As I begin to write this, I take a pause and glance up. The T.V. screen in this bagel shop has a cooking channel playing. Above me are two of the most iconic people in the food world for average folks like myself. Stanely Tucci and Ina Garten. As they plate a dish of what appears to be spaghetti with mussels in a light white wine sauce with fresh tomato, garlic, and olive oil, I get a buzz of excitement for my future adventures through Italy.
Eating my way through Italy is on my bucket list. Another reason to subscribe, I foresee this happening soon and I will bring all of you subscribers on the adventure of a lifetime.
Food teleports me places. Now for you all, your destination today is the life of a woman who currently resides with her parents in Burlington, Vermont. This week I’ll be sharing some breakfasts that brought me joy, as well as some fun food adventures out of the house. Currently in Vermont and two things are happening. The end of Summer, and the start of Fall. This week’s adventures illustrates that unique transitionary moment between seasons.
Enjoy!
Monday
Hardy breakfast
Avocado spread on honey wheat Great Harvest bread. On top a fried egg, and sautéed broccolini, and sweet potato seasoned with salt and pepper.
Night Time Snack
Flax seed waffle with peanut butter, sliced banana, more peanut butter on top, and cinnamon. On the side, “relax mind” herbal tea.
It may look a little weird, but this is such a cozy and comforting treat before bed. The banana and peanut butter are so tasty together and also supports a natural melatonin production in the body. What better way to wind down?
Tuesday
My mom and I went on a morning drive to the “Islands” of Vermont to dip our toes into fall. South Hero (one of the islands) is where we go apple picking every year. They have some of the best cider donuts. It’s a beautiful drive because it sits in the Northern part of Lake Champlain. From the bridge crossing into South Hero, you get a view of both the Green Mountains and Adirondack mountain range. They sit behind a horizon of blue water. If you have never seen Lake Champlain, or heard of it, I would advise to take a google search gander. Below gives a clue as to how amazing it is.
“The sixth largest body of water in the United States, Lake Champlain became one of the Great Lakes in 1998; but it only held that title for about 18 days. President Clinton signed a bill on March 6th, 1998 but that bill was rescinded on March 24th, 18 days later. It appears that, having Lake Champlain become one of a “collection of lakes” did not set well with most of the residents surrounding this body of water. They felt Lake Champlain was unique and should be recognized as a “great lake” on its own.”
Before donuts, I needed some substantial breakfast food.
Wally’s Place, Veggie Way
Egg, cheddar cheese, spinach, sautéed onions, green peppers and ketchup on a pepper and parmesan bagel
Arriving at the Orchard, the sky became darker as the wind picked up. You could feel the rain was coming. My sister arrived as we parked and joined us at their outdoor table where I finished up breakfast.
We were greeted excitedly by the youngest family member as soon as we arrived. (notice his red and yellow car on the right). You could feel the anticipation of seeing the first few customers of the season.
Thursday
Tofu Scramble
Zucchini, yellow bellow pepper, and red onion sautéed with leftover baked sweet potato. After the veggies were cooked down I crumbled in a slice of tofu. Paprika, cumin salt, onion salt, and pepper were added to season.
On the side, two corn tortillas with cream cheese, tomato, salt and pepper.
Later in the day my sister invited me to join her at the local fair with her kids and their dad. I haven’t been in so long and my inner child jumped with excitement. There’s a unique culture around fairs and I’ve always been intrigued. Especially as an adult I had to go and document the food.
I forgot how amazing the food carts look and smell. The fragrance brought me back to walking around Cusco Peru during their June Festivities of Inti Raymi. They also celebrate with food stalls and selling small trinkets and artisan crafts.
I settled on nibbling some of my sister’s fries and ordering a beer batter fried “taco”. I only managed to eat half and it still made me a bit unsettled. But hey! What else do you expect at a fair?
I had enough of my fried food intake and left the fried dough for the imagination to enjoy.
Thank you for joining another week of my food exploration! How are you navigating the transition of seasons? Do you have any end of summer activities you love doing?
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