Bakery Bike Ride

Morning, friends! It's the weekend again, finally! Last night the weekend started off with dinner and drinks at our friends' Chris & Karla's house, and play date for Riker with their little boy Evan. We had a great time, but it was a bit of a late night and I woke up this morning feeling tired and unmotivated to work out. We had planned to go for a bike ride this morning to get in some outdoor exercise, though, so we put some breakfast together and got moving as soon as Riker woke up.

Matt made us fried egg white sandwiches on whole wheat English muffins with Laughing Cow light cheese. Delish! I also had a glass of apple cider on the side. It's the only juice I ever drink - love the stuff.

After breakfast we took a 20-minute drive to Allaire State Park to ride along the bike path. It's beautiful there.

It was a sunny, warm morning so we saw lots of creatures out and about. Pheasants...

Horses...

And Riker's favorite of the day...caterpillars!

We completed a 12 mile loop and worked up a nice sweat before calling it a day. I always love taking long bike rides with Matt; we get so little time to just sit and talk, and when we bike ride together we end up having long discussions that have nothing to do with work, daycare, bills, or chores. It's great "us" time and we always feel refreshed afterward.

The park we biked in has a really cute old historic village at the center, so after we finished our ride we decided to take a walk through the village and visit some of the old buildings. 

There's a working railroad as well as a blacksmith, a leather worker, and most importantly, a bakery.

After seeing the sign for freshly baked bread and goodies, we couldn't pass it up. Something about buying a homemade roll or scone from a tiny, historic bakery on a fall day was just too nostalgic to decline.

We shared a freshly baked piece of apple cake and cup of hot coffee. Perfect post-bike ride snack. :) We also picked up some cookies for later on tonight.

It was such a nice morning with my little family. Now we're off to spend the afternoon car shopping, which I'm both excited for and dreading at the same time. Enjoy your Saturday!

A Tale of Two Paninis

Before we talk food, I had to share this picture of Riker. He turned 10 months old this week and I can hardly believe it. Look at that little face - I can't take it! He needs a haircut, but I'm procrastinating big time; once those curls and long bangs are gone, a baby he will no longer be. Sigh.

Sooo, dinners have been a little uninspired the last few nights. Busy work days, a day trip to PA for a client visit, and some tiredness left from the weekend all led up to a few nights of easy veggie pasta bowls, raviolis with Laughing Cow and salmon stir-frys.

I haven't shared a new panini concoction in a while though, and we've had two pretty fantastic ones in the last two weeks. If you're in the market for a new dinner sandwich, these are sure to hit the spot.

Panini #1: Tomato Jam, Grilled Onions & Mushrooms and Provolone

This guy makes use of some sauteed onions and mushrooms (olive oil or cooking spray), tomato jam, and sliced cheese on some artisan bread. I used leftover rosemary kalamata olive bread I bought on my Vermont road trip.

I grilled the paninis in the George Forman with some cooking spray, and served them alongside some roasted Brussels sprouts.

Panini #2: Green Apple, Smoked Cheddar and Dijon 

A few days ago I made a big batch of Hubbard squash soup, and it begged for this favorite sandwich of mine. I've eaten this sandwich many times before, but this was the first time I subbed in smoked cheese. Perfection!

Matt had the idea of using soft pita pockets rather than sliced bread, and it was a great choice. Great for dipping.

Off to veg out on the couch and watch some Modern Family. G'night!

Weekend Fun

This weekend went by in a total blur. When I woke up this morning it felt like it should be Saturday, not Monday. :/ Oh well, another work week begins!

Saturday was meant to be a day of crossing things of the to-do list, but everyone in the house was feeling under the weather and a bit grumpy, so Matt decided we all needed to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

So pumpkin picking we went! We headed out to Emery's Farm, which is the same place I get my organic blueberries for homemade blueberry jam. The place was hopping, and we made sure to take part in all the activities, starting with the corn maze.

And picking out our pumpkins, of course. Two big ones for me, one little one for Riker.

Every time I took his pumpkin away so he'd stop chewing on the stem, the kid threw a temper tantrum. Guess he likes his pumpkins!

Not as much as Matt loves his pies. Every time we come to Emery's Matt insists on getting a pie, because they really are the best. And he can't wait until he gets home - he literally takes a plastic spoon out and eats it right from the box in the parking lot. 

I'm not much into the pie thing, and I'm really not into the donut thing either, but every year I have to have one apple cider donut. It's really a must.

So good! I hope the powdered sugar is distracting you from the terribly grown out nail polish on my thumb. Gah!

When we returned home, unfortunately our sick bug returned and I lost all energy for cooking or anything else. I honestly think exhaustion got the best of me and made me sick...for the last few weeks I've been working really late each night and on the go constantly, and maybe getting sick is your body's way of saying, Stop! Take a break! Get some rest! I gladly obliged. :) It ended up being cups of soup and to bed at 8:00 for this little family. 

***

I still felt under the weather most of the day on Sunday, so I ended up laying around most of the day trying to rest up, since we had big plans for Sunday night. Late Sunday afternoon, Matt and I headed up to north Jersey for my cousin Chris' wedding night.

The wedding was beautiful. During cocktail hour I snacked on some sushi, calamari and other goodies, but dinner was really delicious. We started with a deconstructed fall salad with poached pears, walnuts and goat cheese.

For my entree, I selected the broiled cod and crab in an Asian glaze with mashed potatoes and patty pan squashes. Love those!

I love details at weddings, and all the little touches were really pretty.

I really loved the flowers. And the cake.

We weren't able to stay too late since Matt and I both had to work this morning, but we had a great time with family while we were there.

Congrats Chris and Christina!