Unusual Birthday Celebrations

January is the biggest birthday month in our family.  My granddaughter Elsa, daughter-in-law Deborah, sister Madeleine, and son Brian all have birthdays in January.  We were talking at the dog park a while ago about how everyone celebrates their birthday and some of the unusual things we have done.  I had to share what my son Phil did for his 30th birthday.

He wanted to have an old fashioned roast pig, so here's what he did.  He bought the pig the day before the party (already dead and ready to be roasted), and put it in the bathtub in cold water overnight.  The next day, he got his fire going, and roasted that pig.  With it he served delicious baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread.  The pork was the best I've ever tasted.  Ron and I were happy to be there to celebrate his birthday in this most unusual way.  He had about 20 friends there, and we devoured that pig.  I thought this was "so Phil."  Most of us would cringe at the thought of having a pig roast, but that's just the kind of thing I would expect from him.  A great time was had by all.  Have you got any unusual birthdays to tell us about?

Cook's Country Recipes

When I've got nothing to do on a Saturday I turn on Cook's Country.  It really is one of the best cooking shows on TV.  Not only does it show you step by step how to make a particular dish, but it also gives you cooking tips.  I also love the feature that tests cooking equipment.  The show I saw today determined that Kitchen Aid slow cooker is the best on the market.  Good to know.

Today's show was about Chinese chow mein.  The finished product looked so good I wanted to go out for  Chinese right away.  No, I'll wait until next week and make it at home.   Here are two cooking tips I came away with from today's show.  First, in order to keep chicken in the stir fry from becoming dry and tough, marinate it for 15 minutes before cooking in a little baking soda and water.  Then rinse, and pat dry before cooking.  Also, instead of just coating the chicken in corn starch to thicken the mixture, mix the corn starch with a little water and then coat the chicken pieces.  This will give you enough corn starch to thicken the sauce, but it won't become clumpy.   Below is a modification of the Chicken chow mein recipe from Cook's Country.

                                         Chicken Chow Mein

2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

2 stalks celery, cut on the bias

1/2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

3 shitake mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, cut thin and divided into green and white

2 cups bean sprouts

3 T. minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

2 T. rice wine vinegar

4c. fresh Chinese egg noodles (available in supermarkets)

                                        Sauce

rice wine vinegar, about 1/4 cup

3 T. hoison sauce

3 T. soy sauce

Prepare fresh Chinese egg noodles by cooking 2-4 minutes in boiling water, drain and rinse, then mix with 2T. sesame oil to prevent sticking.  Set aside

Prep veggies and chicken, which should be soaked in baking soda and water mixture for 15 minutes, then rinsed and dried, then coated with mixture of corn starch and water.  In a non stick pan or wok, heat 2 T. vegetable oil until almost smoking.  Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add veggies except for bean sprouts and green onions, the thickest ones first.  Next, add ginger, garlic and rice vinegar.  Add bean sprouts, then sauce mixture.  Cook everything together for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.  Finally, add egg noodles and toss to coat mixture.

You can vary this recipe by using any veggies you have on hand.  Zucchini and broccoli also work well.  Enjoy this authentic Chinese chow mein in the comfort of your own home.

Who Are The "Ladies In White?"

The Ladies in White are an activist group in Cuba.  They were formed in 2003 to protest their friends and family members being held as political prisoners.  They go to Mass every Sunday, dressed in white, and then walk the streets of Havana protesting.  White symbolizes peace.  Government officials in Havana think they are supported by the U.S. government, but there is no real evidence of this.

President Obama recently visited Cuba, the first president in almost 90 years to do so.  There was much debate over whether that was a good thing or not, and I am not prepared to discuss  that.  I do, however, feel that if we are going to have diplomatic and trade relations with the island of Cuba, we must go there and meet and talk.  That was the mission of President Obama.  He also used the visit to speak directly to the people of Cuba, without any censorship.  That's a first.  He also was able to talk to several activists.  It doesn't think that the Castro regime was at all bothered by the U.S. delegation coming to visit.  A few days before the visit, numerous activists were rounded up and imprisoned.  Their failure to allow protest will take time to reverse.  It is not our place to force a country to comply to our way of doing things.  However, when human rights are abused, and there are international laws about this, we, and the world, must speak up.

Hopefully the Ladies in White will continue their protests until all political prisoners are released.  Obama's trip to Cuba is a step forward, but real change will take time.  The Castros have been in power for well over 50 years.  We can't expect things to change overnight.

A Tour of Old Vista

I had never been to Vista until we moved to Ocean Hills.  Main Street, in old Vista, is just 10 minutes away from where we live now, and there's more to see and do there than you can possibly imagine.  My first introduction to Vista was when Regina took me to lunch at Curbside, probably the best breakfast and lunch place in the area.  Next, someone told me about Urbn Coal Fired Pizza, which has been my go to restaurant when I need a pizza fix.  Ron and I love the thin, crispy crust, and the fantastic salad.  I decided I needed to explore Vista a little more, and maybe take my Newcomers there one day.  That's exactly what I did.

Vista was incorporated in 1963.  Before that it consisted of 19 square miles of land divided into three areas that were originally land grants.  It became the "Avocado capital of the world " in the 1950's, and David Brinkley named it one of the top 30 places to live in America.  That really surprised me.

More recently Vista has attracted artists and beer brewers.  On Main Street there are now three breweries, and I suspect another is being built.  Art and artists abound in Vista.  There are many art studios, dance studios and theatre groups in Vista, but it was the art that got my attention.  There are murals everywhere.  The most interesting mural is a 561 foot mural done on the back of numerous buildings on Main Street.  The mural depicts the history of Vista, since the time it was inhabited by the Luisiano Indians, to the 1950's when they hosted the Vistacado Parade.  It shows all the businesses that flourished in Vista in the 1950's.   Most buildings have murals built on the side or back of them, and on most streets you will find many sculptures done by local artists, and many kites.  The kite program started several years ago to promote local artists.  Each year local artists compete in the kite contest to win a spot on the streets of Vista.  It's a great way for the city to promote art and to recognize some of the great artists living there.

I took a group of Newcomers there, 25 in all, in early March, and most were surprised and delighted to learn more about Vista.  Our lunch at Urbn was delicious, and I'm now looking for a new adventure to take this group of interesting, enthusiastic women to explore.

Natural Food Expo Part 11

More food finds from the natural food show included Theo, a chocolate company.  They make a salted almond bar, lemon chocolate bar, and raspberry coconut bar, just to name a few.  I'm not a chocolate lover, but I tried the salted almond bar, and it was delicious.  They have bars in milk and dark chocolate.  Perfect Sense, which I mentioned in my last blog, also makes side dishes using kamut with chia and lentils.  Sadly, there were no samples available.  Everyone knows and loves Stacey's, who make delicious pita chips.  Now add bagel chips and pretzel thins to their line of products.  I loved the bagel chips.  They're great to eat right out of the bag, or with a dip.  Light Life is another company making plant based meat.  They were sampling sausage.  It looked like the real thing, and if I hadn't know it wasn't sausage, I never would have guessed.

We were getting tired at this point, so we went back to the Boulder Brands booth, where they had chairs and even a couch to relax on.  We spent 5 minutes with Phil before he dashed off to a meeting, and then took a short rest.  Our bags were full, so we left them at the booth, and started anew with empty bags.  We stopped at Food Should Taste Good, a company making chips.  Multigrain, guacamole, jalapeno and sweet potato were just some of the varieties, all excellent.  Kind, my favorite energy bar, is now making breakfast bars and more varieties of energy bars.  Pineapple coconut, cherry apple, apricot pear and banana pineapple with kale and spinach are some of their new products.  Crofters makes organic spreads like jam, that are so tasty.  Cherry mango and blackberry strawberry are just two of their delicious flavors.

Tates cookies have developed several new cookies.  Look for them in your supermarket.  They are sooo good.  Grecian Delights is a Greek food companies making swirls in apple and cinnamon and cheese and spinach.  they little straws that are flavored and swirled.  They make a great appetizer.  Additionally, they make tzadaki and Greek yogurt dip.  A new drink called BLK, is like a black lemonade.  Something in the process turns it black, and it looks very strange.  It tastes like lemonade, but it's black.  They say it is loaded with anti oxidants.  Stoneyfield yogurt was sampling some new flavors.  I tried a whole milk plain with honey.  It was fantastic.  We all agreed this was the best yogurt we had eaten all day.  The last product I want to tell you about is from a company called Pitaya +.  The base of the product is dragon fruit mixed with other ingredients.  It's in a powdered form, and is mixed with other ingredients to make a smoothie.  It was delicious and the most beautiful bright pink color imaginable.  It is used by companies like Jamba Juice as the base of their smoothies, but is also available to the public.

I saw many pickle companies this year, and other companies making pickled or fermented vegetables.  One was fermenting beets, kim chi and cabbage.  This is an acquired taste, but pickling and fermenting are getting popular.  Coconut continues to be popular in water, tea and lemonade drinks.  Unusual grains like kamut and spelt are also popular.  Seaweed seems to have waned.  I don't think I saw any seaweed products.  Bacon also seemed to be absent from anything I saw.  Snack crackers and energy bars are very popular, and yogurt, with different flavors and additions is more popular than ever.  Natural foods are here to stay.  Buzz words like GMO and locally sourced abound.  People are willing to pay a little more to know what they're eating.  Until next year, that's all from the Natural Food Expo.




The picture on this blog is of the number of plastic bags ONE person uses over the course of a year.  I thought this display made quite a statement.

Hooping In Solana Beach

Fran and I walk whenever  we can on Saturday mornings, and we've seen some interesting things on our walks.  Several years ago we saw a woman who had organized a Meet Up, for those interested in hooping. They met on the grass next to the Self Realization Temple in Encinitas.   What is hooping, you ask?  It's a variation on the old hula hoop.  These hoops are weighted, and of varying sizes.  You twirl them around your waist (the easiest thing to do),  then as you progress your upper body, arms and legs get into the act, and you are doing a full body workout.  It's not easy, but with the music going and people around encouraging you, the time goes by quickly.  Two years later, the same Meet Up group has moved to Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.  They meet there on Sundays, from 10-12.  The group leader provides hoops and instruction, or she has hoops available for purchase.

I always figure that any activity that you do that doesn't feel like exercise is great to include in your  repetoire of activities.  Hooping is one of those activities.  You just turn on the music, spin the hoop, and away you go.  Stop by Fletcher Cove one Sunday morning and have some fun.  Men, women and children can all do it.  Last time I was there, there was a 5 year old twirling three hoops at once, and looked like she'd been doing it all her life.  If she can do it, we can do it! 

An Afternoon In Temecula

For my sister's birthday in January, I decided to call her and invite her to meet me in Temecula for lunch.  We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and with her living in Lake Elsinore, Temecula seemed like the perfect place to meet.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time together.  I had been to the wineries several years ago, and to an olive farm, but had never really explored old Temecula.  It's a cute little town with lots of souvenir shops, dress shops, olive oil shops, and restaurants.  There are so many wonderful restaurants that I can't wait to go there again.

Madeleine and I  settled on Havana Kitchen.  We both like ethnic food, and since leaving Los Angeles, I haven't had too many opportunities to eat Cuban food, and I imagine she hasn't either.  I don't think Lake Elsinore has many (any) Cuban restaurants.  Havana Kitchen is a restaurant, bakery, and coffee house.  All of it is delicious.  Here's some of what we ate.

Havana Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's casual dining, you order at the register, get a number, and the server brings the food to your table.  Madeleine ordered breakfast, a kind of Cuban sandwich with chicken and cheese and topped with a fried egg.  It was delicious, but so big she could only eat half.  I ordered a traditional Cuban sandwich, with pork, cheese, pickles, on grilled bread.  Just wonderful, served with a side of black beans.  The restaurant also served some good looking salads, and some bowls.  They would take a serving of rice and top it with things like steak and onions, or brisket and veggies.  Perhaps the star of the restaurant is dessert.  They make a coconut flan and a traditional flan.  Additionally, they make some individual tarts, like lemon and pecan, that were delicious.  No, I didn't eat them all, but knew from the look how delicious they were.  Havana Kitchen also offers Cuban espresso, many mixed coffee drinks and cold fruit drinks.

The old town of Temecula looks similar to an old western town, with lots of wood structures.  There are lots of fun shops to browse in, selling jewelry, scarves, men and women's clothing, olive oil, housewares and other fun stuff.  I felt lucky to get out of town without buying a single thing.

Next time you have a free day, try old Temecula.  You'll enjoy a day of browsing and fine dining.  Madeleine and I enjoyed the day and our time together, and plan to  do it again soon.