Today, May 8th, would have been Julian’s six month birthday. If he were here with us, he would be sitting up, eating baby cereal. He would be smiling and laughing at us. He would be making baby sounds and watching his big brother and sister playing. We wish you were here with us.
Happy Birthday Julian. Love always, Mommy, Daddy, Lilliana and Lucas
As I stood in the frozen food aisle at Whole Foods this evening, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just stopped, dead in my tracks, and stared at the packages in front of me. Is this for real? So, I opened the door and pulled one of the boxes out. As I stood there, reading the back of the box, the tears just poured down my face, in the middle of Whole Foods. Even though the store was crowded, I felt like the only person there. I was all alone, all alone, just standing there reading all about Julian.
“My son, Julian, has joyously inherited this love of cooking and he has become my muse and greatest critic. It is said that by honoring our past we shape the future. And that’s how Julian’s Recipe was born.”
It may seem trivial to many of you but I just couldn’t believe my eyes. It is a new product, never been there before, never ever seen a product with his name on it and now, here it is, right in front of me.
I don’t know how I’m going to handle Mother’s Day without him. I miss him too much. I am his mother. He should be with me tomorrow. I was the one who felt his first movements inside of my body. I am the one who saw his beautiful face for the very first time when he was born. I was the one who said his name for the first time and held his little tiny hand. I am the one he whimpered for when he heard my voice for the very first time in the NICU. I was the one who laid by his side as he struggled through all of those difficult times at home and at the hospital. I was the one who stroked his face and wiped his tears the night he went into cardiac arrest at the hospital. I was the one who held him for the very last time when his little heart stopped beating. I was the one who changed his very last diaper. I am his mother. I am his only mother and I yearn for my baby Julian every second of every day. It isn’t a happy mothers day. It’s a sad mothers day because I don’t have all of my children with me. There will always be a part of me that is lost forever and no one, not any one, will every understand how that makes me feel.
Well, this has been quite a week…. maybe it’s getting back from a weekend getaway and facing the reality of life here again, but I just can’t seem to get out of the kitchen, it’s very therapeutic.
I’ve created two new Jams and one new Sauce. The first and my favorite, is my ORGANIC APPLE PIE JAM! It is amazing, so very yummy and a perfect spread for toast or crackers, a topping for vanilla ice cream or as a filling for my ORGANIC APPLE PIE MUFFINS. That’s right, after I made the jam, I decided to throw some into a muffin batter and viola, my new ORGANIC APPLE PIE MUFFIN. The flavor is amazing, tastes just like apple pie but in an Organic, All-Natural, Good for you Muffin!
This morning, I spread some laughing cow cheese (or you can use cream cheese) on whole wheat bread with some of my Organic Apple Pie Jam for Lilliana’s lunch. A new alternative to the American Peanut Butter and Jelly classic.
The other Jam that I created yesterday is my ORGANIC STRAWBERRY-BLACKBERRY JAM. This jam is absolutely delish! It’s the perfect blend of sweetness and tartness. My husband enjoyed it spread on a piece of toast last night and my friend ate it right out of the jar this morning. SO YUM!
And finally, I made an ORGANIC STRAWBERRY SAUCE. This sauce is absolutely perfect drizzled on ice cream. It has some small chunks of fresh Organic Strawberries in it and tasted delicious as a topping to our Ben and Jerry’s Pistachio Ice Cream. You can even drizzle some of this ORGANIC STRAWBERRY SAUCE in combination with my ORGANIC HOT FUDGE SAUCE on your plain ice cream and you will never eat ice cream the plain way again! That’s right, I make ORGANIC HOT FUDGE SAUCE too…. made with organic, all natural ingredients (photo to come).
Today, I’m going to make my famous and all time favorite, ORGANIC MIXED BERRY JAM. During the holidays, I call it my ORGANIC HOLIDAY JAM because it has fresh organic cranberries in it, as well as many other delicious fruit. It is a perfect gift for family, friends and teachers!
All of these items, as well as many others, will be available for sale at the Monroe Farmers Market starting on June 24th. Hope to see you there!
As I opened the envelope from the American Food Safety Institute, I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I wasn’t sure if I had passed the 2 hour exam, but I did, with flying colors.
So, now I am officially a Certified Food Safety Professional. CHECK!
Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.
I was fortunate enough to visit a beautiful, quaint island this weekend… it is an absolutely beautiful place, surrounded by the ocean with old style, colonial homes, amazing restaurants, bakeries and shops! Martha’s Vineyard is an amazing place to visit and possibly live, maybe retire there one day and live on the beach, running a little cafe of my own.
Granted it was cold this weekend and very windy by the sea, but the delicious food, warm lattes, beautiful views from the top of our hotel, crashing ocean waves against the rocks and sandy beaches and in the company of my handsome, sweet husband…. it was an amazing weekend and my sore throat didn’t stop me, thanks to all the lemon tea I drank, courtesy of our awesome hotel.
If you haven’t visited the Vineyard yet, I would highly recommend it. It is definitely an expensive visit, taking into account the ferry prices, the hotel, the restaurants, the transportation on the island and all the shopping you’ll want to do there, but it’s well worth it for a little romantic getaway. I’ve heard it’s a very busy place during the summer months but right now, it’s very quiet and serene and you have the place to yourself. It’s awesome!
Here are some highlights from our trip and things to consider when you visit the Vineyard.
Our stay at the Vineyard Square Hotel and Suites (formerly the Colonial Inn) was amazing, located right on North Water Street in Edgartown, across from one of the many beaches in the Vineyard. It is a very clean, contemporary style hotel, with friendly staff, white rocking chairs on the porch and a gorgeous view from the rooftop. They offer tea and coffee throughout the day as well as a free Continental Breakfast every morning.
Down the street from the hotel is one of Martha’s Vineyard’s five lighthouses, the Edgartown Lighthouse. It’s absolutely gorgeous and has a rich history behind it. You can read about it if you click on the above link.
Dinner at Chesca’s, conveniently located right outside our hotel, was absolutely DELISH! There are so many amazing restaurants in Edgartown, as well as the other parts of Martha’s Vineyard, but since I was in the mood for a little mix of Italian and Seafood, we settled on Chesca’s. Well, let me tell you, even though it is extremely pricey for very small dishes, it is worth every penny! When I ordered the Lobster Ravioli and Scallops for $36, Mike joked there would only be 4 raviolis and guess what, he was right, except there were 4 jumbo size scallops too. I also ordered an appetizer of Shrimp with a Thai Chile Sauce over creamy polenta. I wanted to pick up the plate and lick it, but since that wouldn’t be “good manners”, I took some of the fresh bread on the table and cleaned up my plate. The appetizer and entree were to die for! Believe it or not, these two small dishes filled me up, along with a nice glass of my favorite, Riesling wine.
I am in love with Espresso Love, also in Edgartown. Their Mocha Hazelnut Latte was so sweet and delicious… so perfect, that I went back for another one a couple hours later! They also offer freshly baked goods, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, soups, pizza and salads. We brought home some “love” with their Espresso Love mug…. which I’m drinking some Lemon tea from right now.
There were more delicious baked goodies at MV’s Gourmet Bakery in Oak Bluffs too. I got a sweet and yummy almond croissant. For those of you who don’t know my weakness when it comes to baked goods, it’s the croissant, every kind of croissant, plain, almond, cheese and chocolate! If I ever visit Paris, I’ll come back 20 pounds heavier from eating croissants all day, every day!
Here are some more amazing photos of the island.
If you’ve never been there before, don’t wait any longer to visit the Vineyard. I can’t wait to go back!
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