Watermelon!

We've been getting a watermelon weekly from our CSA share at Honeybrook Organic Farm. They grow not only your standard red watermelons, but also yellow and orange! Our family was quite surprised to see the yellow flesh when they cut into one of the melons we brought over recently.

While a cold slice of watermelon on a hot summer's day is nothing to turn away, I tried to get creative considering how many melons we'd picked up over the last few weeks. First were some simple watermelon and mint popsicles (using ONLY those two ingredients):

Last weekend I decided to make a pair of salads with the red and orange watermelons we had in our fridge. The first was a simple salad of watermelon, blueberry, and mint. Nothing fancy, although I must say it looked quite nice:

Finally, I made another salad using the same two types of watermelon, along with mint, crumbled feta cheese, and diced red onion. All of this was tossed in a dressing of oil, vinegar, and of course salt and pepper. When I read off the ingredient list my family was more than a bit apprehensive. I think they felt obliged to at least try it, though, and everyone placed a small section of watermelon on their plates. About 20 minutes later, the whole bowl was gone! Somehow, someway, the tastes actually work together. The watermelon, the vinegar...don't ask me to explain how.

You can find recipes online for similar salads. I glanced at a recipe and then just adjusted the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste as I was mixing everything together.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Make sure to get the most out of New Jersey's delicious seasonal ingredients!

Quick Bite: Steak Sandwich

Elizabeth made some delicious steak sandwiches for dinner tonight. I came home to the smoky smell of our barbeque, and found some ciabatta bread crisping up on our deck.

We laid a generous portion of brie on the toasted bread, and topped that with some thinly sliced steak. After adding some caramelized onions, we were ready to dig in! It was a tasty sandwich indeed, with plenty of flavor and texture from all the ingredients. I've really come around on onions - I used to stay away from them at any cost, but now I find myself thinking "You know what this sandwich could use? More caramelized onions!"

Taco night!

We decided to make some pork tacos and Mexican coleslaw tonight. After getting some cabbage with our CSA share this week, we were reminded that we've been wanting to try to make some of the slaw we had on tacos down in Cape May last spring.

The pork was marinated overnight in a chili-lime rub, and it started cooking in the crock pot this morning with salsa verde and vegetable stock added in. It cooked for about 8 hours on low, and was literally falling apart as we started removing it this evening.



The slaw was simple enough to make:

6 cups thinly chopped cabbage
1.5 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt


We cooked up some rice and beans as sides, and started piling up the tacos. Some lime squeezed over the top finished them off.


The textures were awesome. Crunchy slaw. Bready tortillas. Mmm. The pork was tender enough, although the flavors weren't really coming through as much as we would have liked. We're definitely going to try and cook it a different way next time. The flavors were still nice, though, and some bites were the perfect blend of pork, cilantro, vinegar, and lime. Certainly not the most offensive thing we've ever made! All in all it was a pretty successful taco, and we've got plenty left for lunch tomorrow - always an added bonus.



The aftermath:

Jersey Shore BBQ

After spending the morning relaxing on the beach, Elizabeth and I decided to try a new BBQ place in Belmar thanks to the advice of some friends. It's located only a few blocks from the beach - their website can be found here.

As soon as you enter Jersey Shore BBQ you begin taking in the aroma of smoky barbeque. Their pit, "Bessie" is located out back, and the smells of oak, cherry, and other hardwoods fill the air of the small restaurant. The menu covers all of the major BBQ staples, and also offers some pleasant surprises like catfish, homemade salsa, and gulf shrimp.

The staff were very friendly, and after realizing neither of us had ordered mac & cheese as a side, hurried out a small sample of it for us to try. It was some damn good mac & cheese.


My meal, pictured above, is the "Belmar Duo". Two proteins plus two sides and some cornbread. I opted for my two favorites - beef brisket and pulled pork. The brisket had a beautiful smoke ring thanks to hours in the pit, and the smell was heavenly. The sauce on the pulled pork was a little sweet, but the flavors were awesome. Neither meat was the most tender I've had, although the textures were far from offensive. I decided on ranch beans and sweet potato fries for my sides. Both were tasty, although the ranch beans came in a very small plastic cup and only offered a pair of forkfuls.

Elizabeth ordered a catfish po'boy sandwich, which she enjoyed. The fish had a nice flavor, and the coleslaw added a nice crunch to the meal. She loved the cornbread - no surprise there.

This fine establishment probably offers some of the most authentic southern style BBQ you will find in The Garden State. The flavors and aromas were all there, although I'd like to see how the meats and their sauces stack up next time. Prices were reasonable and the portions were modest yet filling. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

Brew Review 1

I decided to splurge a bit and pick us up a couple of beers from the "fancy" section at one of the local liquor stores. One of them was Wells Banana Bread Beer. Yes, this beer is actually brewed with real bananas.

Although I will occasionally eat bananas, I'm not the biggest fan in the world. And usually I stay away from things with banana flavoring - the exception being banana bread. The beer actually surprised me with how little it tasted like bananas, or banana bread. That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering how overly powerful certain beers are with fruits and flavors.


The aroma was what really carried the sense of bananas. It didn't smell overly sweet or fruity, thankfully, and taking in the smell of banana bread while a beer is being raised to your lips is definitely a novel experience. There was an ever-so-slight hint of banana in the aftertaste as well, but it was very subtle. The beer itself was fairly innocuous, although for the price it really doesn't seem worth a second purchase. It was a decent enough lager, but there was really no complexity in flavors outside of the banana aftertaste. I almost wish it had been done with a thicker beer to give it a more comforting, banana bread vibe.

We also finally put up our wall-mounted bottle opener! Elizabeth made sure the previous owner left it behind, and it sure is fun to pop open a cold beer after a long day of work.

Honeybrook Organic Farm

We just found out that we've received a share of Honeybrook's CSA for the 2010 growing season! Community Supported Agriculture is a great way to support local farmers and get wonderful, fresh produce at the same time. You can read more about Honeybrook's program here.

The season officially began this morning with pick-your-own strawberries and fresh herbs! Their website offers a harvest calendar which approximates when certain produce becomes available. You can view it here, and be sure not to skip over the PYO items at the bottom!

Photo by Kim Unertl (c) 2008

We'll have updates after the first pick-ups of the season to let everyone know what we received and what we're making with our fresh produce. There are lots of greens early in the season, so if you have any suggestions or yummy recipes let us know. Thanks!

Ag Field Day / Rutgers Day

On Saturday, April 24th, Rutgers will hold their event-filled day all over their campuses. Head on over to New Jersey Outdoors to read more about the events surrounding the day, including nature hikes at Helyar Woods and Rutgers Gardens.

Of course we'll be talking all about the food! The big lawn on Cook/Douglass campus will once again host the NJ Folk Festival, which is accompanied by a huge food vendor marketplace. In a brilliant tactical maneuver, food trucks will surround the fields with the smells and sounds of deliciousness.

A variety of cultures and cuisines will be represented, including Italian, Greek, Egyptian, Lebanese, and many more! Of course American cuisine will also be prevalent, with all the spring time classics.

Last year during the events we feasted on flavorful pit beef sandwiches with vinegar fries.


For dessert we watched as our strawberry-banana-chocolate crepes were made.


And then we dug in!

There's something for everyone. Go ahead, ask my little sisters Emma and Sarah!


Don't miss out on a great day in central NJ filled with fun and food!