I was so great, they wanted another!

This weekend, Thatbrother celebrated another birthday (they're getting to be a habit with him). This year it's been very important to us to spend birthdays together as a family, starting with Thatmom's birthday only 3 weeks after Thatdad's death. Even if it's only a dinner, we make it a point to be together. Since Thatbrother's birthday fell on a holiday weekend, he lucked out and got more than a dinner. The original plan was a family trip to Boston. Then, because Thatbrother has become very interested in wine the past few years, Napa was suggested. When it appeared that work wouldn't really allow him a long weekend, we decided on an overnight trip - to Santa Barbara. Except we decided this about 2 weeks before his birthday, and have you tried to book a hotel in Santa Barbara for 5 people on Labor Day weekend for one night? Let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight.

And so, this weekend we ended up in Temecula, an easy hour drive for both Thatboy and I, as well as Thatbrother, UDubb, and Thatmom.

But there's more to Temecula than old westerny antique stores! There's also this:

Temecula is home to one of Southern California's wine regions! (And the closest one to us). The wineries are lined up for miles on two different rows, one right after another - making it very easy to spend a day winery hopping. And that's exactly what we did.

Thatbrother was equally impressed with the dogs as he was with the wines - he made friends with each and every one we met.

A super quick rundown of the wineries we visited:

South Coast - I had been warned that the wine here wasn't the greatest and it was more of a tourist trap than anything else, but we wanted to get both the "big wine" feel as well as some of the smaller, family based wineries. Despite low expectations, everyone had a fantastic time here. The guy that helped with our tastings - Chris - was fantastic! He was really able to help everyone find their favorite and was so knowledgeable about the wines. Thatbrother even joined the wine club here.

Palumbo - Fantastic reds. This is a suuuuuuuper small place, and you definitely get a "family run" vibe here. The woman who helped us out was great, and when we had an issue with the bottle we purchased leaking in the hot Temecula sun, she even traded us out for a new non-leaky one. Turns out those natural corks are not friends of heated bottles in cars.

Thorton - Another big winery, but we didn't like it as much as South Coast. They're known for their champagne, but Thatboy and I found the champagne tour at Korbel in Sonoma to be WAY better.

Falkner - No one was impressed here. The winery was packed, hot, and the pourers looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. And none of the wines we tried were anything to write home about.

Hart - This was one of our favorite experiences. Bigger than Palumbo, but with that same, small, family vibe. The wines were excellent (at least the ones we tried), and the pourers were helpful, friendly, and informative. They knew their wines and insured we tried "the best."

Our original plan was to have dinner in Temecula, but after eating and drinking all day, none of us were especially hungry so instead we parted ways and each headed home.

The next day, Thatboy and I had our own celebration - in Thatbrother's honor of course. We hit up my favorite Farmer's Market and used the good stuff to make a three course summer meal! Animal, Vegetable, Miracle didn't fail me as it had lately - of the three dishes, two were fantastic. We weren't wholly impressed by the cucumber yogurt soup. The grilled vegetable panini, although not panini-like in the loosest definition of the word was a great light dinner. The "cherry" sorbet quickly became a blackberry sorbet when I found some at the farmer's market. Thatboy declared it one of the best desserts I've ever made - and there isn't even chocolate in it! He ate almost the whole container.

Cucumber Yogurt Soup (recipe found at animalvegetablemiracle.com)

Local ingredients used:

Cucumbers (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

Grilled Vegetable Panini (recipe found at animalvegetablemiracle.com)

Local Ingredients Used:

Summer Squash (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

Eggplant (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

Rosemary (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

Thyme (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

French Bread (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

Mozzarella (Doesn't get any more local than me making my own right? I've got it down to a science....and 1% milk!)

"Cherry" Sorbet (recipe found at animalvegetablemiracle.com)

Local Ingredients Used:

Blackberries (Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

- note: If you're going to use blackberries I HIGHLY recommend straining the seeds after you're done with the blender. I did, and Thatboy kept commenting on how perfect the texture was.

Let's All Do Like the Tourists Do

When I was living in Austria, Thatboy came to visit me for a week. Even though I was sick as a dog for most of the time he was there, we did as many touristy things as we could. AND we had such a great time we decided to do touristy things when I got back to the states - in our own backyards.

When we moved to San Diego, the first thing we did was buy a guidebook - filled with activities and events and information about San Diego. So now whenever we're found with one of those "what do you want to do? I dunno what do you want to do" days, we pull out the book and pick out an adventure.

Last week we found ourselves both with a free afternoon and started flipping through the book. "Hey - we still haven't been to the Birch Aquarium yet!" headed us on our way to La Jolla. But as I ran back in to get a coupon (yup, I've got coupons for just about every activity in San Diego) Thatboy flipped through the book himself, and asked how I felt about going to the sea caves. Since we hadn't been there either, we decided to check them out - after all, it was already probably 3:00, not giving us much time for any activity.

The seacaves are located on the northern most point of La Jolla Cove, and while I was familiar with the cove because it's where Prez and I used to go for our after school/after work walks, I hadn't ever made it as far north as the sea caves - when we weren't eating at a restaurant overlooking them.

All the sea caves are accessible by water, but only the largest, Sunny Jim*, can be accessed by land.

Hope your not afraid of the dark....or heights....this staircase reminded Thatboy and I of the Salt Mines in Salzburg.

After you descend the dark and very narrow stairway, you're greeted with a view of Sunny Jim himself! I'll admit that I didn't even see the face till Thatboy pointed it out - not the Queen of Observation, apparently.

Looking throught the cave gives you a great view of La Jolla Shores, and the many kayakers and snorkelers who were taking advantage of the unusually warm water.

The snorkeling by the sea cave was really good. How do I know? Because we could see these giant orange fish once we went back up and stood on the cliff overlooking the cave. FROM THE CLIFF!

After the seacave, Thatboy and I decided to walk along the cove, like Prez and I used to. We stopped to examine the tidepools which housed little fish, crabs, and my favorite- anemones!

I'm devastated by the legislation concerning the seals/sea lions that once made their home at Children's Beach. For those of you who aren't San Diegans, these animals have been here for years, but local La Jolla-ians have decided it was time for them to go and lobbied for legislation to dredge the beach, taking away the sand the seals/sea lions would sunbathe on. There used to be seals and sea lions by the dozens, but when we went, all that was left was this one little guy along the sea wall.

We did see some sea lions further along our walk, closer to the sea caves, so I'm hopeful that they'll stick around, and just move on down the way.

We came home and had an "end of summer" kind of dinner filled with fresh produce. I picked up Animal, Vegetable, Miracle again and attempted to give it another shot.

The cantaloupe salsa was a hit. I served it over chicken, and Thatboy thought both the salsa and the chicken were excellent.


The "blackberry crumble" however was not as popular. Unable to find blackberries at my local farmer's market I decided to substitute raspberries (we ARE going with fresh and local, right?) Like the rhubarb crisp from an earlier chapter, this also ended up tart and unbelievably watery. I'm beginning to think the baked dishes in the book are better labeled as "soup."

Melon Salsa (recipe available at animalvegetablemiracle.com)

Local ingredients used:

cantaloupe (La Jolla farmer's market)

red bell pepper (La Jolla farmer's market)

red onion (La Jolla farmer's market)

Basil Blackberry Crumble (recipe available at animalvegetablemiracle.com)
Local ingredients used:

raspberries (from the La Jolla farmer's market)

*Trivia! "Sunny Jim" was also a nickname given to Thatdad by one of his teachers.

Just in case you still have some guacamole...

To be fair, guacamole does not last long in Thathouse. I don't know that it's ever lasted more than two days. Mostly because we eat it nonstop. We put it on burgers, obviously, and chips, carrots, pita, apple, almost anything we can get our hands on. Which is not to deter the usual usage - atop perfectly cooked slices of steak resting in a warm corn tortilla - steak tacos!

The key is not to overcook your steak - steak tacos need not be relegated to overcooked leftovers, instead pick up a beautiful piece of sirloin and let the steak sing, covered with fresh onions, cilantro, salsa, and of course, who could forget, the guacamole!

And kids - don't forget a nice, icy cold beer to go with them - trust me.

Steak Tacos

• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 cup cilantro, plus more for topping
  
• 1/2 lb sirloin steak
• 4 corn tortillas
• guacamole
• salsa
• red onions, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
  

1. Combine chipotle pepper, orange juice, cumin, garlic, and cilantro in a blender and puree.
   
2. Place flank steak and marinade in ziplock and refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Remove steak from marinade, season with salt and pepper.
   
4. Heat grill pan over high heat and cook steak 3-4 minutes per side.
5. Heat tortillas until warm and pliable.
6. Slice the steak into thin pieces and divide it among the tortillas.
7. Top with guacamole, salsa, minced red onions, extra cilantro and a squirt of fresh lime juice

Burger Bonanza!

As much fun as my adventures have been, all this travel means I've been getting a little behind on my food blogging. So I thought instead of posting 3 different entries about burgers, I'd post one entry with 3 burgers. Think of it as the perfect reference tool for whenever you're trying to spice up the grill.

For me, summers are almost synonymous with burgers - picnics, bbqs, parties, or a combination of all three. You saw how desperately we sought burgers on vacation, and at home we probably have burgers once a week - which could get old if you aren't creative and versatile. I mix up my meats (beef, turkey, veggie) and toppings so we never really have the same burger twice.

Turkey Burgers are my favorite kind of burger. I don't know why, for some reason I feel like I can play more with turkey burgers - the taste of the turkey doesn't overwhelm the burger the way beef does. And don't worry about it being dry, just slather on my all time favorite burger topping. Ever since my days of making guacamole 8,9,10 times a night I can find uses for it everywhere!

Southwestern Turkey Burger

• 1/2 lb turkey
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 slices swiss cheese
• tomato and onion slices
• guacamole
• 2 burger buns

1. Mix turkey, salt, and pepper, and shape into 2 patties.
2. Preheat grill pan, cook patties 4 minutes per side.
3. Place 1 Tbsp of chilies on top of each patty, cover with a slice of swiss.
4. Dress buns with tomato and onion slices, top with the burgers, and slather with guacamole.

Now that you have that guacamole all made and ready to go, let's put it on a different burger. First, we'll switch out the turkey for a veggie burger. Usually I have to bend and break arms to get Thatboy to eat a veggie burger, but when I load it up with a ton of other stuff, he doesn't even miss the meat. I like to use a really flavorful cheese like cheddar when I have veggie burgers.


Veggie Burger

• 2 veggie burger patties
• 2 burger buns
• 2 slices cheddar cheese
• onion and tomato slices
• lettuce
• guacamole

1. Preheat grill pan over medium high heat. Cook patties 5 minutes on each side.
2. Place slice of cheese on each patty and let them melt 1 minute.
3. Place guacamole on bottom bun, top with lettuce, patty with cheese, tomato, onion, and more guacamole!

I don't see the commercials nearly as often as I used to, but for a while, everytime you blinked your eye, Carls Jr. was advertising for the portobello burger. Now, I'm no stranger to portobello burgers. When we first moved to California I might have ordered one from every restaurant we went to. A throwback to my vegetarian days. But the difference is, the burgers I used to have subbed the mushroom in for the patty. Carl's Jr. provides both the mushroom AND the beef! I thought this sounded like a pretty good idea, so I attempted to try it myself. The result was a two hander that definitely got all over your face.

Portobello Mushroom Burger

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup steak sauce
• 2 medium portobello mushrooms, stems removed
• 1/2 bell pepper, halved
• 2 slices monterey jack cheese
• 2 burger buns
  

1. Mix ground beef and 1/4 cup steak sauce and shape into patties.
2. Heat grill pan over medium high heat. Cook burgers 6 minutes per side, or till cooked through. While burgers are cooking, grill peppers and mushrooms, brushing with steak sauce as they cook.
3. Add cheese slices and let melt for one minute.
4. Place burgers on buns and top each with a quarter of pepper and a portobello mushroom.

Cocktails are for girls

Whenever Thatboy and I vacation, we tend to pick a "local" drink and stick with it. When we vacationed in Puerto Vallarta, we drank Palomas day in and day out. When we're in Hawaii, we tend to drink Mai Tais (except for the fateful trip when Thatdad decided to make Pina Coladas with 151 Rum - but that's a story for another time).

This trip, Thatboy decided he was going to try all the mai tais on the island to determine who served the best one. Each night we would rank his drink to see where it fell on the scale. Now that we're back, I've asked him to post his review for the good of humankind. I beg your indulgence here, because he very unwillingly agreed. First, he's shy. So I expect you all to be uncommonly kind. Second, he's expressed to me that he didn't want to write a review of mai tais because "cocktails are for girls." So if you could leave him a comment about how masculine and manly and muscular he is, I'm sure he would feel better about himself. And now, without further ado, I give you the man of the hour, Thatboy:

Thatboy here with the superduper drinking trooper Mai Tai review. Now I know I might catch some flack from my boys for writing this review, because "Cocktails are for Girls," but Scotch at all times would get boring, especially when you're on vacation somewhere known for a particular drink. So here goes the Kauai Mai Tia Countdown (at least for the places we drank):

6. Bar Acuda's - Mai Tais are good for their kick, but best if you can't taste the kick too much. Here you knew what was coming a little too much.

5. Beach House - Beautiful experience eating and looking out the window, but even though a little better than Bar Acuda's, the Mai Tai experience wasn't tasty enough.

4. Hyatt - Here your Mai Tai comes in a hurricane glass rather than a rocks glass, and the flavor is an improvement over 5 and 6, but the price prevents you from getting more bang for your buck.

3. Hanalei Dolphin - Tasty Mai Tia in yet another beautiful setting, and here they have a better understanding of the balancing act between punch and flavor.

2. Westin Resort Nanae Restaurant - Convenient (for us 'cause that's where we stayed), tasty, and for some reason this Mai Tai in particular gave a significant kick.

And, drumroll please.....

1. Keoki's Paradise - The Mai Tai at Keoki's not only delivers with both great taste, especially if you like sweets, and plenty of kick, but they are served with the island style that makes visiting a place like Kauai all that it is supposed to be. When you get your Mai Tai at Keoki's you feel like you've stepped into a far off jungle paradise complete with your tiki-man glass in hand.



Standing ovation for Thatboy's review!!! Now let's check out his modeling skills. I'll do a quick review of THE MOST important aspect of our trip - the shave ice. Shave ice is one of my all time favorite things. As soon as we landed I started scoping out where the nearest shave ice was. It was my goal to eat shave ice every day - I didn't quite make it. I did get to try three different shave ice places and here's my review of those three. Thatboy had a shave ice in Koloa which he described as "alright, nothing special" and Thatmom had one in Kapa'a and it was even less impressive. So it's my thought that these are the top three shave ices in Kauai - but there must always be a winner. In Highlander speak "There can be only one."

3. Wishing Well Shave Ice - We hit up this truck on our way back from surfing in Hanalei. Thatboy was very impressed with the fact that he could get condensed milk and coconut on top of his three flavors. I thought the ice was too hard - not fine enough, which made me feel more like I was eating a snow cone and not a shave ice.

2. Jo Jo's Shave Ice - Everyone got to try this one on our way back from Waimea. Have you ever seen Thatmom so happy? How about Thatbrother or Thatboy looking so confused? That's what you get when you have a crazy stalker sister waiting outside to snap your picture as you exit. Thatmom, who usually sticks with one flavor (grape) went all out and got three flavors. We loved the fact that it came in different sizes for those with differing appetites. Thatboy went with one of their specialties which had coconut shave ice, coconut, condensed milk, azuki beans, jellies, and other stuff I couldn't begin to tell you.

1. Hihimanu - This was my favorite shave ice on the island, and lucky for me it was also the one closest to us, which meant I got to have it a lot. It's also right beside Lapperts, which meant everytime Thatmom got a craving, I likewise got to indulge. Thatboy liked Jo Jo's better because Hihimanu does not have coconut shavings, but since I don't care too much about coconut shavings that isn't a detriment for me. I love the finely shaved ice, the flavor selection, and the ginormous size.

Last Bites

Our flight home from Kauai left at 8:40 at night, which gave us one last day. We spent the entire day enjoying the break in rain and laid out by the pool all day.

One of the best parts of staying at the Westin was the proximity to the Princeville Center. The Princeville Center has a Foodland (great for emergency supermarket trips), a Shave Ice stand (more on that tomorrow), Lapperts, and a gas station that has some fantastic grub. A gas station? Yes sir - and I'm not talking about 7-11 kind of food with those rolling hot dogs that have probably been rolling for years. I'm talking about a brick oven for pizza, and a honest to goodness grill for burgers.

So on our last day, Thatboy and I went to return our shave ice cones (they recycle) and picked up a mouthwatering burger to split.

Thatboy's favorite burgers are BBQ burgers with cheese and an onion ring, so that's what we grabbed. It was SO good! Definitely the best burger on the island. Made with local Princeville ranch beef, and dripping in a tangy sweet bbq sauce.

They threw in some onion rings on the side too, and I have to say they're the best I've ever had. Not that I've had a lot of onion rings - but of the few I've tried, these were my favorite.

We spent more time pooling it, and then packed it up and headed down toward the airport. We stopped off for a little more shopping - we needed some more books for the plane trip home (between the two of us, Thatmom and I read 6 books this trip), and some gifts for people back home. We also grabbed a quick dinner, since we knew there wouldn't be much waiting for us at the airport.

Thatmom had asked if there was any place to grab a good sandwich on the island, and I found the Deli and Bread Connection.

Upon entering, Thatmom was reminded of another sandwich place I had taken her to. She was very happy with the choice for dinner, especially when she found out she could get a half sandwich.

You can take the girl out of New York....I saw a reuben on the menu and decided it would be the perfect dinner. The spicy reuben sauce made it even better!

Thatmom loved that she could pick her favorite meat, cheese, and veggies to make her own sandwich. She had a turkey and cheese with tomato and bean sprouts.



Thatboy had the T.O.P.P.S. sandwich with turkey, olives, provolone, pepperchinis, and sprouts. He LOVED it.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, which was perfect since yours truly got singled out for some extra searching. They are THO-ROUGH! Thatbrother felt that the TSA officer should have bought me dinner at least before starting. Since it was a red-eye, Thatboy, Thatmom, UDubb, and I all popped a sleeping pill before takeoff and before we knew it, we were back on the mainland.

Tomorrow I'll review the most important part of the trip - the shave ice, and I'm going to try to talk Thatboy into doing his own Mai Tai review!

Chasing Waterfalls

Before you read this, you may want to take a quick bathroom break - there's going to be lots of running water ahead.

We decided to spend a whole day visiting some of Kauai's waterfalls. Now, usually, the problem with traveling in August is that it's the dry season and the waterfalls aren't running at full throttle. But you remember me mentioning how wet and rainy it had been? Well the waterfalls were as full as they ever could get. Fuller than ma ny of the pictures I had seen in my research and guide book! Unfortunately, the rain also meant that the path to some of the waterfalls was a little muddier and slipperier than some members of our party would have liked.

As we hiked down to Ho'opi'i Falls, Thatmom continued to repeat her mantra - "I am not an outdoorsy girl." She didn't love the fact that we were hiking through the muddy woods, but the trooper that she is, she came along anyway. She was overjoyed when we reached our first stop and there was a rock bench for her to sit on while the rest of us scrambled around the top of the waterfall and across the river.

There is a second falls along this trail, but as a compromise to Thatmom, we headed back after this first falls. After all, there would be plenty more waterfalls to see throughout the day and we didn't want Ms. Notoutdoorsy to burn out too early.

Before we hit the next falls, which I knew would have another hike Thatmom wouldn't like, we decided to stop and bribe her with food. Thatmom could have noodle soup every day, and I had heard fantastic things about Hamura's Saimin - a bowl of broth, noodles, and all sorts of other add-ons. UDubb backed me up with her description of saimin and avowal we wouldn't get anything like it outside of Hawaii.

Hamura's has counter seating only and quite a line when we entered, so Thatboy decided we should take this show on the road! Saimin picnic anyone?

Thatbrother and UDubb had the regular saimin, which just had the broth, ham, fishcakes, and noodles. Thatmom and Thatboy added pork wontons to theirs. I had the special which had all that and pieces of bbq pork. It was salty, warm, and delicious. Even Thatmom LOVED it - which is a big step since she's not very adventurous when it comes to food.

Thatboy and I also split a piece of Lilioki Chiffon Pie. I'm great to split desserts with since I don't want more that a bite or two. The pie was so light and perfect! Good way to end the meal if you like salty and sweet!

Our next stop was really for Thatbrother, UDubb, and Thatboy. We were off to Kipu Falls. To get to Kipu, we had to go through another trail that weaved it's way through sugar cane fields. Thatmom decided a movie should be made about the "children of the sugar cane" starring her as the victim killed by someone jumping out of the sugar cane. She didn't do much better when the sugar cane cleared and we got to cross the rocks to get to the waterfall.

For the rest of us, this site was worth the trip.

Kipu might not be the tallest waterfall on the island, but it was definitely tall enough. Especially because to get into the pool below, you had to jump from the top of the falls. (See why this wasn't for me?) Thatmom and I sat and watched the others jump off and swim in the pool below. Kipu had one other attribute that Thatboy fell in love with.



The rope swing. Thatboy spent almost the entire time at the falls swinging and jumping. He loved it.

By the time we hiked back to the car, Thatmom was definitely done with hiking for the day. Good thing our next waterfalls didn't require walking!

Our next waterfall was Wailua which was putting on its best show for us. Wailua Falls is taller than Niagra Falls and I've decided it's the coolest waterfall I've ever seen. Tall, full, and surrounded by gorgeous greenery. Apparently in ancient times, men would jump off the top. As we stood and looked at it, we couldn't figure out who could be that stupid.

We ended our waterfall tour at 'Opaeka'a Falls. Not as full as Wailua, it was still beautiful to see the twin falls and the rain made 'Opaeka'a fuller than it usually is.

Across from 'Opeaka'a Falls was a gorgeous view of Waileau River. We were able to watch a kayaking party wind its way down the river. Thatboy and I vowed to do that next time. Thatboy decided we'd have to share a kayak, because left on my own, I would surely get left behind or run aground.



We were a little early for our dinner at Kintaro - a sushi and teppanyaki restaurant. We parked our car in the lot, and went to check out some neighboring stores, when a woman in front of the restaurant waved us over. She was a local, and told us that we should get in line to eat now, because as soon as the restaurant opened, the line would stretch into the parking lot - this was apparently a VERY popular restaurant. So we took our seats in line, and moments later it seemed like the rest of the island joined us.

Thanks to our new friend, we were quickly sat when the restaurant opened, leaving us to peruse the menu and figure out what we were going to eat.

Thatmom and I began with salads. Mine had crab, shrimp, cucumber, lettuce, and tomato. Thatmom had the same without the shrimp and crab.

Thatbrother and UDubb ordered several sushi rolls and nigiri. They thought the sushi here was FAR better than at Hanalei Dolphin and both were really impressed with the selection and the taste.

Thatboy and I each had a miso soup - which is when I started realizing today was quickly becoming the "Thatgirl eats soup all day" day.

Since Thatmom doesn't eat sushi, she was thrilled to see choices on the menu like the teppanyaki filet mignon with veggies.

Thatboy doesn't mess around with rice, so he had a plate of sashmi yellowtail. Always contrary, he actually liked the sashimi better at the Hanalei Dolphin.

Continuing on with the soup theme, I had the beef sukiyaki for dinner. OMG was this good. The broth itself was so sweet, the meat was sweet and tender, and there were more noodles! I loved the flavor the broth gave to the tofu and veggies.

After all his sashimi, Thatboy decided we needed another order of the sushi eaters' favorite roll. I can't remember what it was called, but it had tuna, avocado, and salmon in it and everyone (other than Thatmom and me) loved it.

Poor Thatmom was exhausted by the end of dinner. Those kids of hers had run her ragged. Luckily, her fantastic kids knew the quickest way to her heart is ice cream, so we made sure we ended the day with another trip to Lapperts before crashing for the night.