Downtown Newhall & It's Christmas Lights

This is Downtown Newhall, one of the 4 towns that make up The City of Santa Clarita (Saugus, Canyon Country and Valencia being the other 3).

It is mostly located on the rail road tracks and so lots of the town is less than wonderful. Over the decades, the city has tried to raise the level of its most needy section of town and this is the latest thing they have done. Using the new library as the focal point, they set up a tree in the front and had beautiful lights placed in the trees that line the roadway.

I passed it by the other night and found it to be very lovely.

Of course some residents of the city consider it a major waste of money.

I do not, since all residents of the city have the right to beauty.

Enjoy.

The Grand Panda Girl

Whenever we visit our favorite Chinese Restaurant, we see the same people at the front desk. We are considered family there, they know how many we are and they know what we have a tendency to order. It is a very homey place.

Over the years one of the hostesses who seat us, has had babies. This is her older one. She is almost 3 and she brought us to our table the other day and then handed us the menus and thanked us.

I was so impressed with her skills, that I asked if I could take a photo of her.

This is what I got, semi-shy, but oh so adorable in her beautiful holiday outfit.

I remember her when...

A Post Thanksgiving Post

Since it took up all my time yesterday, here is our Thanksgiving dinner.

The bird, of course. Stuffing, gravy, salad, cranberry sauce, jello, pickles and olives, buns and a new addition...stuffed mushrooms. No one left the table hungry and we thank God that we are together this year, celebrating together.

Last year was so hard on our little family and we treasure every moment we have this year.

Just 2 more weeks to go and it will be one year since I returned to them. Wow, it went by so fast (as did the semester I was away).

Sweet Potato Pie

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the United States. It's a holiday that has been with us from the very earliest days of our Country.

We intend to have a small family dinner. Just the three of us today. After the week we have had to get to this day, that is a welcome thing. Turkey, Stuffing, 2 kinds of Cranberry Sauce (with and without pomegranate seeds), A Green Salad, Jello, and Pumpkin and Sweet Potato pies.

First up, a Sweet Potato Pie, which is a recipe I have been holding for the past month. Another thing I have never, ever made. I made it last night and so I have no idea how it came out. Click the link below, to take you to the All Recipes page for the pie, or see my rendition down below. After reading the comments I came away with a few small corrections. I will let you know how it came out, later on today. :-)

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:
1 (1 pound) sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar (or Brown Sugar)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs (separate first, adding the yolks and then mix the whites, until fluffy and fold into the mixture)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:
1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.

2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Rapini & Beets

Week two of produce from the box and I had 2 vegetables to try.

The first one was Rapini, which is also known as Broccoli Rabe. The other was Red Beets, which my Husband loves.

Rapini is a bitter leafy vegetable that looks a little bit like Broccoli. I had it at my Dad's house many years ago and so I wasn't too worried about how to make it. I just figured I would make it as Mom used to make broccoli, sauteed with olive oil, black pepper and garlic. That ended up being exactly what I did and then I added some of my spinach, to cut down the bitterness a little. It turned out just fine. I definitely suggest cutting off the thicker stalks of the rapini, so that you have the tender parts. Serve warm.

The beets I had decided to roast in the oven. I was instructed to wear gloves as I worked (I used the plastic bag the beets came in). I cut the top and bottom off and peeled the outer skin off. Then cut into equal pieces and tossed with olive oil. I added some ground pepper, too. I laid them on a tray covered with aluminum foil and roasted in a 450 degree oven for about 40 minutes. I turned each one of them over, at the half way point.

Did I mention that I hate beets? Well guess what, these are great! Very sweet and so yummy with a little sour cream, to liven it up.

My Husband was so happy to see me eating them. Yay!

A Cat Took My Chair!

She hasn't sat here in ages and we have absolutely no idea why she suddenly decided to do so, but this was last Saturday evening.

First she was on my Husband's side of the couch and then, when he returned to his seat, she took mine.

I would have been fine with her staying, as I sat down, but she had other ideas and moved on.

She is not a lap cat and probably will never be.

A Tree Blooms At Fort Totten

My Water Post For Today.

It is my Husband's Birthday and in honor of that fact, here is a photo from his camera.

This was taken back in May, when we visited Fort Totten, with our friend.

I love the tree in full bloom and the water by the Throgs Neck Bridge, in the background.

A beautiful and highly recommended spot, to discover and picnic at. Quiet and solitude, in the midst of Queens.

Enjoy.

Wine Braised Short Ribs In The Slow Cooker

I have been looking for short ribs for weeks now, ever since I saw this recipe on Yahoo.

The other day, we saw ribs for $3.99 at Valley Produce and we decided to try this out. Note, as of right this minute, the ribs are done, but we have not yet eaten them. That is for tonight.

Wine Braised Short Ribs

4 pounds boneless beef short ribs

Olive oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

1 medium rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel or shiraz

15-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 large springs fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Brush the ribs with a light coating of olive oil, then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the shallots, celery and carrots and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until they begin to brown on the edges, another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the meat and turn to brown on all sides.

Transfer the mixture to a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, being sure to scrape the pan to get all of the liquid. Add the wine, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, mustard and vinegar. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours.

After cooking, transfer the short ribs to a large platter. Set aside. Remove and discard the stems of the rosemary sprigs. Transfer the liquid and vegetables in the slow cooker to a blender and carefully puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve the ribs on a bed of noodles, rice, mashed potatoes or cheese grits with sauce ladled over them.

Zaatar Factory And Bakery

The daughter of a friend of mine was in the Country of Georgia recently and she mentioned something called Khachapuri. I (being the curious sort) put the word into Google and found out that I too could try this treat from a far off land, here in America.

There is an Armenian store called Zaatar Factory and Bakery about 5 miles from my workplace and it is actually right off one of the exit ramps in Burbank. So I decided to take a detour, on my way to work one day.

Something I did find out is that the store is called a Factory because that was the way of things under Communism. Both Georgia and Armenia suffered under that Government at times, and so even in America, you find hints of that old life.

So...what did I think of the Khachapuri?

Mine was so big, I should have cut it in half and brought the other half home. Instead, I was worried about the eggs not being good on a reheat, or the bread, for that matter and I finished most of it.

The cheese, which is under the egg, was very salty and that really ruined my day, more than the size of my lunch. Not a good idea to eat that much salt...lesson learned.

Otherwise it was interesting and I was glad I made the stop that day, at least to try it out.

San Diego Roof Sunset

It is not exactly a water post, so I decided to use it here on Friday.

This was the view from the 11th floor rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel. Right there in San Diego Bay.

Look at the bridge, off in the distance!

I remember my son piloting our dinner cruise, back in the 90's through pylon 21 and 22 of that bridge. He was 6 at the time and the captain of the Hornblower kept a sharp eye on him (as did his Dad). I, on the other hand, almost had a heart attack...but I digress.

This view is in the room where we had the Rick Steves reception, on Monday night. Right at sunset...woot!

A great time meeting Rick and a spectacular sunset view of the harbor area.

Truly a beautiful city.

My First Apple Pie

I have never made an apple pie. I have watched them being made, but never made one myself.

So I had 12 apples hanging around the house and I had bought a crust the day before. What the heck I said, how hard can it be?

As it turned out, not hard at all. Why had I waited so long?

Apple Pie

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 to 7 apples thinly sliced and peeled
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I omitted because I didn't have a lemon and it turned out just fine)

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches) (make yourself, or purchase in a store)
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg white (I sprinkled some water on the crust instead)
Additional sugar to go on the crust, after sprinkling with water or brushing with the egg white.

I cut 7 apples into slices and placed them in water, while doing all this. I then drained them and combined them with the sugar and spices (I used Penzy's Apple Pie Spice).

I bought 2 9" pie crusts at the store and placed the first one in the pie plate. Put the apple and spice mixture in and doted with the butter. Then you cover with the second crust. You need to pinch the two crusts together to seal.

Make 4 or so holes in the top crust to allow steam to escape and place in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes (with the edge of the crust covered with foil). After 25 minutes, take off the foil, turn the pie and cook for another 20 or so minutes. Take the pie out, when the crust browns sufficiently.

Cool and eat. Yum.

San Diego Trolley

For the conference I was attending, I made reservations at a hotel in Mission Bay, about 5 or so miles from the downtown convention center area. My conference hotel was the Hard Rock. My Husband said to me, why don't you drive down there and park?

When I brought up Google Maps, to find the Hard Rock, I noticed that it was right next to a trolley line. Hmmmm...I wonder where that trolley line goes?

So I started following the tracks as they made their way north (wait, I am to the north!). Amazingly, The far north station was about 2 miles or so from our hotel and so I said to my Husband that he could drop me off there and I would take the trolley downtown.

It worked out well for both of us and I decided to once again do it for the 2nd day of the conference. He was going to attend the party, later on in the day and so he also bought a trolley ticket and made a few stops along the way, to see the Midway aircraft carrier and then eventually, over to my hotel.

What I wondered was, if it was worth the money he and I spent that day? So I asked the parking attendant how much it cost to park at the Hard Rock.

$40 I was told. SCORE one for us! The trolley day pass was $5 each.

As to the ride itself. It was OK. Sometimes college age younger people and sometimes older people. I was good with it all. It was a bit early for the Navy men who were on leave, thankfully. That's all I would need, getting hit on by guys my son's age. :-)

If interested, here is the info on the Trolley.

My 7th Order From Abundant Harvest Organics

We took an extra week off, since we were traveling to San Diego last weekend. It seemed silly to have a box of produce delivered, just in time for us to disappear. So it has been 3 weeks since I got a box of produce.

I am off cycle and didn't even get a list of what we were going to get, to bring with us to the store. In spite of all that, here it is.

4 Carrots
3 Beets
5 Apples
5 Pears
A bunch of Rapini (AKA: Broccoli Rabe)
9 tiny Purple Potatoes
Red and Green Lettuce
A big bunch of Spinach
9 Purple Radishes
1 Acorn Squash
Thyme

The Thyme is already dried and ready for use (though I threw some branches into my soup and my sauce, on Sunday.

2 carrots, 4 potatoes (the purple ones have lots of extra vitamins in them) and a large part of the spinach, ended up in my vegetable soup.

Lettuce ends up as salad. It is very sandy, I guess from the rain a few weeks ago?

Acorn Squash might end up used around Thanksgiving.

My Husband is a big beat fan. Let's see what we come up with for him.

The apples went into my first ever apple pie. More on that another day.

We are eating the Pears in our fruit salad.

I always feel better when I get a good part of the stuff used, before it goes bad.

They do not deliver on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I am off the next 2 weeks. Another break in the action.

Surfing Sunset

My Water Post For Today.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back in San Diego. The water is just all around the area (not like most of LA) and it really sets the stage for a vacation.

We got into town and almost immediately met our friend for dinner, at a restaurant in Pacific Beach. I made sure we had a few moments to catch that sunset, since I had checked the map and the place was right on the beach. As you can see, it was awesome.

Thanks to the 2 surfers who got in my way and the plane that flew by. They help make the shot.

I hope you enjoy.

Hospital Moonrise

I took this photo on the night before the full moon on 11/4.

I thought it was a particularly wonderful image of both the moon and the statue.

Doesn't it look like Roy and Edna Disney, who I spoke about in THIS post, are watching the moonrise together?

I don't know if anyone else noticed how cute this scene was, I know I originally didn't.

I just went over to take a photo of the moon in between the palm trees and yet this one is the special one. The one I happened upon and saw the beauty in.

Even with my crappy cell phone, it looks good.

I hope you like it as much as I do.