A fall festival for my mouth...

This past weekend was my cousin’s first big dinner party.  It was quite a sight to see her being so competently domestic.  Dinner entailed of a heart stopping mix of cheese and crackers, followed by an antipasto of olives, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, a huge platter of fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, turkey, ham, and salami with fresh baguettes.  Then lasagna with meat sauce for the main dish.  If that was not enough to sooth the sole and enflame the gut, it was followed by chocolates, homemade cup cakes, chocolate cream pie, and a new apple pie recipe that my mom and I made that was pretty awesome.  She found the recipe on the internet, and instead of seasoning the apples, you make a caramel sauce with butter, flour, brown and white sugar, and pour it over the apples and the lattice work crust before you bake it.  Super savory and sweet deliciousness – especially alamode.  It was a lovely spread, and sharing it with my off-color family while we make inappropriate jokes across the very nicely set dinner table and china serving dishes makes it all that much better. 

Now that I can’t button my jeans, it time to start thinking about getting fit for my bride’s maid dress again.  I don’t know if the meals I have planned for this week will help me get there…but I hope so!  I found this great blog called, Laura Eats & Runs.  And, that blog lead me to another blog called Mark’s Daily Apple.  Both offer some really great healthy recipes.  Laura’s offers some low fat, tasty options, but Mark’s blog is basically a how-to site for the “Primal Diet.”  I don’t know if I can go completely “Primal,” however it looks like a diet that is right up my alley.  It focuses on eating like a hunter-gatherer, so there is a focus on meat, vegetables, nuts, fruits, and seeds.  It’s also preaches the evils of grains…but I would never consider going grain free completely.  The local corn is too good to miss this time of year. 

So the plan is as follows for my weekly egg sandwich, soup, meal, and smoothie… I’m still on this English Muffin kick, so assume when I say on an Eng Muffin, it’s a whole grain light English Muffin.  This week it’s scrambled eggs (1 whole, 1 white) microwaved at work &  placed on a toasted English Muffin with a smear of chevre goat cheese & a generous splashing of Tobacco Sauce.  Tomorrow I will try a fig & banana smoothie with vanilla almond milk.  The soup will be a simple potato leek soup with a dollop of sour cream and maybe crumbled (turkey bacon?) bacon?? Finally, the meal will be a “Primal” Shepherd’s Pie, which I got off of Mark’s Daily Apple.  If anyone wants to get in the making or eating of any of the above with me, give me a shout!!  Also, let me know if anyone is interested in going to September Fest & Harvest Fest this weekend in Southampton Village.  Clam chowder contest, roasted corn, pumpkin carving…I love this time of year!!