San Diego by way of the Stone Brewing Co.

Pat and I spent the Fourth of July weekend down in San Diego. I was so excited that we brought our bikes with us.



On the way down, we stopped by the Stone Brewing Co. just north of San Diego to grab a bite to eat and something cool to drink. We started with the tasting menu of their core ales. Pictured from left to right are the Pale Ale, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard.



I love taking pictures of food, so I snapped shots of the three dishes we shared, which were all fabulous. First up are the BBQ duck tacos with pineapple habanero salsa, which remind me of the scrumptious kogi tacos.



The next dish may surprise those of you who don't yet know that I eat lots of vegetables now. Take a look at these beautiful Stone Pale Ale & garlic stir-fried brussels sprouts.



And finally we enjoyed a tilapia ceviche with chile-lime chips.



We had some time before the brewery tour started, so we relaxed in the garden with a beer and a good book.



The tour was lots of fun. We got to taste malted barley and smell hops and learn about the craft-brewing process on a large scale.



I think we might make this detour a regular stop whenever we come down this way. :)

Shortcut to Nirvana

That's the name of the Hipcooks class I attended last Thursday. We had a blast making all sorts of Indian dishes like veggie samosas, saag paneer, and chicken tikka masala. We even made all the curries from scratch! And who would've guessed that mojitos go so well with Indian cuisine?

Violet's Princess Party Photo Booth

We brought our photo booth to my niece's third birthday party.













Even the adults got into the fun!!











Check out my gallery to view the rest of the photos!

Hipcooks!

If you live in the LA or Portland area and are looking for a fun, hands-on cooking class (with dinner and drinks!), check out Hipcooks! I visited the East LA location at the Brewer Artist's Lofts near downtown LA for the Romantic Dinner for Two (II) class. Hey, I'm trying to get ready for Valentine's Day, what can I say?



The cooking studio was in an airy loft, and boy, did my loft dreams get reignited. We cooked around this u-shaped table and there was plenty of room for all of us aspiring chefs.



Any and every utensil was at ready disposal. (I think I'd like to put up one of these pegboards in my own kitchen and get rid of my very messy everything-but-the-kitchen-sink utility drawers.)

Bonny, our enthusiastic and unflappable teacher, banned all measuring implements, encouraged us to taste and season, and reminded us to remove our mussels from plastic bags as soon as we brought them home from the store or else they would suffocate. (Oh, that explains why the mussels I bought for my paella never opened when I cooked them.)



Our first course was a peppery and crunchy arugula salad topped with broiled, goat-cheese-and-candied-cashew-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. What a delicious mouthful!



I was surprised at how quickly and easily our second course came together. It was a seafood stew called caldeirada made with white wine and saffron. I could have dipped a whole loaf of bread in the broth, it was so tasty.



And when we ended our meal with chocolate souffles, I knew this dinner would be perfect to prepare for Pat.



Thank you to the Arizona Mills for giving me this fabulous Christmas present!

My new niece at two weeks old.

I got to visit my new niece on Sunday. She is so tiny and precious.





My parents dropped by, so they could get a photo with their new granddaughter. Kinda nice to have a photographer in the family...



And how could I resist taking pictures of the new big sister?

At Witt's End

This week just flew by, and now we are off to the desert, back to the great house we stayed at last year. I've got so many photos to share with you all. Looking forward to posting them next week. Until then, happy weekend!

Just a matter of degree

My new oven thermometer has already come in handy. I knew my oven couldn't be trusted, and now I have proof. Until now, whenever the oven timer would go off, I never rushed to check on whatever I was baking because I knew it wouldn't be ready. Nothing I baked in this oven was ever ready at the time indicated in the recipe. I figured that the actual oven temp must be lower than what the display indicated. I just didn't know by how much. My curiosity and (impatience over the drawn-out cooking times) finally overcame my inertia, and I bought an oven thermometer. I used it for the first time while baking lemon chicken yesterday. To get the temperature to 425˚, I had to set the oven for 465˚! And to my glee, the chicken was done at the time indicated by the recipe. Hooray! Have any of you checked your oven's temperature calibration?

Poppers and Procrastination

I made some fireworks of my own for the Fourth of July: these delicious jalapeño poppers. I was inspired to make these spicy treats by a procrastination tangent to The Pioneer Woman. Speaking of procrastination (yes, I have a paper due tomorrow that has yet to reach outline stage), I found two great articles on procrastination by a Stanford professor of philosophy, who has led a rich and productive life as a procrastinator. If you've ever wanted to peer inside the mind of a procrastinator (like me!), check these articles out: Structured Procrastination and Procrastination and Perfectionism.

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

Home again

Pat and I just returned from our long weekend in Mexico. It was gorgeous in Tulum, and the wedding of our two friends was such a celebration. Over the next couple of days, I will be posting pictures from our trip, but here's a little teaser shot: Yes, it really was that beautiful.

A Day in Laguna

Pat and I spent the day in Laguna with his parents. After breakfast we walked down to the beach to look at the tidepools. Pat scrambled up to the top of the rocks for a better view.



The flowers around the hotel were absolutely gorgeous.





It was so fun to wander around town.



Thank you, Monica and Frank, for a lovely day!



And now we're off to Mexico for a wedding. Happy weekend, everyone!