Post-Summertime

Well friends, summer is officially over. I always feel a little sad after Labor Day, knowing the back-to-school season is upon us and we're enjoying the last days of warm weather, garden veggies, beach and poolside days, margaritas and all the other things I love about the summer. But once the weekend comes and goes, I start to get excited for all the wonderful things of fall - crisp air, apple picking, foliage, football!, sweatshirts, fall scented candles, and movie nights at home.

Last night we began our first post-summer weekend with dinner out at Serenity Cafe, a cozy little restaurant in Toms River, to celebrate our friend Chris' birthday.

Those would be chocolate crepes with pistachio filling and homemade vanilla ice cream. Mmm. I won't give away all the details since I'll be writing a review for Jersey Bites, but I can say we had a great time sipping wine, eating good food and chatting with great friends for over three hours. Great night! 

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My sister spent the night with us last night since she came from Philly to babysit Riker while we went out for the evening. She was planning to leave this morning, but we sucked her into staying with promises of more fresh canned goods and homemade pizza later. :) Matt's MomMom joined us bright and early, as she's planning to show us how to make an old fashioned chili sauce recipe she's been talking about for years.

Before the cooking craze started, we all headed out to grab breakfast at the local bagel shop. With bellies full and coffees in hand, we headed to pick up all our ingredients.

Our first stop was one of my favorite local spots for fresh produce, Silverton Farms. Check out the overflowing basil!

I bought a bunch of it, along with some shallots, peppers and other goodies including a mum and some pansies for my front door. The owner also hooked us up with a huge box of tomatoes - only $12 for this enormous bunch of organic Jersey tomatoes, probably 20 pounds worth. Sweet!

He also showed us the improvements they're making to the greenhouse, which are awesome. They are building an indoor kitchen for Maureen's Cooking Class, so she can have them at the farm even during the winter. The "new" doors were taken from a 150-year-old farmhouse, and look beautiful.

After our little morning out, we came back home and got to work peeling tomatoes for tomato jam and MomMom's special chili sauce. Can't wait to see how it turns out!