We Have a Problem

Sorry everyone, I have had problems with everything from getting on the internet, to finding wi-fi and with my very broken and very old Apple IBook, I have given up trying to update my blog.

Sorry, but I will be back to blogging on Wednesday, July 2nd when I get home.

Trip Day 3 a Trip to Pasa Robles to Cambria

Sorry everyone, we have not had wi-fi or any service for most of the last 2 days. Thanks for being patience. 

We started out in Santa Barbra and drove to Pasa Robles, for wine tasting. Mom and I stopped at Peachy Canyon winery and Tobin James (our favorite).   The wineries each have different personalities, Tuscan, country and Wild West. I really am not a wine person, I don't like it and in fact I will always drink anything but wine. However, at Tobin James they had some wines that I actually liked. The atmosphere there was a fun, party, and a crazy western bar. 

After leaving Tobin James, we actually found an open vineyard and I took pictures of the budding grapes. I love the pictures of the grapes, in the pictures as in life; they are glowing from the inside. Though the dusty exterior you can see the light glowing.   

As we were driving we saw a u-pick blueberry farm That was the most fun we have had so far. Grab a small bucket and pick whateever you want, there were at least 10 differant kinds of blueberries. My method was 2 in the bucket. 1 in my mouth, mom however did it a little differant, 2 in her mouth, 1 in the bucket.

We also stopped in a small dutch "Disney" kind of a town, it was a waste of our time and that is all I have to say about it. The only thing I liked was this cute door to no where.  LOL

From there we traveled through a rolling countryside to the small artists village of Cambria.  The beautiful ocean-side inn, the Fog Catcher, we stayed at was so cozy and cute and just across the street from the boardwalk.  Mom and I had a nice dinner at the Sea Chest. The food was good, but it was so dark I couldn’t get any pictures.   The view was so beautiful, but it was so so so cold!

Trip Day 2 Broadway to Nirvana

Day 2 started off great with a wonderful breakfast at Back on Broaday. We had blueberry pancakes and an egg quasidilla. Mom and I sat on the padio surrounded with with flowers.  Then we hit the highway to Santa Barbra and Monticito.

We drove about 2 hours to Santa Barbra. We drove through mountains, by the sea, and we saw tons of fields, including corn fields.  

We stoped in Monticito to see shops and stop at a gelato shop we had been to before, But it wasn't there.  It was ok, beacause we found Kate's (my) nirvana!   The cutest cupcake store, Whodidliy Cupcakes.  If you  could open up my head, see into my world, I think it would be just like the inside of the cupcake shop. Pink, pretty, unique, and fun!

Not only was it unique, the cupcakes all had one of a kind, fun names like Chocolate Fluff,  Birthday Cake, and Sprinkle Sprinkle. Mom and I decided to try the Chocolate Fluff, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.

Buttercream is not the word I would use to decribe this creation. Heavnly, creamy, sweet, soft, melts in you mouth and decadant! This is my new favorite place in the world, I hope they ship to Indiana.  I especially loved the cupcake toppers, flags, rings, and ballerina figurines and the fact that the candy man song from Willy Wonka was playing in the shop. Over all, the best 15 minutes of this trip and the most wonderful treat I have ever put into my mouth.  Thank you  Whodidliy!

We continued  on to Santa Barbra and wow is it beautiful here. Our hotel is 2 blocks from the water and the air is so clear here. Mom and I walked from our hotel to the beach front, near the pier and coninuted on to State street to where a lot of the shops are.
We stopped at the Enterprise Fish Market for appetizers. Mom and I split the crab cake and fried clams and we had some of the best ice tea I have ever had. The only problem was the crab cake had peppers in it, I am allergic to peppers, luck for me I only had 2 small bites.  After our appetizers, we walked up and down, stopping in each shop. I bought a beautiful white shell box with a tiny silver top. We walked back to our hotel, we problely walked for around 2 to 2  1/2 hours total.  After retuning to the hotel, mom had found a fish taco (hole-in-the-wall) resturant that we wanted to visit, it was a place Julia Child had eattan there and loved it.  However, we couldn't find that resturant, and we wandered into another mexican resturant. It was cute, but I didn't care for my salad, mom did like her salmon.

Indianapolis to Los Angeles Trip Day 1

Trip Day 1 

Indianapolis to Chicago to Los Angeles

This trip was long, uncomfortable, hot, and we were squished so tight in the airplane that any  chance to get out of the chair was a welcome relief. 

 After landing in LA we stopped to get a rental car and off we go!  I love how cool the weather is here, just 67˚F.  Mom and I headed to the Santa Monica Promanade for dinner.  Dinner was at a wonderful Italian restaurant Lago. We were so hungry, mom and I really over ordered. The meal started with white fish pate with toast points, then margarita pizza, and calamari 

and shrimp with mushrooms, this was served with a spicy red sauce and a garlicky white sauce. 

After the “appetizers” we had so so salmon with mustard leeks served with black basmanti rice.  My favorite dish was dinner salad with tomatoes, carrots, and celery.  The best part was the lemon dressing, I love lemony goodness on a salad. 

 After we stuffed are selves, mom and I walked around and I took a lot of pictures of the water, trees and the Santa Monica Pier. Exhausted we drove to our hotel for the night, The Orlando. I love vacation.

Happy Father's Day

To my Green Egg Grill Guru, to my pizza griller, to my boss, my friend and my dad!  Have a delicious, nutritious, chocolate covered Father's Day!   I love you!!!

Father's Day Meatballs!

Salmon with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Now, if you are craving this salmon and you don't want to grill or you don't have any horseradish, welcome to my dinner. We used wasabi paste for the heat. We roasted the salmon 8 to 10 minutes on just one side. Yum!

Grilled Salmon with Creamy Horseradish

Adapted from Bon Apptit July 2003

Sauce

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoons prepared white horseradish

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Salmon

nonstick vegetable oil spray

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon prepared white horseradish

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black pepper

6 1 inch-think-salmon fillets (each about 6 oz)

Sauce

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. cover and chill.)

Salmon

Spray the grill rack generously with nonstick spray. Prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). Whisk oil, horseradish, soy sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in another small bowl. Brush the oil mixture over both sides of salmon fillets. Grill salmon just until opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer salmon to serving plate and serve with sauce.

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Classic Feel (Me) Better Food

Homemade chicken soup!   One of the only foods that helps me when I am under the weather or just tired and sick of everything. I think my impending vacation has me feeling just sick and tired of the same old thing, even if most of the time I like (work) it.  I do like making my own broth, but pre-made is ok too.
Serves 4-6 large servings.  
4 large chicken thighs, boneless and skinless and sliced into big bite size pieces
5 large carrots, cut into long diagonal slices
2 large onions, large chunks

3-4 boxes of  Kitchen Basics chicken stock
salt

1 tablespoon butter
pepper
1 garlic clove,  minced
olive oil

parsley

On a cookie sheet covered with foil, toss chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes at 350˚    Pour all chicken stock into a large soup pot and heat until you see small bubbles, turn to medium heat for   1/2 hours. Add in the carrots and onions, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 1 hour to 1  1/2 hours and do not let the soup boil.  After 1  1/2 hours turn down to low for about 10 minutes and add in the chicken.  Cool and serve with parsley. This soup freezes well.

A Trip: The Bookstore and Beyond

A shopping trip, a search for products and information. I found both at Barnes and Nobles. As I was searching for a new cookbook I remembered that I also had to go into the US travel section.  After gathering 2 cookbooks and 6 or 7 travel books, I headed to the coffee shop in Barnes and Noble. I love reading, testing books with a large glass of ice tea. A sweet vanilla cupcake, a pile of books and ice tea, what a shopping trip!  After checking out the cookbooks, nothing I can't live without...I hit the travel books.  Where am I traveling you ask?  My mom and I are going to California for a week and for the fist time we are driving from LA to San Fransisco. I have family in Palo Alto and my doctor is Los Angeles. This will be the first time in years I have taken a real vacation.  Just mom and me. I can't wait, we will be stopping along the way, taking a few days for shopping, sight seeing, farmers markets and anywhere we want to go.  Don't worry, I am going to bring along my broken (screen) laptop to keep you all up to date. I can't wait!  

Sherbert Skys

Stuffed mushrooms and grilled pork chops... yum!  Add to that the lovely sherbet skys and you have a good night.  Last week, Wednesday night, my normal dinner with mom and dad. I have been craving a sandwich from a great restaurant in Palo Alto California. It is a Portobello sandwich with goat cheese and arugula.  Mom and I will be visiting family in Palo Alto the last week of june. I am so excited and we will defiantly have the sandwich in Palo Alto.  Tonight we decided to stuff the mushrooms with the same ingredients as  the portobello sandwich.

Sandwich:
4 portobello mushrooms
2/3 cup arugula
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 loaf sourdough bread
olive oil
2 oz goat cheese

Pesto Goat Cheese Spread:
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 oz parmigina-reggiano, coarsely grated (2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
2 oz cream cheese, room temperature

With food processor running, drop in garlic and add nuts, parmigina-reggiano cheese, salt, pepper, and basil until finely chopped. Add in olive oil and blend until incorporated.

Clean and de-stem the mushrooms and slice into 1/2 inch slices.  Drizzle olive oil on the outside of the mushrooms. Grill the mushrooms about 2 minutes each side and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Wash and dry arugula and set aside. In a small pot, slowly cook down the balsamic vinegar until thick and syrurypy, about 10 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Slice the bread into medium slices, not to thick .  Pour a bit of olive oil on the bread on one side and place on a panni grill.  Layer slices of mushroom, arugula, and pesto goat cheese. Drizzle on the balsamic vinegar and top with a slice of bread. Grill in the panni press until golden brown and hot, about 5 minutes. Serve with extra balsamic vinegar.

 If you want to make stuffed mushrooms instead of the sandwiches, coat the mushrooms with oil and grill for about 2 minutes. Mix together the arugula, pesto, and cheese. Spoon this mixture into the mushroom and put back on the grill for another minute or two. Top with drizzled balsamic vinegar.