Vineyard Heaven

Martha's Vineyard is an amazing place, and a few of us had the pleasure of spending a long weekend there for Memorial Day....

To have a good trip to the Vineyard, you only need a few things:

1) Good Friends

Nick

James (and Remi!)

Caroline!

DJ and Me

Josh, James, Nick, Me and DJ

...including a few very happy dogs...

Jack

Remi with James

Charlie

2) A Good Patio 

Nick, Caroline and DJ

Jack

Gin and tonic....a necessity!

...preferably, attached to a lovely house!

View from the patio

3) Plenty of Time in the Sun

Throw the toy!

Me

Jack and Nick

DJ kayaking to the beach

Remi leads the way!

A captain never leaves his ship.

James and Remi

James and Caroline

4) BIG Dinners!

Me and Caroline in the kitchen

Caroline!

Me

Kiss the Cook!

Lobster!

Caroline, James, Nick, DJ and Me

5) Amazing Sunsets

Josh and Me

6) After Dinner Games

Josh and Nick play backgammon

DJ and I play Jenga

DJ is a TITAN

Crash!

...and when it's all over, you still get

7) A Lovely Ferry Ride 

View from the Ferry

Me and Nick

Caroline and James

What a great weekend!

Thank you Jim and Emily for letting us all stay at your beautiful home!

Thanks Caroline for all these great pictures!

Thank you Josh for putting this all together!

Summer Never Ends

     To me, summer means ease and enjoyment. Kick back, lay back, lay out, chill out.....summer should be about taking it easy, right? To make the season both enjoyable and easy, I like to have a few things around the house and in the fridge, so that when it's time to relax with my friends I'm totally ready.
     One of the best things to keep in the fridge is fresh salsa. It's easy entertaining - you can just set it out with chips for a Yankee's game (and, boy, are there a lot of them). It's helpful for dinner or lunch - a piece of grilled chicken over rice, topped with salsa is a quick, balanced meal. I often even eat it by itself, with a little flax seed oil, almost like a chunky gazpacho. And although it's so simple to make, guests are always impressed by fresh homemade salsa.

Here's what you need:

-about 6 large, firm tomatoes (you don't want them to be too ripe)

-1 large white onion

-1 bunch of fresh cilantro

-2-3 limes

-a little salt to taste

-a pinch of sugar

....and my secret weapon is Valentina mexican hot sauce (you can find it in the spanish food section of most supermarkets...it comes in varying degrees of spice - I use extra hot)

Ready to go!

This is the hot sauce

Dice the tomato and onion into small pieces, and finely chop the cilantro 

Throw it all into a big bowl, add the pinch of sugar, salt and drizzle with hot sauce

Mix well

And you're ready to serve!

Damn, so easy.

The only tedious part about this recipe is the chopping. But if I make 1 big bowl early in the week it will  last several days.

Now all you need are some chips and a cold beer!