Longwood Gardens in Springtime

Longwood Gardens in Springtime

We recently had a beautiful day at this lovely attraction in the Brandywine area of PA. There was the magnificent smell of gardenias in the Conservatory. Also check out the beautiful wisteria hanging over the Pierre DuPont House which we took a tour this time. DuPont also owned Winterthur. We saw great movies and pictures from back in the day of DuPont and his interesting artifacts. We also went through the Orchid House. I'll post at a later time.
There are fun things for kids including a tree house and lookout to climb and an indoor children's garden with fountains.
Hope you enjoy!

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

Children's Garden

Fragrant gardenias.

Italian Water Garden

A walk in the woods.

Tip toe through the tulips.

Foxgloves, oh my!

DuPont House and beautiful wisteria.

Inside the house.

Summer’s Comin’ Ladies

Summer’s Comin’ Ladies

It is hard to blog and not get hungry with all your good recipes, but I have been losing weight thanks to finding out I had a low thyroid after a check up, blood work and getting on meds. I have been cutting out bread and sweets too.…I also found this book with some good tips.

It is important to eat breakfast to get your metabolism started for the day. Start with protein not just coffee. Eggs & Egg beaters have been good for me. I figure I will splurge on Mother’s Day Brunch and Memorial Day Pool Party & BBQ! Here are some of the highlights:

Fun diet! Metabolism Miracle by Diane Kress
http://themetabolismmiracle.com/2010Blog.aspx

(I have lost 8 lbs)I am not an expert on this diet but here are a few suggestions. In 8 weeks we will be in mid June!

Maybe i can be the hottest grandma on the beach!? What works for you?

Jennifer aka Gigi

Step 1- 8 Weeks

Important! Drink 8 – 8 oz of liquids every day- water, sugar free lemonade, decaf iced tea w Splenda, Diet Hot Choc.

Breakfast- 2 eggs or one egg plus egg substitute or egg whites, use Pam-1 cup coffee- w half-half, Splenda or 1 SwissMiss Diet Hot Choc.

Lunch – tuna fish w real mayo, serve on sm amount of lettuce w low carb dressing (Walden Farms), ham & cheese rollups, turkey, salad

Snacks- V8 juice, almonds, walnuts, low fat mozzarella sticks, low fat cottage cheese, ½ low fat yogurt, celery w 1 T. peanut butter, salsa w cucumber, low fat tortilla (make chips)

Dinner – Boneless chicken, salmon, flounder, ham & cheese rollups, salad, hamburger w low sugar ketchup, turkey breast, shrimp cocktail, meatballs.

Veggies- Salad, cucumber, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, Spaghetti squash, zucchini, green beans

Dessert - sugar-free jello, sugar-free ice pops, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free gum

No no- No bread, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes, no crackers, no cereal, no fruit, no milk, no sweets, no alcohol

No more than 5 carbs in 5 hr period. Low carb protein drink, unsweetened soy milk, reduced fat cream cheese.

Get the book, check out the blog and read on for Step Two and great recipes.

Robert Irvine & George from Dinner Impossible, Paula's New Book & Giveaway at Rue Mouffetard

Here is Robert Irvine from Dinner: Impossible and me at an Epicurean Society event in our area. Dinner: Impossible comes on Wednesday nights at 10 pm on the Food Network. Robert handles cooking challenges under time pressure and always comes out a winner!


His chef George Galati also lives nearby (above on right. on the left is Chef Salvatore, born in Italy. Keep your eye out for his cooking show filmed in Italy on PBS) I took this pic at an event they did for the local Food Bank. George is the Executive Chef at The Gourmet Italian Restaurant & The Carriage House in Galloway Twp, NJ. I have had some good conversations at the gym with George.

Sue at Rue Mouffetard is celebrating 2 years blogging with a cute blog about her upbringing and trips to the Jersey Shore and in black & white photos! She will be giving away a cute white tea pot and a black tea pot if you’re a collector check it out! Now she lives in Atlanta.
http://rue-mouffetard.blogspot.com/2010/04/growing-up-in-black-whiteand.html

Did you know Paul Deen has a new book out on design? Savannah Style ! She is lovely!



Hope you are having a good week! I made BBQ Beef, Baked Ziti and apple cake over the weekend, so we’ve been enjoying leftovers. Been doing a lot of gardening. The tulips are in bloom and the lilacs and lily of the valley are just about ready! Soon the hummingbirds will be back!

This weekend will be the Spring Tulip Festival in Cape May (below) with Garden tours and more. It should be lovely. We are hoping to go to Longwood Gardens too!


Have you seen the cute Lilly Pulitzer Barbie Dolls with Mother and Daughter shifts? I am happy to have 3 grand daughters to play with! Cheers! Jennifer aka Gigi

Food Network Chefs Up Close in Atlantic City - Giada, Rachael Ray, Paula Deen

I love watching the Food Network. It is great therapy to relax and watch
a delicious meal be prepared. We enjoyed getting to hear some of my favorite chefs speak in Atlantic City. Here are some pics and stories.
Enjoy! Mangia! Jennifer aka Gigi

Giada Cooks Up Fun on Stage in Atlantic City in 2007

Giada De Laurentiis was a breath of fresh air when she stepped on stage at Caesar’s in Atlantic City. Giada is the host of Everyday Italian, Behind the Bash and Weekend Getaways on the Food Network and has authored many cookbooks.Giada is a professional chef and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but her success behind the camera has made her a popular national figure. She combines sex appeal and a bubbly persona as she cooks her favorite Italian dishes.

Giada brought audience members on stage to cook 2 dishes with her, answered many questions from the audience and took time to sign books. Her advice on how she stays thin: 1. To maintain portion control, (she eats small portions of her food). 2. To stay active and 3. She contributes some to genetics, (how you were born) but that portion control is the most important.

She told the audience her name means Jade and she wasn't sure if she would name her daughter Jade. She did name her baby Jade. I asked here what her husband Todd does and she he was a fashion designer for Anthropologie.

Butternut squash lasagna and ciabatta chestnut stuffing are her Italian dishes for Thanksgiving and for Christmas they will be joining 30 – 40 family members for a covered dish dinner at her grandfather’s house.

Yumo!
Rachael Ray made her debut at Caesar’s in Atlantic City in 2006 to an adoring crowd with story-telling and tales of her love affair with food and her hubby John Cusimano.

She is squeezing every last drop out of life with her TV shows including Tasty Travels, $40 Dollars a Day, 30 Minute Meals, The Rachael Ray Show, her own magazine as well as her many cook books. She tapes 3 shows a day and during her book signings goes to 26 cities a month.

Amazingly her TV set seats 115 guests and there are 40,000 requests to attend her show. There is a lottery to get on the show. How is that for supply and demand?

Rachael seemed happy to share the stage with her husband John and toasted their first year of marriage. She answered questions from her warm-up guy RC Smith and later took questions from the audience and signed books for over an hour. John donned a Gladiator helmet and even a Christmas apron from someone in the audience.

Rachael was very gracious when I talked to her and spent time with each person. I told her I was writing an article on her visit.

She met John at a party and recalls they were both the shortest people at the party and their immediate attraction. A co-worker had been trying to set them up for a year. Well the rest is history!

Paula Deen Cooked Up Laughs Center Stage in Atlantic City in 2007

Paula Deen made her debut at Caesar’s in Atlantic City to a packed house. She laughed about her previous night’s gambling adventure and losing her money. Her show included reminiscing with her announcer radio host Jim Bohanan, and her husband Michael Groover (below). She also answered questions from the audience.

Paula loves finally being a grand mom at sixty and loves being married to Michael who is 51; 9 years younger than Paula. They both love food, seafood, boats and life. Paula confessed she previously spent 10 years in an affair with a married man and finally broke it off. She believes God sent her Michael after many prayers for God to send her a “neighbor.” They both told how they met with many laughs and interruptions.

A potato is Paula’s favorite food, although she considers butter a condiment, a favorite too. She joked about wetting her pants when she won her Emmy and laughed about breaking a glass ramekin on Oprah’s Show recently. Oprah’s said it was the most fun she has had on a cooking segment.

She recalled going on a cruise to Hawaii on her honeymoon. Michael corrected her and said they went to Alaska. – Then she teased and said they were ‘busy’ and didn’t pay attention much to where they were!

We visited Paula's Restaurant "Lady and Sons" while on vacation in Savannah, Georgia.
We had the Buffet and we enjoyed it so much! There is a neat gift shop there as well. My advice: Put Savannah on your "To Do" List!