Well, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put my plan to open a Marylous Coffee in the Cape into action, so we had to come home.
Sigh.
I’l still hold onto the dream. We actually came home from the Cape on Saturday which gave us plenty of time to adjust to the “real world” after being gone for an entire week. I miss New England already, but rather than wallow in sorrow, I’m going to share some of my favorite parts of the weekend!
1. Oreo Sand Cake
Our vacation was very relaxing and kid-friendly, because most of the BF’s friends have kids. This is perfect for a Sometimes Healthy Girl like me, because kid-friendly involves eating lots of ice cream, making fun treats and playing with toys in the pool. Now, that’s my idea of a solid vacation!
Anyway, when we arrived, the BF’s good friend mentioned that she was going to make an Oreo Sand Cake, which involved layering crushed Oreos, vanilla pudding and cool whip into a pail and topping with…Swedish Fish! Having seen my blog before, she knew I’d be into this fun and easy dessert. I offered to be the sous chef and was in charge of crushing the Oreos and mixing the pudding.
Check out the amazing result, complete with a shovel:
Can I please dive in??
Parents, you MUST make this recipe for your children. Here’s the link to the recipe.
Another nice aspect to this recipe is that you can have your kids join in on the fun! As far as the taste, it was the perfect combination of sweet, vanilla with creamy whipped topping and cookie crumbs. I could have eaten the whole pail, but I guess it was important to demonstrate the whole “sharing” thing with the kiddies around. Being an adult is hard work.
2. 10 Mile Beach Run
I have been looking forward to running on the beach ever since we decided to go to the Cape, and the run certainly didn’t disappoint.
The BF’s friend kindly offered to take us with him on a run, since he had been in town the whole week and new his way around. He said he would run me on a 4 mile loop and then I could go explore on my own for a few more miles.
He led the way. I took pictures.
It was fun running with the boys, and we actually kept a pretty solid pace of a little less than 8 minutes per mile. After they left, I slowed down to about 9 minute miles and tried to take in the scenery for the next 6 miles.
I ran next to the ocean and listened to the waves as they crashed down, and I also ran to several viewpoints in the town. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m from the midwest, but I still become totally speechless every time I see these things.
It never gets old for this midwestern girl.
Rather than feeling tired after the 10 mile run, I felt completely invigorated. I couldn’t even lay out at the pool for that long and had to take my restless body for a walk with the dog!
He was very excited in his new surroundings and wouldn’t stand still for pictures!
3. A Second Chance at a Lobster Quesadilla
Awhile ago, I mentioned that my biggest food regret when visiting Newport, RI was not ordering the lobster quesadilla. It was full of big chunks of fresh lobster and probably one of the most delicious foods I’ve tasted in a while. Taking one of the best foods on this earth (lobster) and plopping it in between cheese and tortillas is pretty much a fool proof plan, don’t you think?
Anyway, the boys had very important business to attend to on Thursday night: the fantasy football draft. So while the men drank beer and stared at their computers, the ladies headed out for martinis on the water.
Enjoy the draft boys – we’ve got martinis!
We also spotted a lobster quesadilla on the menu, and luckily, I didn’t have to do a lot of begging to get someone to order it with me.
I have waited so long for you!
It wasn’t quite as good as the Newport quesadilla, but it was still very tasty!
As a sidenote, our best meals in Sandwich were eaten at Aqua Grille, a restaurant that overlooks the water and serves up a variety of fresh fish. I ordered the lobster roll for lunch one day, sole stuffed with crab meat for dinner and we also munched on some appetizers, including lobster dumplings and calimari. (sorry for the bad pics!)
The most shocking thing of all: after all this seafood, I’m still not sick of it!
4. Peaches and Cream Texas French Toast
Alright, now I’m going to force you to leave New England and come back to New York with me, where the skies were looking very foggy yesterday morning.
Thanks for the welcome, Newburgh!
The BF has friends in town from Germany (yay!), so I get to play host for a week. Nothing makes me happier than having people in my home and helping them to enjoy their vacation. I sure hope they like Wacky Food Combos and egg muffins ;-).
Anyway, on Sunday, for our first meal together, we had to take them to the best breakfast spot in the Hudson Valley, Fiddlesticks. It’s a small unassuming cafe that serves up the most interesting dishes. It’s the kind of place that belongs on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
The menu really doesn’t do justice to the crazy concoctions that this restaurant offers, because every day they have about 10 specials. And to make it even more “special,” they write them on a paper bag.
My eyes zeroed in on the Peaches and Cream Texas Toast, and the intuition was certainly right in this case.
I could not dream this up.
Little did I know that the Texas toast would be deep fried and when slathered in cream and peaches, it tastes like a little piece of heaven. I’m tempted to recreate this at home…
5. Kitchen Adventures: Time for Scones
One of my new goals in life now that I have a real kitchen is to constantly make things that I’ve never tried before, thus the idea behind Kitchen Adventures. So far, I’ve made fresh whipped cream, homemade marinara sauce and a cookie recipe from scratch. BUT, the scone continues to evade me.
Well, since we have guests in town, and I am cheesey and want them to feel like they are at a bed and breakfast, I decided last night was the perfect time to make some scones. I used a YouTube video to guide me through the difficult parts, and I was shocked at how easy it was!
The best way to bake, ya’ll
I will share the recipe for my Dark Chocolate Date Scones soon, but let me caveat that, although I used Almond Milk, this scone is quite the decadent treat. In other words, it’s definitely the “Sometimes” part of “Sometimes Healthy.” But, hey, let’s YOLO my friends.
Holy Scone-y
So, that, in a large nutshell, is my weekend. Full of food, fun, running and oceans. Now, that’s a quality weekend.
Any movie with Freddie Prinze is worth remembering right?
Sidenote: the whole time that I was in the Cape, I kept thinking about this very corny rom-com starring Jessica Biel and Freddie Prinze Jr. that takes place in Cape Cod. Basically “rough edged” local boy meets summer girl and “romeo and juliet-esque” story ensues. Loved that movie and must now watch it again after visiting Cape Cod. It’s so bad, it’s good.
On that note, off to run the pup – he’s giving me the evil eyes!
QUESTION:
What’s your favorite seafood? Ever had a lobster quesadilla?
Best part of your weekend was ____ (fill in the blank!)
That Peaches and Cream toast looks awesome! YUM
Oh thanks – I didn’t make it THIS time, but I must recreate this recipe (in a somewhat healthier form)
I absolutely am in love with the sand bucket dessert! That is too cute and perfect for a summer party. Hope you don’t mind if I steal this idea!
No, not at all. And, it’s just so easy to make too. It’s a variation of dirt cake, but I’m convinced there might be other possibilities out there as well. Perhaps, grass cake??
Aww how cute is that dessert? I love the take on the dirt cup ones that involve chocolate pudding and gummy worms!
And being invigorated after a 10 mile run?! Girl, you’re crazy ;)!
I know – running is my drug. It’s weird.
Oh I love dirt cakes! I think I may actually have liked this sand cake better though. It was just so creamy and vanilla-y. Plus, the swedish fish made the cake!
Even though I am not a parent, I will so want to give that cake an attempt- it looks and sounds incredible!
Sounds like you had a great vacation, and you should feed your German friends some of your wacky food combos- they’d love it!
haha they are so busy roaming around – they just went to Niagara Falls today. If there is some time, I’ll certainly coax them into trying a wacky food combo 🙂
That lobster quesadilla looks amazing! I’ve had one once, it was really good 🙂 I draw the line at the McLobster though ;-S
I love shrimp and smoked salmon the best!
Thanks for the link of the sand cake – going to try that for sure!
Totally agree about McLobster. Some things are sacred. Lobster cannot be served at McDonalds. It just can’t be.
I too am a smoked salmon fan – I could literally eat an entire package for breakfast.
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