Forever Young

69 years ago a legend was born. Today is Bob Dylan's 69th Birthday. Bob... may you stay forever young. Happy Birthday! Thank you for all you have given us.

Five for Friday

I keep seeing these on different blogs so I'm going to be a copy cat and start doing one for my blog too :)

1. I'm glad I finally get to see the country where you grew up and meet your madre.

2. You make me laugh when you say sentences backwards like "bowl dog" instead of dog bowl.

3. I can't believe you knew all the words to a Bob Dylan song I guess all the brainwashing finally worked :)

4. You told me my pinky toe looks like a whack a mole

5. I love the way you protect me from Pablo when he becomes a rebel dog.

Beautiful Day in Baltimore

The weather was perfect on Saturday so we decided to take a drive up to Baltimore. It is such a beautiful bustiling city. We spent the day walking around the Inner Harbor seeing a few Naval and Coast guard ships, browing books at Barnes and Nobel, listening to wonderful street performers playing instruments I had never seen before, and having a nice dinner at The Hard Rock.





After touring the ship my hubby said he was glad he joined the Air Force because he couldn't live on a ship for 4 months :)











I couldn't go all the way to Baltimore without making a little visit to Charm City Cakes. Sadly, Geof was nowhere in sight :(

Beatty Zimmerman's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Bob Dylan's 69th birthday is coming up soon so I decided to make his mother's banana bread in honor of his b-day. My husband thinks I'm crazy but Bob is an important figure in my life and has changed my life in so many ways. So in Honor of Bob... Here is his mother, Beatty Zimmerman's, recipe


Not only is this recipe from Dylan's mother but it is incredibly moist, not too sweet, and super delish too :)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips (or up to 12 ounces, if desired) I used 12 ounces because there is no such thing as too much chocolate :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the sour cream and ripe bananas; mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry mixture to the sour cream mixture, then fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter between two greased (8x3-inch) loaf pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes. Turn the loaves out on to cooling rack or aluminum foil as soon as they're done and enjoy!

My Madre's Macaroni

This happens to be the ONLY pasta I eat. I don't know why but that is how I roll :) When my mom came to visit I had her make me some of my favorite food and this was one of them.

Ingredients

Macaroni noodles
2 celery stalks
1/2 onion
3 hard boiled eggs
mustard
mayo
kosher dill pickles
a little S and P
Paprika

Boil the noodles and the eggs. Not together :) Chop the celery, onion & pickles. Mix with mayo, mustard, and spices. Chop the egg and once the noodles are cooked and drained let them cool for about 10 minutes. Then combine everything together. Let cool in fridge for at least an hour to serve but it always tastes better the next day.

California Dreamin'

Ever since we drove to the East Coast I was wishing I was back home in LA. Today we bought tickets to fly back home and I can't wait! Too bad we only have 1 day in Santa Monica :( before we go on a week long cruise but I already have an itinerary :)

* Pick up some coffee from 18th Street Coffee House
* Walk around Santa Monica Promenade
* Bike ride on Santa Monica Bike Path
* Pick up lunch from Joan's on Third
* Walk around venice
* Dinner at Moonshadows in Malibu


I can't wait to go home!!!

Jakob Dylan & The Three Legs Concert!!!

This was the third time I have seen Jakob Dylan in concert, however, my first time on the East Coast. It was the best show of his I have seen mostly because we were right next to the stage! I was so happy when he sang a couple Wallflower songs. I think I squealed like a pig when he made eye contact with me. I even broke my wedding ring from clapping so much. The diamond fell out :( Luckily we found it in between two cords on the stage. Most of the songs were from his AMAZING album Women & Country. I now LOVE LOVE LOVE Neko Case! Her voice is something out of this world. We had to drive 2 hours to get to Baltimore but we will def. be coming back because the city is beautiful. All in all it was a perfect evening... Jakob Dylan, Starbucks, and in an actual CITY! :) I can't wait to see him again!

Weekend Roadtrip

We went on a roadtrip last weekend to Niagara Falls, NYC, and D.C. We couldn't have asked for better weather...except for Niagara Falls! :)

Since it is Earth Day this quote by my President Clinton couldn't be anymore appropriate :)
~Washington D.C~




We had a couple of unexpected guests joining us on our picinic







~New York City~




We have a problem with ducks everywhere we go :)

~Niagara Falls~

Chimichurri Sauce

I have fallen in love... WITH CHIMICHURRI! I can't believe I have gone my entire life without it. Now I eat it on everything! It is so simple but it has so much flavor. Chimichurri is originally from Argentina however, it is used in a lot of Colombian cooking. So I wanted my Hubby to have a little taste of home for dinner :)

Ingredients~
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Add parsley, oil, vinegar, cilantro, garlic, red pepper, and cumin into a food processor until smooth. Mix in salt and pepper. See it is super simple!



It is great on meat, potatoes, rice, cucumber... well it is delicious on everything:)

Colombian Jugo de Mango or Mango Juice

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My hubby is from Barranquilla, Colombia so he as opened my palate to many new foods. I absolutley love Colombian food... I just wish it was a little spicy :) In Colombia they make all their fruit juice themselves and they taste so much better. And boy do Colombians have a lot of delicious fruit that we don't have here. My favorite juices to make are Maracuya or passion fruit, Guyabana, Guava, Lulo, and Tamarindo.


My Colombian making juice :)

My juice is Colombian because a Colombian made it :)

Ingredients~

1 mango
1/2 c sugar
2 liters of water

Directions~
Cut peel off of mango and seed the mango. Add Half of the water in the blender and blend until the mango has liquified. Strain liquid in a mesh strainer. Disgard the pulp. Pour liquid back into blender and add half sugar and a little more water. Blend until sugar has dissolved. Do this twice until you dont have anymore sugar or water left. You might want to add a little bit more sugar if you like your juice a little sweeter. You can also use agave it you dont want to use sugar.

Sometimes I Wonder....

Why do we spend so much money on doggie toys when Pablo finds trash much more enjoyable to play with?

Julia Child's White Bread

Who doesn't love Julia? She lead such an interesting life and is one of my favorite cooks! I was browsing Baking with Julia today trying t figure out what to make and white bread sounded wonderful. It will go perfect with a picinic my hubby and I are having tomorrow.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups water (105-115 F)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened






Directions~

Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy.

Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.

Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook.

Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.

Increase speed and scrape down the sides til the dough comes together.

If it doesn't add a tbsp of flour at a time til it does.) Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic.

Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together).

Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.

Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour, til it has doubled in size at room temperature.

Butter 2 loaf pans.

Deflate the dough, cut in half and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.

With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll.

Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan.

Drop in the loaf pan seem side down, and repeat.

Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.

Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown.

Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

Once almost completely cool, they can be cut.

Store in a brown paper bag for a day or two.

Once cut, turn cut side down onto a cutting board and cover with a kitchen towel.

Sweeten Tea

Now that the weather is getting warmer a tall glass of sweet tea is the perfect way to cool down.My husband is hooked on this sweeten tea. He goes through an entire pitcher a day!

Ingredients:
5 Luzianne Tea bags
8 cups boiling water
6 cups cold water
1 cup sugar

Instructions:
Boil water and tea bags until it it looks like the color of coca cola. Take out tea bags. Pour sugar in a pitcher and add hot tea. Stir until all the sugar dissolves then add the cold water. Fill a glass to the rim with Ice and enjoy!

Taco Salad

Since it is getting a little warm I wanted to start making light dinners. It is never fun to be stuffed and hot! My hubby wanted tacos but I surprised him with a taco salad. It is much healthier than fried tacos.

Ingredients~
chopped lettuce
Mexican blend cheese
ground beef or turkey
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 minced garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 lemon
jalapenos
1 c sour cream
1/2 c salsa
2 tortillas julienned

Directions~
Brown ground meat and garlic in a skillet. When meat is almost finished add chili powder,cumin, salt, and pepper. Place lettuce on plate and add cheese, meat, jalapenos, and meat.
In another skillet add a little oil and fry tortillas until golden brown. Place on top of salad.
For the dressing I mix the sour cream,salsa, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mix well and drizzle dressing on top of salad.

Trip to the Beach

It was a warm day today so we decided to pack up the car and hang out at the beach. We went to Bethany Beach because it is Pablo friendly :) I think that since we are from Cali we are a bit naive to think you can go to the beach in April. It was soo cold! The beaches in Delaware are a lot different than Cali. It is going to take some getting used to. But all in all it was a cute little beach that later we found out has a reputation for nude retirees sunbathing in the sand :)



You are greeted at the boardwalk from this massive totem pole


Pablo wanted to prance around in the water but it was way too cold





A flood last year damaged the boardwalk and many houses


I have never seen these before in California but there were a lot washed up on the shore.


Pablo knocked out on the car ride back :)

Jakob Dylan Women + Country

My wonderful Hubby came home from work with a surprise for me. He bought me Jakob Dylan's new album Women + Country!!! *I put a sticky note on the fridge back in March as a little hint :)* I love it soo much! I have listened to Nothing But The Whole Wide World, Holy Rollers for Love and Smile When You Call Me That nonstop since he gave it to me. I loved Jakob's first solo album Seeing Things but Women + Country is even better. I can't wait to see Jakob in concert in a couple weeks!

California Dreamin' Flatbread Pizza

I have be patiently waiting for Hass California Avocados make their way east. I'm a little bit bias but I think California has the best avocados :) They are finally here! I made a California Dreamin' Flatbread Pizza that is inspired by Cobb salad. You can't get anymore Californian than a Cobb salad :)

This flat bread pizza is simple but very flavorful! And since it has chicken breast and avocado I can dubb it a healthy pizza in my mind :)





Ingredients
3 garlic cloves
3 tbs. butter
1 grilled chicken breast
4 pieces of bacon
1 Hass avocado
handful of mozzarella cheese
2 tbs. blue cheese
lemon
pizza dough

Directions~
Preheat the oven to 475 F. Roll dough as thin as possible. Let rest for a few mins. In a small pan melt butter at medium heat and saute smashed garlic cloves. Place flat bread dough in oven and cook until golden brown. Mine took about 8 minutes. Once the flat bread is finished drizzle garlic butter on top, add chicken, and cheese. Place back in oven until cheese melts. Top with bacon and avocado squeeze a little lemon juice and eat! I was planning on adding tomatoes to make it more like a Cobb salad but I didn't have any on hand :)