Since I had made a large batch of pulled buffalo chicken not too long ago, and had frozen some for future use, I asked my husband to make this bread with the leftover chicken, some bleu cheese, sharp cheddar, and a few extra splashes of buffalo wing sauce.

We really enjoyed the bread, and with a salad it made for a very easy dinner!  I think we’ll be making this again soon!

I had some difficulty deciding between the homemade hash and eggs, and the lobster benedict, but then decided to go all out and have the lobster benedict which was an excellent choice!

My husband ordered the hash and eggs, and this also proved to be a good choice: a very filling and flavorful mix of roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts, corned beef, and a generous serving of eggs and toast.

We were both very happy with our meals, and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere before and after our dining experience.  Every time I visit Marché, I am reminded of our travels and breakfasts out while in Quebec City.  While this particular April vacation did not involve any travel for us, Saturday’s outing felt like a “getaway” of sorts.

Because we made yet another trip with friends a few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see and sample a wider variety of menu items this time around. I decided that I would try one of the pasta dishes, and opted for the spaghetti with homemade meatballs and homemade red sauce. This is not something I typically order in a restaurant since I usually tend to order things I do not make at home… I was pleased with the flavor of the sauce and meatballs though–they were delicious, and did not leave me feeling as though I was “missing out” on something more interesting by ordering this dish. In other words, my dinner was very good, and the sauce and meatballs had an entirely different flavor than the recipe I make at home! Since the pasta dishes are served with garlic bread and a large salad, I even had leftovers for an easy lunch at home on another day.

My husband ordered the chicken gyro–something we’ve both had once before at this restaurant, definitely a good choice, and one that I can see us having as a take-out order in the near future when life gets busier.

I like that the gyro can be ordered with a salad instead of fries, and the salads at this restaurant are very large with loads of fresh veggies served with homemade dressing.

One of our friends ordered the tzatziki plate as her dinner with extra pita bread, something I had thought of doing after having the tzatziki plate as an appetizer during a previous visit. Her husband ordered a calzone (The Poland), which he had tried in pizza form on a previous visit.

We were all very happy with our dinners, once again, and hope to see this restaurant continue to thrive in “downtown” Auburn, Maine. Pay them a visit; you will not be disappointed!

With soft chocolate cake, and peanut butter or traditional filling, these smaller sized whoopie pies make for a somewhat sensible serving size.

While these are amazing, now I need to lay off the whoopie pies, and refocus on some more healthful foods…

It’s funny, because I have driven by the Gardiner shop a number of times, often with a full belly after having had dinner at Slates, The Liberal Cup, or the A-1 Diner, which is after business hours for Isamax Snacks so the shop has never been open when I’ve passed by.  I have also walked by their Freeport location on a number of occasions, but have somehow resisted the urge to walk in, knowing I would probably walk out with more whoopie pies than any human being should consume…  Well, a few weekends ago a friend stopped in and picked up some samples, and shared a couple with us.  Now it will be harder than before to resist stepping into the Freeport shop when in town.  I have a feeling I will need to try each flavor–maybe one per Freeport visit to keep it in moderation.

One of the samples was a Black Forest whoopie pie, which consists of chocolate cake with white filling, and some cherry filling.  This was a nice variation of the traditional whoopie pie, and of the two we tried, this was my favorite.

The other was a Red Velvet whoopie pie, which I am pleased to say had nice flavor.  I have had several red velvet cake samples in the past, and somehow many have reminded me of what PlayDoh must taste like (not that I’ve sampled PlayDoh, but the flavor reminded me of the familiar PlayDoh scent).  This whoopie pie was probably one of the best red velvet cake products I have ever had!  (A very close second to Amy’s Cake Balls…)

We decided to split both whoopie pies so we could both try each flavor.  I had good intentions of having one of the halves, and MAYBE saving the other half for later…

I will use the excuse that I was still “eating for two” at that point… On a positive note, I did drink a very tall glass of milk with this decadent treat…

On Patriot’s Day, I went out to lunch at Mother India with my mother and grandmother (blog post about that later when I have time & energy for it…), and during lunch I asked my mom if she would like to join me for a trip to Freeport.  She proposed going Tuesday, and I jokingly said, “I may not have tomorrow…”  So off to Freeport we went to run a few errands out there.  Little did I know that it really would be my last day of vacation…  I was admitted to the hospital just after midnight, and early Tuesday morning I was given a “room service” menu to choose something for breakfast.

At that point in the game, I got a kick out of the “Breakfast While in Labor” printed on my order receipt, and figured I would do a blog post on the hospital food adventure in an effort to distract myself and stay entertained…

Let’s just say that the idea slipped my mind for the next few days, until our final meal (below) at the hospital while waiting to be cleared to leave…

While I’m not usually one to order room service while away on vacation, and the hospital was nothing like the usual April vacation accommodations I have become accustomed to, this April vacation was an experience that will certainly stick out in my memory for years to come.

So, to any readers who may not know me personally, there is a reason why my posts will probably become fewer and farther between for a while…  Though I do have a bunch of drafts that I started before the grand arrival, so stay tuned…

Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a pan on the stovetop or in a toaster oven, and set aside.  Prepare the rice or noodles, and keep warm until ready to serve.  If using noodles, you may want to avoid mushy noodles by waiting until the stirfry is almost done before cooking the noodles, but have the hot water ready in advance.  Stirfry the minced fresh ginger (1-3 tbsp) in a pan with a small amount of sesame oil.  Add the shrimp and stirfry for a few minutes.  Set the shrimp aside in a bowl, then stirfry the vegetables in a little sesame oil until lightly cooked but still crisp.  Then combine the shrimp with the vegetables in one pan, add a little soy sauce, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds, and serve on rice.  Spice it up a little with crushed red pepper or a squirt of Sriracha sauce.

The recipe for this bread can be found at AllRecipes.com.  Thanks again, Chef John, for sharing the recipe!  (Better yet, thank you for your dedication to the “Kick Up the Spices” cooking group, and every Thursday’s culinary delight!)

The recipe for the salad is as follows:

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes

fresh pineapple

avocado

cumin, garlic, salt & pepper

*She also added some edamame to the salad which was a nice flavor and texture variation along with an extra blast of protein.

We decided to serve the salad on a bed of baby spinach with some sliced up oranges.  All in all, this salad is a great combination of flavors, and something that I will be making in the very near future!  As a matter of fact, I’ve already listed the ingredients on this week’s grocery list.

I will also say that the appearance of this salad and note made me think about the reality ahead with a new baby in the house, and the fact that soon I probably WILL be too tired to cook for a while…  So last weekend I went into somewhat of a cooking frenzy, preparing meals for this week and the freezer: homemade lasagne, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, meatballs, and pulled buffalo chicken to add to the soups I had already prepared ahead.

Eventually we saw a new sign on the front of the building, and advertisement for pizza specials, so my first though was “big deal… another pizza place?”  Since we have three really great pizza joints near us, all within walking distance of our home, I wasn’t initially interested in checking it out.  One night, however, we decided we would go out for a pizza for an easy dinner to try out this new restaurant.  We were pleasantly surprised that it’s not just a pizza restaurant, and has many menu choices, including a variety of Greek offerings!  In fact, we haven’t yet tried their pizza over the course of two visits…

We were happy to see that they serve Maine-made Captain Eli’s sodas, and not just the usual Pepsi and Coke products.

On our first visit (sans camera), I tried the spanakopita dinner which included two large, crispy, buttery, spinach and feta filled triangular pieces of homemade spanakopita, a salad, and a cute little loaf of homemade bread.  My husband had the gyro, and we were both very happy with our dinners, though curious about some of the other menu offerings, which prompted a second visit just a week or so later…

On our second visit, we started with the tzatziki plate which was delicious with warm bread, cool fresh vegetables, and plenty of dip for the items on the plate.  We would definitely order this appetizer again.

For my main course, I strayed away from the amazing spanakopita (though I was tempted to order it again, since I enjoyed it so much the first time around) and opted for a chicken gyro, which was very tasty.  My husband ordered the Mediterranean wrap with a side of sweet potato fries–also quite tasty.

On our previous visit, I had noticed a tray of baklava (one of my all time favorite desserts) on a tray near the register downstairs.  This time around, I decided to order a piece to go.

This slice definitely left me wanting for more, and I definitely see a baklava stop in the near future!  We’ll probably also try a pizza sometime soon.  Since everything else we have tried so far has been delicious, I imagine the pizza is also very good…

All in all, I highly recommend 84 Court Street for a quick, easy, reasonably-priced, freshly made, high quality dinner in a relaxed family-friendly atmosphere.