A Semi-Foodie Anniversary Adventure
So, I posted alllll the pictures or our Quebec City adventure earlier this summer, and it was so long, I decided that I needed to finish the US part of our adventure separately. Sooo, here goes. And there's even baking involved! I feel like this is a rare thing this summer. Well, any posts were a rare thing. Yeesh. Maybe fall will get me into a better routine!
Also, if you were following along with my CSA adventures, you know that I've been very delinquent in posting weeks 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10. Let me just say this: week 4 was while we were gone, and our neighbors got our lovely share, so it was appreciated, but not by us. Weeks 3 and 5 suffered based on the fact that we were leaving/mostly going on day trips and not eating at home. Week 5 was definitely the worst week so far as far as using up what we got. Oops. Week 3 went better, but that's because I mostly just ate the fruits and veggies as is. So, that's what's up with the CSA. I've already done better with week 6 than the past 3 weeks, so hopefully that'll be back on track. And now that everything isn't huge green leafy plants, things are continuing to go better. Phew.
Anyway, vacation!
Our vacation technically started with the Friday before July 4, when NES and I went to the Boston suburbs and walked around alllllll day. But in the midst of that, there were waffles! I had discovered a small waffle restaurant in Boston whose slogan is "Belgian waffles, made by actual Belgians!" And boy were their waffles good! I got a Leige waffle with raspberries, Oreos, and whipped cream! Mmmmmmmmmm.
Then we went on our Quebec City adventure, so skip ahead about a week to our trip home from Canada!
We started in Burlington, VT for lunch on our way out of Canada. So because I had poutine on the brain, we tried American poutine (for research purposes, obviously) and even though they claimed it was made with cheese curds, it totally wasn't. It was melty cheese all the way.
I found a little tea shop while we wandered that claimed to have bubble tea, but when I asked for it, they looked at me like I had three heads, and told me they only had black tea. So, well, I got some, but it was a little disappointing. And the tea shop smelled really weird. So that was that.
NES and I started our bookshop tour through Vermont, too. We went to so many bookshops. That's totally what we do when we go to Vermont. Time to clean out the bookshelves for the new books!
In the evening, we found a drive-in theater playing the Minion Movie! I was really excited about it, and hadn't been to a drive-in in forever, so we went! We also got way too much Chinese food since we had eaten a late lunch, but it added to the experience.
The second movie was Inside Out, and I actually enjoyed it way more than the Minion Movie. That was a surprise for me.
The next morning NES found a fun breakfast place near the Ben and Jerry's factory. He got biscuits and gravy (a somewhat inside joke with a friend) and I got challah French toast. Yum. And it was a really fun little diner, too!
Of course we couldn't resist a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory, while we were there. I think both of us have been multiple times, but still. It's a gotta do. We sampled salted caramel blondie ice cream at the end of the tour. It was pretty good.
And I also got a cone of The Tonight Dough. It was yummy. IF you're a cookie ice cream fan, I highly suggest it.
On the way south, we also happened upon a fair, where not only was there a cute little cafe (we stopped for a maple, lime and spruce soda), but Cabot Creameries actually brought a cute little cow!
In the afternoon, we stopped at a cafe in Rutland for snacks and drinks. It was a hot day, and we really didn't eat much for lunch since we were full of breakfast and ice cream! I, of course, was drawn right in to bubble tea. So shocking. It was even lychee! Apparently there are "like two" places with bubble tea in all of Vermont, so I consider this totally a bubble tea tour of Vermont!
NES got an Italian soda with maple and lime flavoring. It was the second time that combo had come up, and as weird as it sounds, it was actually amazingly good. Woah.
Also, vanilla cream filled doughnut. Because who can really resist?!
In the evening, we found a really fun and unique place to stay! NES and I were looking for B&Bs, but we found a place that proclaimed itself an A&A: accommodations and aperitifs. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside the rooms were decorated really well, and the whole place looked cozy and inviting. The owners also run a martini bar out of the house, so instead of the traditional room and breakfast, they include drinks/appetizers and a room. We took advantage of the drinks after dinner!
On the owners' suggestion the next morning, we went to a local breakfast place. They had 14 inch pancakes, and NES and I both decided that those sounded fun. We saw a pancake delivered to the table behind us, and it looked good, but nothing bigger than some of our breakfast places at home serve. So we ordered some, along with a side of hash for NES.
Yeah. Then the pancakes came. On pizza pans. With pizza cutters. Suffice it to say, the plate-sized pancake on the table behind us was a NORMAL pancake. Oh.
It became a challenge to finish, and both of us left a few bites behind. I just couldn't do it, and NES says he would have, but with the hash and the extra gravy the waitress (who heard him talking about the previous morning's biscuits and gravy) brought him he was too full. Woah was that an intense morning!
We spent the next two nights at the Bromley View Inn (where we spent our first anniversary!) No lemon ricotta pancakes this time, but there were brown sugar pancakes. Oh, so good.
We also managed to do lots of exploring (even if we know the area pretty well by now . . ) and found tasty sandwiches for lunch! Oh, and gelato for our anniversary dessert!
Also, just in case we were sad to be on our way home and having withdrawals from all the tasty food, we found a ginormous molasses cookie!
The following days, we went on day trips from home. On Wednesday we got to meet JAB and RNB's adorable new little one, EAB! He was a week old, and sweet as can be. RNB and I sat around with him while the guys ran around painting around us. Talk about a crazy experience!
And because I am me, I brought cupcakes with me! To go with baby E (heretofore refferred to as EJB since we have two baby Es around!)'s Cookie Monster cupcakes, I made Elmo cupcakes! They are still just as simple, and I had so much fun with them!
The rest of our vacation was kind of a blur, but we went mini golfing, to the arcade, got mac and cheese at a cafe we hadn't found about 3 blocks from home, and another trip to NYC for a musical, also completed by Sprinkles cupcakes!
And then we slept for days. Oh wait, no, we went back to real life. It felt like we needed to sleep for days though!
Elmo Cupcakes
12 of your favorite baked, unfrosted cupcakes
frosting
red sprinkles (at least a cup, maybe more)
3 Oreos, separated into halves and cream scraped out (have a few more on hand just in case of broken cookies!)
24 white chocolate discs (meant for melting)
24 chocolate chips
12 orange peanut or almond M&Ms
Prepare the Oreo cookies by gently scoring the cookies down the middle until the cookie breaks. You will have 12 half circles.
Frost the cupcakes with a generous layer of frosting.
Pour the sprinkles into a low, wide bowl. Dip the frosting side of the cupcake into the sprinkles (you don't need to press hard), and roll a little to make sure the whole top is covered with sprinkles.
Center the oreo half on the bottom half of the cupcake, writing side down.
Dip the flat end of the chocolate chips into the remaining frosting and stick it to the flat side of a white chocolate disc. Repeat.
Position the two discs above the Oreo piece like eyes.
Add the orange M&M between the eyes and mouth to form a nose.
They are really that simple!
Also, if you were following along with my CSA adventures, you know that I've been very delinquent in posting weeks 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10. Let me just say this: week 4 was while we were gone, and our neighbors got our lovely share, so it was appreciated, but not by us. Weeks 3 and 5 suffered based on the fact that we were leaving/mostly going on day trips and not eating at home. Week 5 was definitely the worst week so far as far as using up what we got. Oops. Week 3 went better, but that's because I mostly just ate the fruits and veggies as is. So, that's what's up with the CSA. I've already done better with week 6 than the past 3 weeks, so hopefully that'll be back on track. And now that everything isn't huge green leafy plants, things are continuing to go better. Phew.
Anyway, vacation!
Our vacation technically started with the Friday before July 4, when NES and I went to the Boston suburbs and walked around alllllll day. But in the midst of that, there were waffles! I had discovered a small waffle restaurant in Boston whose slogan is "Belgian waffles, made by actual Belgians!" And boy were their waffles good! I got a Leige waffle with raspberries, Oreos, and whipped cream! Mmmmmmmmmm.
We started in Burlington, VT for lunch on our way out of Canada. So because I had poutine on the brain, we tried American poutine (for research purposes, obviously) and even though they claimed it was made with cheese curds, it totally wasn't. It was melty cheese all the way.
I found a little tea shop while we wandered that claimed to have bubble tea, but when I asked for it, they looked at me like I had three heads, and told me they only had black tea. So, well, I got some, but it was a little disappointing. And the tea shop smelled really weird. So that was that.
NES and I started our bookshop tour through Vermont, too. We went to so many bookshops. That's totally what we do when we go to Vermont. Time to clean out the bookshelves for the new books!
In the evening, we found a drive-in theater playing the Minion Movie! I was really excited about it, and hadn't been to a drive-in in forever, so we went! We also got way too much Chinese food since we had eaten a late lunch, but it added to the experience.
The second movie was Inside Out, and I actually enjoyed it way more than the Minion Movie. That was a surprise for me.
The next morning NES found a fun breakfast place near the Ben and Jerry's factory. He got biscuits and gravy (a somewhat inside joke with a friend) and I got challah French toast. Yum. And it was a really fun little diner, too!
Of course we couldn't resist a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory, while we were there. I think both of us have been multiple times, but still. It's a gotta do. We sampled salted caramel blondie ice cream at the end of the tour. It was pretty good.
And I also got a cone of The Tonight Dough. It was yummy. IF you're a cookie ice cream fan, I highly suggest it.
On the way south, we also happened upon a fair, where not only was there a cute little cafe (we stopped for a maple, lime and spruce soda), but Cabot Creameries actually brought a cute little cow!
NES got an Italian soda with maple and lime flavoring. It was the second time that combo had come up, and as weird as it sounds, it was actually amazingly good. Woah.
Also, vanilla cream filled doughnut. Because who can really resist?!
In the evening, we found a really fun and unique place to stay! NES and I were looking for B&Bs, but we found a place that proclaimed itself an A&A: accommodations and aperitifs. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside the rooms were decorated really well, and the whole place looked cozy and inviting. The owners also run a martini bar out of the house, so instead of the traditional room and breakfast, they include drinks/appetizers and a room. We took advantage of the drinks after dinner!
It became a challenge to finish, and both of us left a few bites behind. I just couldn't do it, and NES says he would have, but with the hash and the extra gravy the waitress (who heard him talking about the previous morning's biscuits and gravy) brought him he was too full. Woah was that an intense morning!
We spent the next two nights at the Bromley View Inn (where we spent our first anniversary!) No lemon ricotta pancakes this time, but there were brown sugar pancakes. Oh, so good.
We also managed to do lots of exploring (even if we know the area pretty well by now . . ) and found tasty sandwiches for lunch! Oh, and gelato for our anniversary dessert!
Also, just in case we were sad to be on our way home and having withdrawals from all the tasty food, we found a ginormous molasses cookie!
The following days, we went on day trips from home. On Wednesday we got to meet JAB and RNB's adorable new little one, EAB! He was a week old, and sweet as can be. RNB and I sat around with him while the guys ran around painting around us. Talk about a crazy experience!
The rest of our vacation was kind of a blur, but we went mini golfing, to the arcade, got mac and cheese at a cafe we hadn't found about 3 blocks from home, and another trip to NYC for a musical, also completed by Sprinkles cupcakes!
12 of your favorite baked, unfrosted cupcakes
frosting
red sprinkles (at least a cup, maybe more)
3 Oreos, separated into halves and cream scraped out (have a few more on hand just in case of broken cookies!)
24 white chocolate discs (meant for melting)
24 chocolate chips
12 orange peanut or almond M&Ms
Prepare the Oreo cookies by gently scoring the cookies down the middle until the cookie breaks. You will have 12 half circles.
Frost the cupcakes with a generous layer of frosting.
Pour the sprinkles into a low, wide bowl. Dip the frosting side of the cupcake into the sprinkles (you don't need to press hard), and roll a little to make sure the whole top is covered with sprinkles.
Center the oreo half on the bottom half of the cupcake, writing side down.
Dip the flat end of the chocolate chips into the remaining frosting and stick it to the flat side of a white chocolate disc. Repeat.
Position the two discs above the Oreo piece like eyes.
Add the orange M&M between the eyes and mouth to form a nose.
They are really that simple!
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