Breakfast with the ponies: Semi-Instant Pancakes

Every summer we go to the Del Mar race track to watch the horses.  They usually have an entire kids' area set up with magicians and face painting and pony rides.  It's great.  And the boys love watching the horses run.

But this year I found out about a special thing the race track does - they host a breakfast!  There aren't any races, but they open the trackside restaurant during morning exercises.  These are the horses that aren't racing that day, but some of the jockeys are.

The neat thing about this breakfast is that you get to be right up close to the horses and really get to see them strut their stuff.

The kids loved it.  In addition to watching the horses run really fast, there was an MC who gave us all sorts of facts about the horses and jockeys out on the track, as well as horses in general.  The boys wanted to know how old the horses were, and she told them all about the various ages.

But the best part of the whole thing was that it was totally cool and overcast.   The races don't start until the afternoon, and the afternoons in July and August are pretty hot.   Especially this year.   And there is very little shade at the race track.  

So we didn't actually make it to the races this year, but we still got our taste of watching the horses run.  And it's an experience I would definitely repeat.

My only negative comment was the breakfast itself.  It's clear the track isn't open for breakfast, and since the breakfast only happens on weekend mornings, they don't really go all out with the menu.  There are muffins and an egg dish.  But really, you're not there for the food.   Not like our house.  Weekend mornings are a time for great breakfasts.  Not on Saturdays when we're running out to swimming, or soccer, or art, but lately Sundays have been very low key around here, and we've taken advantage.

Last year I started making Alton Brown's pancake mix.  It came as a compromise.  Thatboy grew up on Bisquick and before he met me he didn't realize you could make pancakes without it.  On the other hand, I grew up with pancakes made from scratch.  So if I wanted Thatboy to make breakfast on the days I get to sleep in, then I needed to buy Bisquick, or make my own.

I made a little change to the original recipe - I added powdered buttermilk to the mix, which means we don't have to keep the liquid stuff on hand.  Because of this, I keep the mix in the freezer.

 Once the pancakes are made, we have a topping bar where the kids can put whatever they like on top (within reason.  Last weekend I nixed the notion of powdered sugar AND whipped cream).  

Semi-Instant Pancakes (by Alton Brown)

 10 oz semi-instant pancake mix (I use Alton Brown's with powdered buttermilk added, but shhhhh Bisquick would also work)

2 eggs, separated

2 cup buttermilk (or 2 cups water if you've added the powdered buttermilk to your pancake mix)

4 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1. Set a skillet over medium heat.  Place the pancake mix into a large mixing bowl.

2. Whisk the egg whites and buttermilk or water in a separate bowl.

3. Whisk the egg yolks and the melted butter.

4. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk quickly, leaving lumps.

6. When the skillet is hot, grease with cooking spray or butter.  Ladle 1 ounce of the batter into the pan.

7. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes.

8.  Top with butter, syrup, fruit, sugar, whatever your heart desires!

The Play's the Thing: Pert Near Perfect Popcorn

One of my favorite parts of summer is summer theater.  I mean, sure, there's theater year-round, and we're lucky to live in an area with a theater just about every 15 miles, but summer theater is special.  Outside amphitheaters, watching a show with a cool summer breeze, picnics on the grass.

It's also ideal for little theater go-ers, because you can remove them easily.  This is the first year we've been able to take Thatbaby.  The past 2 years he would not have been able to sit for any of it.

There are two outdoor venues that have summer theater.  Usually they each do one family friendly show a year.  This year however, the boys requested to see almost all of the shows, which meant 5 musicals!

It all began at Easter.  Remember Jesus Christ Superstar Live?  Well we were staying in a hotel room when it aired and I could not get my children to sleep.  So like any good parent who wants to watch a live program, I told them they could stay up if they were in bed watching quietly.  And Thatkid fell in love.  For the first act.  He fell asleep during the second.  Thatbaby didn't even make it that long.  When he heard that it was going to be playing this summer, he begged to go see it.  And his little brother wanted to come too.  So our first family theater night was to see Jesus Christ Superstar.

Thatkid still says it's one of his favorite musicals ever.  Thatbaby loved it and for weeks sang "What's the Buzz" (which he took up again this weekend).  He put on shows with his microphone - "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Super Christ Super Star!"

The next show was the family friendly show I was counting on - Annie. Or as Thatbaby calls it, "Andy."  

The very next night, we packed up our show and went just a little farther out to see Newsies.

Newsies was at Moonlight Ampitheater, which is a step up from our community theater.   Nice seats, Broadway sets and costumes, and a lot more room.

For Newsies we got reserved lawn seats, which we like because you get lawn chairs, but also a nice grassy area to spread out a blanket.  The blanket is where the kids like to lie down and watch the show when they get tired.

They were selling Newsboy hats and it was one of those souvenirs that I just couldn't refuse.  Especially because ever since I have been treated to renditions of "King of New York" by these two little noggins.

We made a return to Moonlight when I saw that The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a Disney production.  But it was NOT like Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, or Little Mermaid.

The music was beautiful, and it was really well done, but it wasn't exactly kid friendly.  The boys got a little bored.  It didn't help that the reserve lawn seats were sold out so we were stuck in chairs.  No lying down for them.

This past weekend we saw our last show of the season - In the Heights.  This one wasn't high on my list, despite loving the show.  Thatkid and I saw it at the Moonlight last year.  But once again, claiming it was one of his favorites and asking to see it again, it was hard for me to say no. 

Given the later time of these shows, we didn't picnic as much as eat dinner before hand and just bring snacks with us.  Our snacks were very consistent though - popcorn.

Not just any popcorn, but homemade, stovetop popped popcorn.  I love popcorn, but stove-popped is a special treat for special occasions.  Like everything I make, if I want it done right, I always look to Alton Brown.  He has the best, most simple recipe with just 4 ingredients.  And while the butter is not a necessity, there's really nothing better than hot, fresh, buttery popcorn.

Pert-Near Perfect Popcorn  (By Alton Brown)

3 Tbsp peanut oil

3 oz popcorn kernels

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1. Place oil, popcorn, and salt in a large metal bowl.  Cover with aluminum foil and poke several slits in the top with a knife.  Place the bowl over medium heat and shake.  You can make handles from the foil or use a tong.  When the popcorn stops popping, remove from heat.
2. Remove the foil and drizzle butter over the popcorn, tossing to coat evenly.

12 years: Watermelon Mai Tai

On August 6, Thatboy and I celebrated 12 years of marriage.

It's crazy.  I barely feel old enough to have a nearly 7 year old, let alone be married for 12 years. 

Before Thatkid was born, we used to go all out with anniversary celebrations.  But that became a lot harder once we had kids. 

This year we had tickets to a show that just happened to be 2 days before our anniversary and we decided to celebrate early.  We called up the babysitter, made reservations at Juniper and Ivy, and made an evening out of it.


Thatboy had been wanting to try Juniper and Ivy for years, but we just don't get downtown by ourselves often, and it's not a kids restaurant. 

We started off with a couple of fancy drinks while we exchanged presents.

Soon after we were greeted with an amuse bouche from the chef - their version of deviled eggs - a meringue base with whipped egg yolk which literally melted in your mouth.

We decided that rather than order entrees (plates) we would order a bunch of the smaller plates and share, tapas style.  That way we could try more things from the menu. 

First up were chicken curry arancini balls, and Thatboy's favorite menu item, Baja Yellowtail tostada.

Then came the lamb with pine nuts.

One of the restaurant specialties is their buttermilk biscuit.  We got our with a fois gras butter.  This was right up our alley - hot and served in its own baking dish, with the butter melting down into it.

Next came the salads.  Thatboy can't turn down anything with heirloom tomatoes, so the tomato salad with jalapeno caught his eye.  And the watermelon salad with granita and avocado seemed like a wonderful fresh summer salad.  Both had just the right amount of kick to make them both refreshing and spicy.

Neither of us can turn down burrata, so obviously the burrata and nectarine salad made its way to our table.

Round 2 of drinks.

Then came the more main-course bites.  This lasagna layered thinly sliced potato with pork belly.  It was so good, I'm thinking of playing around to try and make my own version for Passover this year. 

The Carne Cruda Asada was topped with quail egg and cotija.  I couldn't get over how cute the little quail eggs were on top. 

Our final dish was the Uni Carbonara.  I'm fairly sure that uni is the reason the word umami was invented.  It captures the flavor perfectly.

We ended the evening with the restaurant's signature dessert - the Yodel.  A twist on a swiss roll, chocolate cake filled with white chocolate balls with hot chocolate poured over top.  And to celebrate our anniversary, the kitchen also sent over sparkling rose and a chocolate ice cream bar.

We enjoyed our dinner so much, we ended up being a little late to our show.  But in keeping with the evening, it was a fantastic show and a wonderful addition to the evening.  It was one of the nicest anniversaries we've spent since the boys were born.

In keeping with the celebratory theme of the evening, I thought a drink recipe might be nice.  Thatboy and I really enjoyed the specialty cocktails at Juniper and Ivy and it made me realize that we mostly have been sticking to beer and wine at home.  So I decided to fancy it up a bit.

We had made a recent trip to IKEA while redoing the boys' rooms this summer and picked up some elderflower syrup.  Which is such a great addition to summer drinks - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  Which is how it got added to a watermelon mai tai recipe AND a lemonade recipe.  Something for Thatboy and I to enjoy, and something for the boys to enjoy!

Watermelon Mai Tai (Adapted from the Food Network)

1 cup cubed watermelon

6 Tbsp rum

1/4 cup elderflower syrup

juice of 2 limes

2 Tbsp sugar

1. Puree all ingredients.
2. Serve over ice.

Elderflower Lemonade

Juice of 5 lemons

1 cup sugar

3 cups water

1/4 cup elderflower syrup

1. Combine all ingredients.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  
2. Serve over ice.

Life's a Beach: Rainbow Popsicles

Even when you live in California, with arguable "beach weather" year round (and I'm definitely ready to argue after weeks of rain in the winter, followed by May Grey and June Gloom), it's not summer without a day at the beach.

When Thatkid was little, we lived down the street from the beach and went all the time - for evening walks, or an hour here or there.  Now that we live farther, we don't go nearly as often because it's not as convenient for a pop in and out.

But a couple of weeks ago Thatmom wanted to take Thatkid for an afternoon and we decided to take Thatbaby to the beach - a little special treat for our poor second child who doesn't get to go to the beach or spend time with just mom and dad.

He had such a great time running into the white water.  He's a little more fearful than his older brother and getting ankle deep was adventurous enough for him.  We also collected shells, built sandcastles, played frisbee, and had a water shooter fight.

I suggested we do a little digging and burying and that was very well received.

Of course after he was done being buried, he wanted to do some digging and burying of his own.

I think he really enjoyed the two-on-one attention he got and the fact that we really let him lead the adventure, doing whatever he wanted to do while we were there.  We rarely do what he wants to do.  Poor kid is definitely at the bottom of the family ladder.  But I try.  Like when he wanted to make "rainbow popsicles."  I'm not going to lie, these are a bit labor intensive and kind of a pain to make.  But they make the kids so happy.  I've been known to make rainbow smoothies on occasion - which is the same recipe I use for tie-dye smoothies, which is now the same recipe I use for rainbow popsicles.

Rainbow Popsicles

5 frozen bananas

2 1/2 cups plain yogurt, divided

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1 orange

1 cup frozen pineapple

1/2 cup spinach

1 cup chopped kiwi

1 cup frozen blueberries

1.  For the first layer, place a frozen banana, 1/2 cup yogurt, raspberries and strawberries in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  For each of these layers add water if necessary to thin, but you want it to be relatively thick so the layers sit on top of each other instead of blending.  Divide between popsicle molds.
2. For the second layer, combine a frozen banana, 1/2 cup yogurt, peaches and orange in a blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully layer over the first layer in the molds.
3. For the third layer combine a frozen banana, 1/2 cup yogurt (are you getting the picture?) and frozen pineapple in a blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully layer over the the orange layer in molds.
4. For the fourth layer combine a frozen banana, 1/2 cup yogurt, spinach and kiwi in the blender and blend until smooth. Carefully layer over the yellow layer in the molds.
5. For the fifth layer combine a frozen banana, 1/2 cup yogurt, and blueberries in the blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully layer over the green layer in the molds.
6. Place tops/sticks in the mold and freeze until solid.

Wonder-ful: Strawberry Lemonade

I'm by no means a social media guru.  I'm more like your grandmother trying to navigate through most forms of social media.  I'm just barely getting the hang of it. 

A couple months ago I saw a pretty picture of kids in lights on instagram.  Because I knew the ....grammer?  poster?  whatever you call the person who took and posted the picture was in San Diego, I clicked through to find out where it was.

It was a pop-up museum called "Wonderspaces."  In general, I find that most of these pop-up museums are just a way to take your money so you can take pictures and post them to social media.  And I'm not willing to fork over money to take pictures.  (See?  Not social media savvy) But these exhibits, while definitely beautiful and instagram-worthy, were also really interesting pieces of art.  And I knew Thatboy would love it.  He loves modern art, and especially shiny things.

There were a couple virtual reality exhibits, which Thatbaby couldn't deal with.  But there were other interactive exhibits like a room with plants that were hooked up to some stereo system so your touch triggered different sounds.  And this one where you could write "To Do" notes.

Thatkid's favorite exhibit was squid soup, which is the same exhibit that caught my eye initially.

Another interactive exhibit was body paint, where movement was captured by color splashing across a screen.

Thatbaby's favorite exhibit was "Into the Breath."  While they loved looking at the giant balloon shaped exhibit, they loved even more going inside.  It was like a bounce house without the bounce.  The idea was a space where you can just enjoy and appreciate the quiet.  And Thatbaby did...for about 2 minutes, which is pretty good for a 3 year old.

"The Border" symbolized the edge of dreams and waking.  Thatbaby loved it.  It was like a kid's fantasy come to life. 

And because all kids love balloons...

The kids loved the space - although Thatbaby had a serious 3 year old meltdown and had to take a break for a while (which you'd never guess from these photos, but I wasn't going to take photos of him screaming and crying.)

When we got home, we got the little guy down for a nap.  He was MUCH happier when he awoke.  And ready to make one of his favorite drinks.  My kids love lemonade, and in the summer I love homemade lemonade.  Thatbaby asked if we could make strawberry lemonade, and so I was happy to comply.  Lemonade is easy enough for even a 3 year old to make - with some supervision. 

Strawberry Lemonade

1 1/2 cups strawberries

5 lemons

1 cup sugar

3 cups water

1. Trim strawberries and cut them in half.

2. Combine strawberries and the juice of 1/2 a lemon in a blender and puree until smooth.

3. Press puree through a sieve into a pitcher to remove strawberry seeds.

4. Juice the remaining lemons.  (If you're working with a small child, keep that sieve handy.  It'll catch those lemon seeds)

5. Combine lemon juice, sugar, and water in the pitcher with the strawberry puree.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Serve over ice.