Umami Umami Japanese

After a long day in the car last Thursday, we were happy to arrive in the Willow Grove area, just north of Philadelphia. The last 2 hours of the drive up from North Carolina were the worst because of rush hour traffic near the city. I did some research during the drive for restaurants close to our hotel & Umami Umami Modern Japanese Cuisine popped out at me.

We started with beer, a great ending to a long drive. I got Shock Top Lemon Shandy, a Belgian-style wheat beer with spices & with natural lemonade flavor added. It's their seasonal beer. I liked the freshness of the lemon flavor & it was light & refreshing for a hot day. We sat on the deck since we'd been cooped up in the car all day.

They had a Japanese beer featured on their placemats called Sapporo. It was a light wheat beer. I liked the special glass it was served in!

The Bup liked it & it went well with his meal. He's usually a dark beer guy, so this was a bit of a change for him.

Our meals both came with a starter salad topped with a ginger dressing. It was very thick, almost like a spread instead of dressing. The ginger flavor was light (thank goodness, after my Go Green juice!) & the waitress told us there was no mayo in it.

I ordered the Teriyaki pan-seared tofu with seasoned vegetables & rice. The waitress told us that they soak fruits & veggies in soy sauce to give it flavor & then they smoke it. There was so much more flavor than the super sweet kinds that are usually sold in stores. The tofu was creamy & flavorful. Buried underneath it was broccoli, zucchini, carrots, & sugar peas.

For the Bup's dinner, he had the Bibimbap (love the name!). It is a Korean dish & bibimbap means “mixed meal.” The huge bowl had rice topped with assorted sauteed vegetables, tofu, a fried egg and

gochujang (the spicy sauce on the side). He loved it!

We didn't get dessert, but with our check they gave us each half an orange, drizzled with a light syrup. It was the perfect way to end the meal! I wish more restaurants did that.

They had several other menu options that I wish we could have tasted, but since it's not nearby, I doubt we'll be back anytime soon. I'm glad we found somewhere healthy & delicious while we were there!

Beachin' It!

We spent the first part of last week in Cape Hatteras, NC on our annual family vacation. As always, it was great to get away & spend some time on the beach.

Our drive down went smoothly. We stopped at the fisherman's pier on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to take a break & stretch our legs. (Or arms...haha)

I didn't see much, since I didn't pay my quarter.

Once we got there, we headed straight down to the beach. My uncle couldn't get the keys to the house until around 6, so we took a walk & visited as everyone arrived.

All of the cousins were in the same house that we've been in for the past few years. Our parents, however, got a new house this year in hopes that Grandma would be more comfortable. The house was gorgeous & it had a pool! I took advantage of that a few times to swim some laps.

Sunday night dinner is always spaghetti for us Italians! It's also always served late because no one wants to leave the beach the first day. We ate at about 8:15pm! This was also my mom's birthday, so after dinner we had cake. I made Jessica's Gin & Tonic Cake for her (the only changes I made were to use white whole wheat flour & half butter half applesauce). The adults enjoyed it; the kids had cookies.

Sauce in the making.

Dad wore his usual spaghetti night tomato shirt. So festive!

The family, all gathered & waiting to eat.

Every morning we went for a bike ride before breakfast. Our longest was 19 miles, but we went at least 12.5 every day. It's nice biking there because it's flat everywhere!

On Tuesday, the weather wasn't great. It was very windy & chilly, so after breakfast we went to the store & then found this juice bar. The owner was making the juice & we had a chance to talk to her a little about being vegan & the farmer's market that was up the road.

It's hard to see in this pic, but around the clock were chalkboards with facts about living a healthy lifestyle.

"Some people say that motivation doesn't last...Neither does bathing, that is why we recommend it daily."

"Most doctors agree that a plant based vegan diet is ideal."

"Exercise just 30 minutes a day & live a longer life..."

"Adult vegans, on average, are 10-20 pounds lighter than meat eaters."

"Don't forget to take your vitamins."

"Aim for 8 servings of fruits & vegetables daily."

I got the Go Green Juice, which was Kale, Cucumber, Apple, Celery, Lemon & Ginger. It was a little heavy on the ginger - I think I would've liked orange or grapefruit in place of it. I gave my dad a sip later & all he could do was make a face & ask, "why?!?" Haha.

They had a large selection & would customize if we asked. The Bup got a berry juice with grapefruit added. We both liked his better.

We spent Tuesday afternoon by the pool, sheltered from the wind by the fence. I finally warmed up enough to take a swim, but it was chilly.

The sunset was gorgeous. I wanted to take a picture, & I was amazed at what happened. I took this one first.

And this one second. They were taken only about 5 seconds apart & there's such a difference! I kept trying, thinking maybe I'd just done something weird, but no, all the rest were like this one. I must have just caught that moment when the sun was at the right spot for the first pic.

My cousin's daughter, Alyssa, was so cuddly! It was rare that she let anyone but her mom hold her, but I finally got my chance. She didn't really like the sand & ocean, but we're hoping she'll grow into it by next year.

We left on Thursday to drive to Philly for my friend's wedding. More on that to come!

Introverts

I have something a little different to post today. No food! No garden! Just a speech & some thoughts.



I hope you'll take time out to watch this. It's a video about the power of introverts & how the world around us is changing.

I don't think about it much, but I know I'm an introvert. Give me a day at home alone & I'm happy as can be. I can bury myself in a book for hours, not realizing how much time went by. My parents used to have trouble getting me to come to dinner & I learned the best phrase ever from them - "Come to a good stopping point." But of course I'd by-pass quite a few before actually stopping...cause really, the only good stopping point is the end.

Hope you enjoy the wise words spoken in the video. Leave any thoughts in the comments - I'd love to hear if you're an introvert or extrovert!