Category Archives: Lifestyle

Gift Guide – Holiday 2017 – What to Buy NOW!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

It’s that time of year again – Gift-mas! What do you get for the Foodie/Chef/Cook on your list? Here’s the Holiday Gift Guide for this year. Sorry for my absence, but I have been playing with, experimenting, and doing recipe trials with one of the items on this list.

Carnivore Club 

If you have been following along, you know I am a Charcuterie Whore. I simply love cured meats in all forms. The Hubs bought Carnivore Club as a surprise for me and it comes monthly until he cancels. Of course you can opt for a single box as a gift for someone on your list. Each box comes with 4 -6 artisanal meats created by small producers, so not only are you giving a unique gift, you are indirectly supporting small businesses. $50/month

Photo from their website us.CarnivoreClub.co

 

Instant Pot

I was skeptical about this “wonder appliance”, the Instant Pot. Whenever there is a ton of hype online, I am wary. So, I borrowed one from friend Kristie and was suitably impressed enough to buy one for myself. Several sizes and options are available depending on household size and cooking needs. The 6 quart Ultra (pictured below) is the one I chose and have yet to figure out all the options. I can tell you I whipped up a lamb stock in about 45 minutes using the “soup/chili” pressure cooking option. My crockpot, rice cooker and pressure cooker have all been donated because this pot does all three tasks and so much more. It’s a great gift for busy households. I’ve been playing with this a lot and I will be posting in depth about it soon. It’s a little pricey, so watch for specials at retailers. Starting at $139.

Instant Pot 6 Qt Ultra model Photo from their website instantpot.com

 

Rock Crok™ Slow Cooker Set – The Pampered Chef

While on the surface, the Rock Crok™ Slow Cooker Set may seem like a repeat of the Instant Pot, trust me, it isn’t. The insert goes in the microwave, freezer, fridge, oven, on the stovetop and on the grill on its own for optimal versatility. Sear your meat on the stove and pop the “crok” into the base and use it as a slow cooker. I have bought this as an engagement gift 4 times this year. It’s a perfect gift for cooks just starting out, or households where both heads of household work and getting dinner on the table is a challenge. If someone you know loves their crockpot, they are going to flip over this. Again, a bit pricey, but every time I gift this, the recipients are delighted! Bonus, not sold in stores, only available through a Pampered Chef sales rep, so you’ll be supporting a small business person. You can order here! $169

4 Qt Rockcrok set from The Pampered Chef – photo from their website

Raw Spice Bar

That person on your gift list that loves to cook and is impossible to shop for because they have everything? Raw Spice Bar has you covered! This fab company sends freshly ground spices once a quarter complete with recipes to spark the imagination. You can select the type of recipes you want to send, vegetarian, omnivore, paleo, light & healthy are all available as options. Tired of making the same old recipes? Buy it for yourself! All the recipes are seasonally appropriate and this is REALLY affordable. $52 for a two quarterly shipments or get an annual gift of 4 quarterly deliveries for $88.

Raw Spice Bar – photo from their website rawspicebar.com

Cooking Classes

Is there a budding cook on your gift list? A perfect solution is to gift them with a cooking or tasting class or two! Here in Vegas try Artisanal Foods to shop local. They have both tasting and cooking classes on a variety of topics and at various price points. While you are there, check out the tremendous selection of hard to find comestibles. Don’t live here in Vegas? No problem! Sur la Table (nationwide) offers classes in stores with demo kitchens and many local bakeries, restaurants, cooking schools, and chefs offer cooking class experiences. My friend Maureen recently took a bread baking class at her local bakery and the photos were mouthwateringly good! Check locally for availability. Prices will vary.

These are some of the loaves Friend Maureen baked in her Bread Baking Class at Wide Awake Bakery

M(sqd) Knife Bag

Is there a chef on your gift list? Someone who does live cooking demos? Anyone who travels with their knives? THIS is the bag! I have a knife roll, like most traveling “knives for hire”, and I don’t really like it, but I like the hard and semi-hard cases that are available even less. This knife bag is so smartly designed, rugged and USABLE! Nice leather detailing and pockets for everything (including a tablet), make this the perfect gift for any traveling chef or cook. The messenger bag design means hands free flexibility. $99, free shipping and available online only at this time.

Messenger style knife bag from M(sqd). Photo courtesy of M(sqd). Visit the website for more images.

It’s On Me – Gift Cards Reinvented

I know I have included this gift idea before, but I still love It’s On Me and I love it even more now. Digital gift cards that people can’t forget if they have their phone with them. You get to treat your giftees to a round of drinks without even being in the same city. Easy to gift and easy to redeem, all they do is show their phone with the gift image to the server. You can buy lunch for a friend, gift a round of drinks at their fave bar, or treat a friend to dinner. Chef’s table dining experiences, golf packages and so much more are available to choose from. You can shop from your phone with the app or from your computer via the website linked here. Digital delivery, via text means no shipping charges. They have expanded their markets to include Detroit, San Francisco, and Seattle among others. Bonus – It’s On Me is locally owned here in Vegas, and all of the participating merchants are selected for their excellence so you don’t have to worry about giving a dud gift. Prices vary, but basically starting at $10.

Vegas Strong – Community Action Has Huge Impact

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

As I am sure you are aware, there was a horrific mass shooting in my beloved city last night. Of course, things like this bring out the best and the worst in many people. I am proud to belong to this community and so proud of the way people came together from all walks of life to help out in any way they could.

Community – a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

People waited in line for up to 10 hours to donate blood. Citywide, culinary community members delivered meals, water, snacks and blood to donation locations across the valley.

Our culinary community and hospitality community offered meals, drinks, blood, and hotel beds to anyone who needed them. Read this great article by pal Al Mancini to see how so many are helping out.

Even if you are not in Vegas, you CAN help.

Follow the link to donate funds to the GoFundMe campaign to help victims and their families.

Many restaurants are donating food and beverages around the clock. Call a local restaurant and offer to pay for some meals to be delivered. Here’s a short list of some that are active participants.

Donate to the Urban Seed Foundation’s Nevada Big Give campaign to provide food and air mattresses to aid locations.

Give cash to the Red Cross or donate blood in your community.

Be sure to hug your loved ones often. Give thanks for their safety. Finally – many thanks to all of you who reached out, called, texted, messaged or emailed to make sure my family, friends and I are all safe. Thanks as well to the many readers of this blog who have donated time, cash, blood, food and every other thing imaginable.

Hi. My Name Is LeAnne and I Am a LeCreuset Addict

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

There should be a meeting I can go to. It has become clear that I have a cookware problem and its name is LeCreuset! I am not sure what it is about that gorgeous enameled cast iron cookware that makes my pulse race, but I love it. I remember “finding” it for the first time at the LeCreuest outlet in San Marcos, Texas in 1996 right about the time I started to get “serious” about my cooking.  The Hubs was in med school and the only thing I could afford in the store was a silicone spatula. Not to be deterred, I visited that store often and touched and looked at all of the “Flame” colored cookware, wanting each and every piece. Having only watched Julia Child in black and white, I didn’t realize until years later that LeCreuset was her cookware choice as well. Once I learned THAT tidbit, my cravings became insatiable.

Make no mistake, there can be no substitute

I don’t know if it is the variety of beautiful colors, or the curve of the three lines as they encircle the lids, or the name itself if you say it the RIGHT way – it is le crewSAY not lah crooSET – but I just love it. I love the way it looks. I love the weight of it. The way it performs is brilliant and I have never been disappointed with any of my purchases. And make no mistake, there can be no substitute. It must be French and it must be this brand. Others are equally gorgeous, but as is often said, there is no love like your first love. None of my pieces match and that is intentional. I love the mix of colors and shapes and I have no need to own a matched set of anything. Each piece was bought on sale, either because the store was going out of business, the color was being retired (like the kiwi, fennel and cobalt) or the store opted not to carry my beloved brand any longer. And it’s not like they sit there collecting dust. I USE them. All the time!

A couple of years ago, we remodeled our kitchen, putting in extra cabinets and super cool rolling drawers for my cookware. Upon completion of the installation, the Hubs said, “Now you have enough cabinets to hold everything”. Well, that worked for a while. As I moved items into the kitchen from the OTHER places in the house where they were stored, the cabinets began filling up faster than either of us thought was possible. Now they are completely full and the new law of the land is that I can’t bring any more kitchen stuff into the house unless I get rid of something of equal size/shape/space allowance to make way for the new item. Notice the verbiage. I can’t bring any more into the house…he said nothing about buying new items, just that I can’t bring them in the house. Getting rid of a wooden spoon to make space for a stock pot isn’t gonna cut it. This is a problem.

I always start in the clearance section

In January Mom came to visit and we made a trip to SoCal. On the way back, we stopped at the Williams-Sonoma outlet in Primm. Big Mistake. John thinks I should be banned for life from that store AND Sur la Table. I can’t leave those stores without some cool shit tucked into my reusable shopping bags. I simply cannot do it. It’s almost as if it’s programmed into my DNA or subconscious or something. For the record, I always start in the clearance section of any store. On the latest trip I found a gorgeous LeCreuset forest green enameled cast iron Dutch oven, for 75% off. Of course I couldn’t resist!

“Is there any particular reason why there is a LeCreuset box in the back of the car?”

True to my word, I didn’t bring the new Dutch oven in the house, knowing the agreement of removing something before I could bring it into the kitchen. I left it in the back of my SUV, never telling John about the purchase. A few weeks after the purchase, John saw it in the back and said, “Is there any particular reason why there is a LeCreuset box in the back of the car?” I told him about my purchase and sticking to the agreement we made, He grunted and said that he really meant I wasn’t supposed to BUY anything for the kitchen until I got rid of some stuff. I gently reminded him that wasn’t what he said.

Still it sits in the back of my car. And it is a signature piece autographed by Chuck Williams which I didn’t even know until I was loading this pic!

Here we are, coming up to Easter in mid-April and it is still in the back of the car!

I have given away, to a friend in need, a box and a bag full of kitchen stuff, but can’t make space for the pot where it belongs in the kitchen. The Offspring says emptying the dishwasher or putting away any of the hand washed items is like playing “Kitchen Tetris”. I keep rearranging things hoping to magically cull some space. It’s not working. I will have to get rid of SOMETHING, but I am not ready to part with anything…yet. Truth be told, when The Offspring moves out into his own apartment (after paying down his student loan debt), some of my cookware will go with him. You know I have doubles of LOTS of things, including, but not limited to two 7¼ quart oval LeCreuset Dutch ovens. Keep in mind that the above pic is ONLY my LeCreuset. It doesn’t show the stainless, non-stick and classic unglazed cast iron pieces… He’s going to be the only single guy I know in his age bracket with decent cookware that is not a culinary professional.

Whoever said, “There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing,” is a liar. It is possible to have too much of a good thing when it comes to cookware. And for now, it seems I do have too much of a good thing…and the box is still in the car.

Here it sits in the back of the car, along with my eco-friendly shopping bags, waiting to come in the house.

 

Holiday Foodie Gift Guide – 2016

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

It’s Giving Tuesday (I didn’t know that was a real thing) and it’s that time of year again. You know, the “What do I get for <fill in the blank>?” time of year. We all struggle with that one, so here’s my annual Holiday Gift Guide for all the foodies on your list.

Last year Sister Nancy gifted me with Try the World and I loved it! You can choose an individual month, or select a gift of the month option for a series of gifts. Each box comes themed by country with products fitting that country’s cuisine and recipe ideas to use them. Gifts start at $39

This pic of their Holiday Box borrowed from Try the World

This pic of their Holiday Box borrowed from Try the World

Here is the perfect gift for the cocktail lovers on your list

I am a fan of “Gift of the Month”, so here is another one for the cocktail lovers on your list. Shaker & Spoon sends everything you need to make great cocktails except the liquor, so you can choose your favorite brand. Each box revolves around one spirit and includes recipe cards, bitters, custom made syrups and produce for garnish. One standard bottle makes 12 cocktails based on the three recipes in each box. Gifts start at $50

Shaker & Spoon sample gift box

Shaker & Spoon sample gift box. Photo by Shaker & Spoon

Make your own Advent Calendar! Do you have a chocoholic, cookie monster, stationery whore, toy hoarder, etc. on your gift list? Create your own unique, customized advent calendar just for them. You’ll need 24 small gifts, numbered stickers and mini bags, boxes or other receptacle to put them all in for gifting. You can pick up an empty wine or beer box at your local liquor store to get you started. 24 beers in a case = 24 openings for your Advent Calendar. If you start today, you still have time to gift this on the first! Prices will vary.

Give a gift from your kitchen

Anything from your kitchen. I LOVE it when people grace me with something homemade. The fact that they took their precious time to create something for me means the world. Gift homemade banana bread or cookies on a fun or quirky thrift shop plate. Last year I made Bloody Mary bags with my own canned Bloody Mary mix and pickled garnishes to go with it. I added a bottle of vodka to finish it off. I think the recipients were pleased. Prices will vary.

Last year's Bloody Mary Bags. I even made the cute hang tag with my Cricut!

Last year’s Bloody Mary Bags. I even made the cute hang tag with my Cricut!

Every cook needs the right apparel and Lost Car Chef does it right! Aprons and Custom made Chef Coats are the perfect gift for the serious cook on your list. Aprons start at $40 and Jackets start at $100. Add your own logo, name, company and other embellishments to make it personal for your Chef or home cook. I own the Lillian jacket and it is my fave of all of my jackets. Smart detailing like magnetic cuff holders on the sleeves and an angled thermometer pocket on the front placket make all the difference in the world. Don’t settle for impostors. Most fun part? They do them in the back of a repurposed food truck that travels around to various locations. For the most up to date info check their website Lost Car Chef Apparel.

Photo Courtesy of Lost Car Chef Apparel

The Lillian Jacket – my fave! Photo Courtesy of Lost Car Chef Apparel

The trendy and tough Grenade Apron. Photo courtesy of Lost Car Chef Apparel.

The trendy and tough Grenade Apron. Photo courtesy of Lost Car Chef Apparel.

Sister Tina gifted me with a Yeti 30 oz Rambler tumbler this spring and I am officially in love! There are other ones on the market at a lower price point, but I’ll stick with my Yeti thanks. No matter how hot the Las Vegas desert gets, my drink stays cold inside the stainless tumbler while the exterior remains sweat free. In the winter, hot beverages stay truly hot while the outside remains comfortable to your hand. No coozie needed. If you REALLY want to splurge, they also make full sized coolers. Just a note when buying on Amazon – check the ship and arrival dates. Some of their participating merchants TAKE FOREVER to arrive. MY order was place on Nov 11th and I have yet to receive it…Prices on Amazon start around $30

Rambler - 30 oz stainless steel tumbler

Rambler – 30 oz stainless steel tumbler

 

Anthony Bourdain is my spirit animal.

I feel we may have been separated at birth. Of course his new cookbook is on my gift list this year! Appetites is GORGEOUS from the cover art by Ralph Steadman to the photographs and the recipes within. I love the way Bourdain “talks” to you when you read the recipes. You can hear his voice in your head. Filled with tips and tricks and recipes to fit nearly every palate, you won’t be disappointed. Because I bought this for myself AND the hubs bought it for me too, I’ll be giving one away next week. All you have to do is be a subscriber. Not a subscriber? Hit the SIGN ME UP button above on the right to be included in this giveaway. (US and Canada only – winner announced on my FB page and will be contacted by me for shipping info.) Retail value – $37.50

Appetites by Anthony Bourdain. Cover art by Ralph Steadman

Appetites by Anthony Bourdain. Cover art by Ralph Steadman

It’s On Me digital gift cards are the perfect answer to what to get just about anyone on your list if they live in Vegas, SoCal or New York. Choose from a carefully curated list of locally owned bars, restaurants and merchants, choose your dollar value and send it to any internet enabled mobile device. Android and Apple are both supported, so if the recipient has a phone, VOILA! Holiday Gifts DONE! Check their website often for expanding markets and promos. Be sure to check their blog for new additions and featured merchants.

So there you have it! Gift giving made easy…Enjoy the Holidays! You are welcome to post your cooking, entertaining or dining questions on my Facebook page at any time! To follow along with my dining adventures through the season be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

 

 

 

Closed for Thanksgiving

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. In 29 years of marriage, John and I have only had Thanksgiving with extended family a handful of times. As a military family, it just wasn’t possible financially or logistically, but that has been changing in the past few years. My cousin Christine and my SILs from San Francisco have made the trip a few times and for me, it makes the holiday all the brighter.

There are a few friends who I wish would join us for Thanksgiving

We usually have about 20 for Thanksgiving, but last year got out of control. We had 42 people for dinner. Three turkeys and all that goes with it, wine, desserts. Basically The Works. It was too much even for me. I didn’t really get to visit with ANYONE because I was so busy visiting with everyone for a few minutes at a time. We have decided never to repeat that and have trimmed everything back to the 20 again. A few will drop in for drinks and apps and a few will show up for dessert. There are some friends who I wish would join us for the holiday. Several can’t because they host their own “Friendsgiving”, a few can’t because of family obligations and a few won’t because we have a “no football” policy. The TV goes on for the Macy’s  Parade and then it is off for the rest of the day. It is all about music and laughter and conversation. IMHO, you can stare at the TV any other day of the year.

Don’t you think EVERYONE should be able to spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones?

Because I feel so strongly about Thanksgiving being a “family” day, whether you spend it with bio-family or chosen family, I encourage you to NOT shop on Thanksgiving. Of course there is the inevitable, “Oh shit! I forgot the cranberries!” “Dammit! I was supposed to bring wine with me!” “For fuck’s sake! Who ate all of the stuff for the antipasto?” And off to the grocery store you must run. I am not talking about that. I am talking about SHOPPING. The so called Black Friday sales start ON Thanksgiving now. WHY? Isn’t spending time with your loved ones more important than the few dollars you save by shopping on Thanksgiving? Don’t you think EVERYONE should be able to spend the day with their loved ones? I do, and that’s why I encourage all of you to stay home. If folks stop showing up, the stores will stay closed and allow their employees to enjoy the day with their peeps before the mad holiday shopping season rush.

To that end, here is a list of retailers honoring family traditions and staying closed on Thanksgiving. Show them a little love this shopping season when you are choosing where to spend your hard earned dollars. For the record, I will be at Dillard’s at 8 am on Friday to show them some love! Thanks to Forbes online for the graphic and info. These are just he national chains and bog box stores. Of course, most of the Mom & Pop shops will be closed and you can show them the love on Small Business Saturday. Closed for Thanksgiving

So here’s my game plan:

  • Watch the Macy’s Parade (even though they are open on Thanksgiving) while I am doing prep
  • Eat, drink and be merry with friends, music, laughter and maybe some games
  • Black Friday Shopping with my pal Lynn – Dillard’s always has the best handbags on sale!
  • Shop Local on Saturday
  • Sleep on Sunday

Years ago, we started “adopting” Airmen from the dorms to our Thanksgiving table and thus the “Island of Lost Toys Thanksgiving” was born. When I look back and think of everyone sitting on the floor, couches and any place they could perch to eat, I chuckle. It was probably one of the craziest ideas I ever had. We didn’t have a table big enough, we only had a four top table and because I have always done Thanksgiving buffet style, that’s where the food went! I know each and every Airman that has joined us has loved it. I know as humble as my home was and is, it is better than any chow hall on the planet, plus there is camaraderie from others they don’t know. If you want to “adopt” a service member to your Thanksgiving celebration, contact your local military installation.

The Walking Dead Themed Dinner

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Apparently it has been nearly a month since I last posted, and during that time I have been preparing for The Walking Dead Themed Dinner (beware: video trailer may be disturbing to some viewers) for the season premiere this coming Sunday. If you aren’t a fan of the show, here’s a quick synopsis: Zombie apocalypse meets violence filled soap opera. I am an addict.

Friend Karen is all about the THEME. Whenever there is any kind of get together her first question is, “What’s the theme?” For our 25th Anniversary party she wanted to know what the theme was…”It’s our 25th anniversary! That’s the theme!” She wants costumes, decorations, planned themed food and party games, activities, whatever will drive home the point of the theme. If she was a fan, she’d be invited to The Walking Dead Themed Dinner and she’d LOVE IT!

The Walking Dead Themed Dinner to kick off the season sounds like it should be easy. With it being so close to Halloween, it was easy to find creepy recipe ideas online, but few fit the theme of The Walking Dead. Classic Halloween ideas are tombstones, brains (maybe), fingers, witches’ hats, bats, spiders, etc. Coming up with ideas for this dinner was a little trickier. I wanted to stay true to the show and have the menu reflect episodes, thematic elements, critical moments or things they actually eat in the show. Friend Dani said we should have beet and acorn cookies like Carol makes for Tobin.

Keeping that in mind, here is the menu for next Sunday. If you are a fan of the show these should ring bells for you:

  • Dinner at Terminus – kinda like this pic. Ribs smoked in the Big Green Egg and sausages from Kiolbassa

    Main course for The Walking Dead - Dinner at Terminus

    Main course for The Walking Dead – Dinner at Terminus

  • Look at the Flowers Lizzie Cupcakes – flower shaped lemon cupcakes (because the flowers were yellow)
  • Negan’s Bats – Pretzel rods with caramel and chocolate “barbed wire”
  • Shane’s Frog Eye Salad – frogs’ legs were too much bother to infer the frog catching scene with Carl. Vegan Israeli Couscous salad.
  • Carol’s Casserole – Tuna…just because and no one better drop my dish on the porch!
  • Punch Bowl of Blood
  • And of course Orange Crush

Watch my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook on Sunday for the images of the food and friends who show up to watch with us. Recipes to be posted soon. Too bad Nerdist Chris Hardwick can’t join us, but he’ll be busy. I am sure he’d be really impressed!

To view the photoblog – click HERE

Summer is Over – Fall Means Canning in My House

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I can’t believe it is already September! Where has 2016 gone? Shit! I sound like an old woman, railing against the passage of time! Fall means I need to start canning and here in the desert heat I end up doing it late at night.

We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day

This summer was such a whirlwind of activity and travel that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. As a child, summer was a time to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy. We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, so we made the most of summer. We took advantage of every sweet bite before fall and back-to-school sunk their claws into us. Trips to Lake Taghkanic (pronounced tuh-CON-ik ) were the norm, but so was weeding the garden. Going to Gram’s house on Long Island was a forgone conclusion with visits to Jones Beach. We’d go early in the morning and grab fresh bagels on the way as the icing on that particular cake. (Moment of Truth – I rarely go to the beach without wanting a salt bagel with lox cream cheese now.) If we were lucky we got to go to Lake George and to Storytown (now Six Flags Great Escape). I know my mom worked her ass off all summer so we COULD go and do those things. In fact, one glorious summer she was the concession manager at Lake Taghkanic and we went with her most days. [I honestly don’t have a lot of great memories of my childhood, but that summer was epic in my now adult mind. I learned how to do crossword puzzles, run a cotton candy machine, make popcorn in a movie theater style popper and had swim lessons with cute lifeguards whose names I still remember.]

There she was, over a cinderblock fire pit canning everything and anything as if we were preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead

And I remember Mom canning in late summer and early fall. If you know my mom at all, you know how hilarious this sounds. She HATES to cook. Loves to bake, hates to cook. Late summer and early fall were always the worst for Mom because of her allergies. Yet, there she was, over a cinderblock fire pit – no, I am not kidding – wasps flying around, canning everything and anything as if preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead (Moment of Truth #2 – I am completely addicted to that show and can’t wait for the season premiere). I know I have shared this thought before and I wish I had a picture, because my 51 year old brain still can’t make sense of it, even though I witnessed it.

I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past

So now, in my middle age, I find myself prepping for the zombie apocalypse. I am not sure if it is an imperative of generations of farm to table living, needing to prepare for the known cold winter coming through my DNA. Maybe it’s that what once was old school is now fashionable again, or just simple nostalgia. I am canning, preserving and baking. In recent weeks I have made and canned tomato sauce, meatballs, chicken stock and peeled and canned fresh tomatoes. I’ve dried herbs and gotten them into storage. And I am weeding the garden that I allowed to go fallow this summer. I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past because I rarely want to revisit that. You know, Hakuna Matata and all that. But here I am, acting like some country housewife of days gone by.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

Make no mistake, I live in a CITY (where I personally belong), not in the country any more. I am surrounded by concrete and desert landscaping, just the way I like it for most of the year. The siren song of water – lakes, beaches and rivers – holds no sway over me as it did in my childhood, although I do love a good thunderstorm. Vegas could never be called the cradle of the Farm to Table movement. It could never be called the Breadbasket of America. But just for now, in my little corner of the city, what constitutes fall in the desert feels like a modernized version of my past.

Back to School, But Not Us

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Back to school means something else entirely for me.

As I sit here at my kitchen table, looking at everyone’s “First Day” pics I am a bit sad. Everyone is going back to school, but not us. In our house that’s all finished…for now. Our son graduated from college this past May with a teaching degree and now that his licensing is complete, he is looking for a job in his field. Once he gets a permanent position, maybe I’ll post a “First Day” photo of him. Back to school solely means something else entirely for me now. It means lunch.

10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

In 2006, Friend Dani’s youngest was going to kindergarten and Dani was freaking out…just a bit. She was worried about what she would do all day without her small shadow. So Friend Lillian and I decided that a boozy lunch would be just the thing to take her mind off her missing shadow and thus the Annual Back to School Lunch was formed. As the young shadow now enters high school (and her older sister begins college), I realize we have been at it for 10 years. 10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

Over time we have invited others to join us, but it always seemed forced, tight and uncomfortable when we did. Conversation was stilted and polite with little uproarious laughter. Almost as if we couldn’t be our authentic selves unless it was just our merry little trio. The three of us have many years of friendship and shared experiences under our belts and when others were thrown into the mix it was weird. After a few attempts of endeavoring to be inclusive, we three decided our annual lunch should remain exclusive. And so it goes.

This year sadly, Lillian’s job prevents her from joining us, so it will be a happy little duo for lunch. And we continue the tradition of celebrating change. We meet on the first day back to school whenever possible. We keep it light and fun – no tears, no angst, no drama (those must be left at the door). We try to support a locally owned business when we go (one year the first day fell during Restaurant Week, so we made sure to eat at a participating resto to double our community impact). We talk, we laugh, we catch up.

Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane.

Over the past 10 years our lives have changed drastically. At our first lunch, I was an active duty wife with a career in sales. My son was in Jr. High. Dani was a SAHM[1] who had recently left the world of live music performance. Her two girls were in grade school. Lillian had just left a job that made her miserable. Her daughter was in grade school. Now Dani is a religious education coordinator and performs live music again in venues around the city with one starting high school and one starting college. Lillian has a challenging new job she loves that allows her to be “part of the solution” with her daughter entering her senior year of high school. I am building a new business in event management (no, I don’t do weddings) and I’m trying to write a cookbook with a college graduate son. Lives change. Change is good…most of the time. Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane and this back to school ritual of our traditional[2] “moms only” lunch is a part of my life that hopefully doesn’t change.

The best part of back to school has always been the breather. No summer shenanigans left. Fall is not quite here. So there is a breath. A heartbeat of a moment where I could stop and just be. That was how it was for years. Now I am feeling a little left out; slightly bereft at no longer being part of the crowd. I have no part in the conversation of schools, curricula, after school activities, school lunch, etc. While I am a woman of a certain age, many of my friends still have kids in school. The conversation continues for them, but I am outside of it. I am more than usually grateful to be having lunch with my pals today (even if one is in absentia), if for no other reason than to feel connected to the tribe of parents again.

 

[1] SAHM – Stay at Home Mom

[2] Traditional  – in the way of 50’s “Ladies Who Lunch”. Cocktails are consumed.

Traveling with Friends and Conch   

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

If you are lucky, you have a few good friends that you can do anything with, including going on vacation. My friend Laurie earned a trip with the Pampered Chef to Atlantis in the Bahamas and invited her girlfriends, me, Lynn and Janet, to go along with her. We had a great time and I ate my weight in conch while I was there. Traveling with friends is very different than traveling with family. Your family knows what you like to do on vacation, but perhaps your friends don’t.

My idea of a vacation is getting out and seeing EVERYTHING; trying the local cuisine, beer and cocktails and talking with the locals. I don’t sleep in and I stay up late, just like at home. I like to walk around and eat stuff I can’t get at home. That’s what I do when I vacation with John. Laurie likes to sit on the beach or at the pool. Lynn and Janet both go with the flow. I rarely sit on the beach or, heaven forbid, a public pool. This vacation was a combination of all of that. Atlantis has a huge water park and is close to Nassau so we toured, walked, swam, parasailed, rode the rapids and ate…and ate…and ate.

Fried Conch, Conch Fritters, Conch SandWISHes

Here in Vegas I can get nearly anything, but Bahamian cuisine and lovely fried conch is something that is not readily available. I can get scungilli salad, but fried conch, conch fritters, conch sandWISHes? Good luck! I ate all of that and more while I was away. If you have never had conch, it’s sweet in the way crab is, but toothsome the way calamari is. I prefer it fried, but I’ll eat it in scungilli salad too. One thing I re-learned about Nassau is that I don’t like their beer. At ALL. And we tried “Sky Juice” a bizarre concoction of gin, milk and sweetened condensed milk, that on the surface sounds gross, but somehow it works.

One of the oddest things we did was hire a cab to drive us all around Nassau and point out the interesting things about the city. We had a good driver, Alfred, who showed us the sights. Government buildings, Fort Charlotte, “The Fish Fry” and local flora were all included for the ride. I would highly recommend doing this in any foreign city to get the lay of the land and figure out what you want to visit.

One of the Highlights Was Eating at Oh Andros

For me, the highlights of the trip were parasailing (something I was able to check off my Bucket List) and eating at Oh Andros. Oh Andros is located in “The Fish Fry”, an outdoor mall of sorts, featuring restaurants, bars and shops that serve mostly locals, but tourists are welcome. If you plan to go, just know it’s all cash only, so be prepared. Oh Andros serves authentic Bahamian food and when we arrived the joint was packed with locals. The pics below do not do justice to the food for several reasons, mainly, I had my little camera and you can’t see how big the plates were for scale. Each entrée came with rice with pigeon peas and two other sides. The plate was a standard 10” round. Pile it up 5” high and you get the picture. Everything was properly seasoned and there was WAY too much. If you are in a hotel and not an apartment with ability to reheat leftovers, I recommend sharing a plate with a friend. We had NO IDEA we’d be getting that much food.

Fried Conch and pan fried pork chop.

Fried Conch and pan fried pork chops.

Spicy grilled grouper - there were FIVE filets on this one plate!

Spicy grilled grouper – there were FIVE filets on this one plate!

Slipper tail lobster, cracked and fried

Slipper tail lobster, cracked and fried. No joke, it was an entire lobster!

Fried conch and pan fried whole snapper

Fried conch and pan fried whole snapper. One of the pieces of conch was literally the size of my hand.

Time Flies – Graduation

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I know I have been a bit lazy lately and I apologize to all of you. Things have been chaotic to say the least, and when I looked at the last time I posted, I couldn’t believe how much time had passed! Time really does fly and a graduation drove it home to me recently.

The Graduate and the proud parents!

The Graduate and the proud parents! It seems like yesterday that we were at the Kindergarten Graduation!

My only child’s college graduation from Northern Arizona University (NAU) was May 13th. It seems like just last week I was freaking out about putting him on the school bus to go to kindergarten; like yesterday I was dropping him off for his freshman year at NAU and crying all the way to Kingman after I left him. Where does the time go? When I think of all the meals I have cooked, eaten or participated in over the past few years…then realizing my son will be a teacher helping others just months after he was a student…I just have to pause. And breathe. And relish the fact that he has grown into a fine human.

And when there is a graduation, of course there are celebrations involved!

A fantastic family dinner at Brix in Flagstaff started off the weekend. If you get the chance to dine there, I highly encourage you to make a reservation; they are always packed and the food is great.

Brix

Chocolate Pot au Creme as done by Brix in Flagstaff.

Chocolate Pot au Creme as done by Brix in Flagstaff.

Duck breast as done by Brix, Flagstaff

Duck breast as done by Brix, Flagstaff

And then there was the party after the ceremony at our home.

Fifty people joined us to celebrate. Thankfully I have talented friends who lovingly helped prepare the meal. Friend and Chef Beni Velazquez shared his paella recipe which I prepped and he prepared in a huge pan in the back yard. Dad manned the Big Green Egg to cook up the chicken. Chef Mike Minor brought some of his kick ass BBQ sauce for the pulled pork sandwiches I prepared. Hubby cooked up a ton of corn on the cob and brewed a special batch of chocolate milk stout, and several friends brought salads to round out the buffet. While I ran around, pal Byron (the gem responsible for my logo) took tons of pics to help us remember the day. Because, as I said, Time Flies and the day was a veritable BLUR!

Dad manning the chicken station, aka the Big Green Egg. He's still trying to figure out how to steal mine...not happening.

Dad manning the chicken station, aka the Big Green Egg. He’s still trying to figure out how to steal mine…not happening.

Chef Beni Velazquez at the 3 foot Paella pan in my back yard

Chef Beni Velazquez at the 3 foot Paella pan in my backyard. Thanks to SIL Gretchen for this pic!

Watching my son being at the “Grown Ups’ Table” with his friends and our family friends was amazing. I know he has been sitting with the Grown Ups for some time, but something about watching him get that diploma and knowing the changes that await him over the next year is astounding.

Add to all of that, my Mom was with me for nearly a month. It went by in the blink of an eye. I don’t get to see her that often or anywhere near as often as I would like, so I truly enjoyed the time with her.

We spent Mother’s Day together for the first time in more than 25 years and celebrated with a brunch at STK.

We spent Mother's Day together for the first time in more than 25 years!

We spent Mother’s Day together for the first time in more than 25 years!

My fave appetizer right now, steak tartare as done by STK

My fave appetizer right now, steak tartare as done by STK here in Vegas

I know that I lead a strange and wonderful life and I am truly grateful for it. EVERY single day. My biggest challenge is that I need to slow down, enjoy the days more and embrace the weirdness.

There are big changes coming soon and of course I will share all of that here with all of you as they unfold. And I promise to be more consistent at posting this blog.