Day Tripping

A

while ago

I

shared

a

day trip

up the coast

from 

SLO

for a visit

with

the 

gargantuan

Sea Elephants

On that

gorgeous

day

we

had

a 

late lunch

on 

Moonstone Beach

On

this day,

Barbara

and I

day tripped

to

Cambria,

a

"hobbit-like"

village

just south

of the

Sea Elephants

and

about

one hour

north

of SLO

we 

hadn't

been 

to 

Robin's

in 

years..

and it

was

as

delicious

as we both 

remembered

Robin's

is

the 

first

of the

brilliant

restaurant

trilogy

of 

Robin and Shanney

(of 2. Novo and  3. Luna Red fame in SLO)

they

know

really good

food

really good service

and they know

how to 

run 

a

really good restaurant

 

We

decided to 

lunch

in

the

covered back patio

on

the 

fabulous

mosaic tables

Robin's

menu

is

so

diverse

…

curries

 interesting burgers and sandwiches

salmon bisque soup

exotic salads

and

fish tacos

although

I

usually

don't love

battered and fried fish

this

batter

was

light

and

slightly crispy

and

the halibut was moist and delicious

inside a 

soft corn tortilla

with

fresh mango salsa

and

a piquant

and

tasty

 jicama slaw

mmmmmmmm

after

lunch

we

strolled

around

the back

of 

Robin's

to

a 

magical

garden

dressed

with

hollyhocks

and honeysuckle

lavender

nasturtiums

and

roses

ready

for a 

garden party

bridal shower

or 

a

wedding

Across

the street

from

Robin's

is 

Heart's Ease

I used to take

 Annie 

there

when she was

about 3

(20 years ago…)

and Barbara took Nattie there

for

their

annual

Fairie Festival

Heart's Ease

is

fragrant

with

fresh and dried herbs

home-dried potpourri

and

infused oils

charming 

little cards

and gifts

scented soaps

and 

lotions

and 

back

behind the store

the

garden

is 

glorious

and

filled

with

fairie

villages

and

and

even

tiny

fairies

I

made

a few 

wishes

I 

do believe!

next-door

is

a

gallery

filled

with

amazing

art creations

colorful

whimSical

and

fanciful

creations

for

 home and garden

which

pretty

much

sums up

Cambria

...

ColorFuL 

whimsical

fanciful

oh!

and

delicious

Cambria by the Sea

Hwy 1

1 hour north

of San Luis Obispo

Blondies ….with lemon

Lemons.

Love them.

Delicious

in

just 

about

anything

I 

grabbed

a 

few

sun-warmed

fragrant

Meyer lemons

from 

my friend

Sandy's tree

(click on link above for another couple of lemon recipes)

a

and

found a recipe

for

Lemon Blondies

that

was

SO

easy

that 

I 

threw

it together

in 

my mixer

and

spread

the batter out in my pan

and looked over to 

see

the 
lemons
still on my
kitchen counter

I forgot

to add the 

lemon juice

AND

the lemon zest

(the key ingredients)

to the batter

mental note:

when baking,

1.  slow down

2.  don't watch Ellen at the same time

3.  save the glass of wine for later

hmmmmm
what to do?

the lemon blondies
 would
 NOT
be
very good
without lemon
                                   would they?

I couldn't

 exactly

remix

the 

ingredients

so

 I

 baked

the 

non-lemon blondies

and

fresh 

out of the oven

I

poked
a

whole bunch
of

 holes

in the

hot "blondies"

(with a wood skewer)

and

added

a 

Meyer lemon glaze

that

infused

the

hot "blondies"

to

make them really

lemon-y

and they
were
perfect!
light,
and gooey
and

..
lemon-y perfection!

Here's my

Blondies with Lemon
Recipe
…..
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c.  sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. melted and cooled butter
3 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
(zest from 1 Meyer lemon
and
2 TBS. fresh squeezed juice
from that lemon)

350 degrees
9'x13' pan

Whisk together the dry ingredients,  set aside.
Mix together the remaining ingredients
(you may forget the lemon, if you like)
and add
the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients

Spread batter in 9"x13" pan
and bake for about
30 minutes.

If you forgot to add the lemon:
take the
hot blondies
out
of the oven
and poke
holes
all over the top

whisk together
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
zest of one Meyer lemon
3 TBS. fresh squeezed juice from that lemon
and pour the
mixture
all over the
top
spreading it so that
the
glaze goes into
all the holes

Let
the
Lemon Blondies cool.

Serve
with a
celebratory
glass
of Bubbly!
!!

If you added

the 

lemon zest and juice

as the recipe

called

for

no need

to poke holes 
or

make the 

lemon glaze

        

A Hike to Kick Your Butt

Mother's Day

is 

MY DAY!

never mess with
MY
day

after
losing
two games
of Jenga

and
enjoying
a glass of
Andrew's
first batch
of
home brewed
beer

we
drove
to
Montana de Oro
for a
Mother's Day beach hike
we started about 1 mile UP from the beach
at
the
Rim Trail head

Our goal was
the
Morro Bay Estuary
south of
Morro Rock

this
time of year
a
good
portion
of
 beach access
is closed
because
the
Snowy Plover is
 nesting



the Plover
must have
been
 hiding

happy

energy

after

the

sandy downhill

jaunt

we

even

found

friends

to 

capture

a 

Mother's Day

memento

the

day

was

foggy

but warm

lots of happy little sand pipers

and

sadly

lots of

trash

Andrew found a floating fish line
that he named 

Floaty

(and dragged it with him the entire hike)

Public Service Announcement

…….

balloons

plastic bottles

plastic bags

plastic containers

all 

along 

the beach

we collected a huge assortment

to recycle

there

were

so many 

mylar balloons

to make

a long

hiking story 

short

we went

about four miles

north

along the

peaceful

uncrowded

 beach

turned around

(with our collection of trash)

and

happily

hiked back

to

the 

beach trail head
(at the bottom of the hill)

I might

remind you

….

what goes down

has to 

go 

back 

up

going

back up

the

sandy

trail

to our

car

was
so
gnarly

(I thought I was going to die)

(couldn't even stop my momentum to take any pictures)

alas,

we
all

survived
(even me)

here are

just

a few

of our

beach treasures
(styrofoam things etc)

 Floaty
and
shells
 and
sand dollars
 (most broke on the hike back)

It

was 

a 

wonderful

Mother's Day!

I inhaled

the

 day

with

my

family

and

survived

the

ghastly

sandy 

uphill

trek

of 

The Rim Trail

at

 Montana de Oro State Beach
P.s.  there are many 
many
other 
easy


medium easy


and


difficult hikes


as well as


Horseback riding
bike routes


tide pools
and 
anything
and
everything 
involving
Nature
at her best at
 Montana de Oro

Cilantro, Food Styling (or lack of) and a Recipe

An

abundanza

of 

cilantro

cries out

for

Cilantro Pesto!

I harvested

about

2 cups

(and a few basil leaves)

a

and 

tossed it

my food processor

with

1 c. walnuts

zest and juice 

of 

1 lemon

 a

seeded 

jalapeño

and salt

the

food processor 

whirled

for about

1 minute

and 

I 

poured

 in

3 TBS. of water

and 

1/4 c. garlic flavored olive oil

this

pesto

rocks!

a bit of heat

 from the jalapeño

freshness 

from the cilantro

and lemon

(spread it on ciabatta with brie and spinach and press in a panini press)

OOOOoooo, baby

so good!

…for some killer salmon

I had

a leek

a couple 

carrots

and

a celery stalk

that 

called out

for a quick sauté

I

topped

the sauté with

boneless

skinless

salmon filets

drizzled

maybe

1/4 c. dry rose

over the salmon

covered

the pan

turned the heat to

low 

it cooked 

the salmon for

about 20 minutes

~

and then topped

each piece 

of fish

with a dollop

of 

pesto

If

I

was a

food stylist

or

a photographer

I could have made

this look

as 

delicious

as it tasted

alas…….

trust me!
delicious!!!

Salmon

with

Cilantro Walnut Pesto

2 c. cilantro (a few basil leaves or tarragon can be fun additions)

1 c. walnuts

1 lemon - juice and zest

1 jalapeno - seeded

1 tsp. salt

1/4 garlic flavored olive oil (or your favorite olive oil)

3 TBS. water

Combine the first 5 ingredients in food processor and process for about 1 minute  - With motor continuing to run add water and olive oil through the feeder tube.  Voila!

Salmon

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 TBS. olive oil   (I used Lemon infused)

2-3 salmon filets, boned and with or without skin

1/4 c. dry white or rose wine 

1 c. of same wine to enjoy while the fish cooks

Saute the veggies in the olive oil for about 4-5 minutes (they still need to have a bit of crunch). Season the salmon filets and lay on top of veggies.  Add the wine, cover your pan and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes (if your fish is very thin you might want to only cook fish for 10-15 minutes).

Top salmon with a good sized dollop of pesto.

Every Girl Needs a Little Bling!

 On April, 29th

Petit Soleil 

hosted

a

trunk show

that

showcased

a plethora

of

playful

fun

and 

unique

jewelry

called

  JewelKade

It is

a

really

unique

assortment

of

chains

bracelets

and necklaces

that

you 

mix

match

and 

attach

all of these

fun

and 

whimsical

little

charms

some

chains

are

simple

(you can add one-two-three little charms)

some have 

some 

fantastic

bling appeal

(that you can

 add one

big fabulous 

charm

to)

I

really

love

the 

initial charms 

and 

who

 can resist

the simple advice

 of

"laugh until it hurts"?    

Each

month

JewelKade

features

a

something

 really special

when you

spend

"X" 

amount of  money

this

was

the 

featured necklace

(hello, Tiffany Blue and silver)

Jessica

-to the left-

(with shopper extraordinaire, Barbara)

is

selling

JewelKade

she will come to your house

and 

set up a show

to

entice

 your friends

or

you can

 peruse

through

the 

catalog 

on-line

and contact

Jess

to

 order

all of

the 

JewelKade

goodies

you like

I loved

the

bride-to-be

that

chose

special charms

and 
the chains

to make her bridesmaids shine..

            And the grandma that bought a gorgeous

                           bracelet and added initial charms to represent each
                                      of her cherished grand babies…

                                              how cute is that?

JewelKade

MAKE

IT

YOUR 

OWN!

Relentless, Powerful, and the Genesis of Something Really BIG!

May 2, 2012

"15 years ago today Alex was diagnosed with leukemia. I remember it so clearly the fear and sheer panic. I look at how strong and healthy he is now and sometimes think it's a dream. He is my love and I'm so graeteful to have him in my life. ♥"

Jeniene Cenoz 

April 22, 2012

was

the

very 

first

SLO Marathon

the genesis of something big

my gosh!!

it

was just

SO 

exciting

and

it was

A
SCREAMING SUCCESS!

it
was

successful

for

SLO

(and

the athletes
loved
the event)

and,

after

a year +
 of

hard work

fretting

pulling hair out

and crying..

it was

a

SCREAMING SUCCESS

for

the

Central Coast Chapter

of 

the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Team in Training

Program

lead

by

Barbara

you ask,

what,

pray tell

makes
 a
running event
A

 SCREAMING SUCCESS?

in a nutshell,

1.  500 thousand dollars

was raised by

250 athletes

for

research and treatment
towards
a
CURE

for

all

blood related

cancers

2.      Alex
 (see mom's quote above)
 a HEALTHY
17 year old leukemia survivor

ran his first 

1/2 marathon

3.  Alex's dad,
 Jeff,

raised at least $2000.
and ran his

54th marathon

4.    Maureen, 
a mother of triplets,

just finished

her final

chemotherapy treatment

for leukemia

was

at the

finish line 
to cheer on the

team in training athletes

5.  Annie

raised over $2000.

for
 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
and

ran her

best 

marathon time ever

and qualified for 

Boston

6.  Ruby, 16 years old,

also
raised over $2000.
 and
ran her

first 1/2 marathon

7.  Rachael, raised over $2000.,

and ran

her

1/2

in under 

2 hours

and

countless

other

inspirational 

stories

that screamed

success

The evening before

a

Team in Training

event

is

powerful!

It is
an
evening

of 

inspiration

and 

hope

love 

encouragement

and
PASTA!

Rachael

and Annie

were

inspired

Eldra
 has inspired
 150 SLO High School students
(and their moms)

to run half marathons
and
they have raised over $700.00……

many of Eldra's student athletes 

go on

to run more 
1/2 marathons and full marathons

and
 continue to 

raise money
 to find a
cure
for Leukemia
    relentless