Caroline treated me to a belated birthday celebration on Friday and it all began with lunch at Trattoria Mollie's in Montecito. I remember when Trattoria Mollie's opened, many years ago. My family and I were delighted to dine at a true Italian restaurant in Santa Barbara. Today, celebrities eat there, as well as tons of locals. I was tickled pink to re-discover this restaurant I had marked as totally unaffordable. Turns out, it's not as crazy I had thought. The above salad is bib lettuce dressed in lemon juice and olive oil, with sliced sweet onions and a few tomatoes around the edge. Delicious because of its simplicity.
Fettuccine Bolognese: Pork, veal, and beef were brought together in this divine tomato sauce with a hint of cognac. The pasta is fresh and even if it stuck together to form chewy bits, I still greatly enjoyed all the flavors. Yum. $16...which is still pricey, but not as crazy as I had thought.
Later in the day we went to Santa Barbara's best Happy Hour at The Enterprise Fish Company. $1 oysters! They were a bit too sweet and milky for my tastes, but this happens in the summer months. Steamed clams to follow and all was well.
Today, Jeff and I ventured up the coast to Santa Barbara Blueberry Farm (a few minutes before Buelton) where you can pick your own berries. Under the intense July sun we foraged like bears in the wild...okay, the berry bushes are in neat rows, but you still had to hunt through the leaves as others had taken the easily reached ones....which was bear like. Plus, I snuck a few just as a taste test of course.
And behold the very first muffins I have baked. I love to cook and can make a souffle, but just don't do much baking at all. I found a recipe for Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins which includes lots of oats and applesauce. I have to say that they turned out pretty darn deliciously! Mmmmmmm, blueberries!
1 comment:
I'm officially not reading your blog until I get back :) I have not had vegetables in 3 weeks and can't bear it any longer!
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