And the walls come tumbling down...

It has begun.  Refreshing the kitchen has been on our minds for years now, and finally, after I taped down a(nother) rip in the linoleum with purple duck tape, we caved.  We called up our favorite contractor, Coastline Construction, and asked them to help us out.  And so, before...

All of the wood is great, as long as you aren't seeing it day in and day out.  And every little thing that spills, it sticks to the cabinets until the end of time.  I'm still not sure what the opening above the stove and through the stairs is all about, and forget that tiny little corner cabinet.  The microwave is ancient and weak, but tied to the electric oven.  And notice the duck tape on the dining room window?  You wouldn't believe the draft that was coming in through that window.


Wednesday was the beginning of demolition.  We aren't officially remodeling, as nothing is moving (or wasn't to start with!), but instead, nearly everything is getting resurfaced.  Our desire started with the floor, crawled up the walls and over the cabinets and ceilings.  It's happening in a somewhat more orderly fashion.  The first steps were to pull down the wood that clads all of the walls and ceilings in this part of the house and assess the damage time and water has caused.  

Damage was not nearly as bad as it could have been.  There appears to be termite damage in one of the headers, but it looks to be pre-construction.  And there is water damage under the big window in the dining room - but we were expecting that.  Ralph & Sean have repaired the air return to the furnace and the damaged header.  We've decided to replace the 10' long window with a pair of doors (6' wide) and some side windows.  We're putting in a large built-in hutch in the dining room for additional storage.  The hole over the stove is getting a face lift.  And bonus!!!  Ralph & Sean cleaned up the garage so that they could pull their trailer in to ease the removal of extras.

I'll try and keep you up to date with the goings on.  We're quite excited to see it done!

Weekend Wandering...

This weekend I went for a drive and ended up in Sacramento at my dear friends "quirky" apartment (her words, not mine!).  Since the day was more sunny than rainy, we made the in town stops as soon as possible (Hobby Lobby!  Chick-fil-a!)  and then headed up into the Sierra Foothills and Placer County to see what we could see.  

Our first stop was at the Courthouse in Auburn.  A fine, majestic piece of architecture that has been refurbished in a befitting manner.  In the right light, it has a golden glow to it.  Of course, I was on the wrong side of the sun, but it's still impressive. There's a small museum inside that we wandered about, before heading for the wine trails.

We managed to make stops at four wineries, but only tasted wine at three. One of the wineries smelled of something "off" and so it was a quick in-and-out stop.  We found out later they had a skunk in the roof of the hillside cave.  Oops!

Mt Vernon

Vina Castellano

View from FawnRidge (Have you been "fawndled" today?)

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset over Dona Dal Cielo

The next day found us up and out to Thunder Valley for a look at the breakfast buffet (pass...) where we instead had a delightful meal at the cafe' instead.  We christened the nav system in the new car "Trixie" as she correctly gave us directions to the "tricky" to find Lone Buffalo winery.  There's no way we would have found the place without her.  The owners of the Lone Buffalo recommended us to the Pescatore Vineyard who recommended we stop at the Wise Villa Winery, where we met Rolando and his horse J.T., of Cuba originally, although you could tell by his "hey y'all" that he had spent a portion of his life in the south...

Between Pescatore & Wise Villa, we ran across the Gold Hill Cemetery.  I'm always willing to stop at an old cemetery, just to wander around and check out the dates and names.  This is a small cemetery and old.  But clearly, still maintained.  One of the more unique headstones was covered in broken marble.  And this resin angel is standing guard over another's love. 

The drive home in the rain was uneventful, I think mostly due to the fact that folks were home watching the football games. 

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Wild & Domesticated

Found in the yard this weekend...

And growing on my kitchen counter.....

 Guess which ones are ending up in the dinner pot?

Cookie of the Week

This week - Cappuccino Chocolate Bites.  Just that perfect little cookie when you need some coffee and chocolate.  These cookies are so fragile, that you need to be extremely delicate when you slather on the filling to turn them into sandwiches.  The delicacy follows through in the light coffee flavor of the shortbread cookie and the whipped chocolate ganache' that fills them.  All in all - YUM.

However, these cookies have a lot of "wait" time - mix the dough, chill for 30 minutes, sit for 10 minutes, roll the dough, (and if you re-roll the dough for more cookies, it needs to chill - again - for 10 minutes) freeze for 10 minutes, bake for 10 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, move to racks and let cool.  Mix the ganache, chill for at least 30 minutes, whip, spread and chill some more.  Not a quick cookie.  And it's not a large batch.  I used 1 3/8 " round cookie cutters, and was only able to eek out 18 sandwiches.  That's a small cookie - maybe a bit larger than the end of your thumb.  Don't count on making these to take to a cookie exchange.

Notes:  I had some leftover mousse from the cupcakes which made a delicious sandwich filling as well.  When I whipped up the chocolate ganache for the filling, my bowl and beaters were still warm from the dishwasher and the frosting "broke".  Still tasty, but a bit grainy where it wouldn't have been if  my tools had been even room temperature.

Weekend Round up

I wish I had a picture.  Maybe I'll find one by the time I am done with this post. 
A very productive weekend, at least for me personally.  I was able to move several of my projects forward quite a bit:

• Secret Santa 2012 -  don't you wish I had your name??
• Solid Sock - Lisette a grey sock with a simple cable and a delicate cuff.  It's been in my queue for some time now.
• Cookies - upcoming post on the Cappuccino Chocolate Bites
• Cupcakes -  a co-worker of Mark's is leaving the company, and they requested "something chocolate".  Well, it's something all right - a Swiss chocolate cupcake, dotted with mini chocolate chips, filled with milk chocolate mousse, a splash of dark chocolate ganache, and a squiggle of white chocolate to "pretty it up". They aren't pretty, but omg on the chocolate overload.   And I have homemade chocolate mousse for dessert tonight - YUM! 
• Living Room Fix Up - finalized the plans for the entertainment center we are having built.  Just need to take down my three tiny tinsel trees.
• Dining Room / Kitchen Fix up- decisions mostly made, just need to communicate with the contractor.  We aren't remodeling, just refreshing.  The laminate floor is really starting to peel in there, so it's next on the to-do list.  And as long as you are doing the floor, you might as well do the walls, the ceiling, and oh, don't forget, resurface the cabinets, maybe some new lights.... 
• Eliptical - I'm at 63% this month (5 days out of 8), and hoping to get a much higher percentage before the end of the month.  I'm adding a minute a day until I get to 60 minutes, but I started at 15 minutes on the 1st. 
• Massage Therapy - I feel so much better.  Not necessarily relaxed, but better, like things are working better, as long as I don't do something stoopid like spend too much time with a mouse in my hand.  Mark on the other hand, was a puddle of goo after his session on Saturday.
• Resume Updated - never hurts to have something current available.
• Art Journal - resting, waiting for the next layers.

How was your weekend?

Not related to anything, but it's what's on my windowsill today...

Because that's information I need....

I get in the car yesterday, and the helpful voice says:

"Weather Alert:  There is a high surf warning approximately five miles from your current location."

Cookie Time!

This past weekend, I made Chocolate Malt Sandwich cookies from one of my many cookbooks.  Mark keeps asking me why I bake, and I keep telling him, because I enjoy it!  Just because I don't need the cookies, doesn't mean that I shouldn't make them, just that I shouldn't eat (all of) them.  Little do they know, but the co-workers should start to expect the weekly cookie treats to begin, because I'm planning on baking a new variety each week. 

From the recipe, I have the following notes:

• I had a hard time finding the malt powder, until our trip to Arizona last year, and there it was staring me in the face.  I mean, there are plenty of things to bring home from the Grand Canyon, but who knew that Malted Milk Powder was one of them?  Now I will probably see it every where I go.
• Instead of creme fraiche', I used a 50/50 mix of cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.  I have those ingredients in my fridge nearly all the time, creme fraiche' however, is hard to find even when I'm looking for it.  All the recipe sites say that you could substitute sour cream, but that the creme is sweeter than sour cream.  My substitution seemed to work just fine.
• I used my tiny ice cream scoop for consistent cookie sizes.  There's nothing that'll frustrate you like trying to sandwich two different size cookies.  This made about 90 cookies, or 45 sandwiches instead of the 18 the recipe indicates.
• The frosting is a bit bitter with the semi-sweet chips - I'd probably go with the milk chocolate next time or a 50/50 mix here as well.
• And be generous with the frosting, there's plenty to do all the cookies with a nice slather. 

The cookies are rich with chocolate, although I couldn't pick out the malt flavor.  The smaller size is just perfect for your afternoon coffee break, and are fantastic with a cold glass of milk.

New Beginnings - again...

A new year is here.  A fresh page of the calendar, a new set of resolutions, ideas, and creative endeavors.

A quick wrap up of the year end:

• We spent Thanksgiving at home, wrapped up in quilts and sitting next to the fire.
• New living room furniture was ordered - and partial delivery on 12/31 wahoo!!
• The power was out for 79 hours straight - now we've got the ability to plug the generator straight into the house.
• A quick trip to Las Vegas where we saw both Bill Engvall and Ron White.
• A new car finally showed up in the driveway - a Maxima 2012.
• Another flight this time to Dallas, this time to visit the family for Christmas - such a joy to spend the time with them. 

I think it's been a good year, all in all...Here's hoping we all have a good 2012!

Pardon the radio silence....

Hi!  I'm not dead, just working too hard or too often...  I'm hoping to get into a groove with the New Year.  

In the mean time, best wishes for a a very Merry New Year and a Happy Christmas!!!

Fall and ouch!

It appears that fall is finally here.  Since we live in a "seasonal" rain forest, our trees tend to stay green year round.  They get a bit wilty around September, but they stay green.  Then, last week, I saw our signal tree - it's a sweet gum and it is always the first to turn - so I guess that autumn has arrived.  It also means, that rainy season is here.  That's the "seasonal" part - we usually only get rain from October to about the end of April.  And usually, nothing but a trace between May and September.

So when the rains come down for the first time, as they did this week, things can get a bit dicey on the road. It feels like everyone has forgotten how to drive in the wet.  If you are smart, you are careful, especially of other drivers, and maybe you take things a bit slower than you normally would.  Because if you don't - this can happen:

That's the front end of my car.  First of all - Mark & I are fine - a bit bruised and a bit stiff, but no cuts, no breaks.  We were heading home on Wednesday night up the mountain road towards the house.  As I knew my car wanted to get squirrely on the roads, I was driving a bit slower than I usually would up the hill.  I took a turn, and looked up the roadway and a van was making a turn around a blind corner.  As soon as I saw his rear wheel come over the yellow line, I pulled my car to a complete stop.  There's really no where to go - a redwood tree was holding up the road and the shoulder, well, that looks like a gully.  I was hoping against hope that he would either get it under control or go ahead and do a180 and miss us completely, but alas, that was not to happen. Somehow he got airborne and the rear wheel ended up bouncing on the engine compartment.  Black smoke was billowing from the engine. But the air bags didn't go off - evidently the sensor is in the bumper, which he missed. 

So three hours, two cops, one tow truck, a taxi ride and a car rental and we were finally home sweet home. 

Love to all!

Finally, tomatoes...

Thanks to the cold summer we are experiencing up here in the hills and the thieving squirrels (Lorili 4!), I haven't picked very many tomatoes from my potted deck garden.  This week, I received an email from a local organic farm, Yellow Wall Farm, that they had tomatoes in abundance and would have them at the farm stand in Santa Cruz on Saturday.  Hoo-ray!!!! 

A quick drive into town, and I had twenty pounds of some of the ripest, best looking tomatoes I have seen in a while.  First off, I had to pop one in my mouth, warm from the sunshine, rinsed in cold clean water. Oh, so sweet!  And I wasn't even home yet.  Once I got home, I immediately made one of my Mom's favorite summer "salads" - slice a tomato, sprinkle some salt and pepper, dollop of mayo on the side.  Who needs bacon and lettuce or even bread?

Sunday morning found me roasting tomatoes in the oven.  A long slow roast, at 275, a slide of olive oil across the tops, and again, a grind of salt and pepper.  Two and half hours later, and a quick mash and I have four cups of the freshest, sweetest tomato sauce/paste.  I put two cups in the fridge for later - we'll add them to some fresh sage & oregano and make a beautiful meat sauce for pasta.  The other two cups I turned into some cream of tomato soup, inspired by Smitten Kitchen's recent recipe for "Roasted Tomato Soup w/ Cheddar Cheese Lids".   Since I already had the kitchen in a state of major mess, I sliced up some more tomatoes, along with some peaches, onion, and jalapeno for a fresh peach and tomato salsa.  They will come into play sometime this week for a quick dinner of chicken and rice. 

I still have tomatoes for a nice caprese salad, as well some rocket for a spicy lunch add-on.  The roasted tomatoes are so very yummy, that I just know I will have to go back next weekend and see if I can't find some more.

It's about time.

A family (and friends) affair!

The reception was held at a picnic site just outside of the park.  It was all dressed up with paper lanterns, hanging flower baskets, candles in colored jars and towers of cupcakes.

(photo courtesy of StO - Thank you!)

Just to point out all the DIY (that I know of!)....

Groom - ingenious hanging of paper lanterns with lights that came on in the dark....
Bride - gorgeous hanging plant center piece, as well as plants and flowers scattered around
Father of the Bride - sturdy, huge, cupcake towers
Mother of the Bride - hundreds of napkins and table runners for all of the tables
??? - painted jars, filled with sand and candles
Aunt and sisters of the Bride - cupcakes
Many hands - cupcake wrappers
StO of the Bride - coconut cake for cutting
Many many hands - clean and set up of site

I'm pretty sure that someone on the groom's side of the family designed the invitations and did much more that I just don't know about....

Congratulations and Best Wishes!!!

Teary-eyed and tired...

We're back.  And they are married.  We had a great time visiting with everyone.  I even managed to beat Dad in a game of Cribbage the first evening we were there, but it was a very close call and really came down to the last two hands. 

Thanks to my sister and aunt, all the cupcakes were done and frosted and looked and tasted fabulous.  I did help (baked three batches of the S'mores and frosted two more), but it seemed short to me.  Since I wasn't in charge of the camera this trip (too much else to do in too short a time), I don't have any pictures of the reception and the mountains of cupcakes to share with you.

What I do have, are the pictures of the Canyon that Mark took on his excursion with the boys.

That white tip is where the bride & groom hiked to on their first date...

(photo snapped right as they were pronounced "man & wife")

And this was the wedding ceremony site

 

Me & Mark, all dressed up

Ooooo Shiney....

The wedding is coming up soon.  It will be nice to visit with the family again this year.  Most times, I don't see everyone every year.  As the bridesmaid's dresses we have chosen have a nice v-neckline, they call for a nice necklace to go with it.  I've heard that the bride has chosen some earrings for us, but since I haven't seen them, I'm creating on the blind side here.  All I know is hot pink rhinestones in a silver setting, with a vintage feel.

My first inclination was to go with the wedding colors - yellow, pink, and orange.  Here we have three strands, one of each color, with a mixture of pearls, crystal, glass, and metal.  It's bright and cheerful and makes me happy.  The strands are each a little different in length, so they drape quite nicely.

Then, as I was putting away my supplies, the next necklace came together.  It has a more vintage feel to it, to me anyway.  Again, three strands, one with fuchsia pearls wound with ribbon and filigree beads, the second with glass beads in pink and black (maybe those should have been grey?), and the last a gunmetal twisted chain.  These are all brought together with a filigree and opal rhinestone "buckle".

So Bride2B, which do you think is going to be more appropriate?

Cupcake Test 014, S'More S'mores....

Last one for me....  Since the bride and groom both work at the Grand Canyon, it only seems appropriate that we finish with a S'mores cupcake.  This one is essentially from Annie's Eats.  It starts out with a base of graham cracker crumbs, then some chocolate cake (and some added ganache) and topped with marshmallow fluff frosting. 

Process Notes:  I used the dark chocolate cake mix by Betty Crocker and added in some mini-mallows to the cake batter before baking.  Don't bother, they just dissolve and add not a whit of texture or flavor to the cupcake.  Once they were baked, I scooped out a hollow with my melon baller and added a bit of chocolate ganache.  I tried to caramelize the frosting with my new torch (Whee!), but it just slid off the cupcake.  Instead, I toasted some marshmallows to add that extra something.

Tasting Notes:  These were much better than the first round of S'mores.  There was a distinct crumby graham cracker crust, the milk chocolate ganache echoed the Hershey bar, and the toasted marshmallows finished it off.  I think these are a winner!

Something to remember

How to bake 300 cupcakes  (includes link to cupcake boxes)

Cars are sexy too....

Earlier this week, Mark & I were on an errand heading home and came across this serendipitous car show.  I suspect that they gather once a month, maybe once a quarter, in the parking lot.  Dad, if you can, let me know what kind/year these sexy beasts are:

We can't decide if this is a Chrysler or an Alfa Romeo...

Purple & Flames = AWESOME!

I think this is close to the color you want your car painted....

There were a slew of trucks, along with some newer cars as well.  All were sparkling and their owners were sparkling too, and rightfully so.  The rumble of big V-8's were heard easily a couple blocks away.

The next day, I was headed to work, and there on 880N in San Jose was this car (blocking traffic!):

For those of you, like me, who recognize EXPENSIVE when you see it - this is a Buggati Veyron.  Only 300 were pre-ordered, and they aren't finished building those yet.  Volkswagen is building them, and according to Top Gear, it costs $5M  to build.  Volkswagen is selling them for $2M - talk about a loss leader.  They have about 1000 horsepower, and top speed is estimated to be 400 Kph (about 250ish mph).  This poor soul was stuck at 50 mph in traffic. 

Le Sigh.