Take a Hike

So, the original plan for Friday was to go wine tasting, since the inlaws LOVED when Thatboy and I took them wine tasting in Sonoma. And last time they came down, I gave TMIL a gift basket with some local wines and she really loved one that's just about 20 minutes from us.

BUT, as usual, TFIL had to put a damper on our plans. You see, TFIL, who used to drink on a daily basis, was told by his doctor, once again, that the alcohol was NOT good for his diabetes. Although he has been told this before, he decided to take it seriously and no longer drinks. Which is fabulous - I'm honestly really happy he's taking care of himself. The problem is, when TFIL decides to do something he RAILS against everyone who is doing what he likes to do. So now every time he sees someone drinking he goes on and on and on about how terrible alcohol is for you, and how it keeps you from accomplishing anything, and slows down your mental facilities, and makes you unmotivated, and so on and so forth. So we decided taking him to a winery so that TMIL could enjoy her chardonnay (which she drinks a bottle of every night), would be miserable for all of us listening to him rant and rave.

Instead, we asked TMIL and TFIL what they would like to do and TMIL inquired if there was any hiking in the area. There is. A ton. And we decided to take them to one of our favorite easy hiking spots - because TFIL doesn't like exerting himself too much. So off to Cabrillo National Monument we went.

And BONUS! Because it's National Park week, we got in free!!!!!!!!!

This is Juan Cabrillo. I think he founded San Diego...or something like that. It tells the story on the base of that statute, but I don't remember what it says. I was distracted by the view. And wouldn't you be?

I love San Diego.

And the views from Cabrillo National Monument are some of the best in the county.



And the hike around it gives you these views the entire time.



Except Thatdad missed most of these views. Because at the very start of the trail, he decided he didn't want to go on the hike. So he sat on a bench while we did the 1 mile, scenic hike, we had picked out especially because it would be easy for him.

Even this little guy gave him the side eye.

I called these plants the Seuss flowers. Because, they look like something from the Lorax.

Thatboy calls these the "Lost" islands. He thinks the survivors of Oceanic 815 probably live there.




This is the new lighthouse. The working one. So pretty and scenic! I love the lighthouse and palm trees surrounding it. But because it's working, we spent our time at the old lighthouse.

This one hasn't been in use since the early 1900s...I think. There was another one of those plaque thingies I didn't really read or remember. But ooooohhhh light house!

We got to go inside and climb up to the top!

I always forget how much we love Cabrillo, and TMIL agreed. She kept saying things like "I didn't even know this place existed" which was funny, because she's not from San Diego so I don't know how she'd know about it. But she thought it was beautiful and really enjoyed our time there.

As for TFIL....for the past 3 days he kept asking if we could go to Nordstroms Rack....seriously? Oookkkeeee - so after lunch we headed to Nordstroms Rack. Since we were there, I picked up some new kicks for me. Snazzy, no?

And by then it was 3pm. Which is naptime for TFIL. To be fair, he'd been asking when we were heading back since about 5 minutes after we got to Cabrillo. Because no one can go for 5 hours without a nap! That's insanity!

While he napped and TMIL read, Thatboy and I hit up the gym and made dinner. Something simple and comforting. Stew and bread!

Irish Stew

A great way to use up leftover lamb - and we had leftover lamb in the freezer, perfect! And oh so easy.

1 lb of lamb, cut into bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp shortening
1 cup carrot, sliced
1 cup turnip, cubed
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 onion, sliced
salt
pepper

1. Melt shortening in dutch oven. Add lamb and brown on all sides.
2. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over lamb, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Add carrots, turnips, potatoes, onion, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
   

Garlic Bread
I have to admit, having the extra time in the afternoon to make dinner meant I got to make homemade bread. Which I LOVE doing. I took my favorite French Bread Recipe, and when it came out of the oven, I cut slices into it and spread some homemade garlic butter down the slices. Then I wrapped it in foil and heated it at 400 until it got all good and garlicy. Yum.

Chocolate Bread Pudding
Because every good dinner needs an equally homey comforting dessert!

1 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 cups super hot milk
1 cup bread cubes
1/6 cup sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 1 qt baking dish with cooking spray. Break chocolate into bit and melt in the milk, stirring until smooth.
2. Add the bread crumbs and set aside to cool.
3. Once cool, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 50 minutes.
   

All Good in Carlsbad

Thatboy and I took the day off work to entertain TFIL and TMIL. TMIL is an AVID reader of Sunset magazine. Not like "oh, I enjoy the articles" kind of reader, but a "some people read the bible, I read Sunset magazine" kind of reader. She literally uses it to plan every every day trip they go on, and every restaurant they eat at. And recently they did an article about Carlsbad. So TMIL requested we go there. You know, because SUNSET MAGAZINE SAID TO.

Which wasn't a big deal for Thatboy and I. We had already planned on taking them to the Flower Fields after our last successful trip. TMIL loves flowers and gardens. She had a fabulous time. And last time we were there, the roses weren't quite in bloom yet, this time they were big, beautiful, and fragrant. So I played some more with my Super Macro.

And we also found this little guy who looks SO freaking cool. And SO freaking scary. Check out those green/blue fangs! And all them eyes! Anyone have a clue what kind of spider this is? I'm thinking "poisonous" but I'm sure someone will fill me in with a more technical name.

After the Flower Fields, TMIL wanted to pick up a gift for the upcoming birthday of Thatniece. So we used a super special "get in free" pass to Legoland to pick up a present. Everyone should visit Legoland for free. I highly recommend it. Because then you get to see dinosaurs made out of legos:

And elephants made out of legos:

And of course, buildings made out of legos! Like the Capitol building in Washington D.C.

And the Lincoln Memorial:

And one of our favorite weekend destinations:

And of course, New York City!!!!

It's fun to see miniaturized versions of places we've been in real life. But not everyone thought it was so much fun. As we were leaving, we saw some parent berating a poor entrance worker. The conversation went something like:

Crazy Angry Mom: You know. I really wish this place didn't have x-boxes.
Poor Entrance Worker: Yes Ma'am.
CAM: I don't even know why you would have video games at an amusement park. Completely unnecessary and it makes things very difficult.
PEW: Yes Ma'am.

Seriously? I mean, I get she was with 3 children, one of whom was crying hysterically....but somehow I don't really see how that's Legoland's fault. Hundreds of children are able to enjoy the park even with a video game in the gift shop...used to sell the many Lego video games that are out there. Because you aren't able to control your ONE child around video games, the entire park should cater to that child? That's not how the world works. I can't wait till the kid goes to a school that uses COMPUTERS or something else mom doesn't want him around.

After Legoland, we headed to the Village of Carlsbad for some lunch and walking around. Except, even though this was exactly what TMIL wanted to do, TFIL complained so much about how tired he was, and how he wanted to go back to the hotel and take a nap, we ended up cutting the trip short and dropping them off for a break while I whipped up dinner.

And what did we have for dinner?

Meatloaf
I don't love meatloaf, but Thatboy does, and it cooks quickly. I made this one with ground beef since the inlaws think ground turkey is just for crazy hippies. It's been a while since I've had a ground beef meatloaf, and it was actually pretty good. And covering it with bacon helps ensure the inside stays nice and moist.

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3/4 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/8 cup milk
3 strips bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
   
2. Pat the mixture into a loaf pan and cover with bacon. Bake 45 minutes.
   

Steamed Green Beans
I'm a huge fan of steamed veggies. I like the crispness of them. Thatboy never had steamed veggies before me, but definitely prefers them tossed with butter.

1 lb green beans
butter
salt
pepper

1. Wash beans and remove ends. Steam in steamer basket about 12 minutes.
2. Drain, toss with butter, salt, and pepper to taste.


Hashed Brown Potatoes
I have a HUGE problem with making hashed browns. Remember? As usual, when I'm terrible at something, I turn to Fannie Farmer for the answers. And as usual, she provides. These are not only THE BEST Hashed Brown Potatoes I have ever made, they are also THE BEST Hashed Brown Potatoes I have ever eaten. SO good. The inlaws were very impressed as they have never had anything like that. They're not potato people...which is ironic given their pride on their Irish heritage. I will never ever ever use another recipe again, these are the answer to everything.

6 Tbsp oil
4 cups potatoes, peeled and finely diced
1 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
salt
pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Spread the potatoes evenly over the bottom and sprinkle the onion, salt, and pepper on top.
2. I'm bolding this, because this is THE most important part. I have a problem getting my potatoes cooked through so they can be mashed into the skillet for hash brown making. Fannie Farmer says "Cover the pan and cook over a low heat to cook them through; then turn up the heat for a final browning." PERFECT.
3. While potatoes are cooking, you're going to press down on the potatoes firmly with a spatula several times, and cook until the bottom side is golden brown.
4. With the spatula, cut down the middle of the potatoes and turn each side over.
5. Cook until golden, again pressing down with a spatula several times.

And for dessert: Baked Bananas
The inlaws LOVED this. The sweetness of the banana, the tartness of the lemon. And far healthier for TFIL, the diabetic than ice cream or cake.

4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 Tbsp lemon juice
4 firm bananas
4 Tbsp dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in a baking dish and put it in the oven for 2-3 minutes, until butter is melted.
2. Stir butter and lemon and place peeled bananas in dish, coating with the butter/lemon.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bananas and bake for 15 minutes.

Battle: Brownie

The brownie has come a long way my friends. That's right boys and girls - it's time for a history lesson! On brownies! Don't you wish this was the kind of stuff you learned in your history classes? I mean, how useful is it to know that the Norman Invasion of England took place in 1066? And yet, that piece of information is just sitting in my brain and taking up necessary space. Probably the exact space I could be using to remember to check my underwear and make sure it's not inside out before I put it on (today was not a success). But I digress.

I know we all have our personal history with the brownie. For most of us, it probably began in elementary school, related to bake sales, or birthday treats. I've mentioned before that I thought brownies came out of a box up until I was in college, but that's a slight exaggeration. You see, there was one time when Thatmom made brownies from scratch. Only she forgot to put in the flour....or put in sugar instead of flour....well, you get the idea. We ended up with fudge instead of brownies. Which might explain the switch to box mixes....

I've had my own brownie trials. Try as I might, I can never get them cooked through. Maybe it's a "like mother like daughter" thing and I'm just really good at making fudge. My brownies are always dense and rich, but not like brownies that other people make. After a particularly fall apart experience, I went to the local interwebs to figure out a solution. (Hrmmm - knee pain = internet research; dense brownies = internet research.....I almost don't remember what people did to figure things out before computers). My internetting turned up a VERY interesting and VERY important fact. Did you know, our modern brownie was most probably and very likely invented by....

Drumroll please....

FANNIE FARMER her very own self!

According to several internet sources (and we all know they are infallibly reliable) the first recipe for brownies came from the Fannie Farmer 1896 cookbook. But (and this should surprise no one if they read the very first sentence of this post) it was not the brownie we know and love. Sure it was a bar cookie, but it had molasses and nuts and nary a trace of chocolate. I imagine our girl Fannie knew there was something missing, and in the 1906 revision of the book, chocolate brownies appeared - using the same recipe as her chocolate cookies, but with less flour.

And some of you may remember (if you've been reading long enough) that I happen to have a copy of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook! Right in my very own home! And so I thought it would be a good idea to make "the very first brownie" and see how it compares to my usual recipe. I made them in muffin pans - not because FF recommended that, but because I thought it might help with the "falling apart" my brownies usually succumb to. It did. Of course, now I can't be sure if it was the recipe or the muffin pan, but either way I ended up with some nice, chewy, brownies that didn't mush apart hours after cooling. And didn't stick together when I tried to present them on a plate. Which is a pretty big success if you ask me!

Brownies (The Fannie Farmer Recipe)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x9 pan with baking spray. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler, or in a nonreactive bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth.
2. Stir in sugar, eggs, salt, flour, and vanilla. Pour into pan. Bake 40 minutes.

Brownies (the Thatgirl Recipe)

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

6 Tbsp butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x9 pan with baking spray. Combine cocoa and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Stir in 3 Tbsp melted butter.
3. Add 1/4 cup boiling water and stir until you get a thick batter.
4. Stir in sugar, egg, and remaining 3 Tbsp of butter (melted). Stir until smooth.
5. Add flour, vanilla, and salt and stir until completely blended.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into the pan. Bake 40 minutes.

She's a real sad tomato

The title is in reference to a scene from my all time favorite movie, in which Lauren Bacall bemoans the plight of a poor young woman.

And today, I've been feeling a little sad tomatoish. We're getting down to the wire here folks. Arrival is tonight. Which always whips me into a state of frantic that is unmatched on this side of the Mississippi. I haven't slept, my stomach is so in knots that it's full and sending the overflow of acid up into my throat. To combat that I'm on a strict diet of dairy, citrus, and coffee. Because I'm REALLY not smart today. My coworker Rugby has suggested we order in pizza for lunch. Just to push it over the edge. I'd believe he has a pool going for what time I'm going to puke, but there are only 3 of us in the office today.

Our home is spotless. I've made Thatboy tell me about 700 times how beautiful I am. I am wearing my "Gosh don't you look skinny outfit" today, which consists of a white shirt that I realized was see-through AFTER I got to work. And now contains a nice peachy stain on my right breast from where I dripped yogurt this morning.

What I really need right now is something easy. And frankly people - it doesn't get any easier than bruschetta. Chop some tomatoes, toast some bread, and combine. Of course, it's infinitely better when you remember to buy fresh basil, but don't you think that's asking a lot of me, dear friends? I mean, I'm almost 90% sure I put my underwear on correctly this more, which is a step in the right direction. Two steps actually. One point for remembering to put it on, and one point for putting it on correctly.

Baby steps. Baby steps.

Easy Tomato Bruschetta

1 tsp basil - if you have fresh basil USE IT, and lots of it. If you forgot to pick up fresh basil like me, use the dried stuff

2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar - I'm loving this white balsamic I picked up a little bit ago.

salt

pepper

1/3 cup olive oil - use the best you can find. We're using a Tuscan from my fave olive oil place.

2 cloves garlic

1 french baguette

1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine tomatoes, vinegar, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Combine olive oil and garlic and microwave for 30 seconds.
3. Slice bread at an angle into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush with garlic olive oil.
4. Bake bread slices for 7 minutes, or until golden.
5. Drain tomato mixture and spoon over sliced toasted bread.

Thatboy's girls

Today has been a very good day for Thatboy. As I sit and type this, he's watching Ke$ha dancing around the stage on last week's SNL. When I shot him a "really?" look, he quickly defended himself. "What? I like her!"

And earlier tonight we hit the gym. I love our gym. Normally we get the women in tanks and shorts or capris on the cardio, and the men over in the weight section. Every now and then we'll have an...interesting...addition. Like the girl who showed up in pajamas and slippers and proceeded to run full out on the treadmill. Tonight, we had a different kind of exerciser. We'll call her "naked girl." Mostly because...well, she wasn't wearing any clothing. She wore a sports bra, and boy short underwear. And no shoes or socks. And proceeded to adjust her breasts within the sports bra shortly after starting her...workout. As we left, Thatboy asked me whether I thought she was a stripper or a porn star. "Either way," he told me, "I don't mind. She was hot."

But of course, neither Ke$ha or Naked Girl was going home with Thatboy, so I definitely win as his favorite girl. Especially when I'm the one packing his lunches, making his dinners, and baking up fabulous breakfasts that he can easily take to work with him. Do any of you have husbands/boyfriends/children like this? Thatboy sleeps until the latest possible moment, rushing out the door so he can meet his train. Which means a sit down breakfast is never going to happen. I have to make him something he can pack up and eat on the train or it's no breakfast for Thatboy. And we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

This bread was made during my blueberry phase. Yes, I go through fruit phases. I'll completely forget I like blueberries and then all of a sudden I have one and think - YES! This is what I've been missing! Right now I'm in a Cara Cara orange phase. A little specific, but what the heck. Anyway, back when I was in my blueberry phase, the idea of blueberry bread seemed like a fabulous idea. Like blueberry muffins, but loafier! Almost as fabulous as wearing clothing to the gym.

Blueberry Bread

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, 3/4 cup sugar, apple sauce, and apple juice.
2. Beat in eggs, milk, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Add dry mixture to wet mixture.
   
5. Fold in blueberries and pour into a loaf pan.
6. Combine remaining 2 tsp sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake for 1 hour.
   

The Last Few Weeks

Didya miss me? It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, and the inlaws are on their way which means a flurry of activity involving dusters, brooms, and sponges. And we've been cleaning.

So what have you missed?

Well.....first there was Easter.

Our coworkers enjoyed these chickie cupcakes courtesy of Martha Stewart. Well, courtesy of me, but inspired by Martha Stewart. Because of Passover, I also made them Passover friendly by using flourless chocolate cupcakes as the base. BAD idea. BAD. Don't do it. Unless you like free forming crumbs of cupcakes into lumps because they completely fall apart when removing them from the pan.

Thatboy and I dyed eggs. And I'm hoping by showing this picture I can embarass Thatboy into getting rid of that shirt. I think he's had it since high school. I also think there are more holes in the back than in the front. At least I've stopped him from wearing it outside the house.

The finished project:

G Squared and his folks came down to San Diego for the weekend, so we met them for dinner in Mexico.

Just kidding. We went to Old Town because it was near the G's hotels. But close enough.

I ran another 5k. So far I'm doing great with my "race a month" plan! Even with some unexpected complications.

A couple weeks before the 15k I went on a long run and towards the end my knee starting bothering. Because I received my medical degree online, I decided to consult the internets to determine what was wrong with me. Based on the location of the pain, I self diagnosed myself with ITBS and began stretching and resting the muscle. I thought I was doing great, pain free for a couple of weeks. But after the 15k, I got the pain again. So I tried something new - KT tape. OMG I LOVE THIS STUFF! It makes my knee not hurt AT ALL. And it's cool looking, right?

And it worked great. I PRd this race!

And this is now Thatboy's favorite race. He wants me to run it every year. Because after the race? There's a beer garden! And every runner gets 2 free beers! And fabulous beers, supplied by Pizza Port. And running a 5k then downing 2 beers? Makes me a VERY fun Thatgirl. Just ask Thatbrother who got a drunk dial when I decided I wanted to talk to someone on our walk back to the car.


And then there's the news about my friend Michelle. For the past 11 months, she's been working on writing a book. And it's phenomenal. I've been reading her drafts along the way and telling her good things like "I want to punch the main character and the love interest;" "This is brilliant;" "I hate this entire paragraph;" "I love everything in this scene." And generally confusing her by using every theater term I can think of to describe a piece of writing. Luckily for me, she's a brilliant writer and even more luckily for me, she hasn't killed me yet. And I'm the not the only one who recognizes her talent, because this past week she signed with an agent to represent her book - and the two others that will be following it! Wanna hear a secret? There was more than one agent who was interested. Which isn't surprising to me. She's fabulous.

And UDubb? She's an Aunt! Her brother just had his first baby. A little girl! She's going to be such a fabulous Aunt.

This week has been especially anxious and trying in Thathouse, so Thatmom decided we all needed to relax, and the three of us went to see Kick Ass. Or as Thatmom calls it....Pick Ass. Because she's not great at hearing things over the phone. She admits to thinking that would be a really weird name for a movie.

We all enjoyed the movie. Thatmom enjoyed it more than she thought she would. I think she has a crush on the main character...which is good, because apparently he has a thing for older women. I liked the story line, and thought the battle choreography was great. I'm a sucker for superhero movies. The only thing I didn't love was the mouth on Hit Girl. Swearing tweens just don't do it for me.

And then of course, there's been the endless cleaning cleaning cleaning. But we're at the point now where just a couple last minute pick ups need to be done. Which is definitely a VAST improvement. I don't think our place has been overhauled to this extent since last year when the inlaws came to visit! So we've been doing quick and easy (and pretty healthy) dinners. But everyone gets sick of chicken all the time, and since we're so far from November, it's safe to pull out the turkey again. I love grabbing some turkey tenderloins at the store because they cook really quickly. And throw them in a brine the day before, and it's just like Thanksgiving. But a million times faster!

Turkey Brine

• 1 qt cold water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried celery seed
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Mix all ingredients and stir until salt is dissolved.
   
2. Place turkey in water and refrigerate overnight.
   
3. Remove tenderloins from brine and and rinse well.