Summer Guide: June

Posted on June 5, 2016 by

The best things to do in Annapolis this month.

11th Annual Bands in the Sand
Bands in the Sands is an awesome event benefiting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. With the bay as the backdrop, you’ll listen to a number of bands (literally in the sand—on the beach behind the Philip Merrill Environmental Center) while enjoying food and drinks from Boatyard Bar and Grill.

When: Saturday, June 11; 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Where: Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center

Eastport a Rockin
Eastport A RockinOne of the best summer events in Annapolis! This year’s festival has four stages that will host more than 30 local bands (from rock to folk to roots to blues to jazz to bluegrass to funk). A variety of food including local seafood, BBQ, gyros, shave ice and more, will be available. Beyond the music, the streets and sidewalks will be lined with vendor booths featuring local artisans, crafters, non-profit organizations, entertainment and more. There’s also a kids area with moon bounces, face painters, tattoo artists and other great family-friendly activities.

Bonus: Proceeds from the event benefit deserving local charities including The Annapolis Maritime Museum, the Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians (AMFM) and the Eastport Volunteer Fire Department.

When: Saturday, June 18; 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Annapolis Maritime Museum on Back Creek

Maryland Avenue & State Circle Spring Festival

FullSizeRenderStreet festival on Maryland Avenue! Food, live music, fashion, arts & crafts, face painting for the kiddos and more!

When: Sunday, June 12; 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Where: Maryland Avenue

 

 

 

Paca Girlfriends Flower Power Party

The annual Paca Girlfriends Flower Power Party is a night of food, fine wine, friendship, flowers and fun that you won’t want to miss! Experience the charm of the William Paca House, indulge in culinary creations donated by the area’s premiere chefs and stroll through the luxurious English gardens, filled with beautiful rose bushes, an endearing fish-shaped pond and other garden features. All while you enjoy sipping a signature Pacatini.

When: Wednesday, June 15; 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Where: William Paca House

Heavy Seas – Troeg’s Brewing Collaboration Party

When: Thursday, June 23; 8:00 p.m.
Where: DRY85

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Ongoing Events:

Great Frogs Date Night Series

Come out for an intimate evening with music, pizza, and wine at Great Frogs the last Friday night of  June, July, August & September. Sample the newest selection of wines, choose a bottle to share and enjoy farm to table pizza from WellCrafted Pizza.

Wednesday Night Sailing Races

First gun is 6pm every Wednesday during the summer in which 150 crews test their skills in this weekly tradition. Grab a seat at a restaurant or enjoy the view from the Eastport Bridge or Ego Alley.

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NOTE: Event list will be updated throughout the month. If you have an event that you’d like to have listed, please email madeinannapolis@gmail.com.

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Kick Start the New Year with Healthy, Fresh Produce

Posted on January 11, 2016 by

The holiday’s have come and gone. For me, that means two things: winter and tax season. Depressing, right? Call it a New Year’s Resolution, but instead of continuing with my normal winter routine of moping around until Memorial Day, I’m making it a priority to remain positive, active and really make the next few months as productive as possible. How? Ok, still working on ironing out the details, but one area of focus is in the kitchen.

Cooking! I’m not a great cook, but I’m going to work on it and practice over the next few months. First things first, I needed to find out which fruits and veggies were actually in season this time of year. Turns out, there’s a lot of great produce during the winter months. Here are some of my personal favorites, along with recipes using the produce:

Beets

Beets contain antioxidants called betalains, which can help fight cancer and other degenerative diseases. They’re also rich in vitamins A, B, C as well as potassium and folate. Amazing!

When shopping for beets, look for crisp and bright green leaves and richly colored roots which should feel firm and smooth. On the flip side, smaller beets will be more tender than larger ones.

Kale
Full disclosure, I’m not one of those ‘all hail kale’ people. I’ve had it, but it certainly hasn’t been in my regular arsenal of food go-tos. It’s no surprise why it’s so popular though. It’s high in iron, fiber, calcium, and vitamins A, C and K. Kale is also filled with antioxidants.

When picking out kale in the grocery store look for dark bunches with small to medium leaves. See yellow and brown – steer clear. When you get home, store it in the coldest part of your fridge.

Fun Fact: Thomas Jefferson grew kale! Continue reading →

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Top Recipes of 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015 by

As 2015 comes to a close I wanted to share the top recipes of 2015, based on the number of views each recipe received.

Gooey Butter Cake

Thank you all for a wonderful year and I can’t wait for 2016!

Happy New Year!

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You Like That! Redskins Roundup

Posted on November 14, 2015 by

Redskins[Note: This blog was supposed to be posted a few weeks ago by another source. It was never posted, so I wanted to share it somewhere. It’s a little out of date, but if you haven’t been following the Redskins, this will be a good way to catch you up to speed a bit. Thanks!]

It’s hard to believe we are just about half way through the regular season Luckily for the Redskins, they’re BYE week is next Sunday and they can take a minute to regroup and potentially readjust before the second half of the season kicks off with a tough matchup in New England against the golden boy himself, Tom Brady. If you remember from our last Redskins Roundup, the Redskins were 1-2 heading into a big game against NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. Here’s the rundown of what’s happened for the Skins over the past four weeks:

  • Week Four: ( W ) Kirk Cousins threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon with 26 seconds left to give the Redskins a 23-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
  • Week Five: ( L ) This was a painful loss. Only because we could have one this game. Robert Alford (Falcons cornerback) returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown, lifting the undefeated Atlanta Falcons to a 25-19 win over the Redskins in overtime.
  • Week Six: ( L ) If you saw the first half of this game, I’m sorry. It was sloppy all around. In the end, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, as the Jets beat up our Redskins 34-20.
  • Week Seven: ( W ): In the last seconds of the game, the Redskins beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (lead by well-known QB Jameis Winston) 31-30. This was great. What was even better? This little gem we saw post-game:

After the BYE, we’ll have nine regular season games left, four of which will be hosted at home at FedEx Field. Four of which are also NFC East matchups. Do I think we’ll win four game? Yes. Do I think we’ll win more than four games to surpass last year’s record? Yes. More than five? Ok, that’s pushing it. As we all know, even if the other NFC East teams are terrible, they always come to play when it’s part of an age-old rivalry. Here’s to hoping that Gruden, Cousins and the other leaders of the Redskins locker room can rally the troops over the next week while making strategic, smart modifications in order to close out the 2015 season strong.

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Books for Fall Reading

Posted on September 8, 2015 by

I don’t know if the back-to-school season got to me or I realized I was too attached to all of my iThings, but I decide to take another stab at my goal of reading [at least] one book every month. I forgot how much I enjoy reading. Personally, I love how it allows me to slip away from reality for a brief period of time. It’s been a way for me to de-stress and unwind while having something to look forward to. It’s also been a great way to pass the time with all of my traveling for work. Here are the books I’ve read so far:

The KnockoffAugust: The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
This book is amazing. I was so sad when it ended. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a sequel. If you liked The Devil Wears Prada and any of Jennifer Weiner or Candace Bushnell’s books, you need to pick this up ASAP. Light, fun read. You’ll breeze through this in no time flat.


Mindy KalingSeptember: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Is it bad to repeat myself? This book is also amazing. Are you wondering how/why I’m writing about my September book so early? It’s because I’m 82% done this book and will probably finish it off tonight. That’s how good it is. Easy to read, funny and you get a bit of behind-the-scenes scoop from The Office. Bonus: her new book, Why Not Me?, comes out September 15!

Some other books on my list this year:

I am by no means a book worm, so I’m sure my list of books may not include the newest and most recent best sellers. Have recommendations? Let me know your favorite books or books you’re looking forward to in the comments below.

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Peach and Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake

Posted on August 3, 2015 by

One of the many things I love about summer is all of the fresh fruit that becomes available. What’s even better is all of the desserts I’m able to make using the fruit! Most recently I made a peach and blueberry greek yogurt cake and it did not disappoint. The only thing I would have done differently is added more fruit!

Cake1

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 stick butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 peaches, sliced into wedges
  • 6 oz blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Grease the side and the bottom of the pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottom of a 9×3-inch springform pan (or 9 inch round cake pan) with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper too.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, together into a medium bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar, and 2 eggs until very light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed. Add vanilla and Greek yogurt and continue beating until very creamy and light in color, for about 1 more minute.
  4. Keeping the mixer speed low, mix in the flour mix until combined. Do not overmix.
  5. Transfer the cake batter to the springform pan. Top with sliced peaches, and scatter blueberries evenly on top in the spaces between the peach slices. Sprinkle the fruit with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar.
  6. Bake until cake turns golden, and the tester comes out clean in the center, about 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Midway through baking, I like to put some extra peach slices and extra blueberries on top of the cake for prettiness, and return cake to baking.
  7. When the cake is done baking, let it cool (still in the baking pan) on a wire rack. After cake has cooled for about 40 minutes, release the cake from the springform pan. At this point, if the cake is cool enough, you can slide your hand under the cake, between the parchment paper and the bottom portion of the springform pan and move the cake with the parchment paper attached to its bottom onto a cake plate easily.
  8. If using a 9 inch round cake pan, cook in pan for about 40 minutes or more (up to 1 hour, depending on your oven), then invert onto a plate.
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8 Things You Didn’t Know About Zucchinis

Posted on June 17, 2015 by

zucchini

Today is ‘National Eat Your Vegetables Day’ (bet you didn’t know that). In honor of this special day, I want to talk about one my favorite veggies that’s currently in season: zucchinis. Here are eight things you may not know about zucchinis, including health benefits.

  1. Zucchinis are a vegetable, yes, but botanically speaking, zucchinis a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini You can actually eat the blossom.
  2. You can use zucchinis as a substitute for noodles aka ‘zoodles.’ (I’ll be sharing a few zoodle recipes in the upcoming months)
  3. They’re versatile – you can eat them raw, make them into zoodles, or bake them. Here’s a great recipe.
  4. Great for your heart! Zucchini contains good amounts of potassium that helps reduce blood pressure. The magnesium within helps keep blood pressure at a normal rate and your heart rate steady. Studies have also show that the levels of folate in zucchinis help breaks down amino acids like homocysteine that cause heart attacks and strokes.
  5. These veggies are full of Vitamin A which is great for eye health.
  6. Speaking of the Vitamin A within a zucchini…it’s an antioxidant that’s promotes healthy skin and hair!
  7. Since zucchinis are high in water content, they’re low in calories. One medium raw zucchini provides 33 calories, 2.37 grams of proteins and 6.1 gram of carbohydrates.
  8. Eating zucchini boosts the body’s uptake of the mineral manganese, which plays a role in the development of healthy bone tissue.
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