Happy Friday!

We hope everyone enjoys their weekend and stays warm!

Cooking with Apples

Apples are an American classic, store well, and come in many delicious varieties. But how many apple pies, apple cakes, and apple crisps can one person eat? Here are some twists on familiar dishes and altogether new things to make with apples:

1.     Add a teaspoon of lightly crushed cardamom seeds to your favorite apple pie recipe and bake as usual. They add a sweet spice that makes an ordinary dessert anything but.

2.     Make a light and refreshing sauce for shrimp or tofu with sautéed apples, celery, and shallots, a roux of butter and flour, vegetable or chicken stock, and Indian curry powder.

3.     Take a tip from tradition and mince apples with walnuts and a little sweet wine. Serve on crackers topped with prepared horseradish for a spicy-sweet hors d’oeuvre.

4.     Try a fruit salsa by dicing 6 cups of your favorite fruits, including apples. Stir in 2 tbsp white sugar, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 3 tbsp fruit preserves, and serve with cinnamon pita chips.

5.     Serve thinly sliced granny smith apples in refined tea sandwiches. Spread some cinnamon-raisin bread with cream cheese, add a slice of apple and a slice of Havarti cheese, and cut into 4 triangles.

How to Enjoy Summer’s Last Hurrah

Although summer officially ends on September 22nd, for most of us, the Labor Day long weekend means the end of beach weekends, impromptu days off, and just the generally more relaxed feeling in the air. Instead of thinking about the end of the season, check out some great ways to make the most of summer's last hurrah!

Throw a fabulous Labor Day party. Invite your friends, create a theme, dream up an awesome menu, and raise a glass to a summer full of fun. If you have a pool or live by the beach, even better—you can splash around, party the night away, and pretend summertime is just beginning.

Plan a getaway for the weekend after Labor Day. Summer isn't over until you say it is, so extend the fun for as long as you can! Labor Day vacation prices will be through the roof, so plan a trip to a cute B&B, a beach resort, or a mountain hideaway for the weekend after—you'll save money and have something to look forward to.

Get summer out of your system. Starting now until Labor Day, do one thing each day that you meant to do all season. Whether its a great rooftop happy hour you never checked out, a bike ride through your favorite park and a picnic stop, or a day at the beach; do it now!

Get Your Sport On at Twin Ponds East

Twin Ponds is a sprawling family recreation facility with numerous sports resources and events for activity-fiends of all ages. The premiere dual facilities accommodate lovers of hockey, soccer, ice-skating, baseball, lacrosse, and field hockey, so there's something for everyone. Whether you want to join a league, take a lesson, or just rent some equipment to play around with friends or friendly strangers, there's no limit to the possibilities for competitive fun. And if you're thinking about a place for a party, Twin Ponds will rent out a rink or field. and set you up with a party room, food package, and plenty of games to keep everyone entertained.

Twin Ponds East
3904 Corey Road
Harrisburg, PA 17109
(717) 558-POND
www.twinponds.com

Dine at Award-Winning Bricco!

When you’re delighting in superlative food, it’s super-delightful to know you’re also enjoying locally sourced ingredients.  At Bricco, you’re dining in the hands of award-winning masters—and their students—while supporting nearby farms and entrepreneurs. Bricco’s chefs Finch and Viscount received the 2010 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Culinary Arts. Bricco represents a collaboration between the Olewine School of Culinary Arts at Harrisburg Area Community College and Harrisburg Hotel Corporation, managing general partner of The Hilton Harrisburg.

Your menu selections pay glorious homage to the finest of Mediterranean cuisine. Seafood “towers” and “raw” offerings compete to steal the show from the beef and, yes, pizzas. And then how can you select from among additional entrees like roasted duck, short ribs and quail, or tapas options? Don’t miss some of the fabulous bottles from Pennsylvania vineyards or the diet-sabotaging desserts.  Guiltlessly indulge for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner, seven days a week.  You’ll become a fan of Olewine’s and Ciao! Bakery, as well.

Bricco
31 South Third Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 724-0222
www.briccopa.com

The Perfect Present: Great Photo Gift Ideas

The dawning of affordable color printing has made it possible for us to put photographs on just about everything. This has, naturally, opened up markets for all sorts of personalized gifts. Companies like Zazzle and Spreadshirt let you take your photos and other artwork and put it on a wide variety of products. Here are a few photo-rific ideas for some great, inexpensive gifts.

One popular creation is a photo mousepad. Given the amount of time we all spend at our computers, placing a treasured snapshot right under your hand ensures it’ll always be seen. Or, if your family is the type to sit around over cups of coffee or a bottle of wine, why not create photo coasters to keep on hand for any occasion?

For something a little more formal, online photo galleries like Flickr, Kodak Gallery, and Snapfish offer photo books in a number of different styles, including an accordion-folded “brag book” that is great for displaying multiple shots. If you're looking for something a little funnier, CafePress lets you put photos onto a t-shirt, which you can use to immortalize a particularly embarrassing shot for all eternity.

Shop Etsy to Find Unique Gifts For Any Occasion

Handmade goods have made a real resurgence in recent years, as people are turning away from mass-manufactured stuff for more personalized presents. One of the best resources for finding this kind of stuff is the website Etsy. A website founded in 2005 to let crafters worldwide sell their goods, Etsy has expanded to a massive operation with 60 employees facilitating the sale of over $10,000,000 in goods every month. You can buy a huge variety of items on the site, from unique fashion-forward garments made by upcoming designers; to eco-friendly items; to customized portraits, painted to order of you or your pets. Etsy even sells artisanal candy and baked goods for gourmet lovers.

The website offers a wide array of features to help your shopping, including the ability to look for sellers local to your area. So if you’re shopping for gifts that are a little bit off the beaten path, Etsy may be the perfect resource for you.

For more information, visit www.etsy.com.

Buying in Bulk: What to Buy, and What Not to Buy

Bulk outlet stores—where you can buy ordinary household items in huge quantities—have become a staple of the American shopping experience. Costco, BJs and Sam’s Club are the three biggest chains, but there are several others. Once you step into these warehouse-sized stores, however, you can get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of product available. Here’s a quick guide on what to buy there and what not to.

Do Buy: Snack foods. These are among the most deeply discounted items. Non-perishable foodstuffs like pasta and canned goods are also smart buys. Sometimes these stores have good electronics deals, but comparison shop. Medicine and pharmacy items.

Do Not Buy: Prepared foods—the price discount isn’t that great on these items, and unless you’re having a party you’ll never eat it all. Produce is a “maybe”—make sure you won’t be letting it go bad. Home goods and office supplies can usually be purchased at a better price elsewhere as well.

Check Out These Perfect Beach Reads!

Summer is the time to slow down and relax—but it’s also time to explore. How can you do both?  With a new book, of course! Here are a few engrossing companions for the beach, poolside, or wherever you find yourself in the sunshine.

A Good Year by Peter Mayle. Upon inheriting his uncle’s vineyard, city boy Max Skinner returns to rural France for the first time since childhood. A charming story about daily life in the sunshine.

Body Surfing by Anita Shreve. Sydney Potter is hired to tutor a teenage girl at her family’s summer beach house. Things heat up when she becomes the love interest of the girl’s two older brothers.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. A girl grows up to discover that she is really a man, due to a genetic mutation resulting from her grandparents’ incestuous marriage. Eugenides chronicles the lives of her immigrant family with humor and compassion.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. Weiner spans the globe searching for the world’s happiest places. This affecting travel memoir makes you contemplate the amount of happiness you let into your own life.

Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton. A crumbling mansion, whiskey punch, and the ruggedly handsome scion of a preppy Connecticut family lead to an unorthodox and hilarious marriage pact.

The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim.  During the Second World War, a young Korean woman defies her traditional family to pursue her destiny.

Hothouse Flower by Margot Berwin. The pursuit of the legendary nine plants of desire sends a New York divorcée on a rollicking adventure to the Yucatán.

Travel Idea: See if Everything Really is Bigger in (Dallas) Texas

Dallas, Texas, is famous for high-rolling oilmen with steer horns on the hoods of their Cadillacs, but visitors can find plenty to do in the third-largest city in the state.

Start your day with a cup of java at Opening Bell Coffee, a local favorite for high-test brews. And if you’re in Texas, you shouldn’t be shying away from eating meat. Locals proclaim The Grape to serve the best burger in the state, so stop in for a patty.

Dallas Fair Park is a sprawling 277-acre tract built for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936 and boasts a staggering array of things to do, including several museums. Stop into the Texas Discovery Gardens to see the resurgent local agriculture as well.

If all this learning made you thirsty, try The Old Monk. At this famous local watering hole you can tip back a beer and chow down on some delicious pub grub before walking outside and seeing if the stars at night are really big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.

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