Vacation Eats

So I have just returned home from a relaxing vacation on the Mendocino Coast, and the lovely city of San Francisco.  So many things to see!  I was gone a total of six days, and I could have used another few!  The first leg of the trip was with my family in Sea Ranch.  We had many delicious meals.  The very first one was this:  baked egg with sauteed spinach and a delicious piece of bacon.

When my younger brother Dan showed up, he brought the pasta press mom got him for his most recent birthday.  He had a ravioli recipe that he learned at a cooking school in Italy that included potato, parmesan cheese and pancetta.

Preparing the noodles.

Pressing out the dough.

The freshly made pasta was so tender!  An incredible dish.  Thanks Dan!!

The next leg of the trip was to San Francisco to visit my dear friend Emily!  Many culinary delights awaited me.  The ferry building and Saturday farmer's market are something to behold.  You may remember my first visit to the ferry building a few months ago.

So many types of food!

Farm fresh!

We had scrambled egg, tomato and bacon on a baguette for brunch.  Delicious!

Squat and Gobble was great!  What a name!

Decisions, decisions!

I had a delicious pesto chicken crepe.  Wonderful!

We finished off the evening with a trip to Nubi, a fantastic frozen yogurt place.  I had chocolate and peanut butter with lots of candy bar and other toppings.  So delicious!!  I want more!  It's been hard to think of anything else since!

I heart Nubi!!

All gone!

Oh how I wish I could have just another day of vacation!  Although it might be good to get back to routine... still, I don't know.  I sure loved traveling around and sampling all those good eats!  Till next time I guess!

xoxo
Franny

Baking Bread

I made some zucchini bread today, and it turned out pretty good!  Just kind of looked up an online recipe, and made the first one that appealed to me.  Here's the link to the recipe I used.

First, you gather up your ingredients:

I got the squash at the Arcata Farmer's Market.

Next, the shredding of the squash and the mixing together of dry ingredients.

The smell of baking sweet zucchini bread filled my little apartment.  It was a wonderful vanilla cinnamon mix, and I happened to be roasting some pecans at the same time (for our house salad, of course).  I have to say that's one of my favorite things about baking... the way the house smells and the kitchen warms up.

Baking.  About 30 minutes in.

The finished product!  The first bite fresh from the oven is soooo good...

So that's the post for the day.  We had a pretty wonderful sausage, sauerkraut, and potato dinner with our house salad.  Simply delicious!  And way cheaper than going out to eat.  A nice Sunday, and a perfect way to finish the weekend!

xoxo
Franny

Chicken Chipotle Tacos

This is one of my favorite meals.  Matt is a chicken chipotle taco master.  I crave these tacos... the chicken is cooked perfectly, the spices are delicious.



The chicken.



The beans.



Bien Padre flour tortillas.


I didn't know this when I moved here, but Bien Padre is an Arcata based company.  We've been eating Bien Padre tortillas my whole life! 


The beautiful finished product.  Topped with fresh lettuce from my
back porch container garden.

 A totally wonderful meal. 

xoxo
Franny

Summer Food

I've got some catching up to do!  First, would love to show you some of our grilling pictures... we had burgers the other night and they were delicious!  Nothing like meat on the coals on a cool summer evening!



Look at the size of those burgers!



I want one right now.

On a little side note, my tomato plants are doing pretty good.  Well, three out of four of them are doing good.  The grape sized cherry tomato plant is doing great, and I just ate the first ripe tomato from it last week.

Tiny tomato.

So the other night Matt made spaghetti with meatballs, and it was really really amazing.  I mowed through mine.  I pretty much can't wait till he makes it again (hint hint?).



I love Matt's sauce!



The more cheese the better!


Today, I did some baking for a potluck.  Matt was making chili, so I thought it would be fun to make cornbread muffins.  I added some shredded cheese, and stuck a little jalapeno in the top for some spice.  They turned out great!



Muffins are the best.

 That's all for now!

xoxo
Franny

Home Cookin

The girls, hanging out on the porch

Tonight it was all about home cookin... Matt is the most talented cook I've ever had the pleasure of eating with.  Our meals are heavenly! 

Tonight we started with our "house salad."  Red leaf lettuce, pear (or apples), gorgonzola, balsamic dressing, and toasted pecans.  I love this salad.  I crave it.  I think about it while I'm at work.  What a combo!

We've perfected our salad.

And then... the main course.  I got some nice looking pork chops from the store.  Matt cooked them in this amazing combination of capers, butter, and marsala wine.  Oh my goodness.  Such a rich wonderful flavor.  I am a lucky girl.



I'm a fan of the meat and potato meal.

  The combination of the fresh sweet salad with the savory pork and potatoes was just delicious.  I'm going to be thinking of this meal for a while!  I love my chef!


xoxo
Franny

200 cupcakes

I love making cupcakes.  Any time I am asked to provide dessert for a group of folks (work functions, birthday potlucks, etc.) I usually end up making some cupcakes.  And they're always a hit! 

This particular event was a friend's wedding.  The bride specifically requested fun-fetti cupcakes for the event.  So I worked with a friend to bake over two hundred of those little guys. 

I used my mom's Kitchenaid mixer (and her kitchen) to make my half of the cupcakes.



They smelled soooooo good...



The location was a beautiful redwood grove campground.  Perfect!



We made a full sized cake too, for the newlyweds.  The bride sampled it by taking a nibble out of the side.

It was a really fun afternoon... everyone had a good time, and the dinner was delicious. Roast pig, mashed potatoes, veggies... I should have taken pictures of that but I was too busy eating it!  I'm looking forward to finding another reason to make cupcakes... I've been bitten by the baking bug!

xoxo
Franny

 

Best Gas Station Burrito. Ever.

I've been a customer of various Aztec Grill locations throughout my time in northern California.  I first discovered their fresh Mexican cuisine-on-the-go while camping in Trinidad.  We didn't want to spend much, and wanted to eat something warm and delicious for dinner.  Aztec Grill burritos were our saving grace.

My favorite burrito is the carnitas supreme with black beans.  The pork is savory and tender, and the guacamole, salsa, rice and beans, melty cheese and cool sour cream are fresh as can be.  Not to mention, the supremes are as big as my face.



The one marked "no guacamole" is not mine.  Try as I might, I can't explain Matt's distaste for avacados.  :)



Do you see the beautiful carnitas?  The fresh ingredients?  These burritos make me happy.

After you've experienced one of these delicious creations, you should probably take a look around and see if the Chevron you're in has a F'real milkshake machine.  You choose what type of shake you want (they even have healthier options like fruit smoothies) and stick it in the magical cup.  The magical cup goes into the machine and when it comes back out, it's a heavenly perfect milkshake.  My favorite is usually the chocolate.

I worship you, F'real chocolate milkshake.

So the next time you are on a road trip and you see those bright blue gas station lights, pull on in there and see if you're lucky enough to have found an Aztec Grill and a F'real, because you'll be greeted with some new favorite treats!

xoxo
Franny

Remembering Paris

I went to Paris with my mom a couple of years ago.  It was an amazing trip, and one of the highlights was experiencing their food.  It appears that the French love bread and cheese as much as I do, so I found myself in a culinary heaven.  We had a kitchen in our petite apartment on Rue Dauphine, and we would stop at the market for treats to keep in the cooler. 



Midnight snack.



Brie and bread.



A breakfast of pear, bread, and a delicious creamy vanilla bean yogurt
(sold in terra cotta pots) that I will remember and crave until I can have it again... divine.


Walking around Paris, we saw pastries and confections that would put some of our American bakeries to shame.  Supreme attention to detail. 



The line was out the door for these desserts.



Mom was pretty excited about her chocolate crepe!



My cone has a tomato-raspberry scoop, mom went with classic chocolate.

My favorite meal had to be the dinner we had at Restaurant la Mere Catherine, after our visit to Sacre Cour.  The village up there on the hill was magical, with a beautiful view of the city.  The lights at night were enchanting.



A view of the city from Sacre Cour.



Sacre Cour at night.



Lovely little lights.



The best dinner I had.  It was filled with cheese, zuchini and tomato, baked with
more cheese and maybe some egg.  Simply delicious.


 I am going to have to go back someday.  Not only for the food, but also to experience the art and architecture and culture again.  I loved everything about being there.  Until next time Paris!  Au revoir!

xoxo
Franny