HAPPY FRIDAY, NOSHERS!!  Yes, that required obnoxious all-caps formatting because we (at least those of us in the United States) have a holiday weekend! Woohoo! I LOVE holiday weekends!  Are you doing anything fun? Please share your plans!

I, for one, am super excited about one of my weekend plans. So excited, in fact, that I’m going to make it my Fun Fact for today.

I am going to Pig Island.

Featuring 25 top chefs going “hog wild” with all sorts of delicious dishes made with locally sourced pigs, butchering and cooking demos, local craft beer and wine, and live music, Pig Island is going to be quite a feast!  I will be going as press, so stay tuned for tweets, instagram photos and a blog re-cap of the best pig dishes of the day. YUM!

What’s your favorite pork product?

It has been a while since I brought some sweet treats into the office (the last time was a luscious fruit tart in June), and it was due time!  I decided to use this dessert-making opportunity to respond to a comment that anniegurumi left of my peach cobbler post – a request for an easy-to-make dessert that didn’t require an oven.   What a great idea for summer!  I decided to make something that features one of my favorite combinations – chocolate and peanut butter.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t my typical recipe at all…

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Last week, I checked out Pulqueria, an extremely well-hidden Mexican restaurant deep in Chinatown.  I’m not talking Canal Street, people – Pulqueria is on windy, narrow Doyers.  My sister had purchased a groupon for a 4-course meal for two and wasn’t going to use it before it expired – so that meant that an eating buddy and I had to take her place! Thanks, sis!

We settled into this underground hideaway and perused our options:

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Happy Friday, Noshers!  What are your plans this weekend? I will be attending a bridal shower and an end of summer BBQ – yay!  I can’t believe summer is ending already, sad…

Today’s fun fact is especially useful when decorating cakes, especially for kids!

The above Easter Bunny cake was a hit with the nephew!

To add some color to shredded coconut, place coconut flakes in a plastic bag with a few drops of food coloring and shake. Voila!  Bunny grass (or sand on a beach, or a lion’s mane – let your imagination run wild!).

I’d love to hear about any creative dessert creations you’ve made – please share!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Okra was one of those random foods that I never tried until I was in college – I never had a strong dislike for it or anything like that, it just wasn’t something my mom cooked during my childhood.  Things were not boding well for this veggie when a friend lovingly described it as “kinda slimy.” Seeing this as a challenge to overcome, I went ahead and bought okra seedlings to plant at my parents’ house (no way they would survive NYC apartment living!).  With a proud bumper crop of no less than 3 okras, I knew I had to supplement my homegrown supply with the farmers market stock.  Boy, am I glad I did – a simple roast and I was an okra convert! Here’s how I did it:

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A while back I had the opportunity to attend a grand opening preview of the Chobani flagship store in SoHo.  When I received the invite, I was a bit intrigued – I know that frozen yogurt stores are slowly taking over NYC, but a non-frozen, Greek yogurt store? Hmmm – how would that work? I would soon find out.

Chobani acknowledged that they were breaking the mold with this new store concept, as you can see here:

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Happy Friday, Noshers!  What are your plans for this weekend? I’m meeting a friend for brunch, and hopefully stopping by the farmer’s market – my fridge is looking a little bare!  Nothing like some fresh produce to replenish!

This fun fact relates to one of my favorite herbs:

Image from howstuffworks.com

Cilantro is a love/hate herb.  Some who despise it are actually genetically predisposed to sense a soapy taste in the herb!

As for me – I will have cilantro anytime, anywhere! Yum!

Are you a cilantro fan – yay or nay?

Last Friday, I posted the Fun Fact that August is National Peach month.  I usually just eat peaches straight up – nothing like the nectar of a super-ripe farmer’s market peach dripping down your wrist.  I may have gotten a little overzealous with my peach purchases one market visit, and I was faced with the tasty dilemma of having too many ripe peaches to consume. Undeterred I decided to whip up some cobbler!  Would you like some cobbler of your own? Yeahhhh, I thought so.

You will need:

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Happy FRIDAY, Noshers! Phew!  Have any plans for the weekend?  Mine is shortened this time as I am working Saturday, but I plan to pack all weekend-ness into Sunday!  Today’s the last day to enter my Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Cookbook Giveaway – if you haven’t entered yet, what are you waiting for?

Today’s fun fact is peachy keen, Jelly Bean!

August is National Peach Month!

I turned these farmer’s market peaches into a droolworthy peach cobbler. YUM!  Let me know if you’d like the recipe!

What is your favorite way to eat peaches?

Happy Monday, Noshers!  How did you all spend the weekend? It sure was a scorcher in NYC – phew! Definitely called for a short trip to Long Beach and some lounging!

If you follow me on twitter, you’ll know that I attended a Brother Jimmy’s #QueSummer event last week.  Consisting of a 5-course, BBQ-focused meal, it was saucy, juicy, tender meaty goodness.  Oh, and colorful beverages galore – just take a look at the menu:

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