It's Over But I Can't Let Go

Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheese Toast Dippers

If you're going to turn the oven on in summer, you might as well roast what you could use in future dishes.  Tomatoes are cheaper than water right now so P fetched different varieties and I roasted them up with garlic and onions, red peppers and I couldn't resist some little spicy beef toppers.

Upon inspection, recipes seemed fairly simple.  Roast, blend, spice and heat.  Plenty of fresh basil is completely necessary and welcomed by the sweet and acidic brew.  Roasted garlic makes it rich and dreamy.  I don't think you need cream, although many like to add it and of course it's delicious but ask your 60-something body if it needs cream and I just bet it'll back off the asking.  As a matter of fact, gone are the times in which adding cream is even an option. 

Keep that oven on to toast up some thick bread slices before topping with your favorite melting cheese. 

You Don't Always Show Your Sweet Side

Ode to the Sweet Potato

My mates portion - He's not a fan of sweet potatoes, I often force them upon him like a cruel stepmother insisting he needs to recognize their magnificence.

Sweet Potato with Chili

A baked sweet potato simply dressed goes perfectly with chili.  Normally I would have topped the potato with the chili, but instead I needed a heaping helping of everything in abundance, so I could scoop a bit with each bite.  After my shoulder fracture, my body screams out in need of certain vitamins to heal.  Sweet potatoes are full of them.  They are still cheap, they bake up easily and you can do a bunch at once to include in many dishes.  Baked, mashed, cubed, fried, heavily seasoned or slightly buttered.  The color and hint of sweetness fills you up with nutrients.  All you need to do is poke them and toss them in a 425 degree oven with your good arm and pull them out in 45 minutes to an hour.  If you plan on eating the skin you can go the extra mile and coat them in oil and salt and pepper after cleaning and poking.  It was suggested to bake on a lined pan in case of leakage but I didn't bother and they didn't leak. 

Breakfast flour tacos

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Rainy State Park Road Trip

These are some of my favorite views of the city coming back on the BQE and the other on the George Washington Bridge.  There is never a view of the entire skyline but you can get portions of it.

This is coming back, when you can barely make out the city through the wildfire smoke over the George Washington Bridge

Google made this picture and sprinkled fairy-dust on P!

McDonalds inside some futuristic shopping village somewhere outside of the city.  An experience we would never choose but Google maps led us to this bizarre location in desperate need for fast food.  It was clean, air conditioned and filled with wealthy tourists.

A night at the drive in! Astroid City!

Fried everything and 1970's prices.  A nice couple ran this place and tried to keep its integrity preserved. 

Plenty of green vistas to dream on as we drove up to the State Park.  We went to swim because its the end of June and you know, any other week it would be 90 degrees, however, this one was torrential rain and cool temperatures, of course.  No swimming except for the hotel pool with an autistic child.   

Thank God for good eats and hikes and the ability to have a good time in just about any situation.

Lots of cool hiking trails along the river and railroad tracks

A neighborhood joint with a good crowd and well-stacked pizza with that crumbly sausage and nice big booths to comfortably spy on the locals.

A couple attempts to swim with big clouds and lightning.  No allowance in the water, which was slightly tortuous. 

Bad/good free breakfast at the hotel.  It's never that good but this was well kept and fresh and they were trying. 

One night it rained so violently that were nervous something crazy might happen although I didn't know what it could be.  

We had dinner in this small cool town on the roof overlooking the river and P ordered the special, a seafood paella platter.  Too bad my pictures didn't turn out because they piled on so much fresh delicious seafood he couldn't finish it.  It was also the first time he appreciated rice.

It was a blessing to find this small hike out to a lighthouse towards the end of the day.  We had good weather but it threatened to rain any minute.  We drove 10 minutes to what we thought was going to be some dumb tourist attraction but instead it was an incredibly enchanting private trail to this gorgeous old lighthouse with seats to enjoy the view.  You can even stay in it overnight if you dare. 

Biggie girl breakfasts are my absolute favorite.  This might be on my last supper death row meal wish list.

Great Mexican food is an absolute must in every town.  This place was on the money. Enough rice to stuff a pig but when on vacation, you want big platters.  You want heavy silverware.  You want extra.  They had giant booths and plenty of ceiling height, and music.  You would never believe you were in a strip mall once we were seated.  

They had real Central Americans working here that barely spoke English and the young waitresses came to peak at the piggy girl that finished her giant platter of food. 

A cute idea to serve a little plate of beans as dip before the meal with chips and sauce.

I saw the rain approaching beforehand.  It came across the water like a sheet and then pummeled the beach.  Totally worth it except for the fact that it brought a freezing wind. 

One day for about 1/2 an hour they allowed us in the water.  The water was crystal clear but cold and you could see 12" fish all around you.  Beautiful.  Made it more special perhaps, to have such a limited time? That's how I choose to see it, otherwise I'd bawl like a baby because I LOVE to swim.

Life is gooood!