California Food Porn....

One of the great things about California - We actually get fresh and sweet strawberries practically year round. What started off as a call from hubby, "What are we having for dinner tonight? Tri-tip sounds good." Became the kick off of the summer season. We left for our trip April 2nd, got home the 14th, to find everything in bloom. Skip spring, go straight to summer. Days like today would be perfect for me year round. Open all the doors, no a/c, slight breeze, with the whiff of everyone else's BBQ's in progress.

Trimmed all the fat off the tri-tip roasts and coated with a garlic rub a friend brought us back from their trip to Gilroy. Let the meat sit out for 1/2 hour at least at room temp and BBQ real slow.

Tri-tip with Garlic Rub:




I also decided to make some BAKED BEANS.

Slow-Cooker Baked Beans:


These rolls seem to be a No. California thing. Never heard of them before moving here, I have my sandwiches made with them even because they are my favorite(second to SLO Sourdough though). Crisp them up in the oven for 10 minutes.

Dutch Crunch Rolls:


Our Table(& key)


I piled my plate with Mixed Greens, topped with a sweet balsamic vinagrette, blue cheese, and the tri-tip. Dipped my roll in CHILI OIL washed down with a tall glass of Herbal Berry Lemonade.

We also decided we needed strawberry shortcake. Not as good as the Sea Shanty's, but still tasty.

Semi-Homemade Shortcakes:



My Semi-Homemade Ice Cream:





The only thing I think missing is a big bowl of BBQ'd veggies and of course, friends!

A Few More Pics....

New Orleans-
Water Lilies in the Bayous:


Moss:


Alligator:


Turtles:


Pretty:


Some of the Katrina Damage we saw:


Our little hitchhiker:


33 Turtles....1 Alligator....25 Snakes....103 Caterpillars.......(okay, you had to be there to hear this whiny little girl on our boat updating how many of everything she's seen):


The Bayous in Louisiana:


St. Louis Cathedral Windows:


The Carnival Valor(home for one week last June) next to the NCL Spirit(our home for the last week) in Costa Maya:


Beach in front of Luna de Plata in Costa Maya:




Shrimp Fajitas(well, were shrimp fajitas) on the beach in Costa Maya):

Some Pics from our trip....

More to come!

St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, New Orleans


I Spy My Luggage:


Water Lillies on New River(River of Strange Faces) in Belize:


One of the 200+ Orchid Species growing from the trees in Belize:


The Mask Temple:


The BIG temple that we could see from the river:


Jamie & Rod getting off the BIG temple:


Jaguar Temple


The Jaguar


Dad, S, J, R, Mr. D, K, & C on top of Jaguar Temple in Lamanai


My Favorite Garden District Home:


Beads DO grow on trees:


Privacy Screen:

Aqua Nuts is more like it...

THE AQUA MEN
We all know that teachers and administrators have no life and live at the school. This is what they do when the kids are away. LOL This was our first year to witness the Faculty Follies. Of course when asked, Mr. D jumps at the chance to participate. We found this number on YouTube by Summit Ward to recreate. They did a better job, but I think our guys earn kudos for attempting this in their "mature" age. I heard rehearsals consisted of taking breaks often, a little ice, and Ibuprofen. And how does one fall OFF a wrestling mat? (cough cough, Steve) Here's a link to the Dancing Queens finale. Sorry about the jittery hands, I didn't know they were coming through the aisle. Scary! HERE


One thing I've learned about our community, is there are always more than enough people willing to give to their community. This event is for senior scholarships. And what fun, just ANOTHER "Feel Good" evening we've walked away from. A Friday night and the auditorium is packed with high schoolers, on a FRIDAY! Then this morning we woke up early(reminder, Saturday morning) to go help spruce up the school. Paint the bridges, benches, trash cans, some bleachers, and anything else Mr. D. delegated out. Weed whacked, weeded, swept, blew leaves away, etc.... It's an opportunity to give back again. Even a senior was doing her sr. project and had volunteers running all over the campus. How blessed we are to have these opportunities!

Herbal Lemonade

I finally gave up Diet Pepsi, and it just wasn't that hard to be honest. I had yet another broken foot, and I'm doing anything and everything I can think of to get these brittle bones in my foot to heal. I started swimming to take advantage of the Natural Vitamin D and take supplements. I can't take calcium because of the kidneys(also why I have brittle bones in my tootsies, just my feet so far) so I just need to get my body to absorb it. So, in the process of getting creative(and copying Arnold Palmer and Starbucks), I came up with this.

Brew 5-6 of any berry flavored herbal tea bags in 8 cups of boiling water and let cool. I drop 5-6 in my coffee maker we've renamed Mrs. Cocoa. My favorite is Trader Joe's Blackberry Infusion(it's herbal), and I've tried and love Celestial Seasoning's Blueberry or Red Zinger(I think that's what it's called, I'm just too tired to get up and double check), ANY herbal berry flavored tea. When it's cooled, remove the tea bags and mix in a gallon pitcher with one tub of Crystal Light Lemonade and 5-6 low calorie sweetener packets such as Stevia or Splenda. Add enough water to make a gallon. Even BETTER, add 2 qts. real lemonade made from lemon juice and Stevia to the Berry Tea mix:) I'm also trying to give up artificial sweeteners and stick to Stevia. I buy it online through Amazon, cheapest and free shipping.

For you Utah girls, soda=pop. ;) I didn't realize that Californians called bubbly, "soda", and Utahans called it, "pop". LOL

0 POINTS

Favorite Product: Sony DSC-H7, 8.1 mega pixels, 15X Optical Zoom....

Just playing with my camera and took these shots from my porch. I love this camera. You can see the hill across from us got a dusting and since it still hasn't completely melted, it's COLD. I think this is also called the Sony Cybershot, I can't remember for sure and it's not on the camera. I highly recommend it! CLICK ON PICTURES TO SEE DETAILSNormal View(hand held):

Full Zoom(hand held):

Normal View:

Full Zoom(on steady surface):

Full Zoom:

Normal View:

Fish Tacos

As our cruise gets closer I'm getting more in the mood for vacation yummies. I love Fish Tacos, Ceviche, any kind of seafood grilled.... MMMMMmmmmm. When Mr. D goes out of town that's my chance to cook my seafood favorites. You'd think growing up in Morro Bay he'd like it, but nope, that's precisely why he doesn't like it. He's been around it his whole life. One kid baulked at the idea of fish tacos, but I don't care, it's what's for dinner. And after heating up the tortillas for me and digging into one herself she said she didn't "hate it" and went back for seconds, finally admitting they aren't bad. As long as they're fresh, I could eat these every day.

I like to make my own sour cream mix. I LOVE these tubed herbs. Herbs and lettuce have to be absolutely fresh or I toss them out, a lot of produce goes to waste in our house unfortunately. Mix a few Tbl. of Cilantro, a few drops of Spiracha Chili Sauce(just for a kick) with some fat free sour cream, easy peazy.


Shred the lettuce and wash, wash, wash, or even the pre-packaged slaw and lettuce shreds are good.




I prefer Mahi Mahi, but the store was out, so I picked up some cod, it's mild in flavor too, and flakes "pretty". When I brought it home from the store I marinated it in soy sauce, crushed garlic, fresh ground black pepper. Cook at a high temp on a non-stick pan with a little bit of canola oil until, just a few minutes on each side. It's done after you've flipped it and it flakes easily. Put into a bowl to seperate the layers.


Warm the tortillas.


The fish should just flake or fall apart as you put it in a serving bowl.


Layer on the yummy goodness and imagine yourself at the beach with Sancho serving you, big grin, pina colada(virgin of course), and a big bowl of chips and salsa. I can hear Jimmy Buffet in my head, "Cheeseburger in Paradise"!