(stay)cation: santa cruz

My getaway to Santa Cruz was not as relaxing as I thought it would be, but I'm not unhappy. I always want to see and window shop everything whenever somewhere new, which I think I did. Our first stop was at a favorite coffee shop of Cybil's called the 11th Hour. 

I stopped at the gift shop around the corner and admired all the ceramics, soaps, housewares, and this big stitch quilt.       

 

While sipping my decaf almond latte, I also looked at the schedule of the neighboring yoga studio and stepped briefly into the knitting shop. Lyra bought herself an empanada, Cybil and I checked out Manresa bakery and then I bought a used Spanish text/workbook at a brewery.

We had time before check-in and went to Costco for Bulgogi and Salmon Milano (no real seafood road show products at all. not. at. all. to which Lyra said Santa Cruz Costco be white people Costco). Where are the miso cod? the clams? the mussels?  Onward to Trader Joe's for eggplant, cucumber, corn on the cob, chili lime spice, lemons, lime, eggs, English muffins, watermelon, strawberries, olive oil, lime juice, sparkling water, Italian pasta, English peas, kale, parmesan, ciabatta, baguette, heavy whipping cream, a mini bouquet, and carnations. Right away at the cottage, I arranged the flowers and moved knick knacks around. I did love that the nautical and beachy art and decor in the cottage looked to be local and not from a Home Goods spree. On walks everywhere, I foraged more flowers like the alstroemeria for the bud vases flanking the mini bouquet.

Cybil and Lyra colored and did calligraphy while I sketched and journaled on that first afternoon. I put away groceries and explored drawers and cupboards in the kitchen. Cybil had chosen the cottage because cook and house guests could interact in the open plan. Just a couple doors away was a convenience store, where Cybil and Lyra bought more craft beers. 

 

I did not drink a lot. Just small glasses of beer. No wine at all. I stuck to mainly coffee in this Molly Hatch mug that I made my favored cup. 

We did walk down to and along the Twin Lakes State Beach, and I showed them the Santa Cruz Harbor from where I had launched outrigger canoes with my club and pointed where in the horizon we had raced.

Returning from that walk, we also missed the opening hours of the sushi market but found a poster in the window about the Japanese festival the next day at a local park. And so on that first evening, I tried to cook our bulgogi on the outdoor grill (not enough propane, and so I ended up cooking the second batch on the stove which set off the fire alarm because of no hood over the stove!) in the open space. We then read tarot cards and played Scrabble. 

On the next day, we ran an errand to the post office for Cybil to pick up art mailed to her from an artist in Vermont and then shopped downtown Santa Cruz, where I saw abject homelessness near the shelter after shopping for t-shirts and books and ephemera in all the gift shops. Back to the cottage for a lunch of leftover Korean food before going to the Japanese festival. There were bonsai, of course, but didn't see an Ikebana or kimono workshop at the site though I did a craft activity sponsored by the public library, which I hung on the chandelier.

I pottered around the kitchen that evening while Lyra made strawberry daiquiris.

 

I cooked salmon... 

...corn lathered with butter and chili lime and Parmesan cheese...

and pasta with vegetables.

More tarot readings on the deck that Lyra and I bought for Cybil though we also read from my deck. I really, really appreciate and like my Mystic Mondays deck. 

Golly was I tuckered out and hoped to get sleep that night.

I didn't sleep well. Whatever. I always just soldier through when insomnia happens. But first the Harbor Cafe for breakfast. I ordered a bloody Mary before our meal while Cybil ordered a riff on the Capri Sun pouches of her youth.

 

I didn't ask to taste her cocktail because she had a cold, but I did take a photo of the recipe. 

Cybil and Lyra were lovelies and paid for my pancake breakfast as a thank you for all my cooking. I admired this hanging display of fish, which is giving me ideas for one that's the same BUT ceramic.        

On our last full day in Santa Cruz County, Cybil kindly agreed to drive me to Capitola, so I could return to the gift shop that sells the lovely stoneware ceramics from Thailand I admired with my friend, Preet. We stopped at Gayle's, so I could buy Patrick's coma cookies and brookies.

 

I ended up not finding the indigo and off-white vase I wanted, but we all got postcards and magnets at that gift shop. And in another gift shop we liked, Cybil got herself a puzzle and a poster of a hand drawn inked print of the Santa Cruz coast. I was exhausted and drank tea while overlooking the Capitola pier.

Farewell Capitola! You're gorgeous and charming.

 

Until next time! Last stop was Aptos St BBQ because I said we had all this bread from Trader Joe's and didn't have my favorite breakfast tacos. Instead I was going to serve brisket and tri tip sandwiches and coleslaw. We also stopped at New Leaf Community Market, so I could buy pickles. Back at the cottage, Lyra made watermelon daiquiris this time. I also got my friends started on decoupaging our shells. We also played a national parks board game, which I enjoyed, but golly was I tired and hoped to sleep well that night.

Departure day. I slept longer, but not long enough. I hustled to cook kimchi bulgogi and vegetable fried rice. I also fried eggs to order.

No time for cooking Salmon Benedict too. I took the salmon home with me to eat for lunch. Good trip. Maybe we'll do it again in July midweek after Cybil gets back from Japan and before Lyra leaves for Spain.

cook: christmas salsas

I'd been invited to a tacos dinner party. I volunteered to bring a green and red salsa. For the raw salsa, I needed tomatillos, a jalapeno pepper, a serrano pepper, avocados, lime, cilantro (not pictured, but probably 8 stems and leaves--keep the stems as they contain a lot of flavor) and salt and maybe a bit of water.

All of the green ingredients went into the blender except for the avocado and lime juice. Also I had de-seeded and removed the membranes of the peppers to make this a mild salsa; I pulsed the blender in order to keep the ingredients coarse.

 

I love onions in a salsa, and so I chopped and minced what I had in the fridge, a couple tablespoons of red onion and soaked in cold water. I also put it in the fridge to chill more and remove its bite. I then added the avocado into the blender and pulsed again just for 5 seconds.

 

For my cooked salsa, I put a large tomato, cut in half; half a yellow onion; 4 cloves of garlic; a serrano pepper; and a jalapeno pepper on a baking sheet and broiled.

I also brought out dried oregano, coriander seeds, hot smoked paprika, and chipotles in adobo sauce for the mise en place.

I think the vegetables roasted for 15 minutes which was too long as my garlic was mostly burned. I could only add a couple cloves to the salsa. I'll need to remember in the future to remove the garlic sooner. 

I then added the roasted vegetables and generous sprinklings of the spices as well as a couple of chipotles and tablespoon of adobo sauce and a tablespoon of honey to the blender and let it whiz for a few minutes. My red salsa was thick! And so I added another tomato which then made it too thin:( Oh well. And so I added Valentina's to thicken it again.

Tomatillo avocado salsa and Tomato chipotle salsa done! I decanted the Christmas salsas to take to the taco dinner.                     

I also found beers at the Grocery Outlet to bring.

Once at the party, I helped as a sous chef and brought dishes to the table.    

I chopped Romaine and had also brought pickled radishes to which Zan added her newly pickled radish and red onion made just that afternoon.

Jeff had de-leafed the cilantro leaves from the stems, and I decanted my red salsa into a handmade ceramic bowl.

We decided we wanted tomato too for the tacos, and I decanted my green salsa into another handmade bowl to sit next to.

Zan had bought mango pico de gallo at the market which I set next to the bowl of Cheddar cheese I had grated.

I had also grated the Cotija cheese and set it next to the marinated mushrooms Zan had sauteed.

Jeff chopped and sliced yellow onion and red bell pepper which he sauteed while Zan grilled chicken breasts marinated in lime and tequila. And all together the taco condiment bar looked pretty darn impressive. One of those bowls of cheddar cheese disappeared because I had sprinkled it on to tortillas and popped into a 350 degree oven to melt the cheese. And from the kitchen, we plated chicken and cheese tacos, Elote corn, and Jeff's frijoles cooked in a crockpot with onion, peppers, Epazote, and avocado leaves--no ham hock as the other men didn't eat pork. We were starving while guzzling margaritas and trying not to eating too many blue corn chips and salsa while waiting for Markos and Aaron to arrive. But yeah taco condiment bar is a fun way to feed a dinner party, buffet style.

(stay)cation: beach cottage getaway menu planning

This weekend, I'll be going with a couple friends to a beach cottage in Santa Cruz. I invited Meral to come on Sunday if she's free and spend overnight and leave on the Monday we check out. I looked up the location on Airbnb and discovered it's right next to the beach and harbor where I paddled my very first outrigger canoe race. I'm so excited.

And they're cool with me cooking. I already said I'm going to cook and assemble a seafood tower and will likely do a meal of Korean bbq or bulgogi, with of course, my tried-and-true banchan. Mustn't forget to bring homemade kimchi. Panini boards too with wine for happy hour, I think. Here are my generic shopping and to-pack lists thus far. 

1. Lobster (maybe) and crab, beef bulgogi and Korean short ribs and Japchae from Costco
2. Homemade banchan (kimchi, Japanese eggplant, bean sprouts, cucumber)
3. Oysters, mussels, scallops, shrimp from H&H Fresh Fish
4. Italian panini of Trader Joe's baguette, prosciutto, mozzarella balls, pasta
5. Kimchi, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, jasmine rice, Jagalchi grill
6. Pasta with salmon (Costco), lemon, kale, peas and herbs (Trader Joe's)
7. Beach craft of decoupage trinket dishes made with shells (mostly oyster), decorative cocktail napkins, liquid gold paint, pearl paint, and decoupage
8. Sea mug and vases gifts for Cybil and Lyra
9. Watercolor, colored pencils, mixed media sketchpad, paintbrushes
10. Speaker for Apple music playlists and phone charger
11. Journal, one nonfiction, one fiction
12. Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, contact lens, deodorant, face and body sunscreens, hydrogen peroxide, retainer, 
13. 3 t-shirts, nightshirt, shorts, jeans--there's a washer and dryer at the cottage--Converse, flip flops, hat, laundry bag
14. CPAP & laptop

I have a little field notebook in which maybe I'll get more granular with my lists to include staples from my kitchen. My cooking is so good because of the arsenal of ingredients I always have on hand for flavoring and seasoning. I'm thinking I want to return to the little gift shop in Capitola that had these white stoneware and cobalt glazed vases (from Thailand according to the shop owner) I loved, loved, loved.                    

I had taken one lovely little white and blue vase up to the cash register when Preet had stopped me and said that she got me the one below as a gift.

I love the little brown and white vase, and it coordinates so well with my little Heath bud vase. But I also want the little blue and white one I had in my hand, and by myself, I would have dithered in that shop for more than an hour to buy 2 more because I like sets of 3. And so I am going to cajole Cybil to drive to Capitola, not only to Gayle's Bakery for coma cookies and sourdough bread but also for my ceramics fix. I also know we're going to visit bookstores and breweries, so I need to be mindful of what I do bring.

cook: kare kare or filipino oxtail peanut stew

I was supposed to cook this elaborate stew on Mother's Day, but unfortunately didn't because of an emergency hospital visit. However, I still wanted to express my love and support for family, and so I shopped the Filipino grocery store and found the fish sauce I grew up with. Rufina has some sketch ingredients compared to the fish sauces I usually buy like Red Boat or 3 Crabs, but I had to get it for nostalgia's sake. I also cooked a chili con carne y frijoles to put into my brother's refrigerator that has the usual suspects of ground beef, pinto beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, cumin, cayenne, chipotles in adobo sauce, oregano, and granulated garlic and of course, s&p.           

I had also bought a can of sliced banana blossom, Asian eggplant, and cut-up long beans at Seafood City for the mise en place. As soon as I got up that Saturday morning, I trimmed the fat and rinsed the oxtails and got them boiling for a couple hours.

In the last hour of boiling, I also added some boneless chuck short ribs and made a thick slurry of peanut butter and shrimp paste (salted dried shrimp with water). After the meat was fall off the bone tender, I set it aside and then sauteed onions and garlic in some beef fat I skimmed off. I then added a bit of the commercial packet of spices for the kare kare which contained the toasted rice flour and annatto coloring plus some I had in my pantry for the stew. Next went in beef broth from the boiling, the peanut butter slurry, and the oxtails and chuck beef. I kept tasting and added salt and black pepper and the Rufina.

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When the stewing meat and gravy cooked down, I put all the vegetables on top.

My brother and his son said they simmered the stew on medium heat until the vegetables got tender and then spooned it atop fluffy steamed rice. Success! I wished I had taken some kare kare for myself. I pondered the repetition of words in Tagalog vocabulary. Kare translates to curry or thick sauce. I'm taking it upon myself this summer to teach my nephew to cook (and plan and shop for a meal) because he needs that life skill for self-sufficiency and be more helpful for his dad.