Summer Trip to Maine

Lunch View

I'm sorry that I missed publishing the weekly Ingredient Feature this week.  Time got away from me with hubby on vacation, the Holiday weekend, and a trip to Maine tossed in for good measure.  Hubby returns to work tomorrow so I can get back to business as usual, for a few days.

Our trip to Maine started with a slight trek south into New Hampshire to check out Bass Pro Shops before heading north to Kittery, Maine where outlet shopping is bountiful, and a visit to the famous Kittery Trading Post.

Taking in a very late lunch at Warren's Lobster House in Kittery was a highlight, and a restaurant that I highly recommend.  The view was amazing and they had the most impressive salad bar I have seen in a while.  Feeding kids for a living I am faced with food allergies, special medical diets, vegetarian and vegan diets, and more.  The salad bar at Warren's was a delicious vegetarian and vegan delight.  And for those craving seafood, these east coast folks know how to cook seafood!

Traveling further north to Scarbourough, Maine we made one last stop to Cabela's before taking the scenic route across Maine to take in the jaw dropping views and vistas on the Kancamagus

Kancamagus Highway

Highway through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.  The sun was setting as we started our journey along the 34 mile stretch of road.  We saw a huge bear cross the road, but thankfully didn't meet up with any moose.  As we neared the top we were able to capture one photo opportunity before the sun disappeared behind the horizon.  I've only seen these views in the fall, and was delighted to have the opportunity to capture a summer view of the amazing mountain views.

The Ingredient Features will resume next week while the blog is on auto pilot in my absence.  I'm bound for Salt Lake City later this week to attend a conference and fulfill the obligations and duties that come with the title of President-Elect, soon to be President, for School Nutrition Association of Vermont.  I'm super excited to see the amazing Salt Lake region for my first time, and feel some summer sun and heat which we seem to lacking in the Northeast this summer.

Terrific Tuesday!

Woo Hoo!  That means I have three more work days to maintain sanity before reaching the goal of 10 days of winter vacation. 

Early on duirng winter vacation I plan to spend an entire day in the kitchen cooking, prepping, and freezing meals for a month.  It saves me a lot of time and money to have those meals at my finger tips ready to go.  All of the major mess and fuss is behind me, and after working all day I can pull a nice meal together in a matter of minutes.  No more wondering what to fix for dinner, it is alreadey planned out and ready to go.  I don't use any special books or recipes, I use what I know we love and will eat.

The benefit of having all of those meals in the freezer is that if you get sick, like I did, there is still a meal waiting in the freezer for the guys in the house to eat, without you having to fuss over it.  It is also helpful when you've been sick and your hubby volunteers you to fix a pot of chili for the local snowmobile club winter cookout and you already have it made and in the freezer. 

My favorite weapon of choice to pull off these all day cooking events, FOODSAVER!  If there is one piece of equipment every kitchen should have,  it is one of those beauties.  Mine is rather old, but still gets the job done.  I also know that if this one fails, Ashley has her brand spanking new one stored at my house and it will come out from hiding and be put to use. 

After I get all my meals in the freezer that will leave me a lot of days to spend in the soap room playing in the bubbly fun!  I can harldy wait!  :)

Oh the Fun of Making Bubbles!

Bubbles, soapy fun, the fragrances, the messes. Yes! I have missed all aspects of the soapy fun and creating so much! The bubble making vacation is over!

The plan in June 2011 was to go back to school and finish my degree now that my kids are all raised. Two days before classes were to begin plans changed drastically when we became full-time parents to our grandgirlies and our house was a jumbled mix of craziness. Now that the girlies are back with the parents we miss them terribly and wonder how in the world we ever survived, but we did.

The soap molds are dusted off, and a dedicated workspace for the bubble making madness is in the works. Seeing as Mr. Moo doesn't like soap in his sandwiches, this prohibits use of the kitchen for future bubble creating. I'm itching and twitching to mix and pour soapy fun in the molds!

A Tropical Oasis

I take a deep breath and smell the salty air coming off the ocean through the open doorway as warm breezes kiss my skin. I quickly open my eyes to take in the views of the tropical oasis when reality sets in...I'm laying in my own bed, buried underneath a mountain of blankets to keep warm, hear my husband snoring next to me and the furnace clunking in the basement as a blast of warm air pours from the register. Sigh....It's that time of year when winter begins to wear on me and I dream of warmer climate. Most of the snow has stayed south, pushed further north, or missed us entirely...so far this winter. I'm not missing the snow all that much, but I sure am missing the warmer weather. I'm all for ditching the coats, scarves and gloves in favor of shorts and tank tops. This year I feel more cabin fever than I've felt in the years before, most likely because last summer we didn't have much of a summer to speak of. The yearning for warm tropical air is beckoning me. I hope the lack of snow means an early spring and nice warm (and long) summer. But until then, my tropical oasis will have to greet me in my dreams.