Exploring: Curtis Arboretum

Just a few miles away from our apartment is the Curtis Arboretum.  We have been trying to explore public places in our new area so with this weekend's beautiful weather we decided to visit. Now I wasn't sure why it is called an arboretum and not a park so i looked it up (yay Wiki) and all arboretum means is a collection of trees. So yes, there were many trees on the grounds but i would probably just call this place a local park. The property used to belong to the weathly Philadelphia Curtis family and they built on the grounds a hall for musical performances as well as a little church. Today you can rent the hall for a small wedding or similar event. Here are some phone pictures from our walk as well as a little video.

While we were at the arboretum's pond we met this gentleman. This particular video is from a different day but was filmed at the same spot as we were. Bear with the shakiness at the beginning, it gets better.

This video is an example of why I always talk with strangers while out in public. You never know who you might meet or what the do for fun. We got his business card so we could look us his YouTube channel. This is also why Luke never talks with strangers.

I hope that you had a restful weekend and are ready for whatever this week may hold for you. Much love,

Naomi

A day at the shore

We now live close to the ocean!!! How great is that? Clearly my geography is less than stellar because our new proximity to the beach came as a surprise. When I found out that we could depart from our little nest at 9am and be snoozing in the sand by 11am a day trip was immediately planned.

Luke researched the best beaches as I packed our cooler for a lunch picnic. The next morning we departed for the Jersey Shore. After my watching a certain reality show about the shore, and Luke spending a summer living in the less-than-lovely Myrtle Beach, we wanted a calmer beach experience. Luke settled on Ocean City. It was close, had a large boardwalk and many beaches but due to the island's dry beverage restrictions  the crowd looked much more Snoopy than Snooki. Our beach day was just the relaxation that we needed before beginning school, work, and multiple trips to PennDot.

A welcome

My view for a few hours

This place was packed on a Thursday

The crowds thinned as we walked further south

Kites and kids

The houses were amazing! Anyone want to do a beach rental with us next summer?

After dinner walk before heading home

Driving across the George Washington bridge means we are arriving home in Philly

One Ingredient, Two Meals: Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper & Artichoke Tapenade

If you are anything like me, you buy a specialty sauce for a specific recipe and then the jar sits in the fridge until the next time you feel like making that same recipe. Since moving and setting up our kitchen again, I have been trying hard to be creative and use what we have in the fridge to create meals. On a recent trip to Trader Joe's I picked up this tapenade to eat on crackers.

It was so good that I knew I wanted to buy another to make meals with. Here are two recipes that I used the spread in and loved.

First up was a recipe from the Trader Joe's website called Some Enchanted Pizza. It is really quick and was a fast lunch for us. To make, heat the oven to 400 degrees, get two Trader Joe's Garlic Naan from the freezer, put on a pizza pan, and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes. After pulling them out, slather with the roasted red pepper tapenade, top with some chevre, and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes. Here is what mine looked like at this point:

Now you could stop here and have a great little meal like the Trader Joe's recipe but I love arugula and had some to use up so I added a handful of arugula on top of the pizza and it back in the oven for a few minutes to wilt slightly. We love these now for a quick lunch. 

For the second meal using the tapenade, I made a warm spinach salad with poached egg and bacon. I am slightly obsessed with warm spinach salads and this one is even Paleo for those of you eating that way if you use the right bacon. In this recipe the tapenade was substituted to make the dressing for the salad.

To make just follow THIS recipe from the lovely Ms. Martha but omit the 1/2 cup of vinegar. Instead of adding  the vinegar to the pan with the cooked shallots and bacon fat, substitute 1/3 cup of the red pepper tapenade and the juice of half a lemon. This recipe serves 4 so I  cut it in half for the Mr and I. It was such a good way to use up our Costco spinach box.  Give these recipes a try or at the very least eat the tapenade on some pita chips or crackers.