Ahhh, Fall....

It hasn't been the most typical Fall, but we have been having more warm, sunny days than not. Jeff took this at the beach on Tuesday, around 11:00 AM. that's Riley wandering around in the water. Small waves, but look how glassy and beautiful it is out. While he was walking with the dogs, I was sitting at my desk, looking at this picture, trying to will myself there....but it didn't work. Ok, it did work, but not until 5:00 ;-)

Back at Work

Well, you gotta love the Internet. Here's a clip somebody shot at the show last night. This is "Across The Wire" and the sound quality is pretty darn good. There are seven guys on stage. The two guys playing trumpet play a number of instruments when they aren't playing trumpet (marimba, accordion, percussion, keyboard...) and there is a slide guitarist on the right hand side of the stage. The bass player alternated between a stand up & regular bass, depending on the song. The level of musicianship was outstanding:



When we walked out of the show at midnight, it was still a balmy 70 or so in LA. There were a few street vendors setup, and I was drawn to the Mexican hot dog stand. Imagine a hot dog wrapped with bacon, then grilled until it's crispy. Then, served on a soft bun with mayonnaise, and topped with grilled onions. Let me tell you, it hit the spot and was mighty tasty!

Great show

It's just about one A.M. And I'm back in Ventura. The show was fantastic, worth the drive. The venue is really nice, we had great seats and the acoustics were really good. I'll post a bit more tomorrow (today!), but I wanted to have something for you early birds. You know who you are, Sue :-)

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Pre show French Dip

Actually got to Hollywood early enough to eat. Had to go to the world famous Phillipe's for a French Dip. They claim to be the originators and I have to say, might tasty! Its right across from Union Station, downtown more or less. At The Music Box now and have great seats!

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Pretending I'm still young....

So today, I'm going to pretend I'm still young and have lots of energy. I'm leaving work at 3:30 to drive to Hollywood to see Calexico, a band I like a lot. I mean, I must like them a lot to do this. Here's the itinerary: Leave work at 3:30, drive to hotel in Ventura, arrive about 5:30. Check in, change, get on road by 6:00 for Hollywood. With no traffic, Ventura to Hollywood is supposed to be 1:08. I'm guessing it's going to be more like 2:00 with traffic. Get to The Music Box at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood about 8:00, just in time for the doors to open. First band at 9:00, Calexico will probably take the stage around 11:00. I'm guessing the show will be over around 1:00, drive back to Ventura, get there maybe 2:30. Sleep until 7:15, get up, shower, grab free breakfast at the hotel then drive to work, arriving about 10:00.

So who is this band that you've never heard of? You can read about them at Wikipedia here , but in a nutshell, they are a rock band that is pretty eclectic in their sound, but with heavy leanings of Mariachi. I know, sounds wierd, but it's good. Here's a Youtube video of a live performance of the song "Sunken Waltz."



Another live clip, this one recent, performing "Two Silver Trees" from their new album

Muy delicioso!

I realize this photo makes everything look kind of beige, but I assure you it was tasty! Those are the tacos of rajas con queso. It's the chilies I roasted the other day cooked with a very large onion that was sliced and sauteed for a long time, served with queso fresco on corn tortillas. Queso fresco is really good - I think it's what is usually used in chile rellanos. It's texturally like a soft feta but slices a bit easier. It's very mild and nicely salty, so it goes really well with the flavor of the chilies.

The tacos are served with black beans cooked with a bit of garlic & cumin and some squash (from Cal Poly, of course!) sauteed with garlic, red chili flakes and cumin. It was all delicious -and with leftover tacos to boot!

Fall..

Today is the first day of fall, I think, and amazingly, our first day of off-shore winds. They started around 4:00 AM, and when I got out of bed at 5:50, it was already 67. This weekend, it was about 55 at 8:00 AM, so they definitely make a big difference. Fall always means off-shores; it's just funny that literally, they started on first day of the season! We should have a really nice month of warm weather and clear skies to enjoy, and I'm looking forward to it!

Pick a pack of......

So, I guess I exagerated a bit when I said I must have a dozen peppers in the fridge. Turns out it was only nine. Still, nine, twelve, it's a lot of peppers. I cleaned out the BBQ Saturday (wow, Weber makes that easy to do, thanks!) and while it was hot decided to roast all the peppers I had. This is the before & after. I realize the after doesn't look super appetizing, but boy do they smell good.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them until about half way through the cleaning process. There are a couple of taco places in Santa Barbara we like, including the famous Super Rica, and they server tacos made with "Rajas con Queso." They are simple - but delicious. Sliced and sauteed red onion mixed with roasted peppers, served on corn tortillas with queso fresca or Jack cheese. Decision made - dinner one night this week. I can hardly wait :)

Nobody I know, but....

I'm sure you dog lovers will appreciate this. I just love the look, "What, I wasn't chewing on your lipstick. What are you talking about?" Too funny. You know the owner was torn between being mad and laughing.

The last of the veggies

Well, not the last vegetables we'll ever eat, but the last from our Cal Poly Organic Farm CSA. I can't believe it's been 6 months! We've got some purple potatoes in here today - not grown by Cal Poly, but I'm looking forward to trying them. And - oh boy! More peppers. I swear, I think I have ten peppers at home in the produce drawer. They are all getting roasted on the grill this weekend, and I think dinner one night next week is sausage with grilled peppers & onions. That sounds good, doesn't it ?

It's been a really neat experience, and I think worth the $$. We've tried some things we never had before (like Turnips) and had to get creative with some things that we used to only buy on occasion - but ended up getting a lot of (did I mention peppers?)

We did not sign up for the fall/winter session. It's my goal to try and get to the Morro Bay farmers market, maybe every other week, and continue to buy fresh, local produce their. So, I hope you've enjoyed the veggie chapter....who knows what's next!

Note to self: Secure the roof next time....

Oh boy - this is one persistent dog! Really brings the concept of escape artist home. I love how the other two dogs are watching at the end...

An old fall tradition

Behold - apple bars! When we were growing up, these were a family favorite. This past weekend, my mom was here, and it's apple season, so hey - put those two things together and look what you get :) The apples are from See Canyon - of course. We made these together so I could learn the ancient art of apple bar making, and except for being a bit heavy on the icing, they turned out great. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make more sometime soon.....

Basil experiment a big success....

We planted this basil not knowing how it would do, and not having had much success with basil in the past. Obviously, this one did very, very well! Too bad it's not the classic Italian type. This one is an Asian variety and it's pretty strong. Truth be told, we've barely used it. Next year, I'll try a standard basil and hope that it does this well. If it does, well, I think we'll have more pesto than we know what do do with, but that's not really a bad problem to have, is it ?

Home sweet home

Made it back. It was so nice out when we got home, we had to take the boys out for a walk. This is Riley, patiently for the ball to be thrown...

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One more

I'm fairly certain this is Mt. Rainier. You can see another mountain in the background too, not sure if its Mt. St. Helens or another one.

We looked at the prices for food and wine and calculated we each ate & drank over $60 worth of food in first class, so we did pretty, but next time we'll have to try harder :-) Incidentally, first class was completely empty on this trip.

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One more

I'm fairly certain this is Mt. Rainer. You can see another mountain in the background too, not sure if its Mt. St. Helens or another one.

We looked at the prices for food and wine and calculated we each ate & drank over $60 worth of food in first class, so we did pretty, but next time we'll have to try harder :-)

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Second class

Our plane for the journey home. No first class this trip, but we did pay $$15 extra for seats with more leg room :-) So far everybody associated with Virgin America has been friendly and helpful. I think its safe to say we would fly them again if we had the option.

We should land in LA about 1:30 and get home in time for a beach walk...or a surf!

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More Museum of Glass

The tower you see in the background is actually the flue above the studio area from the previous posting. This is a great place, well worth visiting!

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Museum of Glass

Inside the "hot studio" at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. One of the few places you are allowed to take pictures. I know this isn't a very good photo, but this team was making a giant orange pear. Very cool! Will try and post another picture of the place...

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Pike Place Market

Some of the lovely flowers for sale - cheaply, I may add, at the public market. Most of the bouquets are under $10, pretty amazing!

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Seattle by sea

Coming into Seattle on the ferry from Bainbridge Island. No sun yet, but its supposed to come out later :-)

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Hurricane Ridge

5900 feet in 17 miles. 60 degrees at sea level but 45 here. Beautiful though! This is looking at Mt. Olympus, part of the Olympic Ridge. Pretty spectacular.

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