Summer is here!

Geez, it is June 24th already...Summer is here (and so is the heat).

I just returned from a long weekend in N. Virginia - visiting my sister and her family.

They don’t have much Mexican food in N. VA and my sister misses it terribly. So, I almost always take her Deli Cioso burritos and green chile when I go out for a visit. This time I took her 6 breakfast burritos and a quart of medium green chile. I buy them the night before I leave and stick them in the freezer overnight. My sister, Jill and her husband were so excited to have Mexican food!

After picking up the burritos, I swung by the Cheese Importers in Longmont. They had a few cheeses to taste but the big find was some wine biscuits – they were all made with wine and pepper. American Vintage Wine Biscuits offer Red Wine w/Black Pepper, White Wine, Shallot & Cayenne Pepper and Chianti, Oregano and Crushed Red Pepper. The cheese importers only offered the latter two flavors which I bought and took on my trip to N. VA. Both the White Wine and Chiati flavors were delicious but my favorite was the Chianti. I would love to try the Red Wine crackers – I might have to order them.

I have been on a pretzel kick lately – not sure why but my favorite snack right now is pretzel rods. The last time I went to pick up some pretzel rods from the store I found that Snyder’s of Hanover has a new pretzel flavor – Pumpernickel and Onion. These are short pretzel rods with a lot of flavor. They are very good. Give ‘em a try.

I have a few favorite food items from N. VA that I try to eat while I am there or bring back with me. Usually, we have food from my favorite Indian restaurant Raaga Restaurant but we didn’t make it there this time. My favorite dish there is their ‘Kofta Lajawab – croquets made with homemade cottage cheese, potatoes and vegetables, stuffed with raisins and cashew nuts and then cooked in a cashew nut sauce’ – ah, so yummy!

I was totally set on having Ledo's pizza while I was there but my sister is tired of eating of pizza since it is one of the few foods her 4-yr old son will eat. My backup plan was to bring a pizza home but that didn’t happen either. Their pizza is shaped in a rectangle and has a very flaky crust.

I ended up buying a few favorite food items from the grocery store to bring home – Utz potato chips and Hellava Good Dip - French Onion. Neither of these products are available in Colorado – they both want their products to be eaten fresh so only east coasters get them.

I hardly like potato chips – usually they are too greasy and salty for me but these are good and dry and delicious. The dip is to die for and is not made with Beef broth (a plus for me since I don’t eat beef). I packed them all up in my carry on and was excited to bring them home. However, TSA/airline security decided that my dip may be hazardous and took it – it falls into the ‘paste’ category. How ridiculous! I now have some delicious chips that need a dip ...so, I will be making dip soon.

All for now!
Jennifer