Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars: Our Winner: Cinnamon Snail

Today was day 1 of the Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars at Monmouth Racetrack. We battled wind, rain, and sub-par Memorial Day Weekend temperatures. But, we had a blast.

Cheese curds from The Cow and the Curd were amazing. Seriously delicious, with an impressive Youtube video explaining what cheese curds are. Definitely recommend!

Had a lobster empanada from Empanada Guy which may sound gross, but actually had a lot of lobster meat and was quite delicious!

Had the pork and chicken dumplings from Rickshaw Dumplings. Enjoyed the chicken and Thai basil with the spicy peanut sate dipping sauce more than the pork and Chinese chive with the soy sesame dip. Not greasy, which impressed me the most.

Had some $2.50 Yuenglings.

But, at the end of the day, we stopped at the vegan organic truck: Cinnamon Snail which apparently has its Sunday home only 2 towns over (THANK GOD!) in Red Bank, NJ. When it's not in Red Bank, it meanders its way around NYC, my hometown. Now, I am not a vegan, but, I am a lover of delicious food. I ordered a salted caramel coffee with soy milk that was delectable. My first response was, "I want this coffee in my house every morning for the rest of my life." Yes, that good.

And it was put in a compostable cup with a compostable lid. Love it.

Then, I had the raw chocolate pudding made with cacao and cashews and sweetened with agave syrup. Seriously tastes like chocolate ganache. Extremely rich.



Then, because everything was blowing away, the very kind people running the truck were forced to pack up early. Wind kept blowing their food truck window, and apparently wrecked their awning, so they had to close early. But, they did serve out of the back of their truck for a little while, and we were lucky enough to place an order before they closed down shop completely. They offered us free donuts, which was so magnanimous. Yes, I needed that big of a word to explain their kindness. I expected that my friend Laura and I would get a donut each, but instead, they gave us an entire box! An entire box of the most delicious donuts I have ever had, Vegan or not. I'm usually not much of a donut eater, but they may have converted me. The fact that these fluffy circles of joy were made without butter, cow milk, or eggs flabbergasts me. They were so light, so tasty, and... well, you MUST go to Red Bank on Sundays or stalk this truck via their facebook page Cinnamon Snail Facebook and buy one! (or two, or three, or a dozen!). The berry icing was tangy, which perfectly complimented the light dough. The chocolate filled was rich and creamy, but not overbearing. My friend Ursula, who picked the coconut donut, loved it so much we all felt it would be wrong to ask her for a bite! Even her husband Kevin, who normally wouldn't eat anything that doesn't involve meat, bolstered up the courage to try one (mostly because our eyes were bugging out and we all stopped talking because we were in some elevated state of taste bud heaven) and devoured his glazed cinnamon donut in about three bits. Thank you Cinnamon Snail! So kind of you to share with us! So now we're sharing them with all our friends and family. Go to the Cinnamon Snail! You won't regret it. I cannot wait to go back and try their sandwiches. I see updates in my future...

Plus, according to their website, they provided free meals to the victims of Hurricane Sandy (as many our our fine restaurants down here at the Jersey Shore did.) Pay it forward people, everyone could use some good karma.

*I tried to take a better picture of the donuts, but when I went to the box, I discovered there were only two and a half left... Seriously amazing.

In Preparation for Memorial Day Weekend... What to Do This Weekend in Monmouth County!

May 25: Spring Lake Irish Festival, Spring Lake, NJ

May 25: Spring Lake 5. Runner’s World ranks this as one of the top 100 races in the country. The largest 5 Miler in the country. True kick off to summer! Spring Lake, NJ: http://www.springlake5.org/

May 25-26: Spring Lake Sidewalk Sale, 3rd Avenue: Spring Lake, NJ

May 25-26: Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars at Monmouth Park. 11:30-5:00 $3 Oceanport, NJ: “Over 30 Food Trucks from NJ, NY, and Philly to tingle your taste buds!” http://jerseyshorefoodtruckwars.com/

May 25: Bradley Beach Memorial Day Parade: 10AM: Bradley Beach, NJ

May 25-26: Bradley Beach Arts and Crafts Festival: 11 AM, Boardwalk: Bradley Beach, NJ

May 26: Fireworks at Dusk: Asbury Park, NJ

May 27: Atlantic Highlands Memorial Day Parade, Starts at Municipal Harbor Simon Lake Drive: Atlantic Highlands, NJ

May 27: Freehold Memorial Day Parade, Main Street, Freehold Starting at Brinkerhoff Avenue: Freehold, NJ

May 31-June 2: Riverfest! Three days of sun, sunsets and evening stars with the best Red Bank area restaurants. Non-stop music and family fun. Marine Park: Red Bank, NJ http://www.redbankriverfest.org/

In Preparation for the Spring Lake 5

This weekend, MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! (Heck yes!) Brad and I are scheduled (American pronunciation, please) to run the Spring Lake 5, one of Runner's World's top 100 races in the country, and the largest 5 miler in the country.

Last time I ran a marathon, I messed up my knee so badly that I couldn't run for months.

This time, when I ran the marathon, my knee tweaked out on me, so I started walking, and proceeded to walk for the last 5 miles. So, of course, I was afraid that I'd done it again.

Due to this, I have stayed away from all physical activity and instead have consumed pizza, burritos, and subs. Obviously.

To see if a 5 miler was even possible, I decided to take a test run today. At first, I was going to run a mile. But it felt good. So I said to myself, ok, let's go for two. And I did. So I threw a third in there because I'm pretty convinced anything under 3 is just wussy at this point.

Low and behold, my knees felt fine. Knocking on my dining room table.

I figured to run more than that was to risk injury and be greedy. Plus, it's pretty hot and humid and I'm not used to running in this type of weather. Finally, I had my golden retriever with me, and I have decided that golden retrievers should never run 3 miles in hot and humid temperatures. Sorry Shea! (As she lays panting on the floor...)

Days like this I wish I had a swimming pool.

Also, I hope my knee holds up. So far, okay. So I'll toe the line at the Spring Lake 5. Mostly because I have a thing for free sub sandwiches and weird "athletic" drinks. Love the #swag.

Transcendental Blasphemy

What would the transcendentalists say about people being allergic to nature?

Huckleberrying is not on Marzano's Checklist, and Other English Teacher Musings on Thoreau

I really am going to write a book about education one of these days. But in the meantime, you, my magnanimous reader, will just have to be subjected to my brief musings on literature, curriculum, and multiple guess exams.

I never learned about Thoreau when I was in school besides the quick one line definition: Thoreau was a transcendentalist. Then, my textbook defined transcendentalist and moved on. Alas, in my final year as an educator, I came across this play, written as a protest piece during the Vietnam War era. I love Vietnam War history. I took an entire semester-long course in it in college, complete with a professor who did a really bad, but mildly addicting Lyndon B. Johnson accent. So, obviously my interest was piqued. But with ALLLLLLL of the texts I had to re-read (and read!) this year, I didn't have time for a play that wasn't even really on the curriculum. But, when I covered Romanticism, Regionalism, and other -isms in literature, I postponed Transcendentalism. I'm not sure why. I figured I would get to it at the end of the school year. Maybe it's the mere length of the word that intimidated me. I'm not sure. But, regardless, here I am towards the end of the school year, and I find myself holding this short play. And now I find the need to comment on it. So, here are some musings...

My high school didn't give me this play most likely because they couldn't trust us with it. I can't imagine who the brave English teacher would be who would try. Thanks, Stuyvesant!

If my name is Jamie Leigh, and I feel as though my middle name is not getting enough limelight, can I call myself Leigh Jamie?

"If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of in justice to another, then I say, break the law."~Thoreau. Would this stand up in a court of law if I used it as an excuse as to why I didn't follow the curriculum? Technically, this play is on the honors' curriculum. So, am I teaching rebellion? Am I giving students another "excuse" to use? What is really going wrong?

Why can't the alphabet start with Z? Or even Q for that matter? J?

Ulysses S. Grant says, "only I had not the moral courage to resign" in reference to the war waged by the U.S. on Mexico in the 1800s. What would you do if you had the moral courage? Stanley Milgram experiment: would we shock the world? Would you be an electrocuter or the change you want to see in the world? Why do we, as a society, bow down so low to authority to protect something that we don't even really believe in in the first place? (I.E. a job?) Could we live jobless? We can't answer that unless we have tried.

College, in a dialogue nutshell:

"Welcome home. How's your overstuffed brain?"
"I've forgotten everything already."
"At least you've got a diploma."

Emerson gets described as the same way Hesse describes Siddhartha. There's got to be something to that.

Teaching, in Thoreau summation:

Huckleberrying is not on Marzano's checklist.

"Class. You've heard the Deacon. We shall stick to the approved books. Your eyes must not wander from the page--to look at a leaf, or an unauthorized butterfly. You must not listen to a cricket or smell a flower that has not been approved by the School Committee. You'd better close both ears and hold your nose--though you may have to grow an extra hand to do it."

"What you believe is irrelevant. Your opinion, as a teacher, has not been asked for."

"Obedience. An essential quality in subordinates, whether they are pupils in a classroom or soldiers on a battlefield." (Or teachers in a school... always consequences)
"They are not training to be soldiers. Not my students."
"These young people are not YOURS. They have been sent to you by the tax-paying citizens of Concord, who expect you to abide by the rules laid down by the school administrators. Perform your duty, Schoolmaster Thoreau, if you expect to retain your post in the community." (How Machiavellian, and how true!)

"I shall never teach again."

And they wonder why history is a required class...

Ribs

A few days ago I zombie-walked into the A&P. My legs weren't working, (thank you, NJ Marathon!) and shoulders were tight. So I kind of lunge-dragged my way, propping myself up with my cart. With that image in your mind, you can imagine that the aisles I chose were quickly emptied, which made it slightly easier. But, in the meat section, I found a huge pack of spare ribs on special for $5. Skeptical? Absolutely. Hungry? Yes m'am. So, I grabbed em, checked out, and went home to figure out how to cook these bad boys.

This is what I made:



Delicious. My goodness were they delicious. And relatively easy, though you need a LOT of time. I originally wanted to smoke 'em, but the temperature outside was too chilly, which means I would have had to go outside often and add more coals, and my legs didn't like that idea. I needed more couch-friendly cooking. So I went with the oven.

Recipe for the Rub:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper

Cover the ribs in rub and then wrap in tin foil. Let the flavors marry for an hour. Preheat oven to 325.

Bake ribs for 3 hours, while wrapped in tin foil. After 3 hours, take them out and let them sit for 30-40 minutes until they are cool enough to touch. Then brush your favorite BBQ sauce on them and preheat the oven to 500. Yes, 500.

I'm a sucker for anything that claims to be squeezable and gourmet on the same label and is on sale.



I actually really like this BBQ sauce when I'm in a pinch and don't feel like making my own sauce. Which I didn't because standing up hurt.

Throw the ribs back in for 10 minutes on a fresh piece of tin foil (don't wrap them this time). Flip if you like a good bark.

Voila! Perfection. And yes, I watch way too much BBQ Pitmasters.

NJ Marathon: Truly Experiencing A New Life

Today, as Laura reminded me, I feel like Barney Stinson after the NY Marathon. AKA standing up without falling is my personal version of success.

Yesterday, Brad and I ran the NJ Marathon. Our second marathon. And thus, I have completed a marathon in two decades: Charleston for my 20s, and NJ for my 30s. That gives me a good ten years to recover, which I think I may need.

Between Laura and I, (mostly Laura!) we raised $1,570 for the American Red Cross in honor of Restore the Shore! Thank you to all who donated. :-D I definitely thought about your generosity during the race, and it definitely kept me going.



This has been a whirlwind of a year for Brad and I, and it all culminated with a hands-clasped-and-raised-above-our-heads jog across the finish line in Long Branch, NJ, 4 hours and forty-seven minutes after we started this epic journey. And, metaphorically (of course), this marathon kind of represents our last year.

Oceanport Stage: The beginning of the marathon--> Brad and I get engaged in Ireland. We are thrilled, happy, and running freely.

Monmouth Beach Stage: All these amazing quotes are lined up through the streets of Monmouth Beach. Inspirational and humorous. I would compare this to our home search... finding a house, losing the house, not giving up, and then eventually getting the house.

Long Branch Stage Part 1: Represents Sandy. We ran through some pretty run-down areas of Long Branch, which represents the low point after the Hurricane where thousands lost their homes and we had to cancel our wedding.

Deal: Literally. Dealing with it.

Allehnhurst/Asbury: Starting to get tired, pissed off, and sick of winter, not happy about rescheduling the wedding, work begins to give me panic attacks, an ultimate low point.

Ocean Grove: Everything is sunny, I start to feel better. These are the miles of the marathon I like best (around 20) because this is where people become real. The real cheering starts, and humanity wins out.

Asbury/Allenhurst Part 2: The wind. Reminds me of all those cold winter nights running into ridiculous wind trying to train for this crazy marathon.

Deal: Knee begins to hurt. I have to make a decision. Try to be heroic and carry on, or stop-being-an-idiot (because you're obviously not going to win this race). After the Charleston Marathon, I couldn't run for months because my knee hurt so badly. So I decided to walk the last five miles. I felt wussy, but I know it's better for me in the long run. And even with walking 5 miles, we finished in 4:47, which I'm pretty thrilled about. Not exactly a Marathon PR, but under 5 with a LOT of walking. We were on 4:10 pace for pretty much the first 20 miles, so we were walking rather briskly to make it under 5 hours. This is the stage of life where I needed to make a decision. Teach next year, or try something new? What am I doing with my life? 30 year crisis style. And just like I made the right decision in the marathon, I think I am making the right decision to retire from education.

Long Branch: Home Stretch! The end! Finished! Retiring from marathoning, retiring from education, Brad and I got married and we're ready to start a new chapter in our lives.

Overall, I'm so glad we did this. And HUGE congratulations to Jenny, Laura, and Mary for finishing their first marathon! And a MAJOR thank you to Eileen, Matt, Beebe, The Freemans, and Ursula for cheering us on along the way. The signs were amazing, and you all truly did help me to keep moving forward. Your energy and enthusiasm put a huge smile on my face, and I cannot tell you how grateful I truly am. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Gu Every 2!

Earned it:



And afterwards, I celebrated with this bad boy from Luigi's. Luigi's is my favorite pizza place down the shore, located in Little Silver. Known for their rectangular large pies, this Godfather sandwich (prosciutto, mozzarella, peppers, and basil) sandwich was a homerun. I highly recommend them if you're in the mood for normal, Friday-night-take-out pizza!



What a beautiful journey life is.