French toast

This mornings breakfast was made possible by Hannah and First Baptist Church of Littlestown.
Two pieces of thick sliced fresh bread, one egg, milk and a good coating in the hot pan of Downey's cinnamon honey butter.  It does not take long for two great tasting pieces of French toast to come out perfect. Sad thing is it took longer to cook than it did for me to eat it. Moist fresh bread and the butter complimented one another very nicely. So when you are in the mood for a great slice of French toast you either have to fly to France or dream of mine because there is no topping this one. God bless, Merry Christmas and see you at the table.

Vegans and omnivores unite.

"Meat loaf" is what was on the menu two nights ago. Ellen made lintel loaf with potatoes and carrots along with a fresh loaf of bread. Close your eyes and take a bite and you will not be able to tell the difference. There was onions and cloves of garlic cook in with everything. She had it in the crock pot all day. Would I eat it again. Sure would and will be tonight for dinner. I am thinking I might slice it and fry it in a pan and make a sandwich out if it. How does that sound?  Great now I want to eat and I am stuck at work and it is just going to get worse after the next review. In your home town or travels you have had pizza and on that very rare occasion you were lucky enough to have PIZZA. You all know what I am talking about. That slice of pie that makes you break your two piece rule. Well I had the pleasure to have such a PIZZA. Well to be honest I had a slice from three different pies. All these pizzas were cooked in a huge brick oven that dwarfed other ovens I have seen. Slice one was a roasted chicken pizza. Slice two was shrimp and slice three was roasted red pepper. We also had a sausage pie but I did not try that one. I should have thinking back. Oh well my loss. The chicken was outstanding. Not some cubed chicken pieces but roasted in the oven and cut from the bone white meat chicken. The sauce was not too sweet. Both the sauce and the cheese were over the nomad amounts you would get in other restaurants. I like a lot of sauce so this made me happy. The shrimp were not three baby shrimp to a slice. They were medium size and all over the pie. Not a bite passed your lips that did not have one. Oh and the garlic. A good amount on top and made it taste like a shrimp scampi.  The red pepper slice was my least favorite but good none the less. The crust on all of them was very crispy and you got the black ash on your fingers when you held it. Ask for extra napkins even though you will catch yourself licking your fingers. Now you are asking where this place it and what is its name.  Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana est. 1925. It is located on Wooster St. New Haven Connecticut. http://pepespizzeria.com/  If you ever get there make sure it is early. Parking is tight but this guy, with a lot of Jason squared luck we got a front spot which never happens and never will again. Will I eat there again. I really hope so. That's it for this review. God bless, thanks for reading and good luck with getting a parking spot. 

Here fishy fishy

Tonights appetizer was all for me. Thanks to the Biba's who gave me three salmon steaks. I had pan seared salmon. I seasoned it with some garlic and onion powder, a few pinches of salt, fresh cracked black pepper and wasabi. With the burner on high and just a teaspoon of olive oil it did not take long (four minutes) and I was eating an awesome piece of fish. It just melted in my mouth. For those who enjoy it you know what I am talking about. For those of you who don't oh well more for me. God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the table. 

Deer the other red meat.

My father got his first dear of the season. A doe. The pot of chili my mother made and yes I had a nice size bowl today is deer meat and all fresh from their garden tomatoes, onions and jalapeño peppers. Nothing from a can.  Not the deer you see hanging but I wanted to give you an idea of the work involved. My father shoots (cross bow), guts, skins (as shown in the picture) and butchers his kills. We eat as much of it as we can. They even use the heart for fish bait in their trips down south. We waste very little. We know where he meat comes from. It does not get processed in a factory. It is not shot up with GMO's. low in fat and cholesterol. Tastes great and can feed a family a nice period of time. I grew up on deer and will always eat it. If you get a chance please try it. God bless, thanks for reading and happy and safe hunting. 

The meal that never was

I wanted to be able to write a review on a restaurant that is in Baltimore Md. that I saw on TV a few times on the shows Man vs food and Bacon Nation.  I say I wanted to write a review because when I was there on Sunday at Geppie's comic museum I tried to go but ran into a roadblock.  One, the exit door was right outside of the museum and we could not get in there.  Two, I asked where the entrance was and it was inside the gate of the baseball stadium.  The guard said because it was game day I needed a ticket to get into the restaurant.  WHAT?  REALLY? So I am not going to give them a name mention and just say that they lost business Sunday.  I don't think I want to try again just for a matter of principle.  They will remain nameless.  Some of you may know the name and if you ever go tell them what I said.  Bad for business not letting in paying customers.  They get no review, no pictures and no promotion from me.  Not that I am some big deal in the food world I am small beans in the blog world and foodie world.  So one good thing came out of it.  I saved money..hahahah..
God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the table......if that table is open to paying customers.

Carnival night.

This past week was the Littlestown carnival. As always we had our two favorite nieces with us.  I did not ride any rides but Ellen road the zipper. I was there for the food. Imagine that. The only new thing I saw his year was the Lady Bolts selling The Walking Taco. A small bag of Doritos with all the taco toppings in it. The taste was what I expected and it was not filling but a good snack and helped them with their fund raiser. Try it if you go there or see it other places. God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the tables.

Everlasting Life Cafe

Ellen and I had dinner out and she picked a place right down the street...NOT.  We went just outside of Washington DC on Georgia Ave NW to a place that she found on the internet that has vegan food.  http://www.everlastinglifecafe.com/  Fried chicken, collards, ribs and steak subs to name a few things on the menu.  If you know me and you do if you are reading this you know that I like to try different things so I was game to go.  We spent some time shopping and she got some things at MOM's Market a natural/vegetarian/vegan/everything good for you store.  After that we went walking in Bethesda and almost decided to eat there but I am glad we held out and went to the place she found.  When we got there I was skeptical.  We found parking on the street just fine and the area was not bad but not what we are use to either.  We walked in and the sign at the front said "First time here, come see us at the register" So we walked back and talked to the only person we saw.  He greeted us and shook my hand, walked us back to where they cook the food and where they serve the hot and cold sides and walked us through the dishes they had, even told us what he liked the best.  Everything was cooked fresh and made on site.  No outsource of food.  We made our selections of mac and cheese, garlic greens as our sides.Ellen ordered a fried chicken sandwich.  I order the steak and cheese sub.  The cook brought it out to us at our table and we dug in.  I was very surprised.  The mac and cheese was awesome.  The garlic kale was really good and loaded with garlic. Together they worked great.  My sub was very good.  Onions, cheese and tomato topped it.  I left off the green peppers and mushrooms.  Ellen enjoyed her "chicken" sandwich very much.  I tied it as well.  If you were not told you would think it was a chicken sandwich.  My sub had BBQ sauce on it which I would have left off and replaced it with a gravy but it was good none the less.  We had enough food that I could not finish my sub and brought half home which Ellen ate the next day.  Would I eat there again  yes I would.  Do I recommend it to everyone I sure do. God bless, thanks for reading and see you all at the table.

Off the land and Birthday lunch

Survival of the human race may depend one day on how well we can adapt to the world around us. If you slow down and look when you are out and about you will learn a lot. How many of you out there would take a half eaten sandwich or slice of pizza out of the trash and eat it?  I am guessing maybe one or two of you. As much as a burden the homeless population is on society we can learn a lot from watching them. They survive on the streets with little to eat or clothing to wear. I have wondered for a long time why do they stay in the city during the hot summer months and long cold winters?  Go south for the winter and north for the summer. Feed off the land and survive. Walking today on the Georgetown trail right through downtown Bethesda Md I picked a hand full of black berries. They were delicious. As I was picking them a lady walked past and saw me, slowed down an watched for a second. She did not ask what I was doing or eating but he saw me eat something I was picking. If she would have asked I would have shown her so she could enjoy some of them. So the next time you are out and see what you know is safe to eat. Pick it. One day it might save your life. Being so comfortable with shopping for our food and having a supply on hand has made us soft. I will admit I am. The next rabbit I get out of our yard I will eat it. I will survive. On another note the ladies in the office today had a birthday lunch for all those born in July. So I pigged out out. God bless, thanks for reading and remember, eat to live don't live to eat.

Two meals two nights

Well this is what I get for not writing these meals in here the same night I eat them.  I forget what they are made of and the names.  Thank goodness that the one I photographed with the recipe.  The other one was a curry dish for Ellen and some garlic naan that she made and I cooked on the open grill.  I ate the salad part of the meal and the naan.  I will write next time the same night I eat the meal so that way I can make you all drool  and want to eat the meals.  So for this time enjoy the pictures and my very short write up and look forward to the next review.  God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the tables.

Udon noodle stir fry

Tonight Ellen left out the makings for Udon noodle stir fry. Noodles, sugar snap peas, spring onions, carrots, bok choy, garlic, ginger and a few sauces. Only 15 minutes to cook. I added a few Thai red peppers for a little heat. Very tasty and filling. The picture says it all. God bless, thanks for reading and see you all at the tables.

Alfresco deuxième partie

Tonight Ellen made vegan spring rolls.  Very good.  Rice noodles, cucumber, carrot, mushrooms soaked in soy sauce and smoked Tofuerky that did not really have a taste because of the other stuff in the spring roll.  She also made a quinoa salad that had yellow and red peppers and some other stuff.  I did not care for that too much because of the over power taste of the peppers.  Pot stickers on the side with dipping sauces for everything.  We both ate our fill and had plenty left over for her lunch tomorrow. As for my lunch I will be having left over pork and sauerkraut I made last night for a coworkers birthday.

Well that is it for tonight.  God bless, thanks for reading and see you all at the table.

Dining alfresco

Tonight we decided to have dinner and entertainment so we set up on the front porch and had dinner alfresco. On the menu was grilled trout, onions and asparagus. The pasta was one of Ellen's dishes. Yellow peppers, white beans and tomato paste. I know there were was other stuff in it but I was not involved in the making of it. The trout was caught local and was grilled while wrapped in foil with garlic, lemon and olive oil. He onions had olive oil and some garlic powder while the asparagus was just sprayed with olive oil. Great flavors and meal and the drive by entertainment was good as well. God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the tables. 

Strawberry rhubarb pie

Tonight Ellen made a Strawberry rhubarb pie that I will not be eating. I will be waiting for the one tomorrow that she is making.  This one is for Jim.  I know it is not your Grandmothers but its better than driving to Tenn to get a slice of hers. Thank you Jim for your service to our country and to all the other brave men and women that put their lives on the line for our freedom.  Thank you as well for all of the men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedom.  I hope you enjoy this pie and when you eat it pray and think of your fellow military on this Memorial Day.  God bless you all, thanks for reading and see you at the tables.  Ps..Just added the picture of the second pie that came out of the oven about 2 minutes before I wrote this short message.

Fungus it's whats for dinner.

The other night I grilled out for the first time this summer.  What did you grill Jason?  Well thanks for asking.  I had 2 turkey dogs.  For Ellen I made 3 grilled portabella mushrooms.  They were marinated over night in Italian dressing. I sliced 3 medium onions in thick rings and coated them with garlic infused EVOO and cut 6 multi colored peppers in half.  The onions went on the grill first along with the peppers. I then put on my turkey dogs .  The mushrooms were the last to go on since they do not take as long.  I put them gill up and poured the extra dressing into the gills to let them cook with the flavor and steam a little while they are cooking.  4 minutes I flipped the mushrooms to gill side down and let them sit for another 5 minutes.  The onions at this point were ready to be flipped and I did just that.  Browning up just nicely and the peppers getting soft and ready to be pulled off.  The dogs were just about done as well.  I pulled the onions peppers and the dogs off first.  The mushrooms took a little longer than I thought they would because of the dressing.  I flipped them one more time and after a total of about 15 minutes they were done.  Ellen fixed her burger with greens and Vegan cheese. She put it on her home made rosemary artisan bread that she baked the day before.  The dinner was great.  She had two of the three and left the extra onions and peppers for the next day along with the third mushroom I put onions on my dogs along with some mustard and ketchup. 

Great dinner.  Would she eat it again.Yes she would.  Now to see what else I can make with this store bought yard fungus.

God Bless, thanks for reading and see you at the tables

Food Slump

Food slump

I am in a food slump so I want to try something a little different.  Please send me one of your favorite recipes and I will take a look at all that are sent to me.  I will narrow it down to 3 and make them and give my review.  That way I can try different things and you can share your favorite dish with someone that will enjoy it.  If you want I will even post your recipe for others to enjoy but I will only do that if you give me permission.  I will give this a week for you all to share with me and after that I will make my decision.  Good luck and thanks for sharing. If you are really brave, live local and make the dish one night let me know and I will stop out for a doggie bag..hahahah
Email me the recipe je119wk@yahoo.com or send it to me in Facebook private message.

Veg Fest UMBC

We went, we ate and she bought stuff. The first thing that went into my mouth was a piece of vegan pizza. Tasted like pizza looked like pizza so I did not take a picture because you all know what pizza looks like if not the get out of your cave. The second thing was Jamaican jerk tofu, BBQ tofu and rice. The jerk was really good as was the rice. The BBQ was just that. Nothing special. Ellen had a vegan pot pie and noodles on the side. She brought home the pot pie to reheat but ate the noodles. They were refreshing. The third thing we ate was from and Indian place. Beans, fried bread and some sort of sweet thing I can't remember what it was made of. It was all good. The Indian food I did not take a pic of. I had it last year and if I can find that picture I will update this blog. Well that was my eating day so far but who knows I might eat something later. Thanks again for reading God bless and see you at the tables.

Cake tile

Ellen just made this delicious vegan Jewish apple cake. Crispy top, moist on the inside and a sugary glaze. I told her to put a star beside so she makes it again. Sorry for the short review but I am trying to eat it while its still warm. Thanks for reading, God bless and see you at the table.

Cold spring hot tea

Sitting down to a nice cup of piping hot tea. Not just your everyday run of the mill tea. This tea is direct from Tucson, AZ. A very different tea than what I am use to drinking. I love a strong black tea. I take no sugar or milk (eww) in my tea. The tea I am having tonight is from the Maya Tea Co and is called Prickly Pear herbal tea. Lose leaf with little flowers mixed in. I brew my tea longer than called for because I like a strong flavor. This one called for 2-4 minutes which I laughed at and let it soak for 15. I did not go wrong. The flavor was not as strong as many other herbal teas I have had and it has a good after swallow flavor. Thank you Brian and Jodi for thinking of me on your trip. Happy post Easter everyone, god bless and see you at the table.

BBQ Again!

One thing I can never get enough of is BBQ.  I could eat it every week a few times a week.  I love trying different places and different kinds.  Tonight I got a chance to try a different place.  Frontier BBQ (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frontier-BBQ/111645792205012).  I had the Feast for 12.00$.  Large half lb of smoked pork BBQ, coleslaw and baked beans.  Two different types of sauces on the meat.  One spicy and the other more of a sweet sauce. The spicy sauce was not spicy which is good when eating BBQ.  You want to taste the meat and not have the over powering flavor of a spicy sauce.  This sauce did just that. It was just enough to allow the warm burn of spice mixed with the smoky flavor of the meat.  The bun could have been different.  Go out and get a better roll if you want your sandwich to stand out.  The sweet sauce was the same as other places I have eaten at so it was not special.  The coleslaw was alright.  The bake beans were very good.  Mixed with ham and cooked really well.  Not too salty and were hot even after the drive home.  All in all the food was good but not the best.  I would love to go back and try something different in the summer.  Today was the last day for their winter menu.  They have a chainsaw carver on site that would be awesome.  Maybe next time.  Would I go back.  Sure will.  I want to try the beef brisket and a few other things.  God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the tables.

 

Two Meals

Well lets see.  Two different meals not even close to being the same.  One a pork, rice and veggie dish and the other a full vegan meal.  This past Sunday we went to Lotte Plaza in Baltimore to do some food shopping.  Ellen did the shopping and I did the eating.  They have these small Asian fast food places in the grocery store that make more authentic Asian food than the China One on ever street corner.  I ordered the wok fried squid with rice, veggies and 3 sides (kimchi, soup and spiced turnip).  When my order was ready they made the wrong dish.  I got pork dish.  I was not disappointed at all.  It was spicy, which I like but not too spicy.  The kimchi was great and the soup was hot and very tasty.  I cleaned my platter and would have went for more if it was a buffet like the food hog I am.  If you ever in the area and get a chance to try them please do. I ate at the 4th picture down (the one not in English) because it was where the locals were eating the most. http://www.lotteplaza.com/branch/branch.php?Id=32&lan=ENG&action=foodcourt

Now for my second meal. Tonight Ellen tried a new dish for the both of us.  The first was stuffed cabbage leaves (two types of rice, onions and carrot) They were cooked in the slow cooker along with some tomatoes.  The mix of sweet and sour and steaming hot.  Not the best vegan dish but I ate it.  The scalloped potatoes were good.  All vegan with melted cheese and creamy goodness.  I would eat this again for sure.  I walked away full for sure.  Both dishes were cooked in a slow cooker.  Thank you Ellen for making me new things and helping me eat more healthy.  Thanks for reading everyone God bless and see you at the table.  Please pass it along.  I want to end with a question.  Do you Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

Bacon wrapped shrimp

Was bored tonight so I thought "what can I make tonight that I Jane never made or had?" Well after talking with a friend from church who came over to help me eat my creation, I made bacon wrapped shrimp with garlic butter dipping sauce. Got a half pound of shrimp, shelled it then wrapped some low sodium bacon around each and held or all together with toothpicks. Got out the Fry daddy and dropped them in 6 at a time. First ones were out in 5 minutes and in went the second batch. We tried them with Old Bay and then the garlic butter. The butter was better. We topped ourselves off with a bowl of Ellen's vegan bean soup. The meal was great. Would I do it again. Sure would and will. He said I should make them for our next church picnic. We will have to wait and see. Until next time God bless, thanks for reading and see you at the table.

Dos Amigos Mexi-Mart

Kitchen open and the food is ready.  I wanted to be one of the first to try the new and a first for Littlestown. Dos Amigos Mexi-Mart.  Open for 5 years, Dos Amigos has been working on getting a working kitchen so they could serve up Mexican/American food.  Owner Linda Sandoval along with her husband and kids made that happen today.  Being a Littlestown native Linda saw the need for a Mexican market in a town with now 4 pizza places and two Asian restaurants.  Being a town native myself I was excited to see local business come into town with all the commercial business that are pushing their way in. Thanks to Pizza 2 U, Dino's and a few other places that remain the chain places are trying to make their mark in town.  I am asking any locals to skip Pizza Hut and McDonald's and head to the locally owned businesses. That is what makes our town nice.  Now onto the food.  I ordered the Chicken Burrito, spicy.  From time of order to plate was no more than 8 minutes.  I got it home and dug in.  It was packed with chicken and covered with hot melted cheese and sauce.  On the side was some lettuce  tomato slices and sour cream.  To add the spice they put in a full sliced jalapeno pepper, seeds and all.  Great call on my part to add the spice.  You all know if you have been reading I like spicy and bizarre foods and this was spicy.  Great job.  Sauce was not overly salty like most places. Chicken was well cooked and juicy. Portion size was good.  I did not feel I over ate like I would if I went somewhere like Papa Joe's.  Only a few things I would have changed.  I am use to getting re-fried beans and rice with my order from other places.  Here you have to order that as a side dish.  I will do that next time.  I will be working my way through the menu and hope to try everything at least once.  They are hoping to have a grand opening in May so I will keep you all informed.  Would I go again?  YES. Not just because it is local.  The owners are personable, food is good and the price is not too bad.  Keep up the good work Dos Amigos.  God Bless, thanks for reading and see you at the table. 

Lecter's Meal

Tonight's dinner and desert was Lemon Garlic Fava Beans with Mushrooms, Garlicky Kale Saute, and an Old-Fashioned Apple Pie.I will be honest on this one because Ellen is watching. I gave this meal a 6 out of 10.  It did have a lot of flavor and was filling but it was not for me. Neither of us had fava beans before so she decided to make a dish.  I will say that she is very creative with her meals and goes out of her way to make tasty ones.  We have not had the apple pie yet but we will in an hour or so.  Both the dishes are vegan.  Sorry right now to all that I work with.  After eating all the beans I might be a little loud tomorrow if you get my drift.  Thanks for reading, God bless and see you at the table.

Flats of Gettysburg

Yesterday we had date night. Went to the movies and out to eat. I asked my Facebook friends where a good place to eat was in Gettysburg Pa. that was new.  There are a lot of chain places there but we wanted something that we have never had. We decided on Flats of Gettysburg http://www.eatatflats.com/

We were very happy with the food and the price.  Ellen ordered the Asian Crunch Salad (Salad Greens, Chicken Breast, Peanuts, Roasted Peppers, Crunchy Rice Noodles Sesame Ginger Dressing)No cheese.  I ordered the THE ULTIMATE GRILLED CHEESE Applewood Bacon, Tomatoes, Mozzarella, American, Swiss and Jack Cheddar and for an starter we had the MARINATED VEGETABLE Balsamic Marinated Vegetables atop a Roasted Hummus Spread Topped with Mozzarella Blend with no cheese.  Everything was good.  We were full after but not to the point we would be if we went somewhere that the food was heavy and filled with grease.  If you are in the area and looking form something different check out Flats and see for yourself.  Thanks for reading, God bless and see you all at the table.  

Vegan Lasagna

Ellen made vegan lasagna tonight for dinner. It was by far the best lasagna she has ever fixed.  In place of cheese it was cauliflower that was broiled with garlic oil.  Tofu was also used with the cauliflower.  Lots of sauce with crushed tomatoes and diced onions to add to the flavor.  I had two helpings and plan on taking some to work tomorrow.