Visit from Chelsea & Anthony

We have been very lucky this summer with lots of family and friends coming through San Diego to pay us a visit. This past weekend, Chelsea and Anthony came for a short trip after spending a few days in LA, arriving Saturday morning and leaving Sunday night. They made it just in time on Saturday to accompany Dylan to Connor's swim lesson, and then we all ate Mexican takeout during Connor's nap. After a relaxed afternoon, we cooked pork chops, sweet potato fries and collard greens and enjoyed dinner, and hang out time together.


We turned in early to get ready for the La Jolla End of Summer Fire Run that Dylan and I did on Sunday morning. The start of the race was in La Jolla, and the finish line was just a ten minute walk from our house. Anthony drove us to the start, and then Chelsea, Anthony and Connor all walked together to the finish line to meet us. We took a leisurely walk back home, stopping first at the end of Crystal Pier to watch the surfers and seals. Then we continued home along the boardwalk where we got to show off the live pig at the Law St. yoga class, something that we are sharing with all of our Sunday visitors this year. After brunch, it was siesta time. We put Connor down for his nap, then I got on the computer for a minute, turned around and the whole crew was asleep on the couch and floor of our living room - awesome! The afternoon consisted of play time and shopping/strolling/ice cream time in La Jolla before heading out for dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Pho restaurant on Garnet Ave. It was Connor's encounter with Vietnamese food and he appeared to be a huge fan, stuffing his face with beef, chicken, tofu, shrimp, peas, carrots, corn, noodles and even a mint leaf. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals too :)


Once we got home it was time for Aunt Chelsea to take a dip in the kiddie pool with Connor (he also had his bath in there.) The water had been warming in the sun all day, but the air was still a bit chilly - so thanks Chelsea for braving it and taking the plunge!

(Imagine cute pic of Connor here)

Chlesea and Anthony caught the red eye back to NYC on Sunday night at 10:30pm. We were sad to see them go, and Connor is looking all around today for that guy who was playing ball with him all weekend. Where did he go???

Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Caprese Salad, Tortillas & Fresh Squeezed Watermelon/Orange Juice

Tonight we enjoyed the perfect summer dinner, utilizing a lot of the items from our weekly CSA box. As we cooked, we snacked on orange pepper slices. The chicken breasts marinated in a zip lock bag with olive oil, garlic, balsamic and salt. We made a similar mixture to toss with our heirloom tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. Dylan did his typical number outside on the grill (actually I went outside too when the Sea World fireworks started - we can see them from our back deck) He came back in fifteen minutes later with perfectly cooked chicken, and I plated the salad, warmed the tortillas and squeezed the oranges and watermelons for the juice. This dinner went extremely well with the dose of warm weather we're experiencing. Tomorrow is supposed to be upper 80's at the beach - I plan to fill up the kiddie pool for some afternoon splashing with C.

Some Fun Moments

We've had a lot of fun little moments lately:

Connor had his first popsicle. He did not know what to make of it at first, and tried to hold it by the frozen end, and then threw it on the grass. When he finally figured it out, he knew exactly what to do with it:


Connor and I enjoyed swimming at his buddy Charlie's pool on a hot day:


We came to the realization that flowers in our window boxes are hard to keep in tip-top shape, and that succulents are really neat to look at and very low-maintenance:


Connor and best friend Alden are both on the cusp of walking at 17 months old. Go figure that Melissa and I would both have extremely mellow and late-walking babies. They took turns pushing a lawn mower around last weekend, but nobody seemed to want to let go:


Mamta (my friend from high school) and her husband Steve came to visit with their son Dillan, who is two months older than Connor. After spending the afternoon at the beach, the boys had a bath together, and then we made dinner and ate on our back deck. Of course the tub picture is the most fun:


Here's to hoping that the fun times keep on coming!

A Visit from the Vaughns

Dylan's parents came to town for a long weekend, and we had lots of fun during the four-day visit. Clayton and Nancy arrived on Saturday night, their 39th wedding anniversary. We grilled shrimp and veggie skewers and served them over a bed of couscous. Then a special dessert for the occasion - heart-shaped brownies and vanilla ice cream on a bed of homemade raspberry/Grand Marnier sauce. We used Barefoot Contessa's famous brownie recipe that includes coffee and a small amount of flour, giving a velvety texture - not as chewy as a typical brownie, more like a dense flour-less cake. It worked very nicely with the ice cream and the sauce.


Sunday was a hang out day: breakfast at Leilani's, a walk along the boardwalk where we got to see the live pig at the weekly Law St. Park yoga class AND the skateboarding bulldog - perfectly quirky sightings for our out-of-towners! There was also plenty of playtime with Connor, and an afternoon trip to Gringo's for happy hour margaritas and appetizers.


Dylan took Monday off from work, and it was a big day of fun activities! We got a nice, late start and had brunch at our house, then a trip to Belmont Park where Dylan, Clayton and I rode the roller coaster (first time for us) and then put Connor on his first-ever carousel ride. The roller coaster was awesome - we will definitely be back. Check out the picture that Nancy took below - she actually caught us (third car from the front) on our way down one of the hills - don't know how she managed that! Connor was not quite as jazzed about the carousel, but he managed to survive the ride, despite a few tears and protests.

In the afternoon, we took a trip down to Coronado to the Vaughn's new digs at the Marriot Resort. Up until that point, they had been staying at a rental near Windansea Beach, about five minutes up the road from us. We spent several hours at the very nice heated pool with a great view of the bay, drinking beers (we discovered the refreshing qualities of Windansea Hefeweizen) and playing in the water. Grandma Nancy spent lots of time with Connor in the water, playing catch with the beach ball, and even taught him how to splash. Connor also ate his first cookie out on the pool deck - an m&m cookie that was a treat from the grandparents. I think he will be requesting more of those in the future ;) We felt like we were all on vacation for the afternoon - it was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Today was the last day of the visit, and Dylan's parents met him for lunch and got to see his office. In the late afternoon, I picked Dylan up at work and we drove to Coronado for dinner with Clayton, Nancy, Herb & Wendy on Herb and Wendy's pool deck right over the sand at the start of the Silver Strand. We had a bbq feast - chicken, lamb chops, grilled veggies, corn on the cob and salad. Connor even sat in his high chair and ate dinner with all of us, waves crashing right behind him. This was a lovely way to end the visit!

Remembering Streak

It's been exactly a year to the day since I had to say goodbye and put my beloved Streak to rest. The whole thing took place suddenly last August 8th, a Saturday morning when we brought 20-year old Streak into the vet for blood work. She had been having a host of symptoms and appeared to be generally not feeling well - she had slowed down a lot and was looking OLD. I sensed that something was really wrong. The vet examined her and then told us (as gently as he could) that her organs were failing and the ethical thing to do was to put her down. He said that she was definitely in pain and it would only get worse the longer we waited.

Faced with the magnitude of this information, and the realization that a difficult decision was imminent, my mind raced back over the last 20 years, two thirds of my life. I saw Streak as a fluffy kitten, remembering my excitement and pride on a balmy July night that as a 10-year old, I was going to be responsible for someone else. I recalled her strange quirks that made me smile on a daily basis, crying into her soft fur during times of uncertainty (something she would never allow another person to do), the way that just looking at her could calm me down, and the fulfillment I got from feeding her, loving her and watching her thrive into old age. Those times I wanted to retreat from others, I was grateful to have her in the corner of my room, just content to co-exist. She taught me as a young girl, then an older girl, then a woman what it means to nurture. She was my sidekick in Boston on that day in 2001 that Dylan (my friend from work) first came over and met my 13-year old cat. She watched with her suspicious green eyes as he turned into more than a friend, as the two of us became inseparable, as we moved across the country together, married and started a family. She knew me before my world solidified. All of this raced through my head, along with the fact that I had woken up that morning thinking that she would come home with me. Thinking that we would cram her back in her carrier and she would howl the whole way home, and then enjoy some of our leftover salmon at lunch.

The vet left the room for a few minutes so we could think and breathe. I didn't even need to talk to Dylan, I could see from the sad, kind look in his eyes that he agreed with me - we should do it now. We loved her too much to let her ailments linger. Moments later, his face and the room became blurry from the big tears that welled up in my 10-year-old-girl eyes. I regained my 30-year-old composure for the paperwork, the shaving of Streak's forearm, the shot to tranquilize her, then the shot to stop her heart. Dylan and Connor and I watched together in respectful silence as the life left her eyes and the pain faded out of her frail body.

I think about her every day. Each week I pick out fresh flowers and place them next to her framed photo, letting memories of our time together wash gently over me for a few minutes. Taking this time to fully focus on remembering is something that keeps her from fading away. Sometimes I can still hear her pitter-patter footsteps coming around the bend of the hallway. I am pretty sure she is going to be "with me" for good. Streak possessed a certain poise, confidence and grace that I've never seen before in another living thing. Those traits were with her until the very end, and I am left now with her vivid and beautiful memory nestled in the corner of my heart.

Fish Windfall Meal #1: Fish Tacos

Tonight we made our first meal with the locally caught fish that Dylan's co-worker gave us. The fish we used was cowcod, a type that neither of us had ever had before. Dylan made a jerk spice mixture and placed the fish in a ziploc bag with spices and olive oil before he headed out for a run along the beach. While he was away, I got our blue corn tortillas ready with shredded Irish cheddar, and prepared a spread of black beans, chopped cabbage and tomatoes and cilantro. I also made a sauce from plain yogurt and Penzey's Turkish seasoning, an amazing spice blend that my kitchen would not be complete without. After Dylan was back, he grilled the fish to perfection and we assembled our tacos and poured a few cold glasses of Mermaid's Red.


After this easy dinner, we did the dishes and settled in to our computers as we both had a bunch of work to get done. What better way to spend a Saturday night!

Windfall of Fish

Dylan's co-worker went on a local fishing trip a few days ago and did pretty well. We are the lucky recipients of the excess of three types of fish that he caught - albacore, sand bass and cowcod. Dylan drove downtown last night at 9:30pm with a cooler filled with ice to pick up the ten or twelve pounds of fish. When he got home, we divided up the portions in freezer bags and put them in our deep freezer (I knew eventually that thing would come in handy for something other than breastmilk!)


I can hardly wait to see the meals we invent with all of this beautiful fish. I think first up will be fish tacos tomorrow night - already planning that one out in my head :)

Kid Dinner: Rainbow of Food Flavors

Connor will eat the leftover turkey meatballs tomorrow. Tonight he ate a rainbow of goodness: tomatoes, carrots, mango, avocado, blueberries. Plus a grilled cheese sandwich with Trader Joe's Yogurt Cheese which supplies 70% of his daily calcium in one slice - great for our non-milk drinker. I always sprinkle a layer of wheat germ in his grilled cheese sandwiches - totally worth it for the crazy-good nutrition found in wheat germ. He ate every last bite of this brightly colored meal.

Dinner: Turkey Meatball Sandwiches with Homemade Sauce

Finally tonight we had the homemade sauce from Monday night's tomato roasting session. It actually tasted even better after sitting in the fridge for a few days. This afternoon, I took the tomato mixture (pureed roasted CSA tomatoes with olive oil and garlic) out of the fridge and set it to simmer with minced basil, spinach, more garlic and a touch of balsamic and red wine. Over the course of a few hours, it all simmered down nicely and we were left with a great, flavorful sauce for our turkey meatballs. We made the meatballs from ground turkey, bread crumbs, minced shallots, garlic, an egg and Penzey's Italian Herb mixture plus salt and pepper. While they pan-fried, I toasted some rolls and finally everything was ready. First the roll, then the meatballs, then sauce ladled over the top. It really makes a difference to do a homemade sauce, and it's so incredibly easy - probably one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen!

Dinner: Shrimp & Veggie Kabobs on the BBQ

Tonight's dinner came together at the last minute. Originally I was going to finish making my tomato sauce and turkey meatballs, but realized that there wouldn't be enough time with spin class at 7pm. So, we bumped the sauce to Wednesday, and then on the way home from picking up Dylan from work , we decided to hit the Fishery for some type of fish or seafood. The shrimp looked great and we thought they would make for some mean kabobs when combined with the zucchini, portabella mushrooms, carrots and tomatoes that were relaxing in our fridge (well, everyone but the tomatoes - never ever refrigerate a tomato!)

I took off on my bike to class while Dylan marinated the shrimp in a spicy concoction. Two hours later, I was showered, the kabobs were put together and the bbq was fired up. My grill-master husband was outside for 14 minutes precisely and then came in with a platter of shrimp and veggies that stopped me in my tracks. We didn't get a picture of the intact kabobs, but they were very handsome. A sprinkling of CSA cilantro completed the meal. Well, that and Haagan Daz coffee and chocolate ice cream bars for dessert ;)

Dinner: Grilled Pork Chops & Dandelion Greens with Sapphire St. Sunset Cocktails

Monday is CSA pick-up day, and it's always very exciting for me to find out the ingredients we have to invent our dinners with. After a very serious (steep!) hill run through Bird Rock and a shower, I was ready to get together with Dylan and do some cooking. As you can see, we had lots of tomatoes to deal with - so we roasted them all with olive oil, garlic and salt, in preparation for making a sauce for tomorrow night's turkey meatballs. The sauce starter will sit overnight, and then tomorrow I'll simmer it down and add more garlic, maybe some red wine and basil.


Next on our list was finding a use for the big brown bag of CSA oranges we got. It wasn't hard to figure out - all I had to do was look out the window at the gorgeous sunset for inspiration. I promptly juiced four oranges and set to work coining my own signature cocktail that I call the Sapphire St. Sunset. Sugar rimmed glasses, plenty of ice and then a shot of Stoli Raspberry, a shot of pomegranate juice and the rest fresh squeezed OJ. Yum!


Next it was time to figure out what to do with our bone-in pork chops. Dylan made a spiced rub with chili powder, paprika, salt & pepper and grilled the chops to perfection, and I mean PERFECTION. Meanwhile, I finished baking our Trader Joes par-baked french rolls and sauteed some dandelion greens with olive oil and garlic.


Our version of date night never gets old - a super-fun activity together (cooking!) and then sharing a delicious meal. We do have to do the dishes after, but that's life I guess!