Filed under Causes & Issues …

Happy Thanksgiving & Remember Others

Dear readers, to you and yours, the best of holidays, whether you dine with family, with friends, or in solitary splendor (yes, sometimes that’s a treat!), I hope you have a good Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. Please remember those who are less fortunate as we go into the holiday season.  A few local suggestions: Mercer Street … Continue reading →

Italian Excursion – Brutti ma Buoni?

Here’s a nice, no-neeed-to-plan ahead, mid/late afternoon weekend excursion – a trip to Washington Town Center, home of De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies and Dolce & Clemente’s Italian Market. First we stop at Dolce & Clemente’s, for a little Italian grocery shopping, then we stow our goodies in the car before getting in line outside De Lorenzo’s – … Continue reading →

Family Dinner at Tre Piani

I had dinner with family recently at Tre Piani, my first visit in a while, I blush to admit.  To the left you see a photo (sorry it’s not better) of the entrée that three of the four of us had, lamb from Neptune Farm, an organic farm in south NJ, prepared three ways,  roasted (shoulder … Continue reading →

Autumn Festivals & Events

These pretty moon cakes made for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (aka Moon Festival) are from Sheng Kee bakery in Taiwan.  They can be ordered from Bostonbookshop.com, but since the festival starts on September 22, you might want to go to the Asian Food Market in Plainsboro, or the Great Wall in Franklin Park, and shop in … Continue reading →

Dine Out New Jersey!

Hundreds of restaurants throughout New Jersey will offer incentives to consumers who dine out during New Jersey Restaurant Week taking place September 19 – 25. The week-long promotion is sponsored by the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA).  For a list of participating restaurants (by county), visit the Dine Out NJ website.  Just the Mercer County participants … Continue reading →

From Honey Cake to Maple Syrup

Picked up this cute maple syrup sampler at Marshall’s last weekend.  At $7.99 (a total of 6.8 oz), this kit is “a replica of the old Vermont grading sample kits used by sugarmakers for generations.” It would make an ideal small gift (so I bought two).  I’ve had great luck with Marshall’s gourmet food items, and … Continue reading →

Events Galore!

I get so many emails about events, far too many to post about, but every now and then I like to do a “roundup” of what is sitting in my inbox. Two big events are coming up at Mercer County Park. These cultural events bookend the month, with Indian at the beginning and Italian at … Continue reading →

Bobolink Veal

Not that this delicious veal chop from Bobolink Dairy‘s grassfed herd needed any help with flavor, but I’ve been on this anchovy and caper binge, and that seemed a perfect touch for this dish, since I didn’t have an outside grill to lend it a charry flavor. So I broiled the chops inside on an evening slightly less … Continue reading →

Have some organic potato salad on the Fourth

A current article in Nature, a highly respected peer-reviewed scientific journal, describes research showing that organic potato farming practices promote more “evenness” in predator diversity which leads to more balanced pest control.  The end result?  “…their study found that the increased evenness of organic farms compared with that of conventional farms led to 18% lower pest densities and … Continue reading →