Fall Zen

I guess whining in the past blog was premature. It was a beautiful fall weekend the past couple days. Two highlights and a recipe is worth sharing with you.

1. NJ is the most underrated wine in the world. We make some of the richest reds...tasting the earth and all her goodness. If you're interested in tasting some of these wines, visit:

http://newjerseywines.com/

The wine pictured above is from Cream Ridge...GOOOOOOD stuff!

2. Is Chester, NJ the unofficial 'Fall Town' of the Tri-State area???? I've spent many a fall there, but all of a sudden there's traffic EVERYWHERE and all the local farms are mobbed with yuppie families and out of towners. WHY...would you drive to Chester to pick a pumpkin if you live in upstate NY??? I was bummed that my favorite place for apples and cider was so mobbed that I had to wait in line for an hour just to enter the store. I guess the secret's out, and I'll have to hit them up BEFORE peak season and freeze the cider. And I don't NEED to pick a pumpkin from a field...Shop Rite will do it better for me!

I also made one of the easiest fall recipes last night... White Bean Escarole Soup. Most of the credit goes to my sister, but I tweaked it a bit. Not only is it a cheap recipe, but a quick, yummy one as well.

White Bean and Escarole Soup

2 quarts chicken stock (I made my own stock from a beer can chicken I grilled a month ago. So the stock had a nice smokey flavor in it)

2 heads escarole, chopped

2 cans of white beans, rinsed

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and squeezed

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions
In a dutch oven or large pot, saute onion and escarole until leaves are wilted, but bright green still (about 10 minutes). Add stock, garlic, beans, crushed red pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Spoon into a bowl and serve.

Often I grate fresh Parmesan cheese over the soup. Some people add Parmesan rinds into the soup while it's cooking for extra flavor.

Whatever you did this weekend...fall is HERE! Live in all the moment it has to offer you! Life is good...enjoy!