Tonight we had a very nice dinner with some friends at their lovely home in Pacifica. Charlie was out and about when we got home. He didnt come home until after we had been home for quite sometime. We have a very productive weekend ahead. We need to do some triage for our incense cedar and we are going to say goodbye to the yucca tree which is growing into our pear tree.
Time to get some sleep. Sweet dreams.
2 years ago • NotesI am feeling so much better this week! We met some friends at Chrissy Field on Sunday and helped them walk their 4 dogs. It was a great way to get some “dog energy” without having to bring a dog home. Someday. The only problem is Charlie, the fabulous, yet neurotic cat. It will be drama filled in our house once we get a dog….
Kim and I walked along the coastal trail on both Monday and Tuesday. It is good to be back on track with exercise again. John and I are comitted to working out daily for the rest of the year. It will be a good thing…
I noticed that my left foot was hurting last night. It almost feels bruised. I cancelled my walk with Kim this morning and will be doing my workout on the elliptical this afternoon.
I feel like I am 90 percent better from that nasty cold. It feels good to be on the mend.
2 years ago • NotesI am still not feeling my best. This chest cold has stayed in my chest and I am now sick and tired of being sick and not having energy. I am headed down to santa cruz with my two neices to Well Within
Let’s hope that a sauna/hottub and deep tissue massage will make me feel better! Drinking lots of water too. And saying the mantra “i feel fine and am healthy and strong”
Looking forward to some more good bonding time with Kaileen and Lindsay, my lovely neices; and to getting some sun and a break from the fog.
3 years ago • NotesAnd exhausted. We drove yesterday afternoon and evening. I managed to catch a cold in southern california. Am taking it easy today as I get back into the swing of things….
3 years ago • NotesWe got a call from my niece Lindsay on Thursday afternoon telling us that she didn’t think her dad was going to make it until Saturday. I quickly moved through the to do list and got John and I packed for the road trip. We ended up getting on the road at 10:00 PM on Thursday night and drove through the night. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 AM on Friday morning. By Friday aftrernoon most of Jim’s family and close friends had visited. The moon was full and Lindsay decided to sleep in the hopsital room with her dad. Jim passed away peacefully in his sleep at 2:00 AM on Saturday morning.
I will miss Jim dearly. He was more of a brother to me than my own brother. He taught me how to drive and influenced me in many ways. He was a good man with a very open heart.
It is a very sad time for our family, but we had a wonderful Mother’s Day picnic at the Montage Restort in Laguna Beach on Sunday. I forgot to pack my bathing suit and wished I had because I dipped my feet into the water and wished I could have gone swimming. We saw dolphins in the water and it was very nice.
It has been a very busy few days and I am pretty tired. Tomorrow we need to finalize arrangements for the memorial service which will ideally be on Saturday.
Sleep is calling me…
3 years ago • NotesWe are headed down to Southern California again on Saturday. This will be my 4th trip in the last 2 months. My brother in law Jim is very ill and the doctors have given him a week to live. It is so sad. He is only 55 years old and his organs are in failure.
My neice Lindsay is about to graduate from San Francisco State and has spent most of her last semester by his hospital bed. My sister Linda has been pretty amazing throughout this whole process. My neice Kaileen has been a solid calming force for the family too. My heart goes our to them all. The family has really banded together during this crisis and I am proud of them.
I have so much I need to do before I go! The ususal house stuff - clean, laundry, garden, etc. I need to make a collections call to my client that owes me for large invoices from last year. Pay bills- house and biz and I need to let my clients know that I will be out of town. And oh yeah, I need to pack too.
I guess I should sign off and take care of business!
3 years ago • NotesOne of my favorite foods to make is eggplant parmesan. I have been making this for years and not only is it stress free, it is a fairly therapeutic process for me. I think the key to it being so tasty is a home made red sauce. I made this a couple of weeks ago when my friend Pavani and her family came for a vist. I actually composed everything the night before. Not only did it alleviate the last minute entertaining anxiety, the flavors had a chance to mingle and it tasted great! I dont have any photos, but promise to take one next time!
The Marinara Sauce: (this made enough for our eggplant and I was able to put about a quart into the freezer for next time. In a hurry you can use premade sauce – but I think the “fresh” sauce makes the dish taste better.
3 large cans of Tomatoes – I really like the Muir Glen (brand) roasted crushed roasted tomatoes – but any brand will work. It is ok to use the Italian kind or the plain
1 large or two small onions – finely diced
Garlic – 6 cloves – finely chopped
(Can use varying amounts of onion, garlic – to taste, also nice with Mushrooms)
1 cup of red wine and/or veggie broth –optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh Italian Parsley -, Flat leaf
Fresh basil leaves -
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Begin with some olive oil – maybe ¼ to ½ cup in a large pot with stove on medium heat. Once oil is heated add onions and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until they are translucent, almost caramelized. Stir regularly to prevent burning. Once the onions are translucent and soft, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Keep stirring the garlic to prevent it from burning and becoming bitter. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add some veggie broth here - especially if the sauce looks thick. Yesterday I added both veggie broth and red wine before cooking. The wine is not necessary – I find it gives it a little more complex flavor. The alcohol cooks off and isn’t present in the final dish. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes to an hour – while preparing the eggplant cutlets. Once the sauce is cooked, add chopped fresh parsley – about ½ cup and chopped fresh basil –about a cup. The herbs do not need to cook – the sauce will taste fresher with the herbs added at the end of the cooking time.
The Eggplant Cutlets:
Eggplant – I used the “globe” type – yesterday we used 5 eggplants. I usually use two and that is plenty for leftovers for John and me
4 eggs
2 T – Milk
Salt and pepper – add a little to the egg mixture
Italian bread crumbs
Italian herb seasoning
1T – finely grated parmesan cheese
Slice eggplant in horizontal cuts. Lie on trays of paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes or so – can sit for a couple of hours and it won’t hurt it. . After the eggplant has been salted, rinse and drain in sink with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. The salt helps to reduce the water in the eggplant and will help it to be more tender.
Line a baking pan (cookie sheet or sheet pan) with some olive oil to prevent the eggplant from sticking
Mix the eggs in a shallow bowl with milk salt and pepper. Set aside.
Mix the bread crumbs, herbs and cheese on another plate.
Dip the eggplant into the egg mixture, and then dip into both sides of the eggplant into the bread crumb mixture. Place breaded eggplant onto sheet pan and repeat until all eggplant is coated. Cook on 400 degree oven about 10 minutes on each side. The goal is to brown the eggplant slices a bit.
Eggplant Parmesan
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
This is one of my favorite quotes. And fitting to start this blog. I often need to be reminded to focus on the postives and not get caught up in the fear. Thinking about this quote helps me to find my center pretty quickly. I hope it helps you too.
I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now. I have been reading a number of blogs for the past couple of years and find that I really enjoy the ones with good recipes…:-) I am also starting to check out some gardening blogs because we bought a house last year and haven’t hired a gardener yet. Our goal for the first year was to just to “keep everything alive”. So far so good, but there is a lot to learn still and my thumb is not quite green yet…
We moved last June into a small cottage on the San Mateo Coast of Northern California. It is foggy many days out of the year, but when it is sunny it is absolutely gorgeous. We are walking distance to the Princeton Harbor and many hiking trails along the open space. One of the benefits of having a small business in a down economy is the extra time I have to focus on our house and garden. I have really enjoyed having extra time to cook and get settled into our house.
I have also been taking this time to look at my life and make some evaluations. Some things I absolutely love and other things could be better. Overall, I am firmly rooted in gratitude and honoring the spirit. Part of my intention with this blog is to learn, grow, share some recipes, and to share and gather inspiration.
I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Kathleen
3 years ago • Notes