As I stated earlier, my story this week is that it’s too hot to cook, and I’m sticking with it. I took a jaunt down to the shore yesterday to celebrate my fabulous friend Becky’s birthday. Yes, the Shore, home of Snookie and Jwow and all those scary characters. But as many folks know, the Shore is vast and has many lovely areas, and some are even named as such, like the town of Loveladies where I stayed.

Even better than not cooking, I had the good fortune of having others cooking for me. My generous and kind host Doug Gray prepared a great casual lunch today. He manned the grill, steamed the broccoli, prepared the insalata caprese, and all the assorted fixings. Worth mentioning were the hamburgers and the Jersey beefsteak tomatoes, just in season now. And, if nothing else, I hope that making mention of Doug in this post will bring him here to visit.  Cheap, I know.

Last night after an afternoon at the beach, brother-in-law Darren prepared fajitas for the crew, including grilled chicken, ribs, peppers and onions and accoutrements. For dessert, I had a slice of Becky’s decadent, chocolate birthday cake. Very necessary.

Good to see you, friends. And thanks for feeding me and the munchkin.