Santa Barbara Home Cooking

Ladies brunch = delicious success! Between Emma's shrimp salad and Jessica's gluten-free crusted quiche and prosciutto e melone to boot, this was an elegant feast. Finished off with strawberries and fresh whipped cream...makes me drool all over again!

Sweet peas and peonies have to be in my top 5 favorite flowers. Both have extravagant, intoxicating smells. These two smelled particularly amazing. Look at those pinks!

Though I am not a pancake lover, I made pancakes for Jeff on the 4th of July. This was my first attempt at a buckwheat pancake and it was a fine success. I made blueberry ones, apple ones, banana ones, and multi-fruit ones, as seen above.

On the menu this evening: roast chicken. This bird is local my friends and actually tastes like chicken. Half a lemon squeezed and placed in the cavity and some salt and fresh thyme from the garden on top do the trick. Simple and full of flavor. In the oven for an hour and fifteen minutes, basted every 20 minutes with a dry white wine and tada! Roast chicken!

Good Times & Eats in Santa Barbara

Did you know you can hire goats to clear brush so as to help prevent fires? My condo complex hired some goats, and their guard dog, to clear brush. I could hear the jingle of their bleats from my living room. What fun!

Milpas street has a plethora of Mexican restaurants. My friend was astounded that I had never been to La Colmena. As I do not like to miss out on great food experiences, I met up with her for lunch. This is a very straight forward kind of place...no fluff. Just simple, great tacos on homemade corn tortillas. I enjoyed one of their shrimp tacos and some Alambres. Seen above is the chicken, green chile peppers, and cheese. It must have been cooked with some sort of fat because it sure was tasty! GrubStreet Los Angeles did a comparison with La Super Rica and La Colmena seem to win the battle. I'd have to agree.

Solstice in Santa Barbara is always a grand affair! The sun came out for us, much to the joy of all of Santa Barbara. I thought these zebras were outstanding!! Check out those eyelashes!

Tea time! Aren't those cups cute? Tea at Savoy Deli is such a treat. They carry organic, loose leaf teas and serve them in the appropriate tea pots. A fresh molasses ginger cookie with some Earl Grey tea and you are all set!

Back on the menu at my place, brown rice pasta with a fresh, uncooked heirloom tomato. Besides peaches, tomatoes are my obsession during these summer months. Our farmer's markets are full of both and it is oh so wonderful! Too divine for words...

Petit Valentien Birthday Fun

For my birthday, Jeff took me to Petit Valentien since our last visit was so delicious and wonderful. My wonderful friends, Zach and Laura, were there as a birthday surprise! Zach brought a bottle of wine I had brought back from France for him for us to enjoy. I bought it because it was from a small winery and therefore definitely not found here. It was delicious.

I, of course, could not resist the smoked salmon plate so I ordered it again. It did not disappoint.

Jeff enjoyed sauteed mushrooms over a puff pastry. This dish was rich and super mushroom-y.

Zach enjoyed the quail. There's not much meat on that bird, but it sure is full of flavor!

I do believe that this is a Barramundi filet over a little pasta and accompanied by a few clams. I really enjoyed this dish.

They often have interesting and not seen very often options on their menu like calf liver seen above. Everyone enjoyed trying this dish.

We stuck to France in our wine selections and enjoyed these lovely wines seen above and below, both Chassagne-Montrachets - one a 1er cru! Happy birthday indeed!

Random Food Experiences - Santa Barbara

The owner's of Stella Mare's restaurant located by the Bird Refuge in Montecito opened up Cafe Stella, in their old banquet space on upper State Street. On my birthday, we went to check it out for brunch. The charcuterie plate seen above, was simple and tasty. I chose a crepe with fried egg, bacon, and cheese sauce. Though good, it was not super memorable. The ambiance felt contrived, with the typical posters found at World Market of old Paris and such. Perhaps with time they will hang art by a local artist instead of boring, unoriginal posters. With so many artists in this town, this would not be hard to achieve.

A few nights ago, my friend popped open this wonderful wine which he found to be the best from the World of Pinot festival. It's a Pinot Noir from Germany! It showed all the fantastic, elegant qualities of the Pinot Noir grape, yet had a very different taste at the same time. Lovely indeed.

This week, Jeff and I enjoyed a meal at Ca' Dario in downtown Santa Barbara. A local's favorite for Italian food with a classic, white table cloth ambiance. The course seen above is white asparagus wrapped with pancetta topped with balsamic vinegar and parmesan. There was too much vinegar to my taste - so much that when you try to speak it sneaks into your throat and makes you cough. And the asparagus and pancetta were a bit too charred. However, the asparagus flavor still came through.

I soon will have a new iPhone and my low light photos will be vastly improved! Above is river Trout in a butter sage sauce with spinach, beets, and potatoes on the side. The crispy sage pieces combined with a buttered piece of the fish made for the perfect bite. With our meal we enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

A light dessert of puff pastry filled with Sabayon sauce and berries finished off our meal.

Nature's Surprises

An entry from my journal about a recent hike:

The forecast called for rain, but we awoke to a splendid sunny day. The wind was blowing lightly and white puffy clouds framed our mountains above Santa Barbara. Deciding whether to run by the sea or go hike in the mountains, we scrambled up some eggs and toasted some bread for a light breakfast. Stomachs satisfied we ventured out to Romero Canyon in the hills of Montecito. 

As we took our first steps up the trailhead, a brisk wind blew making my ears ache from the cold. The previous night’s rain had really cooled things down. It almost felt like one of our winter days. Up, up, up we went along the dirt rode cutting around the side of the mountain. Stunning, expansive views of the coast in both directions took our breath away. The valleys and details of Santa Cruz island were visible from where we stood. A wind blown ocean, kissed the shores of a sunlight filled city backed by a cloud-framed mountain. As we continued on, a dark, ominous cloud was rolling over the mountain’s rim. The smell of fennel filled the air mixed in with sage, emphasized by the humidity in the air. We exchanged a few words about how it felt very much like being in Costa Rica or Hawaii, but a whole lot colder. 

As we rounded the corner and entered the valley area of the mountain range, little cool drops began to fall. Only a light drizzle we walked on, only to stop a moment later when the drizzle became a downpour. Partially protected under a large oak tree we watched the rain fall in streaks. Ironically, we could see blue skies if we looked left or right, but where we stood it was dark cloud cover and rain.

Soon the droplets were bouncing off our clothes and sticking to our hair. Hail! It was hailing. Mid-May and hail…who would have thought? In awe, we stood there enjoying the sounds of little ice balls hitting the leaves on the trees and bushes all around us. The rain returning we decided to continue on, even if this meant getting even wetter. A few minutes later, the rain subsided and a very warm sun shone onto the soaked hillside. Mist rose from the drenched earth and a lovely herbal aroma filled the air. The strangely warm sunlight felt amazing on our chilled bodies. Water droplets hung off fennel leaves sparkling like little diamonds creating Nature’s own chandelier. Passing a small oak grove we admired the beauty of the light hitting the dark oak leaves and the filtered light hitting the fallen leaves and darkened rocks below the great oak. Large fuchsia thistles lined the overgrown path; glowing in the fresh, clean light.

Before beginning the trail back down the mountain, we stared out onto the stunning view between the two mountain tops, clouds hanging in between, blue sky, the islands, the deep blue ocean, and the green city, all framed by this mountain. At this moment, water dripping off my eyebrows, I felt very much alive and present. The hike down went quickly as we walked briskly through oak groves and over running creeks. The weather changing from sun to cloud cover to frigid wind to drizzles from the wind blown trees, our descent was beautiful. 

Back at the trailhead, where the weather was quite warm and the clouds still stood over the mountains but not the city, we laughed at the morning’s crazy weather and for getting caught in the thick of it. Sometimes it’s great to not be prepared for life’s little surprises.

Jewelry Making

In addition to cooking and photography, I also make jewelry as a hobby. I realized that I have been making pieces for years and giving them away without any record of my work. So I have decided to share some photos here as I start to document all that I make. Enjoy.

This is the first of this kind of bracelet I have ever made. I love blues so loaded it with tiny blue beads made of glass or semi-precious stones.

 3 stones of different colors and shapes on one necklace.

San Francisco Eats

My friend and business partner, Caroline, and I drove up to San Francisco for a quick visit to San Francisco. Having both lived there at different points in our lives, the city holds many memories for each of us. The weather was full of sunshine thanks to a cool wind that blew through the city keeping the fog at bay. We walked everywhere, up and down those SF hills so as to really feel like we were in the city. This will be a rather large entry because we spent our time eating.

The day we arrived, we did a food tour through GourmetWalks, in the Hayes Valley district. The photos and details from this experience can be found through the link on the right (or here) with the entire photo album from our quick visit. The last item on the GourmetWalk was the cocktail at Smuggler's Cove.

On Sunday night we arrived at A16, in the Marina, at 9:00 for our reservation. Having walked 15 blocks in heels, we were ready to sit and enjoy our evening. As we walked through the bustling restaurant, we marveled that it was so packed on a Sunday and everyone was enjoying bottles of wine. The waitress, about to seat us at a table, asked if we would prefer the bar seating area where one watches the chefs at work. Obviously we chose to watch the show. Our female Sommelier opened and poured our wine moments before the Burrata and crostini plate arrived before us.

 I enjoyed Northern halibut and monterey squid with fennel, spring garlic and breakfast radish. Most tender calamari I have ever eaten. The fennel was fresh and delicate and all those ingredients together created the perfect bite. Wow.

 You gotta love those marble counters...

 Caroline enjoyed braised pheasant, bitter greens, spring onions, and fava beans.

Chocolate mousse/pudding dessert with salt on it...would not necessarily order this dish again. Not up to the caliber of the rest of our dishes.

 Delicious espresso.

 The definition of macchiato...

Now I take you to our Monday night restaurant experience at Incanto - 1550 Church Street, at the southwest corner of the intersection of Church and Duncan Streets in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood. The Chef there is Chris Cosentino, which some of you may have seen on a few shows on Food Network. He was there, cooking up a storm, his passion reaching his team and his dishes.
We enjoyed flutes of Prosecco and a salumi plate for aperitif. The clear white looking one is skin, cartilage and something else interesting broken down and compacted and then sliced. A bit on the odd consistency side for us. The cotto ham was our favorite.

Our waiter was calm and knowledgeable. I stated my price range and what we were eating and he came up with this wine to enjoy with our meal. He was spot on. Thanks Mark!

First course for moi, Trotters (meat from pig's feet), foie gras, strawberries & horseradish. There was also some tarragon in there. This has got to be one of the oddest flavor combos I have ever eaten...and in some strange way, it worked. Who knew?!

 Asparagus, soft boiled egg salad.

And here is the kicker I enjoyed for my entree - Spaghettini, Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk & parsley. Yes, tuna heart. It's the shaved stuff on top. Talk about a flavor I do not know! It tasted minerally and was salty and, the oddest part for me to handle, tasted like iron and blood, obviously, but in a way that was just so interesting and still palatable. Add the raw egg yolk in there and this was one heck of a rich dish. Though I am not sure I would order this again, I recommend you do, just to have this unique experience of flavors.

 Caroline went for something more straight forward - Handkerchief pasta & rustic pork ragù. Delicious.

 Ginger ice cream and rhubarb-strawberry tartlette.

 We did a mystery dessert wine tasting as well. It was fun to try and guess, but my palate was feeling nutso at this point.

 A little coffee to wash it all down and voila, one heck of a meal!!

On our final day we went to Swan Oyster Depot. The experience of sitting at the bar is fun and watching the men at work is also enjoyable. However, I was disappointed by the oysters. They all were quite sweet and lacked that wonderful ocean flavor I crave. My tummy was rumbly our entire ride home, so this left a bad taste in my mouth about this historic spot in the city. The chowder was a bit watery and the crab cocktail was great however had way too much cocktail sauce on top.

And on a last note, you must eat at The Grove in the Marina just to enjoy the simplicity of Sol's Bagel and their huge glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. The coffee is delicious as well and if you feel like a sweet, eat a giant cookie! Plus, the dog watching on that street is amazing.