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July Is The Time To Explore

JULY 2026

July- Let’s Explore Together!

July is finally here, and with it comes our annual "Explore" issue—a celebration of the curiosity that keeps our community vibrant. To explore is to do more than just stamp a passport; it is the act of leaning into new passions, testing fresh ideas, and rediscovering the hidden gems right in our own backyards.

This month, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive Lifestyle Publications interview with the powerhouse Jennifer Cohen. As an entrepreneur, author, and podcaster, Jennifer shares the secrets behind her "10% Target Mindset." It’s a masterclass in audacity that will change how you approach your personal and professional goals.

Speaking of professional excellence, we spent time uncovering why the phrase “Trust In Conan” is a local mantra. Wealth Manager Conan Ward has recently explored what more he could do for his clients and opened a new Kingsview Partners office, and we felt it was the perfect moment to share the story of the man who has earned the unwavering respect of clients and competitors alike.

If your "exploration" involves the digital frontier, we’ve called in a favor from everyone’s favorite AI expert, Pete D’Angelo. The founder of Habit To Harvest breaks down how to finally implement AI into your business. If you’ve been delaying, Pete’s insights will help you close the productivity gap before you fall behind.

For those craving a literal journey, travel guru Carmela Ginefra takes us on a tour of Croatia. It is a breathtaking, unforgettable destination that offers a sophisticated alternative to the typical "Jersey comfort zone" vacation.

Finally, our triple cover story invites you inside three of the most spectacular Man Caves in the area. These retreats are the pinnacle of home design—so grab a drink, find a comfortable seat, and start imagining what’s possible for your own sanctuary.

This month, I challenge you to explore something new—perhaps a hobby or a technology—and re-explore the things you think you already know. There is always a new layer to discover. As the old song goes: Make new friends, but keep the old.

PHILLIP BARONE, PUBLISHER @WAYNELIFESTYLEMAG

July 2026

PUBLISHER

Phillip Barone | phillip.barone@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Don Seaman | don.seaman@citylifestyle.com

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Officially Social | jamie@officiallysocial.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Don Seaman, Carmela Ginefra, Pete D'Angelo, Alyssa Lavy, Kali Kasprzyk

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Agnello Photography and Video, Conan Ward, Carmela Ginefra, Dina Duva, Janie Jones

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

President Matthew Perry

COO David Stetler

CRO Jamie Pentz

CoS Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Rachel Otto

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsi Southard

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Marina Campbell

Learn how to start your own publication at citylifestyle.com/franchise.

3:5-6

Picture This

Student Photo Bonus

“Dancing On The Water” GABRIELLA MATTEO

Wayne Valley High School

DIGITALLY MANIPULATED PHOTOGRAPHY

Ethan Hundley

ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES

MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE

The 10% Target Mindset

Jen Cohen ON THE PRACTICE OF ASKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT

Winnipeg in the winter, and a 17-year-old waits 45 minutes in the cold for Keanu Reeves. Her fingers are numb. She is not there for an autograph. She is there to ask him to appear in her audition tape for MuchMusic, Canada’s MTV. When he finally agrees, she writes her number on a gum wrapper with a borrowed lip liner.

He calls days later.

That 17-year-old was Jen Cohen — fitness expert, host of the Habits & Hustle podcast, and best-selling author. She has built a career on the premise her frostbitten afternoon proved. She calls the practice the 10% Target: 10 attempts at whatever you want most in life.

The premise is simple. Most people never make one attempt. Almost nobody makes two. The math works in favor of the person who keeps going.

The top-rated Habits & Hustle podcast has logged hundreds of conversations with high performers and the people who study what the body does to the mind. Her TEDx talk, The Secret to Getting Anything You Want in Life, has traveled widely inside Fortune 500 sales-training rooms. On the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Cohen sits down to share the working rules that are the foundation of her latest book, Bigger, Better, Bolder.

“You have to be the CEO of your own life.”

FEATURING JEN COHEN

Discover the full 10% Target Mindset framework.

1 2

MAKE TEN ATTEMPTS

The door opens, or another door does. The unmade attempt and the refused one leave you in the same place — except one of them teaches you something.

STACK THE DECK

Cohen frames her habits as a wager: How do I stack the deck so I win more than I lose? The workout happens first, and the food decisions follow. The email follow-up gets sent, and the answer arrives. The choices compound in a single direction.

DISCIPLINE IS A PRACTICED SKILL, NOT AN INHERITANCE

No one is born with it. The people who look disciplined are running a routine they have rehearsed long enough that it no longer feels like effort. The reps are the skill. Miss them, and the skill fades, the same as any other.

SELF-TALK ONLY WORKS WHEN THE BODY BACKS IT UP

Confidence does not arrive by repeating the word. It arrives after the body has done the thing — the workout finished, the cold walk endured, the email sent. The mind takes its cues from what the body proves it can do. Talk follows action, not the other way around.

NEVER MISS A MONDAY

The first decision sets the slope of the rest. Skip the Monday workout, and the rest of the week tends to follow. Hold the line on Monday, and the slope tilts the other way.

CAVE MEN: RUSTIC CHARM

Pat Hickerson Brings The Adirondack Experience To New Jersey

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

Perhaps it’s time to ditch the term “man cave”. It’s certainly evocative imagery, but one that’s evolved beyond a man’s home getaway. Today’s man caves have become more of a Family Oasis. Gone are the days of a couple of old comfy chairs, a TV, and a separate fridge.

Today’s man caves could host weddings, or at least inspire some bar owners to upgrade their space enough to survive.

Here are three local spaces that would make you wonder why going out would even be worth your time.

Pat, Lisa, and their son Dominic are people who love to host. But they found their inspiration for their home’s Man Cave as guests in their favorite winter getaway over 200 miles away - the Lake Placid Lodge.

"Okay, how can we bring this home so we're not up there all the time?" Pat remembers thinking. Now, every aspect of their space evokes the rustic charm of the Adirondacks, all covered in 150-year-old recovered barnwood. Now, even when they’re home, they’re away.

However, the family history that they’ve included makes it much more than that.

There’s the “Jack’s Bar” sign that hung in his grandfather’s bar that now resides proudly in their own custom bar. “Red”, his grandfather, once had a fairly notable setup in his home - if you count having Babe Ruth and Joe Louis each stopping by in its prehistory to hang out there “notable”.

It’s a space that’s a true throwback to the speakeasy days with modern nuances, with an antique slot machine, pool table, five TVs, a library built with private arched reading nooks, comfy leather seating, and a flip-out bar window that converts the space into outdoor living as well.

Add in the color-changing LED lighting, smart pool, waterfalls, koi pond, and a variety of other outside features, you might never want to go back inside. But inside, Pat’s handcrafted indoor oasis is pretty good competition for whatever nature can throw at it.

Their Man Cave can handle up to 100 guests comfortably. During the summers, it can be even more, when it’s combined with their “estate-like backyard, spread across more than two secluded acres, giving it a private resort experience,” Pat says.

It certainly seems like the lush landscape of Wayne helped to round out the full Adirondack setting for the Hickersons.

What Mike has created alongside nature is simply breathtaking.

Pete’s Mortgage Corner

Summer has a way of sparking dreams. A beach house at the Shore. A cabin in the Poconos. A place to escape to when life gets hectic. If you’ve been thinking about a second home, it’s worth understanding how the financing differs from your primary residence. Second home loans typically require 10-15% down, and rates are slightly higher than what you’d see on a primary home. Lenders also have location requirements — the property generally needs to be a reasonable distance from your main residence and can’t be rented out full-time. That last point is important. If your plan is to rent the property most of the year, it’s classified as an investment property, which means different loan terms, higher down payments, and different tax treatment. Before you fall in love with a listing, let’s talk through what makes sense for your situation. The right structure depends on how you plan to use the property.

JOE MONELLO'S SHRINE TO SPORTS, AND SO MUCH MORE

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

THE SPORTS DEN CAVE MEN:

JOE MONELLO

Joe has crafted a space that’s not only a spa for the body, but is also a real threat to any night out.

Home gym? Check. Indoor hot tub? Check. Shrine to the Yankees and Giants? Check and check. And of course, there’s a pool table, shuffleboard, and tables for gaming. And a bar outside - with two more inside. He’s in the process of installing a unique indoor fire feature.

His bodybuilder wife, Claudia, gladly takes full advantage of the gym and hot tub.

And when you get tired from all the activity, there’s a separate theater. Oh, and his “candy room” - a home concession stand.

Not only that, their pool outside is absolutely insane.

Surprisingly, Joe says that his favorite room in the space is the bathroom. “I designed the whole house, including the basement, including all the colors and everything. One of the cool features in there that we were able to use was recycled boat wood I’d found. Old boats were being decommissioned, and they were being chopped up and cut into pieces. I was able to acquire the old slats from the boats. I put cool LED lighting that casts down on the boat wood. It looks really cool.”

For a man who’d been there to see Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, David Wells’ perfect game, and the 1996 World Series clincher, an appreciation for detail is almost as big of a passion as is his passion for the Yankees.

These sports memories are even bigger personal memories for him than simple milestones. They’re family treasures. He proudly got to share Jeter’s watershed moment with his own daughter, Sydney, while she attended her first big-league game. Nicky was with him at Mariano Rivera’s last game. Justin Tuck of the Giants held both Joey and Nicky when they were young. For Joe, this space is the fusion of sports and family. That home now becomes a shrine to important moments.

And what he’s built is the home equivalent of the ‘27 Yankees.

CONTINUED >

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Denise Fuchs Proven Success Coach

outside inside

Success With His Space Inspires Mike Laglia To Think Bigger

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

Many people have a sublime indoor man cave. Many others have an outdoor one. Mike has both. And it’s ingeniously set up as one connected experience.

It all began because of a home problem. A big onea large, old, dangerously sick tree had become a daily threat to their two-car garage. The Laglia’s decided to respond to Mother Nature’s looming wrath by removing the tree and using the opportunity for building something that they’d always wanted - an outdoor living area, which was then anchored with a Man Cave space.

Building and designing the entire thing himself allowed him to meticulously put in some interesting details to his indoor space that leverages and elevates the outdoor experience. The multiple TVs are all retractable - they can each be dropped down from the ceiling, with the one behind the bar perfectly positioned for viewing from the main outdoor seating area.

He’s even managed to find a Golden Tee golf machine - the gold standard of golf gaming machines for golfers that somehow many resorts and country clubs can’t manage to get ahold of. Maybe that was some way for the universe to pay him back for that tree.

The main goal was to integrate their outdoor pool area with their new space. Adding a massive retractable glass garage-door like portal at the bar allowed them to manifest that seamlessly.

Their space includes both an indoor and outdoor cooking area, stereo-synced party lighting to give it a nightclub feel, dart board, gaming - all hallmarks of a well-appointed lounge.

According to his wife, Maria, “more than anything, we wanted our children to grow up in a home where everyone always felt welcome, where friends became family, family gathered often, and memories were made year after year.”

In fact, Mike enjoyed building his space so much that he’s launching Wall to Wall Wood Designs, a new business of his that specializes in custom-designed man caves, bars, wood accent walls, and more. (Go to @walltowallwood on Instagram for that.)

Mike is taking Maria’s dream and literally finding a way to do it for others.

MAN CAVE | @WAYNELIFESTYLE.COM

We brought you a few of the great modern man caves, but we know there are many more out there. Send us photos of your man caves; whether they be basements, converted garages or something fun and exciting no one else around has. We’d love to see them!

TRUST IN Conan

FOR ONE WAYNE SILVER FOX, BUILDING WEALTH AND BUILDING COMMUNITY GO HAND-IN-HAND

ARTICLE BY DON SEAMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN AGNELLO AND CONAN WARD

Conan Ward is a textbook Wayne guy. His roots are here. He grew up in Packanack Lake. Graduated from Wayne Valley. Spent years coaching Track and Field there despite finding his calling in finance. He only gave that up when it became obvious that commuting into the city wasn’t conducive to coaching high school sports on that sort of schedule.

But like most Wayne people, he found his way back to town. He opened his own office here in town as a financial advisor...but in this age of transition, he found a new professional home at Kingsview Partners where he could be more independent than his previous company allowed him to be. When Kingsview came calling, he knew that it gave him a pathway to add something that his previous association wouldn’tbecoming a fiduciary.

That’s a level of trust that is golden to a financial advisor. Always acting as a fiduciary is one thing - being one is a statement. For Conan, it’s simply validation of who he’s always been.

And for a small town like Wayne, that trust is something that he doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s the biggest small town I could possibly imagine,” Conan observes. “The camaraderie, the friendships that I grew through coaching and growing up there, and just being part of the community has offered a great deal of value. My experiences there, with people who care to know each other, despite being so spread out, trying to help each other, I just think that it was a great place to grow up.”

It’s that ability to establish yourself independently as part of a larger community that gave Conan and his partner, Suzy Carrington, the reason to open their new office under the Kingsview flag.

CONTINUED >

“There’s such an opportunity for growth here,” explains Suzy. “We’re able to take a modern approach with our clients and our business. Now we have the ability to build our own network of experts to bring a ‘one stop shop’ experience to what we’re doing for our clients that we couldn’t do before.”

“We’re in a far better position to offer our clients strong wealth management advice independently, rather than just being simply transactional,” adds Conan.

Conan was even able to include something very personal in his new office space. An accomplished photographer, his own photography graces their workspace everywhere. It’s a constant reminder of his world outside the office.

“For me, it’s important that I’m able to keep those connections to clients that have become family to me. In some cases, that’s thirty years of friendships that have come from this,” Suzy says. “We're very appreciative of all the clients that have placed their confidence and trust in us and made this move with us, and that we're looking forward to other clients onboarding and making new friendships with people and relationships.”

To that end, Conan makes sure that he’s not just helping clients build success. He’s also actively helping the next generation of Wayne kids with their futures as well, offering scholarships to local students, including “Student of the Month” athletic scholarships, a callback to his coaching days at Wayne Valley.

Their business stays active in the Wayne Chamber of Commerce, fundraising for local food pantries, and has made

donations to many local events and organizations, including the new I’m Possible Cafe (a breakfast spot staffed by special needs people), owned by childhood friend Joe Rude and his wife Paulette. He also extends his help to others in supporting the Essex County 200 Club, which gives assistance to family members of police officers and firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Conan’s fingerprints are all over the community.

This is a man who’s spent a lifetime being the kind of person who makes this small town a place with such a big heart. That redheaded athlete who made his way from Wayne Valley to a silver fox wealth manager takes special care of those people and places who have made him what he is today.

“The best lesson I ever had in Wayne was doing yard work in Loretta Looney’s yard. Without knowing it, my friend’s mother taught me the value of hard work and what it can do for someone in your community. It’s a lesson that I’ve carried with me to this day.”

Packanack lessons stay with you.

Conan stays with you, too.

Kingsview Partners is located at 1044 Rt. 23 in Wayne. To catch up with Conan and Suzy there, and see how they can help you shape your future, they can be reached at 973-453-9999, or at cward@kingsview.com.

Explore Rovinj, Croatia

A Slice Of Heaven The Rest Of The World Hasn't Fully Discovered Yet

If you’re looking for a summer getaway from the mean streets of Northern New Jersey, we have an idea for you that you might not have thought about. But maybe you should.

Rovinj is found in the Istria region of Croatia. It is the heart-shaped peninsula in Croatia's far northwest — closer to Venice than to Dubrovnik, geographically and culturally. It's where menus arrive in two languages and the olive oil rivals Italy's. As a native Croatian - speaking the language, being a citizen and having lived there every summer growing up - I’ve experienced different parts of Croatia in many ways and I’m excited to share some hidden gems. No gatekeeping!

TOUCHING DOWN: PULA, THE PRELUDE

Rovinj sits just north of Pula, Istria’s largest city. Getting to Pula from any NY area airport is straightforward, with connecting flights running through major European cities like Zurich and Frankfurt.

Upon your arrival in Pula, you can either stay there for a couple of days and explore (what I consider) the “Rome of Croatia”, or do the quick 40-minute drive over to Rovinj the same day. The drive is stunning and worth doing in daylight as the road threads through olive groves and vineyards with the flash of the Adriatic between the trees. There's a regular local bus if you don't want to rent a car, and taxis run the route comfortably for around €50.

A couple of days in Pula is a happy precursor of what’s to come. Two nights is the sweet spot. Pula is a legitimate port city, built around a 1st-century Roman amphitheater (imagine the Colosseum in Rome) that locals walk past every day. This historic amphitheater is still an active spot, known for hosting amazing concerts in the summer.

Where Rovinj is composed and picture-perfect, Pula has a quieter sophistication — less curated, more authentic, layered, and alive — and that subtle contrast makes it the perfect prelude to Rovinj.

ARRIVING IN ROVINJ: A SLICE OF HEAVEN

Perched on a small peninsula reaching into the Adriatic, Rovinj is a cascade of stone houses spilling down toward the water, all crowned by a bell tower borrowed straight from St. Mark's Square in Venice.

The lanes of the island-turned-peninsula are barely wide enough for two people to pass, houses lean into each other for support, and laundry is strung between windows like signal flags. No cars. No chain stores. Just stone, sea, and sun.

Rovinj isn't a place for agendas or strict itineraries — it's a place to wander leisurely and savor at your own pace. Grisia Street is the spine of the old town, where local artists hang their paintings directly on the walls of the houses, turning the whole lane into an open-air gallery. Wander down to the rocks below the town walls, where iron ladders are bolted straight into the stone and people of all ages dive off into the Adriatic. The water is so clear it doesn't look real. And once you swim in it, nothing else quite compares.

Just like in Pula, the street signs are bilingual — but here it feels like more than a nod to Italian history. It's an intentional preservation of Istrian culture with that blend of Italy and Croatia. Linger in any café and you'll hear Italian, Croatian, and a Venetian dialect that's been spoken here for centuries!

The dining is where Rovinj quietly shows off. Fine-dining restaurants and family-run konobas tucked into stone courtyards both lean on whatever came in fresh on the morning boats — scampi from the bay, sea bass, and octopus. For the most soulful experience, the konobas are the move. Often there is a nonna somewhere cooking in the back. Look for seafood risotto inked black with cuttlefish, fuži with local truffles, and pljukanci with shrimp — local staples that turn up on the best menus.

Three days in Rovinj is the minimum — enough to wander the old town, eat properly, swim off the rocks, and soak in a few unforgettable sunsets. A full week lets you stop counting and start living there for a while. By day four you'll have a favorite konoba . By day six you'll already be plotting your return.

THE STAY: GRAND PARK HOTEL

I'm usually suspicious of hotels that collect a lot of stars and a lot of press. They tend to be either soulless or too corporate to have any real character. The Grand Park Hotel Rovinj is somehow neither. It sits directly across the marina from the old town, tucked into a slope of Mediterranean pines. You almost have to look twice to find it. The location is the whole magic: every room looks straight at the old town skyline, and the daily sunsets from the balcony (or anywhere in the hotel) had me wondering if this is what heaven looks like.

The design is open and warm, all-natural wood and soft light, nothing forced, nothing performed — just genuine Croatian hospitality with a luxurious touch. The three pools are the real deal, each one overlooking that dreamy old-town skyline. Breakfast is worth getting up for every single day: local cheeses, silky Istrian prosciutto, fresh figs, eggs cooked exactly how you like them. The old town is a charming 15-minute stroll along the harbor, or you can borrow one of the hotel's bikes! The best perk of all? The hotel's luxury speedboat to St. Katarina Island for a beach day — the ride over, with its 360-degree views of Rovinj, is half the fun, and the beaches on the other end are pure bliss.

Istria is the rare destination that delivers more than it promises. Rovinj will take your breath away. It is a place so beautiful, you'll keep looking up from your kava just to confirm it's real.

EXPLORE CROATIA

To find out more about planning your trip to Croatia, you can contact Carmela Ginefra at carmelag@cadencetravel.com or 201-290-8222.

Where to next? Follow @curatedbycarmela on Instagram and Facebook to find out!

ARTICLE BY PETE D'ANGELO | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DINA DUVA

Explore AI

The people implementing AI are working harder, not less. The people running the companies are convinced it’s making everyone faster.

If you’ve been quietly avoiding AI, I want you to know something. You’re not behind. You’re being careful. And there’s a real difference between the two.

I talk to small business owners every week. Real estate agents, attorneys, insurance brokers, and restaurant owners. The story is almost always the same. They tried ChatGPT once. They watched a webinar. Someone in their network keeps posting screenshots of AI doing their job for them. Then they go back to their actual work, because they have real clients to take care of and no time to figure out which of the forty new tools they saw this month is worth their attention.

That’s not failure. That’s good judgment with bad inputs.

Here’s the data that matters. According to a 2024 study from The Upwork Research Institute, 96% of executives expect AI to boost productivity. But 77% of the employees actually using these tools say AI has added to their workload, not reduced it. The people implementing AI are working harder, not less.

That gap is what I do for a living. I help business owners close it.

The companies winning with AI aren’t the ones moving fastest. They’re the ones moving with intention. They’re not bolting AI onto a broken process and hoping the technology fixes the chaos. They ask better questions first.

When I sit down with a new client, I don’t open my laptop or pitch a tool. I ask them to sit with three questions. The same three I’d want you to sit with right now, before you spend another dollar or another hour on AI.

1. WHAT TASKS ARE YOU DOING EVERY DAY THAT DON’T ACTUALLY REQUIRE YOUR EXPERTISE?

You went into business to do something specific. Practice law. Sell homes. Cook

food. Everything else, the inbox triage, the calendar wrangling, the proposal formatting, is work someone else could do if it were systematized. AI is very good at being that someone else, but only if you know which work to hand off first.

2. WHAT FEELS REPETITIVE?

What are you doing the same way week after week? Patterns are gold. The thing you’ve done a hundred times is the thing AI can learn to do for you, fast and accurately, at three in the morning. The trick is to spot the pattern before you spot the tool. Most people do it backwards.

3. IF YOU HAD A MAGIC WAND, WHAT WOULD YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK AND FEEL LIKE?

This one bypasses the inner critic. We talk ourselves out of fixing real problems all the time. “It’s not that bad.” “I just need to be more disciplined.” The magic wand question gets past all of that and tells me where the friction actually lives.

The technology is the easy part. It’s everywhere, getting cheaper and more capable every quarter. The hard part is knowing where to point it, and that’s a judgment call, not a software purchase.

If those questions sparked something, write your answers down. A few sentences each. I built a short form where you can share them with me. I read every submission personally, no charge and no obligation.

The link is tinyurl.com/habit2harvestwayne. Explore with intention. That’s the whole game.

Pete D’Angelo is the founder of Habit to Harvest AI, an AI consulting practice based in North Jersey that helps small businesses and sales professionals identify, build, and actually adopt AI and automation systems.

ARTICLE BY ALYSSA LAVY, MS, RD, CDN

Summer Seafood Gazpacho

This summer seafood gazpacho screams summer and is the perfect, refreshing meal, snack or appetizer to beat the heat - whether you’re entertaining or enjoying a quiet meal with family. It’s packed with some of the season’s most flavorful produce and provides satisfying fiber and protein to help keep you feeling full, while still being light enough to enjoy on the hottest of summer days. Plus, there is no need to turn on the oven or the stove, keeping your kitchen (and you) cool as a cucumber! You can enjoy this chilled soup as is, or add toppings like chopped jalapeños, cilantro, or creme fraiche and scoop it up with tortilla chips!

Alyssa Lavy, MS, RD, CDN, CPT is a registered dietitian, personal trainer and mom of 2. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from The George Washington University and her Master of Science in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Teachers College Columbia University, where she also completed her dietetic internship. She has been an ACSM certified personal trainer for over a decade. Alyssa is the owner of Alyssa Lavy Nutrition & Wellness, a wellness brand offering nutrition communications, program development and consulting services for individuals and corporations.

Website: alyssalavy.com Instagram: @alyssalavyrd

Ingredients: (yields ~8 C gazpacho)

• 8 large tomatoes

• 1 large cucumber

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 small sweet onion

• 1 jalapeño pepper

• ½ tsp hot sauce

• 3 Tbsp lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt

• ½ tsp ground black pepper

• 2 Tbsp parsley (fresh or dried)

• 8 oz lump crab meat

• 8 oz cooked shrimp, chilled (about 8-12 large shrimp)

*Optional suggested toppings include: cilantro, tortilla chips, chopped jalapeños, creme fraiche, or additional parsley.

Directions:

1. Cut tomatoes into large chunks, approximately 6-8 pieces each. Set aside.

2. Slice cucumber into thick slices. Set aside.

3. Mince garlic. Set aside.

4. Chop onion into medium sized pieces. Set aside.

5. Slice jalapeño pepper in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds if you prefer less heat. Chop jalapeño pepper and set aside.

6. Add tomatoes to large food processor. You may need to add about half of the tomatoes, pulse for a few seconds and then add the remaining tomatoes depending on the size of your food processor. Pulse tomatoes until chunky and slightly pureed. You will continue to puree the tomatoes once the additional ingredients are added, so do not pulse until completely smooth.

7. Add remaining vegetables (cucumber, garlic, onion, jalapeño pepper) to food processor with the tomatoes. Add hot sauce, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley. Replace the lid and pulse to desired consistency – the gazpacho should be pureed, but still somewhat chunky and not completely smooth.

8. Store in an airtight container and chill in the fridge for at least one hour before serving. If not serving right away, this gazpacho can be made in advance and stored in the fridge overnight or for a few days until ready to serve. If making this gazpacho in advance, purchase fresh seafood or thaw frozen within 1 day of serving to keep seafood fresh and store seafood separately, only adding when ready to serve. When ready to serve, chop the shrimp and add approximately 1-2 oz chopped shrimp and ~1 oz crab meat to each bowl. You can add optional toppings, such as chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeños, tortilla chips, creme fraiche and an additional sprinkle of parsley, if preferred. Enjoy!

Note: This gazpacho can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up for 4 days, without the seafood. Store seafood separately and add when ready to consume.