This year I’m going to take a stab at reinvigorating my blog and perhaps more aptly my desire to blog by musing every two months in 2025! If my math is right, that’ll be six posts filled with the three “Ws”..wit, whimsy and wisdom concerning all things food and drink.To be clear, this’ll be just a snippet of what went on the first two months of the year through photos and clever chitchat.

The Restaurants

I spent New Year’s in DC. Lunch at The Bazaar by Jose Andres https://www.thebazaar.com/ was great, lovely to look at and just plain fun. Jose Andres is such a fine example of a human that it always is a pleasure for me to dine at any of his establishments. Hopefully many of you already have donated from time-to-time to the https://wck.org/.

Another restaurant I’d liked to tell you about is a gem in Carlisle PA called Southside Deli. I may be biased as I know the owner and his family, but the food is delicious. Recently they partnered with another local establishment Molly Pitcher Brewing Company to add a bar that gives a shout-out to longtime basketball coach and my dearly departed husband by being referred to as Coach’s Corner. If you’re ever in the Carlisle area stop at SSD for a great sandwich and a pint of something made by Molly Pitcher!

I spent some time in February at the Lansdowne Resort https://lansdowneresort.com/ near Leesburg VA. It was time for my yearly solo retreat and I find this particular resort perfect for my needs….. a great spa, decent dining options, plenty of nooks and crannies inside and out to draw, write or read and I can bring my precious dog, Lily!

The stuff I made

I’ve been a long time subscriber to Bon Appetit the magazine. I’ve recently signed on to receive their “boxes” https://cookwithbonappetit.com. It’s a fun way to get some ingredients (all non-perishable) that aren’t readily available at your local grocer but are a prerequisite for the recipes that are provided. Received on a monthly basis, I don’t even try to use all the ingredients or even try all the recipes but to be honest I’m okay with that because I can always find another food enthusiast to pass things on to. Your starter box comes with a binder to put all the recipes in so you also get a cookbook to boot!

I selected to photos of a couple of other dishes I made to include a recipe I developed back 1981 (and hadn’t made since) for Herbed Tomatoes.

Product Alert

I’m going to try to feature a least one new-to-me product in these every-two-months posts. I’ll warn you now I don’t have much luck with finding things that last! I set up a Pinterest Board years and years ago that I titled “Food and Drink Products I Can’t Live Without”. I stopped posting on that board after about 50% of my featured products disappeared usually in a few short months after I bragged about them! Gone is Blue Hill Savory Yogurts, gone is Camp Fire Sauce, gone are Garden Lites Carrot Muffins (they rebranded to Veggies Made Great but they also changed the carrot muffins)…the list goes on.

This year during the holiday season I found this saltine changing magic, The Original Savory Party Cracker Seasoning at a gift shop in Gettysburg PA. I was surprised by how much savory goodness was made by following the directions on the packet (I did the two boxes of mini-saltines version). No baking required! I actually bagged the stuff and put a pretty bow on ten packages and added it to my other handmade holiday gifts. I still had plenty in a zip-lock bag to munch on at home. I’ve ordered more from Amazon by the way. https://savoryfinefoods.com/collections/the-savory-saltine-seasoning

Here you have it, the first posting of 2025. I’m going to try to stay at it and I’d be grateful for you to join me.

“As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists“- Joan Gussow