OBX

    Our family just returned from an earned 2 week vacation on the Outer Banks of N.C.  If you've never been it's a very relaxing herbanite life style setting.

     Our good college friends, Bill and Chris Leahey as well as Bubba Rock, joined us for most of the vacation.  Chris and I averaged about a 10 to 1 ratio of napping versus going to the beach, but hey that's what it's about, enjoying the moment even though that may be in the snoozing condition!!

      Herbanite Lifestyle

   What my wife and I enjoy most is simply sitting around, reading, walking, and occasionally going to the beach or bay, sitting under the umbrella ( I was one of those "stay in the sun too long fellas" so have to now be careful ), and simply enjoy the breeze wafting by and the relaxing ocean fragrances.  The rest and relaxation grows on you and the overwhelming sense is that of guilt at the end of the day when you look back and realize you accomplished nothing.  Isn't it great?
Of course our 13 y.o., Janna, enjoys the pool and our 16 y.o. Paige is socially connected on her cell phone or computer facebooking her friends after her high school friend Katy left to go home.  

    I love cooking but OBX is one of those places where if you are not eating seafood then you feel out of touch with your environment.  There are so many fresh seafood stores dotting the islands offering not only "right off the boat" but also reasonable prices. 

    Arugula Salad

   Wanted to share with you a delightful touch our friend Chris put together for us.  Chris and Bill had spent the week before attending their daughter's graduation in Italy.  They had rented a nice villa and much of the time their daughter's boyfriend ( this one might go somewhere - oops I'm going to be in trouble with Erinn now for posting this!!) cooked in the villa the wonderful Italian way.  I reference the words "herbanite lifestyle" and "Italian way" as being equals.  Italians use simple ingredients, delightfully blended to create dishes that feature the local herbs and produce.  The beauty is the produce is right outside the door as part of the landscape.  That is the herbanite way of landscaping - to enjoy the bounties of your herbs in the comfort of your home.

    We had as our entree a fresh shrimp dish and Chris wanted to make a simple salad so enjoyed by her and her family in Italy.  It was basically an arugula salad of nothing but fresh arugula leaves tossed with E.V.O.O. and shaved parmesan cheese dabbled in with a spritzer of fresh lemon juice topping the mix.  What was so nice is the tartness of the arugula went well with the spice and heat of our shrimp.  The simplicity of the shaved parmesean cheese provided not only a differing texture but also the nuttiness and smoothness of the cheese balanced off the tart of the arugula.  Only thing I would experiment with might be to toast a few pine nuts and sprinkle in to add texture and complement the richness of the parmesean.

     To us the vacation with friends, relaxing and enjoying the moment is what the Herbfest is all about, the herbanite lifestyle.