Suburban Homestead

Beanie Goes Abroad - Pont des Arts

I never did get around posting everything we did on our Paris getaway. I would have needed another week off to do all that! ;)  But with Mother's Day coming up tomorrow, it does seem fitting to pull these out - our visit to Pont des Arts.

The love-lock bridge was one of the many places we planned to visit while in Paris. I, of course, forgot to bring a lock from home. I'm very predictable like that. Good thing is there were lots of men in trench coats, selling them there. Of course! Beanie took a long time to find just the right spot to lock ours up. Soon after, we found ourselves eavesdropping on a tour guide who said most locks only last 4-6 months on the bridge before being cut off and removed. I'm curious to see where all those locks end up. 

Wordless Wednesday

Cinco de Mayo + My Absolute Favorite Tacos of ALL TIMES (Recipes Included)

My favorite tacos are fish tacos, and for the past five years, I've been a bit of fish taco junkie. Anywhere I've gone, any way they were served, I indulged in fish tacos. I didn't discriminate against shrimp, grilled or blacked, I just made sure I got my fix any way I could.

What sushi was to my 20's, fish tacos were to my 30's.

Over time, and with A LOT of experience, I narrowed down my preference, and fine-tuned my craft. Eventually, I developed a taste for a favorite taco, and soon thereafter, I figured out how to make it in my own damn cucina.

It started back in the Spring of 2010 while on a cruise ship stop in Puerto Vallarta. My mom and I stumbled on Joe Jack's Taco Shack, in what will go down as one of the more memorable afternoons of my life. 

Mr. Noodle was a dream, mojitos were half price, and the beer battered fish tacos nearly caused my head to explode. 

The craziest part about this story is that I would find my way back to Joe's in 2012 AND again in 2013. It's not like I'd ever been to PV before that cruise ship stop. It's not like I ever thought I'd really be able to go back. And yet, I did. Life has a funny way of giving you what you need. Clearly, I needed more fish tacos. 

So like I said, I worked at perfecting my perfect taco. Above, I got it almost right. Father's Day, 2012

By the time last night's Cinco de Mayo family celebration came around, I was very well prepared. See, I've been able to craft my perfect fish taco for almost a year now. It's a bit of this and that, a trick pulled from one recipe here, coupled with another something special over there. Add three giant tablespoons of Roberto Santibañez' Classic Guacamole and olé!

 

 

Favorite Fish Tacos

 

Ingredients

12 flour tortillas, warmed

Flour

12oz. beer

8oz. sour cream

lime

1 bunch cilantro

1 pound tilapia, cut in 3/4" strips

Purple cabbage, julienned

5 oz. queso fresco, crumbled

Double recipe of Roberto Santibañez' Classic Guacamole 

Vegetable oil for frying

Beer Batter:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 oz. beer

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually add in the beer while whisking. Set aside and let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

Cilantro + Lime Sour Cream

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon of lime juice

Mix all three ingredients by hand or in mini chopper.

For the Beer Battered Fish:

In a large skillet, over medium heat, add enough oil to reach a depth of 1-inch. Test oil by dropping a bit of batter in. When batter sizzles, you're ready to go. 

On a large plate with a cup of flour, roll cut fish until completely dusted. Working in batches, dip the fillets in the beer batter and coat on both sides. Fry in the hot oil until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Keep battered fish warm in an over at 200 degrees while finishing cooking.

To Serve:

Fill warmed tortillas with battered fish, top with cabbage, guacamole, cilantro + lime sour cream, and queso fresco. Enjoy!

We almost ate these macarrons for dessert. They are sooo good and the coconut would have made the perfect finish. I had made a double batch over the weekend for a friend's party on Saturday night, and had lots left over. But apparently it wasn't enough to last us through Monday night. So instead, I grabbed a quick and easy quart of Dulce de Leche instead. 

While that's likely enough taco talk to get you through until Grito de Dolores, I have to share one other favorite taco recipe of mine. It's from a beautiful little taco book I picked up two years ago while walking the aisle of Powell's bookstore for the first time, a trail of drool falling behind. 

I admit, tonight was the first time I've cracked this book open since I returned from Portland. Things don't always go as we plan. I had originally planned to make both fish AND shrimp tacos last night, but eventually decided to save my mind and break it all up into two nights. 

Shrimp Taco Dorado was selected based on my kid's love of shrimp, and one of their loves of mango. I skipped their guacamole recipe and supplemented some great, homemade guac from our local grocery. The recipe was for 12 healthy size tacos. The three kids and I polished it all off before Daddy even had the chance to think about coming home. 

I can't wait to try more recipes from this great little book!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Our Easter Sunday

I know it's bad form to post holiday pictures two days after the actual holiday. (And I know it's also bad form to open a story with a negative.) But that's kind of where I am tonight: 48 hours behind, and too beat to deny the truth or spin it into something else. Thankfully, these pictures do a pretty good job of telling a sweet story about our Easter. 

We hosted Easter brunch in West Marin for all our families this year. Somehow, we managed to do little beyond opening the front door and providing ample seating for eveyone. Twelve kids and ten adults and it all worked out just fine. Our kids were lucky enough to have all their cousins on both sides for a day. 

Unlike our Easter parties in the past, I did very little prep or cooking this year. In fact, if heating up a Sun Farms ham doesn't count as cooking, then no, I didn't cook. The most effort I was planning on putting into kitchen sports, was making a couple boxes of these as a nod to my in-laws from NOLA. But when all our family arrived carrying bags filled with of warm quiches, lemonade, *spicy fruit salad*, rainbow jello cups, cookies and deviled eggs, we decided we had enough. I can't believe how little I got away with! Thank Peter Cottontail for the invention of potlucks and the blessing of a functional extended family!

My mom's deviled eggs are damn fine. She couldn't even tell you (or me) how she makes them. It's just something she feels her way through each year. And she'll wait until you're hooked and mid-moan with deep appreciation before she raises on eyebrow and nails you with a, "Ya know I only use French's yellow."

Beach Day

West Marin Staycation

It's spring break for us and we've decided to take a short trip to a wonderful place, right in our backyard. A mere 45 minute drive from home, West Marin delivers a punch of the good life. Tiny towns, secluded beaches, and small-time agriculture, including oyster farms - it's all here.  It felt like we had died and gone to heaven!

Down the road a short way from our house is our favorite beach, Chicken Ranch. We set-up camp with our next door neighbors from home, and rented kayaks to paddle across the bay for a couple bags of fresh oysters. It was a first for the kid and me, but not for our friends. What we found on the other side of the bay was something that had us scratching out heads and asking ourselves: Er, uh, why haven't we done this before?!

Tomales Bay Oyster farm was nothing short of rocking! The place was literally pulsing with music and good vibes. Every available picnic table was packed with daytrippers, young and old. My favorite moment was when I spotted a little ten-year-old surfer boy, shucking oysters for his mama. I wish I had taken his picture! 

After taking in the magic a bit more, we threw our bags of oysters on ice, loaded up the kayaks, and headed back to our place for a dinner of fresh oysters doused in elixir, followed by some hearty burgers for all. 

Beanie Goes Abroad - What We Ate

SATURDAY:

Arriving Saturday, late morning, we had an hour to kill in our new neighborhood before the manager arrived with our apartment keys. We grabbed a quick lunch at a corner shop. Quiche du jour for me, croque monsieur for her. 

After a long nap in hopes of pulling our jet-lagged selves together, we ventured out into our neighborhood and settled on a fairly nondescript brasserie with minimal ambiance. I was worried at first, but then dinner arrived.

Chicken Grand-mère for myself and Beanie to share, the other ladies devoured salads with tuna, goat cheese, bread and vegetables. We were all blown away by our meals.

SUNDAY:

After a morning at the Musee Carnivalet, Beanie and I enjoyed another incredible meal with my mom at Crêperie Suzette. The three of us shared a ham and cheese crepe with egg, as well as a spinach and cheese topped with a dollop of sour cream and marinara. We probably did a banana and nutella one for dessert as well...I can't quite remember at this point. I just know we ate dessert about three times a day. Everyday.

A stop at Jacques Genin - where everyone and their mother told us to go for the best chocolate in Paris. We heeded the call and found ourselves waiting (first in line) for 45 minutes to get one of about eight tables for dessert. We finally gave up, bought some chocolate to take home, and three tables cleared out! Regardless, we got to enjoy the goods and it was worth all that waiting!

The walk from Jacque's to our apartment had us meandering through an adorable neighborhood park. These pictures have nothing more to do with food other than the fact that I was holding a bag of chocolate when I took them. But I love them just the same.

Sunday night and we ventured out to the Latin Quarter in search of Mediterranean food and people watching. Beanie ate a PLATTER of falafels while I opted for moussaka last minute. I have fond memories of eating moussaka daily while backpacking through Greece almost twenty years ago. I forgot to snap of picture of my meal until I was already a couple bites in. I need to make this here at home - everyone would love it!

MONDAY:

I think I skipped breakfast on Monday, too full already from all the indulging. I'm certain Beanie had a croissant, she had one in some form every morning. By 2pm, we still hadn't had lunch and so on our walk from Luxembourg Gardens to Le Bon Marche, we stopped a Bread & Roses, threw caution to the wind and ate dessert tarts for lunch. I figured, we're enjoying dessert after every meal, why not just cut out the extra calories of a proper lunch?

Later that night we shared tastes from a local market down the street in the quiet comfort of our tiny apartment.

TUESDAY:

It's Tueday and all six of us have just spent the late morning at the Rodin. We walked across the street to have lunch before heading out to find the giant ferris wheel that is no longer actually there. Thankfully our tummies were full from a shared bowl of boeuf bourguignon.

Others enjoyed a salad with goat cheese, herring, pasta with pesto and lasagna.

Later that night, we had dinner at a super fun neighborhood spot. The ambiance was rockin', the food was pretty good and relatively affordable. 

WEDNESDAY:

More crepes from a great restaurant near The Pompedieu. We talked about how we need to make these for all our boys back home.

For dinner we did take-out falafels from the well-loved L’As du Fallafel just ten minutes from our place. Incredible!

THURSDAY:

These fruit cups (above) were sold at a bakery two steps to the right of our front door. The girls loved them, and enjoyed several, usually with a croissant, of course.

Off to the d'Orsay but not before making our first visit to Laduree. We grabbed sixteen macarrons to go and met my mom for lunch at the museum restaurant. 

Beanie and I shared fish and chips, my mom had a salad. 

And then we shared a creme brulee. :)

Chicken-to-go is just so much more exciting in Paris. Forget the ridiculous two-piece plastic containers we have to wrestle with, look at this civilized to-go bag! We brought it home with some potatoes and enjoyed it with left-over salad from the market. It was probably the best roast chicken I've ever had. 

Later that night, we got silly and tried to match macaroons to our new pairs of shoes. I failed.

FRIDAY:

We are a family of hazelnut lovers. Or should I say...Nutella lovers. Anyway, I came across this hazelnut yogurt while stocking-up on basics at the grocery store. I first fell in love with the beautiful glass jars it came in (yes, I really did bring eight home for future desserts), but back at the apartment, we all fell in love with the flavor. Hazelnut flavored yogurt served in the beautiful single serving jars - you will be missed!

We were busy Friday, busy, busy, busy. We walked and explored lots of things, things I haven't even posted yet. We took a restaurant recommendation from my mom and enjoyed hot chocolate and French onion soup right near Notre Dame.

Then, a second visit to Laduree where we actually sat down to enjoy the macaroons. 

My absolute favorite will always be their caramel macaroon.

Later that night, we headed up to Montmartre for some touristy fare - and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

SATURDAY:

Lunch at a garden restaurant at Versailles.

A quick eclare while walking back home from the train station.

And the last supper! xo

Beanie Goes Abroad - All in a Day

These pictures show one of our busiest days in Paris. Sometimes we'd get off to a late start, a few times we'd miscalculate travel times and miss out on something by the time of our arrival. But this day, we hit it all right. Beanie was such an incredible trooper! She powered through absolutely everything and barely ever peeped a complaint. She seemed to just instinctually know that this whole experience was an incredible treat. Here she is with a tummy full of croissants, getting creative with her pose!

I will never forget the squeals Little Miss made running back and forth behind my sister and nieces during this photo op. Jumping up and down and making bunny ears, she was so happy to just be a goof.

My sister read about the Parisian sewer system and wanted to go. It was walking distance from the Eiffel Tower and so we strolled along the Seine until we reached our destination. The sewers were...interesting. You really are down there in the thick of it, if you know what I mean. 

You can just see the horror on Beanie's face. The grid flooring we are standing on has us about ten feet above the flow of waste. We saw and smelled everything.

On our way out, we had the opportunity to buy a souvenir sewer rat. Instead we kept our hands over our mouths the noses, and walked ran back up to street level. I'm not familiar with the story of Les Miserables, but after touring the sewer, and having the connection drawn between the two, it's definitely on my short list. 

The Pompedieu! We read up on this crazy building a bunch before taking off, and so Beanz was super excited to finally get there. We were equally excited for her to have the opportunity to take one of the art workshops the museum offers after school on Wednesdays. The guide books said that they were taught in French but that they could be attended by non speaking tourists. We got a different story when we arrived, and so she was turned away. She was crushed and so was I!    

 

Stay tuned - tomorrow I will post pictures of Parisian food porn!

Beanie Goes Abroad - Taxidermy, Macaroons + Musee d'Orsay

Last Tuesday was THE BEST...or was it...Wednesday?? I have this seemingly unattainable goal to keep all posts on-time and in chronological order, as if that matters to anyone else in the universe other than moi. But unless you pull it together and post religiously, every day, it all starts to get a little blurry after about the twelfth hour. Which brings me to my original thought - last Thursday was grrr-eat!

Somewhere, somehow, I came across a tip to visit the nearly 200 year Deyrolle. I guess you would call it a store of taxidermy, which also sells some animal and plant art, gardening supplies, etc. It is just incredible - like a petit musee d'histoire naturelle!  I told my son that I would absolutely grab him a souvenir from Deyrolle, because of course, why wouldn't you do that for your animal loving son?  But with a single bug running upwards of 70 euros (the stuffed lion above was 30k euros), he was forced to get happy with a $4 postcard instead.

Down the street from Deyrolle was Laduree, home to the original macaroon and what has to be one of the city's most exciting window displays. We shoveled out an exorbitant amount of money for sixteen bites of heaven to-go, and then headed over to meet my mom at the Musee d'Orsay.

We didn't make it to the Louve this trip, but the Musee d'Orsay was one I made sure not to miss. I knew there would be more recognizable art here for the four-foot tall art lover. The fact that it's in an old train station made preparing her for it a breeze - anyone heard of a little old movie called or Hugo?

 

 

Walking through the top floor, we got to see the museum's cafe, which I loved. More that the lighting or the orange wire space dividers, I loved, loved this large, Art Nouveau piece that hung above the dining room. {Eugene Grasset, Harmony}

Drool-worthy, no?  My mom treated us to lunch in the main restaurant, a space she was really wanting to see. We had a great meal, and while watching Beanie sketch the ceiling above her, my mom talked about how she now prefers to sketch her travels more than photograph them. She says this way, the visual information is imprinted in your brain and never leaves you!

Beanie Goes Abroad - Busting Out at Château de Versailles

I've always had a thing for busts. I'm sure there is a clever joke in all this, but I'm actually being quite serious. Hundreds of years ago, these men and women were once significant enough to have had a bust carved of stone and presented in their honor. And yet...and yet...we no longer know their story. With each one I pass, I am silently curious: "What was your story?  Did you live with integrity? Were you good to your children and spouse? How did you like your eggs?" After walking past over a hundred or so busts in the palace that triggered my intrigue, but not my photo-taking action, I decided to start snapping photos of all my favorites going forward. 

This guy is devilishly handsome - I need to know more!

I am completely intriqued again, but for all the wrong reasons. 

Potentially handsome.

Unfortunate hair.

A likeable chap.

Reminds me of my dad in the '70's.

Curls,

curls,

curls!

I'll let the collar speak for itself.

Beanie Goes Abroad - Marie Antoinette's Château de Versailles

Welcome to Day 3 of my obsession with with all things Marie Antoinette. It all started when Beanie and I took the train out of Paris for an afternoon at Versailles this past Saturday. At first, I wasn't sure I even wanted to go. I'd been vacillating all week. Having been twenty years ago with my dad, and having been underwhelmed by the palace at that time, I really wasn't looking forward to going back and doing it all again. The only thing that had me second guessing my gut was that I knew Beanie would love to see a palace fit for a king and queen. But when my sister made the trek mid-week and came back and told us what she saw, I knew we had to go. 

So much has changed at Versailles in the last twenty years. For one, it has a great *museum* giving you background and a strong understanding on the history of the palace and the royal families that live there. More rooms are open for viewing today and some of the original furniture that was given away during the revolution has been brought back and returned to its original home. Not to mention the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's 150% mind-blowing Hamlet (or Hameau de la Reine) are all now open for touring, making it an absolute must see!

After spending time in the palace museum and familiarizing ourselves with everything, we got to tour the royal apartments, starting with the royal family's church. Imagine that!

The king's bedroom...

...and the queen's bedroom, where we were nearly trampled to death by a mob of tourists snapping selfies in front of the queen's bed.

Hall of Mirrors. 

Inside the palace was really the only place where we fought the crowds. Outside and beyond, we had plenty of room to move around. We took a tip from my sister and rented a golf cart to get around the grounds. At 30 euros an hour for rental, it was a bit painful. But it did allow us to see much more than we would have been able to see had we not. Thankfully an older German man offered to take this picture of us. It's one of my favorites. :)

I read somewhere that Marie Antoinette used to like to have blue ribbons tied around the necks of her sheep...while her people starved in the countryside! I'm looking forward to rewatching Sofia Coppola's movie on her, as well as some others I learned about during out visit. 

The Petite Tianon - the Queen's private retreat from the palace...located just a ten minute walk from the palace. Get it? Ten minutes!!

What's not to love about the children's goat drawn carriage?

And of course, wherever I go, I always love to see the kitchen!

Sprawling palaces and massive retreats aside, the absolute highlight of our trip to Versailles was seeing Marie's Hamlet, her fantasyland built in 1783 to resemble a rustic village in the countryside. She would come here with her children and friends to get away from the constraints of palace life, and to be more connected to nature. It is even more spectacular in the late spring and summer when everything is in bloom and the veggie gardens are well established.

Mind BLOWN! 

Beanie Goes Abroad - The Ticket Office at Château de Versailles

I have to believe the subject of this post is one you won't find easily on the internet, if at all. I'm curious to know how many people schlep to the palace of Louis', and get hung-up in guest services by choice, snapping shots of the newly remodeled ticket office and bookstore. I'd be happy to take the prize for such madness - I for one, thought it was all done brilliantly in its own right.

Had we been organized enough to buy our tickets ahead of time, or tricked into buying them early, down the street at the third party seller near the train station, I would have missed this magical space tucked quietly away off the front entrance of the palace. Once inside, I had to walk in and out of every room designated for sitting and waiting, purchasing tickets, and obtaining tour information. It was practically empty and I couldn't help but just fall in love with all the decor and how seamlessly modern touches were brought to this lavish and ornate palace. 

There were so many different wallpaper patterns that I lost count. I was curious to hear the story of their creation. Were the patterns new? Or were they in some way inspired by antique patterns already found inside the palace walls?

Each royal family that lived at Versailles was represented by giant, black silhouettes above the doorways. Anne D'Autriche had the most unfortunate profile of them all. 

I don't know the significance of this chicken graphic. Then again, I'm not sure I need to!

I just LOVE how Europeans fearlessly mix the old with new. In America is seems as though we are always aiming to preserve architecturally what little historical value we can scrape together. But not the Europeans. They take no issue in cutting holes in the tops of 100 year old buildings and installing glass domes, to give just one example.

King Louis XIV, the one most responsible for the expanse of Versailles, called himself The Sun King. You'll see lots of references to this throughout the palace, above are some modern graphics doing the same.

Beanie noticed the bathroom signage which caused us to give a collective, "Awwww!"

Then there was the gift store. With five rooms of creatively designed interiors, we joked about never wanting to leave. The kid's room was the best! I am personally a big sucker for books and, like my mom, love to wander through museum gift stores. I drooled over the collection of never-before-seen children's books on history and felt jilted when I couldn't fine them in English! ;)

We picked up this book for Beanie. It shows Barbie and Ken in couple costumes from Adam + Even, all the way up through history to modern times. Who cares that it's in French!? She loves the photos and even tries to decipher certain key words here and there. 

I have lots more to share on our day at Versailles. Stay tuned!

Beanie Goes Abroad - Wordless Wednesday

 

Beanie Goes Abroad

Beanie-Love, she will always be the middle child.

But this week...

...she gets to be the only child. :)

 

Beanie and I are in Paris this week. Three generations of women in the City of Lights: my mom, my oldest sister and her two daughters, plus Beanz and me. It all came about under dubious circumstances. *Someone* was pretty sure she had "three to five years to live", and so we did what you dream of doing with women of blood-relation, when you think someone is one their way out - we planned a blow-out trip to Paris. (As it turns out, said person was wrong in her self-diagnosis, but that good news didn't cause us to cancel our trip, our celebration of life, with three generations of women. No, no. We were all in.)

These photos were taken yesterday, on our third day here in France. Beanie and I were on our own. We had just broken away from a less-than-thrilling visit to the Musee de Cluny where we didn't learn as much about medieval life as we had hoped. After thirty minutes of artifacts and tapestries, we blew across the street to Luxembourg Gardens for some seriously memorable playtime, as well as some cake for dessert. Marie Antoinette would have been proud!

Parlez-vous français?

Memorial Day

Thank you to all the brave men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. Without the sacrifices of too many, days like today might not have been possible for any of us. We are forever grateful and hope this weekend was good to you and yours as well!

Wordless Wednesday

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West

We returned from Scottsdale on Wednesday night. It was all sooo good - seeing a great new town, checking out an exciting new renovation project (think Melrose Place meets Southwest adobe architecture), having lots of free time to explore, and getting to do it all with my mom. I love coming home after just a few days away and 1.) wondering if my kids haven't each grown an inch and 2.) seeing how much my veggie garden HAS grown!

Our last morning in Scottsdale was a real cooker. At the recommendation of a friend we took a guided tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West (a school of architecture) at 10:00AM and regardless of the timing, it was so incredibly hot! I had thought that I might be able to skip this visit - did I really want to tour another FLW building? Did I really want to learn more about this genius who up and left his wife and six kids?

Turns out, I did!

These sorts of tours rarely disappoint, and I need to commit that to memory. There is just no substitute for all the great stories and details that come with visiting an historical landmark such as this. I could spend hours putting it all down (and I wish I had the time because I will probably forget most of it by next week), but I need to get breakfast on the table now.

I now want to go tour our own FLW masterpiece - The Marin County Civic Center. Even though I've walked through it a hundred times, and driven past it thousands, I know there are some incredible stories about its design and construction that will be well worth the trip. Who wants in?!

Fabulous Friday

I realized this week that I wasn't clear in defining my dessert criteria in last Friday's post. (Not that anyone is losing sleep over this one, but...) It's not that I will only eat a fruit dessert if it's in the form of a crisp/cobbler/crumble, it's that I'll only eat a fruit dessert that doesn't contain chocolate if it is in the form of a crisp/cobbler/crumble.

Because I love fruit with chocolate! (Unless that fruit is an orange, of course.)

This all dawned on me when I remembered this other incredible dessert that was also served at the Shrine of the Rhubarb Coffee Cake (aka A Clean Well-Lighted Cafe, c. 1990) -- the equally intoxicating Raspberry Tart. I know it doesn't sound too fancy, I mean we see fruit tarts everywhere, right? But this tart was special because underneath its layer of French buttercream was a thin layer of dark chocolate. Simple yet brilliant.

So I gave it a shot today and I will say it tasted great to us considering all things. Like...considering I chose to use gluten-free flour in the crust (super crumbly)...considering I used too much chocolate (thick layer hard to break)...considering my vanilla cream layer jelled up before I could pour it into tart (think school pick-up), considering all these near disasters, it still tasked great. It didn't cut great, it didn't hold together great, but all the flavors came together well, and we loved it. This is definitely one worth me working on. In the meantime, all you need to take away from this is that every fruit tart could benefit greatly from a 5oz. layer of dark chocolate in it. Oh, and that a molded Eames chair can also serve as an excellent backdrop for a colorful dessert.

Happy Friday!

 

Wordless Wednesday

Newborn Goats at Toluma Farms

I had a super fun outing this weekend with the little kids while Daddy coached the big guy's baseball game. I was so sorry we weren't all together for this one...few experiences can compete with getting to hold one and two day old baby goats. And the only thing better for me than getting outside and onto a farm is doing it at a farm where cool furniture lines the wrap-around porch of the farmhouse. (Not to mention, there was an Airstream trailer in the neighboring field). Bliss.







I learned about this opportunity by going to Marin Organic's website and searching their upcoming events. (These is a super cool dairy tour coming up on the 18th). Toluma Farms is a young goat farm where they recently began making cheese. April and May are obviously the best times to visit, the surrounding hillsides are completely green and everywhere you turn, kids and lambs are dropping from mamas. Below is a picture of a sheep we watched cleaning her lamb, born in the middle of the night. (We took the opportunity to make a Jordache Jeans ad out of it.)













There were so many added treats to our visit - an enthusiastic volunteer that filled us in on all sorts of additional information, and in-ground trampoline the kids loved, tractor rides provided by the owner and goat cookies frosted with goats milk frosting!







I love these sorts of opportunities offered by some of our local organizations like Marin Organic and Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). If you are local to the Bay Area, I'd encourage you to familiarize yourself with their websites and to get on their email list to learn about events like this one.

Cinco de Mayo Party

1. She dressed herself and wore it well

2. Taco platter from our local supermercado

3. In intimate circles he is known affectionately (and respectfully) as Señor Thomas

Cinco de Mayo and el Supermercado

Hola! It's been a while, I know. I am finally emerging from a curious funk that plauged me for over a week. This will likely sound like a lame excuse but I've been exhausted, and for no more reasons that the ones we all face everyday. I was unreasonably groggy, like jacked-up on elephant tranquilizers groggy, first trimester groggy. It was awful and I'm not sure why. I finally crawled to the store and purchased some iron and B12. I don't know if that was what did the trick, but I'm all better now.

And no, I'm not pregnant.

I have so much I want to share! Friday's dessert, final thoughts on our trip to Mexico, our trip to a local goat farm, my spring garden - it's all on my radar. But right now we are getting ready to head to our friend's house where we will be having a Mexican Spring Break Reunion Party. I am in charge of re-creating the coconut smoothies we all became addicted to while in PV last month. 

The withdrawls have been brutal. This gentleman told me on our last day just how the hotel made these incredible drinks (they basically double as milkshakes/desserts): piña colada mix, ice, shredded coconut and coconut cream to finish. I'm going to give it my best shot today.  Fingers crossed.

While preparing for today's task, I thought it the perfect opportunity to go explore our local supermercado - Mi Pueblo. It was super cool and such a fun experience for the kids too. They loved seeing the unusual foods like cactus and pig parts, hot pink cookies and the worlds largest display of hot sauces!

This guy was over the moon when he discovered a horchata mix that would allow him to enjoy one of his all time favorite drinks by just adding water. Imagine that! (Although I did warn him it probably wouldn't taste nearly as good as the real deal.)

I will hopefully get some good pictures this afternoon of the prepared spread our friends are picking up from Mi Pueblo. Until then, here are some pictures of last years Mexican Spring Break Reunion Party which our travel companions also hosted on Cinco de Mayo.

We dined on fresh fish tacos and horchata made from scratch.

Fabulous Friday

I could go on and on about my affection for the Rhubarb Coffee Cake that was a signature dessert of A Clean Well-Lighted Cafe, just off the same-named bookstore in what used to be Larkspur Landing. Anyone remember that spot?!?  I waited tables there my last year of high school and that dessert played a large role in the teenage years of my emotional development. While I tried to recreate it once, nothing will compare to my seventeen-year-old-former-self's memory. Nothing.

I could also go on and on for equal time about how little I care for fruit in my dessert. It's a rare colorful dessert that could steal my attention from...say, an all brown dessert. And orange in my chocolate? No thank you. A cherry on my sundae? Now that's just gross. The only exception I can make in the fruity dessert department is for the crisp/cobbler/crumble (and btw - that Rhubarb Coffee Cake totally qualified).  Any warm fruit dish topped with a brown sugar oatmeal mixture AND a scoop of vanilla ice cream is as colorful as I can get in the later hours of the day.

It goes without saying that Ina Garten knows how to make a fruit crumble and when I came across her strawberry RHUBARB crisp recipe, I was happily transported back to 1990. It should also go without saying that it is now 2013 which is why I made this dessert cutting the sugar in half. I still enjoyed the heck out of every last spoonful. Here is my modified version:

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (reduced sugar)

Ingredients

4 cups fresh rhubarb, 1-inch diced (4 to 5 stalks)
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, if large
3/4 cups granulated sugar (original calls for 1-1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed (original calls for 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced (original calls for 12 tablespoons)
Vanilla ice cream, for serving (Haagen Daz is our favorite)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit. Pour the mixture into an 8-by-11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt and oatmeal. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

Fabulous Friday

I love me some Friday mornings. It's just me, this little guy, a tandem bike ride to the store where he's throwing out prom queen waves to everyone we pass, and then back home for some cake making.

Wordless Wednesday

Dinner on the Beach, La Palapa

Wandering Old Town Puerto Vallarta

After our jaunt into PV for lunch at Joe Jack's Fish Shack, the women and men parted ways for several hours. Dads and boys headed back to the hotel, moms and daughters walked the streets of old town looking for adventure, cheap take-homes and ice cream. (Did that sound dirty?)

One of us (with cute red braids) was lucky enough to get a private lesson in quesadilla making from a sweet man who took to her good looks.  She was so excited for the experience.

With a short list of things to buy (shark tooth necklace, bobble-head turtles, Mexican dresses, etc.) we headed north, crossed a small bridge and turned left into the PV’s outdoor market.

This Kid...

Joe Jack's Fish Shack - Part III

It's spring break and for the second year in a row, we are in Puerto Vallarta with friends. (When you have a recipe for success, why deviate?) With a third family in the mix this year, we are having so much fun sharing with them our favorite spots and activities. Eight kids all line-up in age and we couldn't ask for a more perfect set-up. Yesterday we took time out from our all-inclusive, piled into two large taxi vans (there are fourteen of us total!) and headed into PV's Old Town where we took lunch at Joe Jack's Fish Shack. (To get a little back story on JJ's and me, or why this post is called Part III, click here.)

Oh Joe, we love you so. My personal, absolute favorite dish at Joe Jack's is the Fish Tacos 'Baha'. If you are feeling *good* you can take yours grilled. I was feeling *naughty* so I ordered mine battered and fried. No regrets!

The chips and guac are some of the best we've ever had! P. had the octopus because he's just that kinda guy. His wife, B., is one of the best friends I'll ever have. Here is what she looks like in a wide-brimmed black hat, on a Mexican roof top, with the sun behind her back. Hay que bonita!

P. and I are both photography hobbyists and enthusiasts. He's big on the technical stuff which I envy. My brain is not wired to receive such information. ;)

Shrimp tacos for him, fish tacos for Miss Frijoles. We ordered way too much food not realizing that each plate promised to overflow with three giant tacos each!

Get on track to the shack if you are ever in PV. Make sure to make reservations as the tables are limited. The shopping in the surrounding blocks is phenomenal with boutique stores selling interesting jewelry, clothing and homewares (although mostly at Amercan prices). I'll post about our jaunt to the colorful outdoor market next. Stay turned.