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together and scoop 15 portions onto greased cookie sheets. I like non-stick coconut oil. Bake 12-15 minutes or until brown around edges. Enjoy!… and try and leave some for the person you originally made them for!