Wonderful Weekend

We had a fun and relaxing weekend! The weather surprisingly warmed up so we were able to take Pablo to the beach so he could prance around in the water. Then we had friends over for a huge bon fire accompanied by a lot of roasted marshmallows :) Then we went to a cute local farm to pick our own pumpkins and eat delicious homemade ice cream. Why do the weekends go by so fast and yet the work week goes by so slow? Not fair :( At least I am well rested to get back to work tomorrow.




Pablo loved the water! Until he sunk into the sand then he decided he was done with the beach :)




We went to Fifer's Orchards which is a cute local farm in Camden, Delaware



OMG! Best ice cream EVERRRR! I had yummy Pumpkin Chunkin and the boys had Almond Joy Ice cream. Forget Cold Stone! I think they put crack in this stuff because it is addicting





Apples or Pumpkin donuts? Tough decision.... Might as well take both :)



We are finally trying to get out and about it Delaware and we are finding all the fun and interesting things. We know it is nothing like California but while we are here we can only make the best of it. Ehhhh Delaware isn't that bad... I mean we could be in Texas :)

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday is the only day I am able to cook breakfast so I like to play around with different recipes. This Sunday I was craving hotpockets so I decided to make my own version. And of course they tasted much better :) Next time I am going to make them with chorizo and potatoes.





Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury Big and Flaky croissants
4 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped jalapenos
4 turkey sausage links chopped
1/2 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Unroll croissants. Scramble the eggs and mix with cheese, sausage, and jalapenos. Spoon mixture onto the widest part of the croissant dough and roll. Bake in oven until golden brown.

I am going to make these the next time we go on a roadtrip because it is much better than Dunkin Donuts :)

Pablo was too full from his crossiant that he needed to take a little snoozer :)

A gift I made for my husband's supervisor's b-day.






The weather has been a little chilly and gloomy the past few days so I thought I needed to spice up the day. I made a delicious and spicy pico de gallo :)

Ingredients

3 diced tomatoes
1 small onion
1/2 cup diced jalepenos
1 tablespoon cilantro
juice from 1 lemon
salt

Directions
Combine everything in a bowl and start dippin' your tortilla chips :)

It's a difficult recipe isn't it?

Where is duh Chowdah ?

I have to confess a secret... I fell in love with Boston. Who-da thunk it right? Sorry California but Massachusetts is amazing and I would move there in a heartbeat. Or maybe I am disillusioned because I have lived in Delaware a little bit too long. Either way I love Boston! The hubby and I went there on a mini-road trip for our anniversary and I can't wait to go back next year!


It's beginning to look a lot like Fall! The 6 hour drive up to Boston was a beautiful one! The trees are turning colors and looking very puurty :)



Isn't this pretty? We had fun sitting on a park bench people watching :)


We just missed the Swan Boats :( I was looking forward to them guess we will just have to go back :)

Everybody loves Sam Adams :)


We found a cute little cafe where we tried our first canoli.


"Where everybody knows your name"


We have issues with birds no matter where we go :)



We took a romantic sunset cruise around the Hahbah :) There was even a full moon! But it wasn't cute because it was brought to us by a drunken boater not mother nature :)

We started getting a little crazy on the drive home. Somehow we got lost in Manhattan and pulled over by one of New York's finest. She didnt think my cheezit box outfit was funny and appartently you can't take pics of the Holland Tunnel ooops :)

It was an amazing weekend in New England! I wish we didn't have to go back to Delaware but there is always next year! Until then... Boston I miss you! :) Happy Anniversary Bubbie

Lima Bean Puree

This recipe was an accident. I actually wanted to make fava bean puree but I couldn't find any at the market. I thought fava beans were just a different name for lima beans because they look similar. Oy! Luckily my lima bean puree tastes delicious! It is a creamy, garlicy, delicious spread that goes great on toasted baguette. And it is super healthy with tons of protein and fiber too.

Ingredients
1 can of lima beans
1 minced garlic clove
2 tablespoons lemon juice
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 baugette toasted
grated parmesean cheese

Directions~
add lima beans, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper into a food processor and puree. Spread over baguette and top with parmesean cheese.

Cucumber and Feta Coucous

I am addicted to this stuff! I go through fazes where I love something so much that I eat it all the time and then I get sick of eat and never eat it again. This is probably going to be one of those :) With the weather being disgustingly hot and humid this cold salad does the trick of cooling me off.

Here is the recipe
1 medium organic cucumber
1 green onion
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 block of Greek feta cheese cubed
juice of 1 lemon
kosher salt
pepper
pinch of Cayenne pepper
1 box whole wheat couscous

Directions~
Make couscous according to box directions. After couscous is prepared chill in fridge. Once it has chilled ix all of the ingredient together. I like to eat it with pita bread. And it tastes soo much better the next day :) I think I will add purple onions to it next time for color and maybe a few cherry tomatoes.

Cinnamon Sugar Glazed Carrots

Growing up I could not stomache cooked carrots. Everything about them disgusted me. There were a few times I would go hungry because I refused to eat them. Now, however, my palate is changing little by little and many of the foods I hated I love now. Except for peas... I put my foot down at peas yuck. These carrots taste more like a dessert than a veggie. Who knew carrots could be so sweet?

The first time I made these carrots I was just bored in the kitchen and wanted to play around a little. Luckily, my little creation turned out to be a sucess and delicious. I love when that happens :) I love to make these and snack on them throughout the day, however, they can be a great side dish or even better on top of cous cous or quinoa.

~Ingredients~
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbs cinnamon
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs butter
pinch of kosher salt
4 or 5 carrots peeled and cut in half

Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Mix nutmeg, sugar, cinnamon,salt, and butter together. Rub all over carrots and let sit for 10 mins. Place in over for 20-25 mins. Let cool for 5 mins and enjoy :)

Our First Harvest

We decided we wanted to be urban gardeners this year so we planted about 20 different plants. The only one we are able to recognize is the strawberries. Our first one was ready to be harvested and there is nothing better than eating something you know exactly where it came from and how it grew. Im so proud of us! I thought we were going to have a drought because I kill any plant I touch. Now I hope more strawberries ripen because the one we had was delicious!

Here is the evolution of our first strawberry!

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~