Central Coast Trip Part 1

Growing up on the Central Coast(San Luis Obispo, pronounced san-as in apple, loo-iss oh-biss-poh), there were always things we were embarrassed to admit. When people we would meet from out of town would say, "Oh, yeah, that's where Madonna Inn is!" Oy, if one more person knew us for the pink hotel and the rock bathroom we thought we'd hurl. You never admitted as a child you were part of this. But, now that I'm older, and more, uh hem, SEASONED, I miss it and send everyone there! We came back to visit after moving to the Sierras 3 years ago to visit with friends and family that we miss so much. I was getting off the 101 and before I knew it we were driving into the Madonna Inn parking lot. We realized our kids had never experienced it! As ALWAYS, Madonna Inn is impeccably clean and neat, well maintained, the landscaping is always top notch. I have a set of pink signature Madonna Inn goblets passed down from my grandparents, and we saw the tables dressed with linens and the same goblets when we walked in. Those are my daughter's favorite cups to sip from. I keep them low so we use them often. The entry was decorated for the Easter season of course. Madonna Inn has always had over the top character and charm, and I'm glad we finally took them to our little local treasure that we've taken advantage of.


The tulips in the garden in front of the cafe and entrance.


The rock urinal in the men's bathroom. Don't worry, they were just pretending. Lots of potty jokes after this stop.


There's an electric eye that turns on the waterfall from the rocks above. It's the cleanest smelling mens bathroom! Not that I've been in many, but you know, you just walk by some and peeee-yooooo.


K-Bug in the entry.


Beautiful Day

Next Stop: Gumball Alley

Product Alert: The Ojai Cook, Lemonaise Light

I grew up with and have always stuck with Best Foods Mayonnaise. It's the ONLY mayonnaise for me. I've tried countless lights and fat free mayonnaise and they all taste terrible to me. Bleck. I'd rather not eat it. What's one more attempt? Well, this was it! I found this at a locally owned grocery store that tends to carry a lot of off-brands as well as all the name brands. They also carry local produce. They carry two version, the regular Lemonaise, and then the light version. Since it had all sorts of spices in it that I could see I thought I'd give it a try. And I'm in love! It doesn't taste like a mayonnaise trying to be a light version, it has a really great creamy, unsweetened flavor with a bit of savory. The best part is the ingredients and calories. The ingredients say it all though. Made with canola oil, eggs, Creole mustard, water, corn starch, lemon, salt, cane juice, vinegar, xantham gum, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika. The Lemonaise Light has just 40 calories, 4gm fat(.5 is saturated though), and also only 1g Carb! So it's fantastic for low carbors as well. Best Foods has 90 calories per serving, 10g fat(1.5 saturated), and 0 carbs.

Click HERE or on the picture for a link to ordering it online.

No Knead Peasant Bread (12-24 hours)

This is another variation of the No-Knead Italian Ciabatta Bread, but same concept. Throw it together the night before, bake it the next day. There's no need to knead. Easy peezy. This came from this YouTube video, and "so easy a 6 year old can do it".

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. active yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt(I use sea salt in all my cooking)
2 cups warm water

In a LARGE bowl(I use my humongous Tupperware one, everyone seems to have one) mix the dry ingredients together, just use your fingers or a spatula. Pour in warm water and mix well. It will be VERY sticky and look too moist, then too dry, then too moist again. Don't worry about this! Cover with loose lid, saran wrap, or foil and set into a draft free area. This needs to set overnight, so if you prepare it the night before at say 9:00pm, you can bake it after 9:00am, all they way up until 3:00pm. 12-18 hours.

The next morning, heat your oven to 500', very hot. If you can, use a large dutch oven or non-stick oven proof casserole with a good fitting lid. Preheat the pot you're going to use. Dump the dough out onto a greased and floured counter. You'll want to grease up and flour your hands as well, it is very sticky. Stretch it out length wise and fold into thirds. Stretch opposite into a longer piece again, and fold again in thirds. Pull hot pot out of oven and drizzle just a little olive oil along bottom, you can also sprinkle with a little cornmeal. Plop, yes, PLOP, the loaf folded side down into the hot pot and sprinkle a little more flour or cornmeal on top. Put lid on and bake in the 500' oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid for another 10-15 minutes. The steam from baking with the lid on makes the loaf bubble and rise, and then removing the lid will brown it and let the top crackle. Beautiful!

No-Knead Italian Ciabatta Bread, same as Peasant (takes 12-24 hours)

Edited to Add: Windows 7 may not have been my idea, but I am still waiting for someone to come up with Smell-inet. This stuff is seriously making my house smell like an old fashioned bakery and I can't stop. Last night I made up 3 batches. #1=just plain, which is mannah in itself. #2=added 1/2 cup Grated Romano Cheese and about a Tbl. of dry Italian Seasonings. #3=swapped out a half cup flour for dark rye flour, 1 Tbl. each dry shallots, poppy seeds and caraway seeds. Oh, slather me with buttah and toss me a slice. Okay, not really, that would be really gross. But chili dipping oil would burn the skin. ;)

Another yummy version:  Add 1 Tbl. Dried Rosemary, 2 Tbl. Dried Minced Onion, and 1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese(pictured above and below)

This is HEAVENLY. And I played around with a few variations, so easy!

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. active yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt(I use sea salt in all my cooking)
2 cups warm water

In a LARGE bowl(I use my humongous Tupperware one, everyone seems to have one) mix the dry ingredients together, just use your fingers or a spatula. Pour in warm water and mix well. It will be VERY sticky and look too moist, then too dry, then too moist again. Don't worry about this! Cover with loose lid, saran wrap, or foil and set into a draft free area. This needs to set overnight, so if you prepare it the night before at say 9:00pm, you can bake it after 9:00am, all they way up until 3:00pm. 12-18 hours. On a large cookie sheet, cover with non-stick foil and sprinkle a little flour. This just makes it SO easy! Use a spatula to dump the gooey dough onto the cookie sheet. I spray my hands with non-stick spray and then with flour to keep from getting too sticky. Shape and stretch with your hands to get a long flat loaf. Sprinkle with additional flour and cover with a clean DRY towel. Set aside for 2 hours. Heat oven to 425'. Remove towel and bake for 30-35 minutes. When you tap it it should sound hollow. Let cool about 10 minutes(if you can), and serve with butter, flavored oil, or:

When cool, cut down the center lengthwise, and then into 8-10 pieces across. Slice through middle of each piece but not all the way through. Leave the crust intact. Fill with your favorite sandwich fillings(mayo, turkey, swiss, cranberry, avocado, and alfalfa spouts are my fave). This is perfect panini bread!



Also, play with flour portions! I used 3 1/2 cups all-purpose, 1/2 cup dark rye. Yummy! I didn't care as much for the whole wheat, but I'm going to try white whole wheat to healthify it a little.

It's very rustic looking, artisan.

Whopper Cookies

1 stick butter flavored Crisco shortening stick (Or ½ cup shortening, ½ cup Nucoa marg.)
1 C packed brown sugar
½ C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
2 ½ C all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Malted Milk Powder
1 1/2 cups malt balls, smashed

Preheat oven to 350’. In a 1 qt. ziploc bag, crush malt balls with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer mallet. Mix first 5 ingredients together. Add baking soda, flour, and malted milk powder all at once and mix again. After ingredients are well mixed add crushed malt balls and mix on slow until equally dispersed. Using a small cookie scoop place about 2 in. apart on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake 8-12 minutes, just until light golden edges.

If you want to SUPER-YUMMY-IZE it, Mix 1 tub of milk chocolate frosting with 1/2 cup malted milk. Frost cookies and dip tops in additional crushed malt balls.

Another Room Done....

Finally got to another room. I purchased these vinyl decals from Willow Creek Signs a few years ago for this bathroom. But my walls are really textured, and I have a Cricut and tested the walls out first. If I couldn't get my vinyl to stick I was afraid to mess up and use the good ones. I was walking by an art store though and saw these canvases and got an idea. So, I used the vinyls basically as a stencil instead. It worked! Who came up with texturing walls anyways?! Oh, probably the people that came up with popcorn ceilings.

I wanted a color that was bright and cheery, I think I accomplished that. This is Pampas by Kilz.





Sproost says I'm:

Your specific style combines three more general styles:
60% Cottage Chic
20% Modern Elegance
20% Hollywood Couture



Cottage Chic
Who says that cottages can't be modern and chic? Who says that they have to be floral and cheesy? Not you! You love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires, but you are also serious about your appreciation for modern art and hip treasures. You love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each. What better way to show off these treasures than with a light background?

Materials
You have a great sense of humor when it comes to design and even like to make fun of the style itself. Which means that you will throw in a toy boat or a vintage life preserver to keep the mood of the place just like the color: light! The fabrics are natural (cottons and linens) and are light in touch. Much of the furniture is wood or wood framed (the lighter the better, think driftwood!) and as long as it's used sparingly or with modern lines, you even throw in a wicker piece here and there.

Colors
Your true inspiration (whether you know it or not) is the sea... the colors found at your favorite beach: white and light beige of the sand, a variety of blues for the ocean and sky, and greens and pale grays of the sea glass... but the key is white! Your space should feel light and airy and give off the mood one has when at the beach: laid back! The key with Cottage Chic is balance; in one corner there could be a rustic wood table that looks like it could have been found rather than made, but it is offset with a modern vase while another corner is adorned with a modern Lucite piece.

Space Planning
The furniture is comfortable and the layout is cozy. The more it encourages intimate gatherings the better! Just watch out for the red wine spills on the new white sofa! The color throughout is light and airy - and though you love to accessorize with fun colors (the sky's the limit with a white background), the main color seen and felt throughout the house is white or very light versions of colors so that they feel almost white.

Please......

If anyone from Calvin Klein ever reads this blog, which I'm sure they won't, but I am BEGGING you to PLEASE bring back Eternity Purple Orchid. I'm nearly out again and have you SEEN what Ebayers are paying. You obviously have a WIN with this fragrance, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring it back! It is the only fragrance I have ever considered replacing your Obsession, that I've worn since high school, with. I even let my Obsession run out for your beautiful and simple purple bottle. I don't even like the color purple, I bought a little sample of Purple Orchid on an impulse buy and fell in LOVE with it. So please, with lot of sugar on top? XO~Me