Cook Ahead Cape Cod

It is high summer and we are headed to Cape Cod for a small weekend away, (Ah, blissful place!) but we're also looking to save money. (Haha! On Cape Cod!) We have a motel room with a little refrigerator and a microwave, should something need re-heating, and I'm planning to do all the ahead cooking I can to save the restaurant bills and snacking stops one inevitably makes on these trips.

I want to be like Ma Ingalls, Mrs. Appleyard the Gilbreth Family...women in days of yore when they never left on a trip without a bursting hamper, full of all manner of good things for munching. That has to be doable, right?

I need ideas! What can I make ahead and pack in our cooler and then serve my family between dips in the sea? So far I've thought of:

• Peach turnovers (we picked peaches this past weekend and THEN got peaches from our CSA)
• Hard boiled eggs
• A wedge of nice cheese
• Carrot sticks
• Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, sliced in little squares for snack or meals for little hands.
• Steamed green beans from our garden, tossed with a little soy sauce
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So, what ya'll got? Throw me a brainstorm! I'm waiting, in my kitchen, wooden spoon in hand!

Coffee Tree Very Pretty....

Well, they want too friggin' much for the house. Blast. Oh well. We're leaving our names and numbers and letting it all go for now...there are other houses on the market and other yards to dream of landscaping. Who knows what will come of even this house though...its a great place and they've been trying to sell it for a year now with no luck so, maybe they'll call us back yet. One thing I feel for sure is that if its meant to be our house, we won't have to sweat it. Providence will guide us on this one and we'll know what to do when...things will happen.

But in the meantime! There's all kinds of lovely things to enjoy, right here in the yard of our silly condo....

And in my kitchen....the coffee tree is blooming! First time ever!

Coffee blossoms smell a lot like jasmine or orange blossoms. Super yummy and that familiar starry white. I could imagine tucking them into the upswept hair of some Columbian bride. Pretty food crops are nice. This particular tree isn't actually ours...we're only long-term babysitting. It belongs to A's brother Miq and his wife Penny who are currently overseas with military assignments and needed a home for their glossy leaved plant while they country hopped for a few years. We take care of Planty (his official name) and are happy to report that he's doing well enough that he's been repotted several times, routinely shoots out new leaves and yes, now is having his first round of blooms. I feel like a good steward.