Sunday Runday: Hoppy Yoga

I know this is usually my space for running, but sometimes I do things other than run.  Just not as frequently as I used to.  Think of this as...cross-training.

Before I left my last job, a couple of the girls and I started hanging out outside of work.  One of the adventures we had discussed was something that seemed to embody San Diego - "Hoppy Yoga."  Because it doesn't get more San Diego than yoga and beer.  A lot of the breweries around town do this, hosting a yoga class followed by a "beer social."  We discussed different dates and options, and made plans for last Sunday.

This was a great wrap up of my first week at a new job, getting to see my old friends again.  We met at Culture Brewing Company in Ocean Beach before they opened for the day.

We spread out our mats and Katie, from the Hoppy Yoga group, led our class.  It's been a couple months since I've taken a yoga class, but I swear it comes back to you quickly.  And this seemed to work for pretty much every skill level - although as usual, the chaturanga separates the wheat from the chaff.  And I'm all chaff over here.

The class was a little longer than an hour, and after we were given tickets to redeem for a pint of beer. Everyone seemed to gravitate toward the pinker beers.  Strawberry blondes were the favorite, although my tart cherry wit was pretty pink too.

One of the things I really liked about this whole concept is that it encourages you to stick around after the yoga class.  I discussed with my friends the fact that if we had just taken a yoga class, we'd probably all go all separate ways after it was over.  Instead we sat around, talking and laughing, comparing when we had our first tastes of beer.  And then after we walked around exploring the neighborhood.  So good class, good beer, good friends?  It's the trinity of fitness.

Beer and Babies: Layered Chicken Parmesean

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!  We celebrated all weekend thanks to friends and family.  We started on Saturday with a trip up to see The Ks. 

Their country club holds an annual craft beer dinner on St. Patrick's Day weekend, and this year they invited us to join them.  The mere mention of "beer" and "dinner" had Thatboy instantly agreeing.

And I was excited to get the little ones together.  At first, Thatbaby wasn't too impressed with Little K.  Especially because Little K was VERY interested in Thatbaby.  Thatbaby thought it was a little weird the kid beside him kept trying to touch him, and even more nervous that perhaps Little K had ulterior motives that involved stealing Thatbaby's nectarine.

But by the end they were fast friends.  So much so that Thatbaby offered Little K some chocolate brownie.  Sharing food?  Is this my son?

The grownups enjoyed beers by Cismontane paired with course after course of delicious food.   We started with "The Mesa" which was the favorite amid our group.  It's a It is a blend of riesling and pilsner and was served alongside some appetizer snacks - cheese, fruit, and sausages which were cooked in the beer.

Next came Thai Shrimp Skewers and Thai Chicken Wings.  These were paired with the Holy Jim Falls, which was the least favorite of our group.  The extra pale ale was too hoppy for me, and Thatboy didn't like the flavor of the hops.

Dinner was short ribs which fell apart at a touch, coconut rice, a soba noodle dish, mashed potatoes and spinach.  This was paired with Coulter I.P.A.  Although I don't normally like IPAs, especially hoppy ones, I preferred this to the Holy Jim Falls.

For dessert we had a fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.  Even this dessert was paired with a beer!  The Oso - a porter which is aged in whiskey barrels.  The whiskey taste really comes through and we all loved it.

The dinner was a success, and Thatbaby was sound asleep almost before we pulled out of the parking lot.  We've done wine pairings with dinner before, but this was our first experience with beer pairing and it was a super fun one.  Well, I'm sure the fabulous company of the Ks didn't hurt at all.  We love spending time with them.  And Little K is beyond adorable, and so much more "kid" than the last time we saw him.  It's amazing how quickly they grow.

I wanted to post a recipe using beer as an ingredient, but I actually haven't made anything with beer lately - I guess we've been too busy drinking it!  Instead, this is just another easy weeknight meal.  Or weekend meal to share with friends!

Layered Chicken Parmsean

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper

2 cups marinara

2 Tbsp of ricotta

2 Tbsp of Parmesean

1. Preheat oven to 350. Slice chicken breasts in half and pound flat.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper in shallow bowl.  Dip chicken breast halves in egg and breadcrumbs.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Place enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Place 2 of the chicken breast halves in the pan.
5. Top each chicken breast half with a tablespoon of ricotta, and then some more sauce.
6. Top with the remaining chicken breast halves, some more sauce, and the Parmesean.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is browned.

Beer - it's what's for dinner

It's only been almost 3 months since I got the Third Good Eats book, The Later Years.  It's about time I featured a recipe from it, don't you think?

I decided it has been far too long since I made bread, which is one of my favorite things to make.  The smell of freshly baked bread is only surpassed by that warm bread taste - because warm bread really does taste better, don't you think?

Usually when I make bread I make yeast breads.  Partly because I like to show off.  Partly because there is something therapeutic about punching down the dough.  Partly because I love the smell of the yeasty dough as it grows, filling the kitchen with it's aroma.

Because of my yeast background I was awestruck by how quickly this bread came together.  Few ingredients thrown in a bowl and then poured in a pan.  By the time you gather all the ingredients you're over halfway there!

My only complaint about this bread is a user error.  I thought a nice red ale would be perfect for the beer part of the beer bread.  I used Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale. But the beer was a little too hoppy for my tastes.  I'm sensitive to hops - Thatboy LOVES hoppy beers.  I don't.  The hoppy beer made the bread pretty hoppy.  I was able to counteract the bite by using a honey butter as spread, but in the future I'll probably use a sweeter beer, maybe a porter or a rich brown ale.

Beer Bread (From Alton Brown's Good Eats 3, The Later Years)

8 ounces all-purpose flour

4 ounces whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
4 1/2 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
12 ounces cold beer
1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.  Combine the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds.
3. Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 45 to 55 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Beer, beer, beer, and birthdays

On our way to Julian for apple picking, Prez and I came up with a great idea - our very own brewery tour! See, San Diego has 35 breweries located throughout the county and was named by Mens Journal as the "top beer town" in the country. Thatboy and I are fans of most of the local brews, although since they tend to be on the hoppy side, he enjoys a wider selection than I do.

Realizing that Thatboy's birthday was coming up, we decided that would be a perfect time to implement our genius. Thatboy picked three breweries he wanted to visit, we invited his nearest and dearest friends, rented a giant van to cart them all around in, and we were off!

Our first stop was Green Flash Brewery.

Thatboy swears up and down I've had their beer before, but I don't know if I believe him. This brewery production is not widely available. In fact, I think I have only seen it in one store in the area, and even then they only had 2 different beers. Going to visit gave everyone an opportunity to sample most of their wares.

Everyone looked at me with apprehension as we pulled up to what looked like an industrial warehouse, but sure enough, they were handing out beer inside amidst giant metal tankards.

They also had cheese and salami laid out, which was a nice touch. Almost every opted for the "try everything" sampler.

I think there were 9 different beers, but I also think most people lost track.

Well except for Prez, who made it down to number 4 before deciding she was going to use all her "samples" to drink the first beer she tried.

Since I was driving, I stuck with one beer - the pumpkin ale.

I am SUCH a sucker for pumpkin beer, and Thatboy isn't a big fan. But even he admitted that this one didn't have the overpowering spices that most pumpkin ales have.

By the time everyone was loaded back into the van, the difference between "sober" and "drunk" was already beginning to become evident. Undaunted, I headed off to our next stop, Lost Abbey.

Thatboy and I were really looking forward to this one since it's our favorite local brewery. This time when we pulled up to an industrial looking building, no one was phased. We were quickly becoming pros.

At Lost Abbey, everyone was given 6 tasting tickets. And because everyone was so drunk from Green Flash, NO ONE used all their tickets. Luckily, the nice people at Lost Abbey let our group trade tickets for bottles to bring home before we left.

Lost Abbey was far more crowded than Green Flash, but had actual seating. It was clear that people treated it like a bar, coming on a regular basis to sit and drink. In fact, Thatboy was adopted by some of these "regulars" who filled him in on the good stuff. By the time we left Lost Abbey, Thatboy had become a die hard advocate for their "Inferno."

When I rounded up the troops to leave, "drunk" didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere in the van. Thatboy decided it would be a good time to call customer service for his new phone (he has the best wife ever) and complain about not having internet yet. When customer service couldn't hear what was going on (what with all the yelling and woo-hooing), Thatboy hung up and informed the van they were all being too drunk and ruined his chance at internet. He spent the entire ride screaming about how there was homemade cake and it was so good.

Luckily, our third and final stop had food. Because drunk people? They like food. And you know what goes well with beer? Pizza! So we ended our journey at Pizza Port, a brewco that is as equally well known for their beer as their pizza.

More drinking ensued, but this time tempered by something to soak it up. Of course, the illustrious cake was presented and everyone sang. And there was eating and talking and comparisons drawn between our party and the teen party beside us, which had a magic show performed by someone's little brother (not mine).

Myrtle and her husband couldn't make it to the "beer tour" part of the party, but met us at Pizza Port. Because they didn't get enough of drunk Thatboy, as people sobered up and dispersed, they invited us out for another pint of beer. This time at a local Irish Pub in the area that they loved. So we headed out for one more drink, this one a little more exotic since it wasn't from San Diego County. Alas, the Irish Pub had changed ownership and wasn't as quaint as when Myrtle was a frequent visitor. We drank our beer and made a quick exit as the band came on and began playing Pink Floyd.

I brought Thatboy home and did my best to tuck him in to bed since he was showing no signs of sobering up. He fell asleep with visions of pints, casks, and bottles floating through his little head. I think it was a pretty successful birthday.

And for those of you that want to play along at home, know what you do with massive amounts of beer?

Use them to make hot dogs!!!! There is nothing more delicious than some franks boiled in beer and onions. Because hot dogs and beer are almost as good as pizza and beer!

Beer, beer, beer, and Mendocino

You know what's sad? When you haven't blogged since September.

You know what's sadder? When the last thing you blogged about actually took place in August.

You know what's saddest? When a friend of yours sends you a "Happy Anniversary" email in October, because she doesn't notice that your blog hasn't been updated in a month and talks about events that happened two months ago.


There's been a heck-a-lot happening in Thathouse which has severely limited my internetting capabilities. More on that later. Probably a lot later. Because I have SO much to catch you up on. But I should probably finish up with our Mendocino anniversary trip first!


We started off our last day by visiting Point Cabrillo Light Station. I almost felt like Alice going through the looking glass since we have our very own Cabrillo lighthouse down here in San Diego.

Our Cabrillo has a little museum dealing with whales. Because it's a prime whale watching point. Actually, it's a prime San Diego watching point. You can see everything from up there. But this Cabrillo light house, since it's in Northern California, give you an up close and personal view of Abalone (which might be the national animal of Northern California).


(This is what an abalone looks like when it's still alive, not on your plate)

But like the San Diego counterpart, this Point Cabrillo had some truly spectacular views.



For most of our trip the ocean was covered in a dense fog. But as if Mother Nature knew we'd be leaving soon, she wiped it all away for our final day.






All that walking around and gazing out at the water made us hungry, so we headed up to Fort Bragg because one of the things Mendocino has to offer is an amazing array of beer. Before we headed to Mendocino we bought all the Mendocino beer we could get our hands on. We really enjoyed some of the beers from North Coast Brewery so we made a point of getting there on our trip.



Thatboy saw a chili dog on the menu and was all in. Because, you know, we all need food to go with our beer. Or some of us do. But to be fair, how often do you see chili dogs on a menu?



I went super high class. Well, high class as compared with the chili dog - ham and brie with mango chutney on a croissant. Did you notice the fries on both of our plates? They've covered in garlic. As all fries should be.

But we should get to the part you're all anxious for, the beer!



We ordered a sampler so we could try all their beers. And we took notes. On a napkin, but notes nonetheless.



We already knew we loved the Brother Thelonious (in fact, we just had a bottle tonight), but we found some new favorites. We especially loved Pranqster which found its way into Thatbrother's birthday present last month.

And after all that beer, it was time for more walking and gazing. There was a lot of walking and gazing on this trip. This time we headed to a park that would allow Thatdog - Russian Gulch State Park. And we headed out on a coastal trail that let us take in how amazing the day was without the fog.










I love these guys playing mirror mirror on the picnic benches. Thatdog loved them too. He loves to charge them and let them know that it is NOT okay for them to be anywhere he can see them.


I love my artist in action shots.



And honestly, we we hadn't had enough gazing, so we headed back to our room to gaze some more. I mentioned before we had a spectacular view of the ocean. We decided to take advantage of it since we could actually see it. Besides, how romantic is it to sit with your honey and watch the sunset?





Well, maybe with your honey it would be romantic. I was stuck with this guy:



At least we had pizza!



I let Thatboy pick out our pizza from Piaci Pizza. He ordered one that was divided in fourths, with each fourth having a separate topping. (Mushroom, cheese, roma tomato, and ham) Which he didn't realize when he ordered it, even though the menu spelled it out explicitly.




We both loved the Roma Tomato section best.


The next day we headed out - but not home. Because really, what fun would that be? Thatboy took the scenic route this time, which wound along the coast and made me feel like I was in some Merchant Ivory film. We made a stop in Point Reyes and discovered the mothership:



Cowgirl Creamery! I'm lucky enough to get this at my local cheese store, but not with NEARLY the selection you can get at their home base. And even what I can get isn't nearly as fresh. Thatboy and I had a picnic in the grass with leftover pizza, watermelon, and Red Hawk cheese that had been made that morning.

Okay, that's probably good for now. I'm EXHAUSTED and Thatboy's promised to pull the couch out so we can have sofabed Saturday night. PLUS I've got some sugar cookie dough that is just dying to be put in the oven. So bear with me - I'll post when I can and make the posts as entertaining as possible, but I can't make any promises as to frequency.

Beer, beer, beer, and the fair

Thatboy and I are nonpartisan alcoholics. We enjoy wine, liquor, and beer. But living in San Diego has made us definite snobs when it comes to beer. We can't help it, we're lucky enough to have amazing breweries in the area that are consistently recognized in both national and international competitions.

So when I noticed that San Diego hosts an international beer festival each year at the county fair, I thought it would be a fun thing to attend. Prez was in too, and brought her older younger sister (I'll give you a second to work that one out).

The International Beer Competition is an all you can drink free for all. You get a souvenir glass which you bring to each represented brewery and they fill it up with a 1 ounce tasting. Again, and again, and again.

There were 156 breweries represented, and most had multiple beers to sample. Many many breweries + many many beers + unlimited samples = good times for everyone.



Thatboy's goal was to sample each and every beer at the festival. Prez, Old Young Sis, and I decided we'd rather focus on beers and breweries that interested us.



Lost Abbey is my FAVORITE local brewery. FAVORITE. Every beer I've had from here is a hands down winner, but my favorite is the Red Barn. I order it everytime we see it on a menu. I dragged Prez and Old Young Sis over to try it and they agreed it was magnificent.



Thatboy examines Old Speckled Hen, one of Thatbrother's go to beers.



Pietra, a french ale, won me over with its super smoothness and sweetness. That little gold ribbon means I wasn't the only one impressed.



Thatboy's plan to drink at every station meant the girls separated from him, and then we lost him. Eventually I texted him to see where he was and got some sort of incoherent reply that he was too drunk to continue, could I please come get him at the roller derby.



Yup, cause nothing goes with beer like some girl on girl bashing. We hung out watching our San Diego Dolls until Thatboy sobered up enough to continue.



During round 2, Thatboy decided to ask if maybe they could please give him less than a 1 ounce taste.





And it wasn't too long before he decided he would have to call it quits for the day.




I decided it was time to move out of the beer arena and into the fair itself. Thatboy needed some air. I was really excited about the fair this year, since the theme was "Taste the Fun" - all dedicated to food!




There were stands sponsored by food companies where you got free demos and tastes.



While I waited patiently in line for my hummus ravioli, Thatboy sat in drunken stupor, unaware he was in the middle of a battlefield.



"Hmmmm," I thought. "Maybe we ought to get some food in that drunk husband of mine." Especially since we hadn't eaten anything that day but a handful of cheez-its.

Thatboy and I plan out our fair meals way in advance, researching what's new and what we plan on risking heart attacks for. This year, however, we were more focused on the beer and dessert and hadn't put much thought into dinner. Until Prez and I saw a girl with a sweet potato dog at the beer festival. A spicy sausage, dipped in batter, and then sweet potatoes and then fried. OMG spicy sweet deliciousness.



Thatboy went with my second choice - the buffalo chicken fry bread. I didn't really want to get this since I had fry bread last year at the fair and decided it was a little much to keep on having funnel cake for dinner and dessert. But of course I supported Thatboy getting it since it meant I got a taste!




Thatboy was feeling MUCH better after he got some food in his stomach, so we could explore the rest of the fair. Like this crazy butter sculpture.




And giant cows. I think this guy weight like 1200 lbs or something.



And of course the rides - which we managed to avoid this year. And more importantly, we managed to avoid losing all our money on the games. I've finally convinced Thatboy he's NOT going to win, no matter how "easy" they look.







The "ride the elephant" ride always reminds me of "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood." Everytime. It should remind me of my childhood. According to my parents, I used to cry at the costume characters at Chuck-E-Cheese, but wasn't afraid of riding elephants at all.





My favorite part of the ride section though was this ride. The "bible story" ride. I'm not kidding, it consisted of 2 women sitting inside on folding chairs. They were just waiting to tell you stories. Oooohhhh Scarrrrrry - gave me the creeps.



All that walking around made us hungry again, so we headed to find dessert. Now, Thatboy and I are aware that fair food isn't exactly healthy, but even we steered clear of a place that called itself the "heart attack cafe." And as much as I love butter, fried butter is not high on my list.



Thatboy loves to try the latest fried concoction though, and this year it was the fried klondike bar. Mmmmmmm fried ice cream is always a winner. Warm AND cold!



As for me, we were on a mad hunt to find the fabled "funnel cake on a stick" I had read about. It took a while, and we had almost given up when we stumbled upon it. And it was perfect Thatgirl size! I love funnel cake, but can never finish a whole one! This was just the right amount of fried dough covered in powdered sugar. And we all know everything is better on a stick!



It's a shame the fair is only here once a year!