Five on Friday {It’s a Sunshine Day!}

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Hooray for Friday!  I hope everyone had a great week. It was pretty uneventful here for us, which I call a win!  My daughter attended a local field hockey camp in preparation for the upcoming school year, where she plays on the modified field hockey team.  My son was at the regular town camp all week. This weekend we are hosting our monthly supper club. This month’s theme is Brazilian, which I’m sure will be a tasty dinner! Here are five from this week:

  1. Birthday Celebration – my husband’s side of the family came over this past weekend to celebrate my son’s birthday.  Even though he turned 11 almost a month ago, this was the first day that we were all free. My son requested chicken parm.  We also made meatballs, sausage, pasta, Caesar salad and garlic bread. It was delicious and we had leftovers for a few meals! Is it sad that the only pics I have of our food is the sauce simmering on the stove and the meatballs, pictured above, frying in the pan?!!

2. Listening – Dinner Sisters podcast. Each week, hosts Kate Schulz and Betsy Wallace pick the same recipes to cook for their family from popular bloggers and cookbooks. Then they make the recipes and review them for the listener. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes and I love hearing their opinions. I’m only four episodes in so far, but there are currently 74 episodes. I’m one of those listeners that like to start at the beginning and make my way forward. So I have lots of episodes to catch up on! I have yet to make any recipes that they have talked about though.

3. Cooking – My daughter has requested that we eat more vegetarian meals. So this week I made this Corn and Zucchini Goat Cheese Quiche with Lemon and Basil. Last night she made Egg and Tomato Open-Faced Sandwiches and tonight we will have pizza.

4. Reading – This week my work book club met to discuss Verity.  Everyone liked it which was nice since I’m the one who recommended it!  We picked The Art of Racing in the Rain for our next read. I read this book years ago and am looking forward to a reread.  I even have it on hand from the library since I just had my daughter read it. I’m always on the lookout for good books for her to read besides the typical YA stuff she enjoys.  If you have any good teen book recommendations, please share! I’m currently finishing up Born a Crime by Trevor Noah for my library’s adult summer BINGO game. It completes my BINGO win for the category, book by a celebrity or public figure.

5. Podcast – This week on the podcast we discuss Playland Park, local produce, adult summer reading and the NY Renaissance Faire.  Then we end with our Quick Hits of the week!

This week on the blog I shared 5 Recommened Peekskill Eats.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Podcast Episode 3 {Playland, Local Produce and Adult Summer Reading}

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This post contains affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for additional info.

We have a podcast! You can download and listen here:
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In Episode 3 of the NY Foodie Family podcast we discuss:

Segment 1: Playland
Family Fun at Playland Park (blog post)
Playland Park (Rye, NY)

Segment 2: Local Produce
CSAs: Hilltop Hanover Farm (Yorktown Heights)
Fable Farm (Ossining)

Farmer’s Markets:
Muscoot Farm Farmer’s Market
Peekskill Farmer’s Market
White Plains Farmer’s Market

Delivery:
Field Goods

Segment 3: Adult Summer Reading
Library BINGO
Jimmy Fallon’s Summer Reads Book Club
Goodreads
Oprah’s Book Club Book List
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club
Jenna Bush Hager’s Read With Jenna Book Club

Segment 4: New York Renaissance Faire
New York Renaissance Faire (blog post)
Check the site for coupons and deals!

Segment 5: Quick Hits
National Bowling Day – $2 games all day at Spins Bowling in Poughkeepsie
National Mustard Day – Coolhaus serving French’s Mustard ice cream.
West Point: Trophy Point Music Under the Stars Concerts
Mean Girls (movie)
Business Spotlight: Peaceful Provisions (Peekskill)

5 Recommended Peekskill Eats

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Peekskill is a small city situated along the Hudson River in northern Westchester County. It has a vibrant food scene and has many restaurants and eateries. While your dining options may seem daunting, here are 5 recommended Peekskill eats that we think you should try when visiting.

Ramen from Ramenesque – Rameneseque has locations in Peekskill and Thornwood. There is a reason that they have won the Best of Westchester ramen category in both 2018 and 2019. They serve six different varieties of ramen, which means, you may have to visit six times! We always get the Shoyu Ramen, pictured above. It’s a traditional soy sauce flavored ramen that the kids enjoy.

Tapas from Iron Vine – I know, this isn’t one specific thing to eat. However, Iron Vine serves Spanish/Mediterranean dishes and has an extensive tapas menu. If you are looking for a dinner out with friends, I highly recommend this restaurant. This way, you can order a bunch of the different tapas on the menu (or almost all of them, like we did. This pic only shows round one!) and share. Plus, they have a great cocktail menu and also serve salads, sandwiches and entrees, if you’re not interested in tapas.

“Out of This World Shakes” from The Hudson Creamery – We’ve tried several of The Hudson Creamery’s signature sundaes, but our favorite has been the “Out of This World Shake.” Their milkshakes were the 2018 Best of Westchester winner. We’ve only tried the Peanut Butter and Chocolate “Out of This World” shake, pictured above. But out of four different freak shakes throughout Westchester County that we tried, this was one of our faves! Located right by the Peekskill waterfront, we enjoy taking our ice cream down to the water and eating it while we take in the beautiful views of the Hudson River.

Churrasco from El Bambu – We ordered takeout from El Bambu for the first time recently. I think this was our first time trying Guatemalan food. We ordered a couple of different dishes, but the Churrasco was our definite favorite! The steak was so tender and flavorful. We tried it both in the Specialty of the House wrap as well as the Churrasco Chapin. There is space to dine in at this small, unassuming restaurant located on Bank Street, or you can opt to takeout, like we did.

Peaceful Provisions Doughnuts – Peaceful Provisions is located in the first floor of the Peekskill Brewery, also down by the Peekskill waterfront. They are a family, women owned small business. They make vegan doughnuts from scratch in small batches. While their doughnut menu rotates, all of the doughnuts that we tried were delicious (pictured from top right, clockwise: Strawberry, Half Baked Funfetti Cookie Doughnut, NY Cream, and Lemon Poppy Seed.

What are your favorite Peekskill eats?

6

Five on Friday {Happy August}

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(This post contains affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for additional information.)
Happy Friday!  I cannot believe that it is August already!  I know some kids are heading back to school soon, but here in New York, my kids don’t go back until Labor Day.  I feel like there’s so much I still want to do but the weather has been so hot and humid, that we don’t really want to be outdoors. Plus, we are running out of free weekends!  Besides a couple of trips to Rhode Island, we didn’t have much of a vacation. But I feel like we’ve been so busy! We have a big trip planned over Thanksgiving though so we are excited and looking forward to that. This weekend my car has to go in for an air bag recall. Then we are going to a concert at West Point on Saturday night. Sunday, my husband’s family is coming over for a belated birthday celebration for our son. It should be a fun weekend. Here are five from this week:

1. Boy Scout Camp – so all week we thought our son was having a good time at Boy Scout Camp.  My husband picked him up Saturday and when he got home he told us that he actually hated it.  There wasn’t just one particular thing, but a combination of lots of bugs (and bug bites! He was covered!), smelly bathrooms and being away from us for a week.  We told him we were proud of him for putting up a good front and sticking it out.

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2. Reading – I finished The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver  this week. I think I read it in three days! I watched the movie, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, years ago, but don’t recall reading the book.  It was fast paced and suspenseful. I now have to watch the movie again! And I just put the second book in the series, The Coffin Dancer on hold at the library!

3. Eating – Doughnuts! Last weekend I tried a new-to-us doughnut shop called Peaceful Provisions. They are a local, women-owned family doughnut shop that is vegan. They make everything from scratch in small batches. These doughnuts were a bit on the expensive side, but so good!

4. Cooking – I had a bit of meltdown recently feeling unappreciated (especially by the teenage daughter!) with all of the meal planning and cooking I do.  So I made her plan a recipe and cook it this week. She chose and made this Creamy Cherry Tomato and Squash Pasta, mostly by herself.  This has gone so well I told my husband and son that they also need to start planning and cooking one weeknight meal. We shall see how this goes!

5. Impromptu date night – A neighboring town had a music festival last Saturday. After my son came home we helped him unpack and had dinner together. But then he wanted to catch up on missed Fornite time and my daughter didn’t want to go out. So, my husband and I went to see the last band of the day, River of Dreams. By their name, you might be able to tell that they are a Billy Joel cover band. They were actually pretty good and who doesn’t Billy Joel?!!

This week on the blog I shared a post about visiting Minnewaska State Park Preserve.

Sharing with Friday Favorites!  Have a great weekend!

Podcast Episode 2 {Ice Cream}

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This post contains affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for additional info.

We have a podcast! You can download and listen here:
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In Episode 2 of the NY Foodie Family podcast we discuss:

Segment 1: Ice Cream Holidays and different types of ice cream treats

Segment 2: Freak Shakes
Westchester County Freak Shakes (blog post)
Places we visited and talked about:
Lazy Boy Saloon (White Plains)
Sugar-Hi (Armonk)
Mt. Kisco Diner (Mt. Kisco)
The Hudson Creamery (Peekskill)

Segment 3: Ice Cream Places we have tried
The Hudson Creamery (Peekskill)
King Kone (Somers)
The Pub’s Brownie Sundae (at Empire City Casino, Yonkers)
T-Swirl Crepe (White Plains)

Ice Cream Places we Want to Visit:
Bona Bona Ice Cream (Port Chester)
Penny Lick Ice Cream (Hastings on Hudson)
Moo Moo’s Creamery (Cold Spring)
The Blue Pig (Croton-on-Hudson)
Bellvale Farms Creamery (Warwick)
Joe’s Dairy Bar & Grill (Hopewell Junction)
Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn (Lagrangeville)

Segment 4: Store Bought Ice Cream
Turkey Hill: American Dream Triopolitan
Breyers: Ice Cream Cake
Ben & Jerry’s: Everything But The….
Haagen Daz: Green Tea and Pineapple Coconut
Coolhaus: Dirty Mint Chip
Steve’s: non-dairy Moroccan Mash Up

Segment 5: Quick Hits
Movie: Spiderman: Far From Home
Book: Verity by Colleen Hoover
Recipe: Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms from Jo Cooks
Restaurant: Palace Dumpings (Wappingers Falls)

Minnewaska State Park Preserve

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We have not been hiking or doing many outdoor activities with the recent heat waves. But we know that fall will be here before we know it, bringing some cooler weather. Therefore, we want to post about our recent hikes so you can start to plan some outdoor family activities for when the weather gets a little more comfortable. A great family hike can be found at Minnewaska State Park Preserve.

Minnewaska State Park Preserve is located in Kerhonkson, New York (Ulster County) and is about an hour and fifteen minute drive from northern Westchester County. Warning, this is a very popular state park! On a beautiful day in mid June, we had to wait about fifteen minutes just to enter the park, since the parking lots were full.

The Preserve is over 22,000 acres with over 50 miles of hiking trails. You will not be able to see it all in a day! I am a waterfall lover and I wanted to visit Minnewaska State Park Preserve after hearing about Awosting Falls.

From the parking lot it’s a short walk to get to the trail heads. We first started on the Awosting Falls red-blazed trail which lies adjacent to the Peter Kill stream. There are a series of smaller waterfalls, that of course we had to photograph! As you walk further down the trail there’s even a spot where you can stand above Awosting Falls.

The trail heads downhill into the woods before you arrive at the bottom of Awosting Falls. The falls are 60 feet tall and plunge into a large, clear pool. The amount and strength of the falls depends on the rainfall. Fortunately, the day of our visit there was a rewarding waterfall.

After spending some time taking in the beauty of the falls we continued our hike. We returned back up the way we came to the beginning of the red trail. We then switched to the orange-blazed Sunset Carriageway Trail towards Lake Minnewaska. This was about a 20 minute uphill hike to the lake.

But the views are amazing! And if you really want to, you can drive to the upper parking lot, skipping this hike altogether. Lake Minnewaska is less than one-half mile long and is surrounded by white cliffs. If you’re feeling really ambitious you can hike around the lake. We weren’t feeling very ambitious…..or more like our children weren’t feeling it.

I didn’t realize that visitors can swim in Lake Minnewaska, or I would have had the kids wear their bathing suits. The swimming area is roped off and staffed by lifeguards. Luckily, it wasn’t super hot the day that we visited, so we sat on the dock and enjoyed a snack and water break. There’s also a bathroom across from the lake if you need a rest stop. After our snack break we continued on the red trail until we reached the start of the blue trail, Castle Point Carriageway. At this point we decided it was a good time to turn around and make our way back to the car.

Like I mentioned, Minnewaska is very popular and was very crowded the day we went. Trails were filled with hikers, dogs, (SO many dogs! We felt a little left out that we didn’t have a dog to hike with) and mountain bikers. Although horseback riding is allowed on the trails, that is one thing we didn’t see on our hike.

The Preserve is located on the Shawangunk (“Gunks” to the locals) Mountain ridge, which is more than 2,000 feet above sea level. Altogether we hiked about four miles and saw some beautiful views. However, we never made it to the peaks of any mountains. For more serious hiking and trail tips, I highly recommend checking out Hike the Hudson Valley’s write up on the park. Mike writes super informative hiking guides for trails throughout the Hudson Valley, which we have referenced many times!

We didn’t get a chance to visit the Nature Center or to see Lake Awosting, another lake in the Preserve, where swimming is also allowed. Plus, with all of the hiking trails available, there are plenty of reasons for us to make a return trip.

The Details:
Minnewaska State Park
5281 Rt. 44-55
Kerhonkson, NY 12446

Hours: Park hours vary by season. Please check out the website for the most up-to-date information.

Parking: $10 per vehicle or free with the Empire Pass

Notes:
*There is a Nature Center that is open on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. Hours are 10 AM – 12 PM and 1 PM – 4 PM.

*If you are visiting the park to go swimming, park in the upper parking lot, or you will have a decent hike ahead of you to get to the lake.

*Again, check out Hike the Hudson Valley’s guide to Minnewaska State Park Preserve for information on hiking the trails!

*Minnewaska State Park Preserve has a carry in, carry out policy. Make sure if you are bringing food in to also bring a bag to store your garbage.

4

Five on Friday {Last in July}

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Hooray for the weekend!  I was exhausted on Monday and unfortunately, it didn’t get much better as the week went on.  I’m glad that the temps finally dropped a little bit this week and we actually got to turn off the air and open the windows for a couple of evenings. Saturday I’m looking forward to seeing my son who has been away all week at Boy Scout Camp! My husband is leaving the house around 5 AM to get up to the camp by the 8:30 AM pick-up time! I volunteered to keep him company on the drive, but he’s actually carpooling with another dad…..so I get to sleep in! I have a feeling that when they get back my son is going to be wanting sushi for dinner. I’m not sure how good the camp food was and he loves his sushi! Here are some highlights from this past week:

  1. Supper Club – Last weekend we had our monthly supper club.  This month’s theme was California. My husband made Sriracha Turkey Burgers.  I chose dessert and made this Candied Citrus Ricotta Cake. I was pretty proud of myself because 1. I never bake.  Unless you count boxed brownies, rice krispy treats….and the occasional cookie or muffin. 2. It just turned out so pretty!  So even if it tasted bad I’d be okay because it looked good. But it actually tasted really good!

2. New York State Museum – My husband and I dropped our son off at Boy Scout Camp on Sunday.  It was an over 3 hour drive to get him there. On the way back we ended up stopping in Albany and visited the New York State Museum, since my husband had never been.

3. Eating – we stopped for dinner at City Beer Hall in Albany.  My husband enjoyed a beer flight and we shared some delicious pork buns and this Greek Island Beef and Reef platter.  It included hanger steak souvlaki, grilled octopus, tzatziki, fries, heirloom tomato, cucumber and herb salad and pita. Everything was cooked perfectly and it was so good! I’ve found a new tasty combo – fries in tzatziki sauce!

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4. Reading – I’m currently reading A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams. This is an older book that has been on my to read list for awhile. With the word summer right in the title, I thought it would make a good, seasonal read. I’m not loving it yet, but it’s gotten pretty good reviews, so I won’t be giving up on it.

Our Podcast!!!! – I saved the best for last.  But yes, NY Foodie Family is now a podcast! The first official episode, minus our short intro episode, was published yesterday!  Would love for you to check it out!

This week on the blog I shared a post about visiting Playland in Rye.

I also shared the show notes for Episode 1 of the podcast!

Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!

Podcast Episode 1: Seasonal Bucket Lists, Summer Movie Deals and Millbrook Vineyards &Winery {Show Notes}

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We have a podcast! Download and listen here:
Anchor
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Google Podcasts
iTunes
RadioPublic
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In the first episode of the NY Foodie Family podcast we discuss:

Segment 1: Why you need a seasonal bucket list (blog post)
Summer Bucket List (blog post)
Winter Family Bucket List
Hudson Valley Bucket List

*Our 2019 Summer Bucket List:
-drive-in movie
-local baseball game

Segment 2: Summer Movie Deals:
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Yonkers (website)
Alamo Kids Camp
Alamo Kids 2019 Prize Book
Regal Summer Movie Express (website)

Segment 3: Millbrook Vineyards & Winery (blog post)
Millbrook Vineyards (website)
Food Truck Fridays
Jazz at the Grille

If you have any questions or recommendations on places that we should visit please e-mail us at NYFoodieFamilyPodcast@gmail.com!

Family Fun at Playland Park {Westchester County}

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Playland Amusement Park has been a Westchester County icon since 1928 and is a National Historic Landmark.  There are even seven original rides that pre-date 1930 that are still running!  For those not from the area, you may have seen parts of the park if you’ve watched the movie Big or Mariah Carey’s 1995 “Fantasy” music video.

Located in Westchester County, Playland is conveniently located off of I-95 and offers a full day of family fun. With 50 rides, it is great for families, as  there’s something for everyone. Kiddyland has over 20 rides and is geared towards toddlers and younger children.  Most Kiddyland rides have a minimum height requirement of 36″ but will allow smaller children to ride with an adult. Katy the Kat makes daily appearances and has a comedy show that takes place in Kiddyland.

For older children and adults, there are plenty of thrill rides.  Double Shot, Super Flight, Wipeout, the Yo-Yo, Skyflyer and the Thunderbolt are some of the attractions that adventure seekers will enjoy.

On the Derby Racer the horses imitate the motion of a steeple chase horse.  Only two known original rides of this type are still in existence, one of them being here.  Don’t let the horse fool you into thinking this isn’t a thrill ride.  From personal experience, this was my least favorite ride, due to the speed and fear of falling off the horse.  Did I mention that there’s not safety belt?  It’s hold on for dear life! This ride, as well as the Carousel, are on the National Register of Historic Places.  Just last week, the county Board of Legislators approved financing for restoration of these two rides.  I can’t wait to see what the restored Derby Racer will look like!

And of course, riding the Dragon Coaster is a must!  This wooden roller coaster has been running since 1929 and is a Playland original! For hard-core coaster enthusiasts, this is not a super fast, thrill ride.  However, it’s an historical one.

For the first time since 2008, Playland has a new ride.  Part roller coaster, part spinning ride, it is currently called Disk’O 24 by the manufacturer.  However, Westchester County residents have been asked to submit names for the new ride and a Westchester Camp group will be choosing the winning name from the submissions.

There is plenty of food to be found at Playland.  Louisiana Kitchen has fried chicken, chicken tenders and fried seafood.  There’s a Nathan’s that sells hot dogs and fries, a Smash n’ Shake Express that has burgers shakes and Pizza Village.

There’s also lots of treats available including funnel cake, cotton candy and ice cream.  You will not go hungry during your visit!

There are lots of games to play and an arcade if you are looking to take a break from the rides.  This is an old school arcade with 25 cent skee ball machines!

There’s daily entertainment and concerts throughout the season.  During the summer, there is a fireworks display every Friday night.   On select nights there is also a laser light show set to music.  For some close-to-home summer family fun, a trip to Playland is a must!

The Details:

Playland Amusement Park
1 Playland Parkway
Rye, New York 10580

Parking:  $10/car ($15/car holidays and special events)

Admission:  $30/adult ($25 for Westchester County residents with proof of residency) wristbands
$20/junior (under 48″) ($15 for Westchester County residents with proof of residency) wristbands
Free/children 2 years old and under
Spectator (no rides)/$10 (Free for Westchester County residents with proof of residency)

**In 2019 every Westchester County town, city and village gets its own Town Day.  With proof of ID, each resident receives a special coupon booklet that offers special discounts.

**On select nights, admission is $20 from 5-10 PM.

Fun Cards can be purchased with a spectator admission to go on rides.  It costs $1 per point, with rides costing 5-6 points each.

Open now through September 8, 2019
Hours:  (please check the site for specific dates and hours.  The park opens earlier and stays open later on selected dates throughout the summer)
Closed Mondays
Tuesday – Thursday: 11 AM – 10 PM
Friday: 12 PM – 11 PM
Saturday:  12 PM – 11 PM
Sunday:  12 PM – 10 PM

*No outside food or drinks are allowed in the park.
*There’s a fireworks show on Friday nights in the summer at 9:20 PM (July 12 – August 30).
*Check the entertainment schedule for concerts.
*Lockers are available for rent.

2

Five on Friday {Long, Hot Week!}

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Hooray for the weekend!  This has been one long, HOT week!  We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow night we have our “California” themed supper club. Our daughter is going to Hershey Park this weekend with a friend of hers and we drop our son off at sleep away Boy Scout Camp on Sunday. Here are five from this past week:

1.Birthday Boy – Last Sunday my son turned 11.  He went with a couple of friends to see the new Spider-Man movie.  Then they went to lunch at IHOP and had frozen yogurt from TCBY. We went out to dinner to Palace Dumplings, at his request, for all the dumplings!  This restaurant makes so many different varieties and they are all so good!

2. Reading – I am almost finished reading The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda.  It’s a suspense read that I’m almost finished with and that I’m feeling so-so about.  I’m curious to know how it will end but it has felt very repetitive.

3 Watching – We finally finished the third season of Stranger Things.  It was a great season but definitely more horror-like than I was expecting.

4. Tomato Plants – Look at how well my tomato plants are doing!  I’m so excited to actually have some tomatoes this season. My husband made some adjustments to our box system this year and the plants have been thriving!

5. Farmer’s Market – There’s a farmer’s market within walking distance of my husband’s office.  I’ve decided that he should go every week to try out all the vendors. This week he picked up some fruit and veggies.  Last night he made beet chips with the orange beets and they were delicious!

This week on the blog I shared 20 Fun Things to Do in Putnam County.

Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!