Monday, January 23, 2012

Raindrops keep falling on my head..I hope!


Rain drops from the clouds and onto trees,
Down the tree trunks and off the leaves.
Down a mountain, into a brook,
Past a chipmunk in a nook.
Into a pond, off a log.
On top of a turtle and onto a frog.
Onto roads, onto the grass,
Onto trains and trucks that pass.
On top of bridges, cars and boats.
Even onto people’s coats.
Onto houses and my windowpane.
I just love to watch the drops,
The drips and drops of rain.

- E.B. (1938- ) MotherGooseCaboose.



San Luis Obispo

well, actually

CALIFORNIA,

has had such a dry winter


Normally

the hills in January

are

lush and green


not this year…


until

yesterday

THE RAIN.

it came.

cool

lovely

fresh

IMG_0723

the creeks filling up again

and

little animals,

well, turkeys anyway

came out to play

IMG_0725

this
babbling
creek
is at the
foot
of the
hiking trail
to
IMG_0723

beautiful



p.s.
Hwy. 1
just south of
Big Sur
by Lime Kiln
is closed
due to rock slides
from the rains
..take 101 when traveling between Salinas and SLO


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy Birthday, H & P!

Two years ago
we
said
good-bye
to our
big
irreverent
aka Wally.
PC250039

We miss him still!
154

as the old cliche
states
"when one door closes another one opens"

today
we
sing
*HapPy BIrThDaY*
to
our
two
two- year old
Welsh Terriers
Phinny and Huckleberry!!!
IMG_0712

I
decided
for their birthday
to bake
them
homemade
dog cookies
(if they like them, we will be serving these
special
cookies
to
our dog friends at
Petit Soleil)

The recipe is
easy...
all in the
food processor
...roll out
the dough
and cut into shapes special for your doggie!
IMG_0701

So easy
and healthy
with
parsley for good breath!
IMG_0713

Huck got a bit
of the
cookie dough
IMG_0705

as did
Phinny
IMG_0703

as did
their sister, Nottie
IMG_0709

the cookies
bake up
nice and crunchy
IMG_0714

I could barely
get a picture -
the boys were
SO
excited for
their birthday treats!
IMG_0716

Phinny smiled
IMG_0698

so did Huck
IMG_0718

and
Nottie
grinned, too!
IMG_0720

They LOVED the treats
and we
WILL
begin
to have them
at
Petit
for
our special
four legged friends!

(here's the recipe
so
you can make them, too)

Petit
Dog Cookies
...
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. parsley
1/4 c. carrot chunks
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 Tbs. oil
1/4 c. water

In the food processor, using the metal blade,
grind up the parsley and carrots.
Add
the remaining ingredients
and pulse
until a
ball is formed.
Empty out onto waxed paper
and
roll out dough
to about 1/2" - 3/4" thickness.
Cut into desired shapes.
BAKE at 350 c.
for 25 - 30 minutes.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Mother Nature's Seaside Gallery


5

miles

north

of

San Simeon,

the southern end

of

Big Sur,

is

a

a half mile

of

Mother Nature's

creative

artistry

_MG_0061
Mother Nature
put
quite
a sense
of humor
into her craft

She
created
massive blobs,
with fins
and tails
and
big ugly noses...
and
she
called
them
"Elephant Seals"
_MG_0035

There
is about a half mile
of
boardwalk
along the beach
where
you can
enjoy
Mother Nature's
gallery
quite
up close
IMG_0687

baby
Elephant Seals
are
born during
winter months
here
in the
Central Coast
_MG_0009

there
is
a baby
alongside
virtually every female...

_MG_0008

.....along
the expanse of
Elephant Seal beach
_MG_0006
Mother Nature
was not
so
kind to her
female
seals
as
their life is
basically
grow -mate -give birth - nurse - mate - give birth - nurse ...
but then
those
babies
are so darn cute
that I guess it is all worth it
_MG_0043

and those
blobberous
(is that a word?)
males
they
just eat
grow to be massive
mate
eat
fight
and mate
_MG_0029


and chase females
IMG_0690
_MG_0023
Mother Nature
does
provide such
a beautiful playground
for
her
creations
..
lots
of
cold, clean water
to play
Elephant Seal games
in
warm sunshine to sleep in
fish to eat
and humans to keep the playground well protected
_MG_0054
You can
spend
hours
watching
the
hundreds
of
Elephant Seals...
the babies squawk
as they
play,
the bulls
growl
as they fight for
their
ALPHA status

they flip sand
and
scoot,
dive in and out
of the water
and then
all snuggle
together
and
warm themselves in the sun

we
took
it all
in.......
warmed our faces
in the sun
breathed
the fresh sea air

and
took in
Mother Nature's glory



IMG_0693
heading
back south
we
stopped
for lunch
at
Moonstone Beach
(near Cambria)
IMG_0694

lots
of good food
on the menu
IMG_0691

and
really delicious
grilled fish tacos
(the salmon was perfectly delicious!)
IMG_0696

and
the view?
spectacular!
IMG_0697

The Elephant Seals
can be seen year around -
so worth
a visit
..
check here
for any special events

Saturday, January 7, 2012

We delight in the
beauty of the butterfly,
but rarely admit the changes it has gone through
to achieve that beauty.
Maya Angelou


I
often
forget
what
a beautiful
place we live in
I
mean
it's
January
and it's
80 degrees
in SLO

rumor
has
it
that
it is
77
at the beach
a fish taco day,
I think!
and
let's
go find the
Butterfly Grove!


Brad's
of Pismo Beach
IMG_0645

big menu
of
oak pit grilled
meats
and seafood
and
fish tacos
IMG_0640

the fish tacos
were actually
broiled
(not grilled)
rock cod
with
tortillas
cabbage, avocado cream and salsa
good!
especially
in the
warm
sun-filled patio
IMG_0644

John had
his
fave....
fried scallops and chips
Monster scallops!!
IMG_0642

From
the Pismo beach pier
you
walk
along
the beach
about
1/4
mile
south
IMG_0647

(or run)
IMG_0648

and
head
inland
through
the Eucalyptus trees,
and
there you see
IMG_0670

the
Monarch Butterflies
arrive
like clockwork
in October
every year
IMG_0668
and stay until
about
the
second
week of
February
IMG_0667

they
are magical

flitting
in the trees

silent
and
perfectly designed

Butterflies are self propelled flowers.
R. H. Heinlein
_MG_0035

Not quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures. ~Elizabeth Goudge
_MG_0036

hundreds
flying
in the soft breeze
and
hundreds
clustered
IMG_0669

like this
_MG_0033

you can
mistake
them for leaves
IMG_0662

until
they
flutter
and move
to another
branch
IMG_0661

IMG_0658
lunch,
a walk
(or run)
along
Pismo Beach
and a
visit
with
the butterflies
is
a glorious
way
to spend
a
winter's day
in
the Central Coast

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Memories of CAKE

A
New Year
always
conjures up
memories
of
the past

I
suppose
that
was
what
ol' Robbie Burns
had in
mind
with

and
why
the song is sung
on
New Year's Eve

he
wrote
that it was
a
time to remember
times gone by


I
had
a
"cake memory"
yesterday
(January 2, 2010)

the
memory
was
of a
cake
my mom
used to bake

my mom
didn't
really
bake,
or
like to bake,
but
she
often
made
this
cake
AND
I
LOVED
IT!

...
this
cake
was
fragrant
with
nutmeg,
crunchy
with
walnuts
and
oh, so moist

and
I
remember
it being
Armenian
or
middle Eastern

Gotta
love
GOOGLE
I
typed in
"nutmeg cake"
and
"Armenian cake"
and all sorts of words
hoping
to spark
the
"cake memory"
and

voila`

the memory
came
alive
in a recipe!

sweet
sweet
success!

the
"memory cake"
is
from
George Mardikian's
1944 cookbook


exactly!!
(I remembered the cookbook!)

My
folks
used to
enjoy
Omar Khayyam's restaurant
in
San Francisco
for
special
occasions

I think I was there once or twice


and
my mom
must
have
snagged
the
cookbook

I
found
the
recipe
"All Purpose Cake"

and then,
I
explored
and
found
an
similar
version
of
the
all-purpose
"memory cake"
****


Annie
(aka Dottie)
tweaked
with
the changes
baked
the
cake
for
Petit Soleil' s
breakfast guests
AND
the
cake
is
AS GOOD
if not better
than
the
original
IMG_1905
Here's the recipe:
1 c. raisins
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 stick cold butter, but in cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Cover raisins with hot water and soak for 15 minutes to plump. Drain and pat dry.
Heat oven to 325 f. and spray spring form pan lightly with Pam.
Combine sugar, flour, butter and salt in food processor and pulse only until crumbly.
Measure 2 c. of mixture and spread evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down to form a mock crust.
Mix baking soda into sour cream.
Mix remaining flour mixture with sour cream, egg, nutmeg and raisins. Spread evenly over crust and top with chopped walnuts.
Bake for 50-60 minutes



it
was
so fun
that
Annie
(aka Dottie)
baked my
"memory cake"
..
I
do
believe
my
Scottish
mom
was
working
through
her
for
auld lang sine

IMG_1908