Adventures in Cooking: Sunday Edition

Baros and I had a slow morning and then a busy day.  We woke up late and then the errands began.

Our adventures started with walking over to breakfast and then heading over to do our weekly grocery shopping in the rain.  By the time we got home, we were tired again thanks to the new chilly air and rainy day vibes (mind you, I love chilly air!  I'm always excited for fall.  But chilly air and rain make errands far less pleasant).  Once we got home, we put away all of our purchases, rested for a half hour (I was also having some major lower back pain and laying down was the only relief) and then Baros helped me dye my hair... ok, in reality, he dyed my hair for me. BEST HUSBAND EVER!  While my hair was processing, I vacummed and tidied and Baros started prepping dinner.

In the meantime, I showered and started prepping our slow cooker for our weekly meal, Creamy tomato soup.

After that, we braved the weather for one more run to the store since we'd forgotten to get some important cleaning supplies.

When we got home, we threw the fish in the oven and feasted!

Yummy salmon with lemon, dill and hot peppers

It's our favorite easy way to prep salmon.  We bake it with lemon and dill.  Usually, we add asparagus but we kept it even more simple this time.  It was perfect.

Now, I'll go back to our slow cooker prep.  I'm in love with our slow cooker because it makes life so much easier.  Last week we made turkey chilli that lasted from Monday until Saturday.  It fed Baros and I for the full week.  We threw in a couple of other things for variety.  But the slow cooker saved us from having to cook everyday.

So this week, especially with the cooler weather rolling in and the rain staying for a visit, we decided to make Creamy Tomato Soup.  I've never made it before so I decided to follow/manipulate a recipe from SlowCooker Revolution Our Test Kitchen: 30 Slow Cookers. 200 Amazing Recipes.
I really enjoy the recipes from the book so far.  Most are pretty simple to follow and when they're not they still give great ideas for flavor profiles. Some of the recipes call for a lot of ingredients that we aren't super accessible in our local grocery store so we have to take a trip to the HMart soon.  I think we've tried 3 or 4 of the recipes so far but with the fall coming, we'll be trying more.

It's a great beginner's cookbook and takes you step by step through the recipes.
It also gives some great tips for general cooking. 

Creamy Tomato Soup (my adaptation of the books recipe... partially because I read it wrong 😜)
2 tbs unsalted butter
3 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
5 small Serrano peppers, diced (we love spicy, it was necessary)
1 onion, minced
2 tbs brown sugar

Serrano peppers 

1 small can tomato paste
Salt and pepper
2 tbs all purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth
5 bay leaves
1 cup heavy cream
Rosemary to taste

I always have fun adapting recipes.  In this case, I wanted to add some spice with the Serrano peppers. I decided to add a little more cream and some extra tomato paste to make it extra rich. And I used more chicken broth to make it last a little longer. In retrospect, I could have also added another can of diced tomatoes.

Browning the onions with brown sugar

The other changes I made had a lot to do with a simple reading error.  I was supposed to drain the diced tomatoes but I missed that step.












So when I sautéed the onions in the butter with the brown sugar, I added the cans of tomatoes sans draining.  I was trying to cook off the liquid but since I didn't drain them, there was more liquid than necessary. The drained tomato liquid was supposed to go straight into the slow cooker... Instead, I wound up cooking off more tomato than necessary.  I also wasn't able to brown the tomato the way the recipe wanted.

That being said, I managed to work it out and infuse some flavor by cooking down the tomatoes.

I put 3/4 of the mixture straight into the crock pot.  The other 1/4 I turned into a rue after browning it lightly and then adding the flour.  Once it cooked for about a minute or so I added in about 2 cups of the chicken broth and let that simmer until it thickened.
I then added everything to the crock pot, the remaining tomato mixture,  the bay leaves and the rest of the chicken stock and let it cook for 4 1/2 hours.
Then we pureed the mixture and added in the heavy cream, pepper, rosemary, and a little more salt.

NOTE: Don't forget to take out your bay leaves!! We kind of forgot about them and had to blend extra.

Hubby blending for me :) 

I topped it with shredded cheese for a melty twist

Then portions for the week.   And voila all done!!

Adventures Down the Shore: Sunset and the Waves

After barbecuing, we headed over to the boardwalk for a walk down the beach. We needed to

continue Burak's birthday fun.


Your birthday comes once a year and this is his first birthday spent in the US so we wanted to make sure he really enjoyed himself.
So as the sun was just starting to set we arrived at the beach with perfect light: the golden hour.  After 5, you don't have to pay to get on most beaches so for a walk it's a wonderful time.

It's quiet with fewer people. Just you and the birds and the waves (and the couple of hold out families that aren't ready to leave yet)
As a warning, the reason the beach is free at this hour is there are NO LIFEGUARDS. If you are not a strong swimmer, DO NOT SWIM. DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS SWIM at this hour.  The tides are strong, often stronger than they look and there may be invisible undercurrents (RIPTIDES) so don't take the risk if you're alone or if you have children.  I repeat DO NOT SWIM ALONE.  You take your life into your own hands and there have been several drownings after hours this year alone.

Ready for a little swim

The brothers reunited

We chose to swim since Baros and Burak were actually fish in another lifetime and I'm a pretty strong
swimmer too so we took the risk since the tide and current weren't completely crazy.  I would never have swum alone, but I felt secure in their swimming ability so I ventured in with my boys. I didn't swim out as far as them, but I'm not a natural born fish and I didn't want my mom to panic while watching us.


We left Mom on the shoreline by the lifeguard chair so she could take some selfies and then take some pictures of us being silly in the water.
We had so much fun splashing around.

Ridiculous jumping about

The boys even got some serious swimming in.
Then we jumped and floated and rode the waves in and out with the tide.
I can't think of a better way to end a day.

silly

Baros splish splashing

Afterwards we walked a little more. The plan had been to go over to Ocean Grove and then walk toAsbury Park but we couldn't find parking so we went home and cleaned up.  By the time we were done we were exhausted so we just got some drinks and watched some shows at home.  All of us crashed in the best way possible; bodies and mind tired and replaying the activities of the day.

A gorgeous sunset

And the moon rising

We slept early and got up early the next day to take the train back home.  We probably would've stayed for longer but I had to make it to my friend's bridal shower. So I went from the shore to NYC and the boys went home to do some shopping before heading into the city to meet me and some other friends for dinner and drinks to further celebrate Burak's birthday!

Check out this post and this one to see our other birthday celebrations with Burak.

Adventures Down the Shore: Kayaking and Paddle Boarding

After our hiking antics on Friday, we weren't quite done adventuring yet so Saturday morning, on
Burak's actual birthday, we woke up early (ish) and my brother brought us over to the bay for Kayaking and Paddle Boarding. We had a big day planned to make sure he had the best birthday possible this year!  So many adventures, so little time!

I'm very lucky that my brother is a super outdoors adventurer with crazy quantities of gear including 2 kayaks and 2 paddle boards which he loaded into/onto his van for our adventure. If we had wanted, he could have borrowed some more kayaks from a friend but I've really been wanting to try paddle boarding. The last couple of times we've gone down to mom's we've gotten rained out or otherwise waylaid, so this past weekend we made it happen.

I did it!!!

My baby brotherrr

I finally got to paddle-board!  And so did Baros, Burak and my brother, Paul! So we checked off Bucket list (Kayaking and Paddle-boarding)! The only person who wouldn't go paddle-boarding was the mamma bear.  She tried it once last year and apparently had no balance so she stuck to the shoreline with our camera to be photographer for the day.  She got some sun and watched us be silly in the bay.
another two items on our

I assumed that paddle-boarding would be pretty tough, especially since in general I have no balance whatsoever.  I regularly trip and lose my balance... sometimes while standing perfectly still.  I definitely thought that I would spend most of the day face-planting in the water.  I was prepared for it.  And then it didn't really happen.
Paul gave me a 5, maybe 10 minute lesson on where to put my feet and where to sit on the board and then he ran back up to the van to grab something. In the couple of minutes, he was gone, I got myself on the board and into a kneeling position.
Within another couple of minutes, I'd fallen once attempting to stand and then suddenly I was standing.  It was so cool
I had no concept of how to turn or the best way to paddle (when I made it back to shore my brother told me I had been holding it backwards) since the lesson hadn't been long enough for that.

Baros and his kayak

So I kind of drifted with the current, while standing and somehow keeping my balance and paddling

Burak in his kayak

lightly.   The others got into their kayaks and onto the other paddle-board and I attempted to get back towards where they were.  I had to kneel for my first attempt at turning the paddleboard and going against the current.  That being said, I made it work.  I got back to the others so we could head out in the same direction.
I had so much fun.  Although I spent a portion of the day kayaking, paddle-boarding was definitely my preference.
Standing on the board was not easy. Maybe that's why I liked it so much.  I could feel my muscles working for me.  All of them.  Although it looks like you're just standing still, your core muscles are activated in your attempts at balance. Your legs are working over time adjusting to the light waves of the bay.  I could have stayed on the board all day.
And other than my initial spill in my attempt to stand at the beginning, I only fell once.  It was a spectacular fall into the one deep section of the bay.
I fell for a combination of reasons: 1. A boat passed me.  2. I started sweating my sunblock into my eyes. 3. Burak was making silly faces at me. 4. My legs, and specifically my knee (that I've injured on multiple occasions) started to get tired from the balancing act.
That being said, I didn't mind the fall.  It was actually a lot of fun to take my tumble.  It was a refreshing dip into cool water after being in the hot sun.
The funniest bit was trying to get back onto the board when my feet couldn't touch the ground.  But my husband glided over in his kayak and "helped".  I'm laughing as I write that.  I use "helped" quite loosely.

I will say I was anything but graceful, but I made it onto the board and onto my feet again.   And I made it all the way back to shore without incident and without help.  I was definitely slower than the men... but I have a smaller muscle mass than them so I can't complain.
Afterwards, I switched to the kayak and Burak tried the paddle board.  Baros had tried earlier in the day but preferred the kayak instead.
It was so much fun.  I was especially entertained towards the end of our morning session as the tide lowered.  Paul and Burak individually got knocked off the paddle-boards thanks to various speedboats.  Then when they tried to get back to shore, they got stuck in the muck after the boat lane.
The struggle was real as they had to deal with the clay like sand that tried to pull their feet deeper and as they got caught in the algae.  In my kayak, I managed to stay enough afloat that I didn't have to get out.  I offered to tow my brother, but he figured his weight would sink us just enough that I'd get stuck too.
So I paddled next to him while he struggled.

heading back

Since Paul and Burak got stuck at around the same time but in opposite areas, I stayed with my bro and Baros with his bro.  We encouraged them along while trying not to laugh too hard.

Our whole crew

Family <3

It was a great morning but the day wasn't over yet.  We went home and rested and barbequed for lunch and then headed to the beach at sunset.  But you can read about that here.


To read about our hike and part one of Burak's birthday adventures, head here.

Adventures Down the Shore: Hiking and Operation Baby Squirrel Save

Last weekend was a fun one for us.  It was my brother-in-law's birthday so Baros and I took him on an adventure weekend down the shore.  We planned so much to do that we definitely exhausted him and ourselves in the process.

Friday morning, we met in NYC and with minutes to spare hopped onto a train to Bradley Beach.

How I make myself comfy on the train!

The first thing we did was get some amazing breakfast at a restaurant about a minute from the train station.  It's called The Buttered Biscuit and it has some of the best breakfast and brunch food that I've ever had. Baros and I have been there a couple of times now  and we had to share the experience with his brother, Burak.  And it did not disappoint!

I don't remember the name of this omelette... but it was phenomenal!!

Afterwards, we took a little time to rest before heading to our first adventure.  In the afternoon, we headed over to Shark River Park for some hiking. I don't remember the last time we'd been hiking so to say we were excited is an understatement.

Shark River was great.  It has different leveled trails (not always clearly marked but for us not a big deal) and plenty of beautiful views.  We started with the black diamond trail, not having realized that it had been flooded earlier this month.  It wasn't the hardest trail I've been on but it had some great views of the river and some ups and downs.  From there we passed onto the blue trail.  We got minorly turned around doing so but we made it.

Baros being silly

Trekking away

happy happy

We found the gorgeous open field and then trekked through the grounds. 

Following the signs

And then we found the baby squirrel.  It was so cute and little and my first instinct was to try to help

Look how adorable he is.  

it as it struggled on the path.  It was probably only a few weeks old. Its eyes weren't even open yet.  Now, before you get any further reading this: DON'T DO WHAT I DID.  Leave the little squirrel wherever you find it so it's mom can find it.
My first instinct was to help and in reality I shouldn't have.  I picked up the baby squirrel in my sweatshirt with the goal of bringing it to the ranger so the ranger could get it some help.
The squirrel was so small that it fit into the palm of my hand (in the sweatshirt).  He/she cozied up and instantly fell asleep as I walked with it in my sweatshirt covered hands.
We walked with it all the way to the ranger's station for about an hour through all of the trails, only for the ranger to tell us that it needed to go back into the woods.  Apparently, you can get a fine for removing wildlife from the parks and there's nothing the rangers can do to help the squirrels when they're so little, which made me sad.
Luckily, Baros had pinned where we found the squirrel so we went all the way back through the woods and put the squirrel back under the tree where we found him/her.  Fortunately, we were able to use the gps and find the shortest route to his home tree.
Hopefully, the mamma squirrel was able to come back down the tree and bring the baby back up the into the nest.
I'm so sad that there was nothing else we could do.
But lesson learned, DON'T TOUCH THE WILDLIFE. 
I definitely learned my lesson.
But we had a good day hiking and then trying to help the little fellow.

All cleaned up after Hiking 

Later that night, we went walking along the boardwalk and then to Patrick's Pub for dinner, live music and drinks to celebrate the birthday boy.
We even gave my brother his belated birthday present since we hadn't been able to see him for his actual birthday!

It was a fun night but we went home relatively early since we had more adventures planned for the next day.

Paddleboarding and Kayaking
Beach Fun