4th of July

Went to Dear Core's house for a 4th of July bonfire, and of course grilling commenced. This skeleton of a burned chair served as the perfect support for a grate, on which we grilled corn in the husk, bratwurst, and dawgs.

Mmm...

Light Lunch

Pita bread, a pear, and blueberry yogurt.

Apple Pie in an Apple

The discovery of an over-sized apple in our pantry prompted the creation of this night-time (let's call it dinner?) treat. I used a less-than-quartered pie crust recipe, so it ended up being these ingredients cut together until they were of a mealy consistency:

1/2 c. flour

2 tbsp butter

sprinkle of salt

The crust, molded into the carefully-hollowed apple, was filled with a mixture of the apple innards, cinnamon, and a bit o' sugar.

And after being neglected in the oven for the length of a Phase 10 game with Moth and Beak, it came out warm and soft and tasting of home.

Martha's Vineyard!

I was akimbo in the vacation preparations; left alone with all of us girls (minus Mete) and feeling uneasy. I satisfied this imbalance by baking some square French-bread loaves dusted with Parmesan cheese. They came out super in comparison with my expectations. We ate them on the ferry with Monterey Jack cheese, almonds, and diet coke (our childhood staple). A wondrous start to the Island!

Even with Fath there, we managed to have a relaxing afternoon on the beach. Waves crashed and wind beckoned, but as soon as we spread our towels Nana insisted that it was lunch time; tuna and tomato brought from home, in a pocket thang.

There is a village of Gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs that thousands of tourists flock to each year, and just outside the main circle is this little church that has weekly crabcake dinners. Nana was rearing to go, although we found out on the walk there that she "never likes crabcakes" and was just going to try a bite of ours. HA!

Mete and I split a dinner; they came quite wonderfully with sweet potato fries, cole slaw and lemonade. They also had the option of hotdogs for the faint-of-heart (of which Nan & Pup fortook).

Moth, Beak, Mete and I went on a one-mile hike, which was prefaced with much whining and second-guessing, but it turned out to be quite fun. Gusty winds accompanied us along the way, and we were as happy as ever to come upon the worn siding of the tiny Bite in Menemsha. Every year we get fish sandwiches here; I got mine with tomato, and lots of sand from some kiddies on the beach.

After a tiring day at the beach, we stopped at Morning Glory Farm for lunch. I had some ginger-flavored lamb's milk yogurt, with an apple and this delicious Asiago loaf.

Close to one-pound lobster rolls at the little church in Vineyard Haven. I swear they love these more than God...

Raspberries and beanpods from beloved Mete's apartment in New Bedford. Our pre-ferry lunches were packed in a rush, and these were a very thoughtful ending.