Grandma and Samantha

Enjoying the day at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

Scallops With Sweet Cucumber and Mango Salsa

Quick, easy and light

From Real Simple Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice (such as jasmine) -- I used brown rice.
2 mangoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Kirby cucumbers or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the mangoes, cucumbers, ginger, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the oil, the cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

3. Rinse the scallops and pat them dry with paper towels. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook until golden brown and the same color throughout, about 2 minutes per side. Divide among individual plates and serve atop the rice with the salsa.

4 Years Ago Today.....

We Said

I DO!

Best Friends

Big Girl Bed

So we finally caved and converted Samantha's crib into a Toddler Bed.

I feel like an idiot even sharing this since we saw it coming but I will share.....she fell out of her crib TWICE!!!!

She is okay, no broken bones.

The first time happened about a week ago. We have a video monitor that we have been watching closely so that we can run in and get her if we see her bending forward over the rail. We were not ready this particular time because it was in the morning. It is only at night where we have a problem with her trying to climb out.

We heard a loud BOOM and we rushed to her room to find her on the floor. She was fine, a little startled but wasn't really crying.

The other time happened last night. She didn't want to go to bed (as usual) so we kept putting her in her crib and letting her cry it out. I kept watching the monitor and would go in and get her when she was about to fall out. We tried watching TV, reading books, singing songs, just about everything to try and get her to go to sleep.

On nights like this she has ended up in our bed but since she fell out of our bed one night (so I guess she has taken three falls) I didn't want to go that route anymore.

I tried one more time to put her in her crib and before I could get to the monitor to check, I heard the dreadful BOOM again. This time she was frantic and so were we - that was the end of the crib.

While Samantha fell asleep on the couch, Todd got to work on converting the crib.

Here she is last night (we can't really count this as a "real" night since we put her in the bed already asleep):

She slept through the night, until around 7 AM and was so excited to get out of her bed all by herself and come see us:

She loved her new bed so much that she wanted to eat her breakfast in bed:

The rail does not go all the way across the bed for some reason so we put some pillows down in case she rolled out.

The first "real" attempt at putting her to sleep was for this afternoons nap. It took a little longer than usual to get her to go to sleep but I think a lot of it has to do with how excited she is with her new bed.

At just 20 months, I think she is a little young for a toddler bed but I thought we would try it for a week and if it isn't working, then we would get a crib tent.

The strangest thing about this whole process is having her get out of her bed by herself and come see us rather than us going to get her. It has really hit home that she is not a baby anymore :(

ABC's

It looks like all those annoying toys that play the "ABC" song are starting to pay off.

By the way, she picked out this outfit this morning. She looks a bit like a synchronize swimmer.

Chili-Spiced Grilled Halibut with Grilled Corn Saucy Salsa

While I know that Rachael Ray is not every one's favorite, you have to admit, she's got a pretty nice food media empire going on with books, TV shows, magazines etc. I think it's pretty amazing given that she is not even a classically trained chef.

Do I find her catch phrases like EVOO and Yum-O! annoying - YES.

Have I ever made one of her "30 minute meals" in 30 minutes - NO.

But I digress, I have made several of her recipes and they are for the most part really good. Here is a halibut recipe that is great for barbeque's and is healthy (most of her recipes I find are not on the healthy side). I am still trying to master how to BBQ fish without overcooking it but I think I did an okay job at it this time.

Recipe by Rachael Ray

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ears of corn, shucked
5 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus some for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
4 6-ounce 1-inch halibut fillets
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
juice of 2 limes

Instructions

Preheat a grill pan or outside grill to high.

Drizzle the shucked corncobs with a little of the vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the shucked corn on the grill. Turn the corn and char on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and let cool enough so that you can handle them.

While the corn is grilling, preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil (twice around the pan). Add the onions, garlic, jalapeno, bell peppers, and brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Add the vegetable or chicken stock and continue to cook for about 4 minutes.

For the halibut, in a shallow dish combine the remaining two tablespoons of vegetable oil with the chili powder and a little salt. Add the fish and coat thoroughly. Place the seasoned halibut on the grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

With a knife, cut the charred corn kernels from the cobs. Add the corn kernels to the skillet with the onion mixture, stir, and continue to cook for about 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the corn is cooked through. Add the cilantro and lime juice and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Serve the grilled halibut with some of the grilled-corn saucy salsa over the top.

Happy Birthday Todd

Todd has had his pilot's license since he was 19. He was working towards his commercial pilot license when an alternative career took him to Europe (more about that some other time)......

Todd has not flown since 2002 so I decided to surprise him for his birthday with a flight lesson to brush up on his flying skills.

It turns out he didn't need the instructor. He flew the plane the entire time, right from take-off.

Look closely, that's not a seagull, it's the plane

Post-Nap Hair

Book Club

I belong to a book club that I absolutely LOVE! We meet each month to discuss the "book of the month" but mostly we just eat, drink and socialize!

Pre-Sam I would read several books a month, multiple magazines and the local paper. Now, I find myself scrambling to finish our Book Club book minutes before the meeting.

This month we are reading The Soloist by Steve Lopez. It is a quick read and really good - I definitely recommend it.

I must admit that there have been a few occasions where I got in some reading time by turning the TV on for Samantha.

The other night I came into the family room to find this:

I guess she was paying attention to me while I thought she was watching TV :)

Ooh La La!

Santa Barbara is known for having zillions of parades and festivals each year. This weekend was the French Festival.

French cuisine, music, entertainment and activities - C'est magnifique!

Ronda Lisa

Mona Lolly


Samantha started off very dainty with her crepe


Once she realized how good it was, she turned into an animal


Lollipop begging as usual

And we wonder why she begs so much!

And this has nothing to do with France but they had the most ridiculous set up of bounce houses. Samantha was in heaven!

Mustard Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

I have been testing out the convection option on our oven with different dinners and I think I finally nailed it on this one. Convecting the tenderloin helped to seal in the juices of the meat and made it taste more flavorful. Prior to this, the only successful dinners I have convected have been frozen pizzas!

The purpose of a convection oven is to cook food faster, at a lower temperature, and with better results. The trick is to time it right. I have been using the general rule that you should cook things about 20 to 25% less than you would in the regular oven and at a slightly lower temp. For this recipe I actually kept the temp at 450 but it only took 15 minutes.

A few changes to the recipe below also included using whole-wheat bread (I can't remember the last time I bought white bread) and I used a blend of Parmesan Romano cheese.

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork)

Ingredients
1 (1/2-ounce) slice white bread
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Place slice of bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/4 cup. Combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, cheese, and 2 teaspoons thyme in a shallow dish. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Combine Dijon mustard, fennel seeds, and garlic in a small bowl. Rub pork with mustard mixture, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Place the pork on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

The Bedtime Intruder

On most nights Samantha is super easy to put to bed. Usually after bath time we read or watch a video, she brushes her teeth and then I put her in her crib with all her gear - pacifier, sippy cup of water, book, two blankets, Big Bear, Green Bear, Monkey, Lamb and Puppy. She takes inventory of what she has by pointing to each and saying, "Mimi, Wawa, Bookey, Blankeys, Bear, Bear, Monkey, Lamb, Puppy". I sing her a song, kiss her goodnight and I don't hear from her until about 7:30ish the next morning.

However, about once a week some other baby resembling Samantha appears to take part in the bedtime battle. It all starts once I lay her down in her crib and her body pops up like a Jack-in the Box. "UP, UP, UP!" she will scream. Then she dramatically hurls her entire crib inventory on the floor only to then cry for each item, pointing at me angrily, as if I was the one who did it.

I then will put everything back in her crib, careful to arrange them how she likes them. "No Night Night, No Night Night!" Over and over again she will scream while she thrusts her entire body over the front of the crib, leaning so far over she is about to fall on her head. Since I have yet to invest in a crib tent or convert the crib to a toddler bed, Samantha gets her way and I let her stay up.

Then the circus begins.........

"Show, Show, Show" she will repeat. I say she can watch ONE more show. "Dodo, Dodo, Dodo" she will repeat. I put on Dora the Explorer and she will say, "Meow, Meow, Meow" so I turn Dora off and put on the Kitty Cat video she likes.

This keeps her entertained for about 5 minutes until she is rushing to the kitchen screaming and pounding on the cabinets yelling "Nacks, Nacks, Nacks". I give in and give her a snack because I figure she is hungry since she barely eats all day.

After a round of this I try to put her back to bed only to get the same crazy frantic Samantha with her leg over the crib, screaming at the top of her lungs.

I let her come back out but she has to watch one of my shows - I refuse to watch one more toddler program. I have learned that putting on one of the cable news networks bores her. She will cry for me to put "Dodo" on but I tell her, "It's Mommies turn, you can watch this or go to bed". She definitely understands this phrase because she stops whining and sits quietly.

After this the night can go 1 of 3 ways.

1. She ends up falling asleep on the couch

2. She will ask to go to bed, "Napking, Napking, Napking" (her version of asking to take a nap)

3. She ends up in bed with us

Below is a picture of #1

I always hope for #2

The worse case scenario is #3 and unfortunately it was our night last night, I have the foot imprint mark on my forehead to prove it.

Thankfully tonight the sweet and calm Samantha was here and she is fast asleep. I figure we have a few more good nights to go before the bedtime intruder appears again.

Fun at the Mission

Back to School

In order to expand his business and stay ahead of the curve, Todd has enrolled in some drafting courses.

First Day of School (he needs a lunch pail)

Such a good student doing his homework

Sofia with an "F"

One of the first people to welcome us to our new neighborhood when we bought our house was a little girl named Sofia. She came over and introduced herself by saying, "My name is Sofia, Sofia with an 'F'!" Since that day, Sofia has charmed us with her spunky presence quite a bit. She is often riding her scooter conveniently by our house, back and forth, making sure not to miss us when we get home. Or her basketball just happens to make it's way over our fence so she has to come over to retrieve it. She loves to chat and will tell us all about her day, careful not to leave out any details. She will happily show us what she has learned at her flamenco dance lessons or has even sang one of her favorite songs of the moment. She sounds shy, huh?

As you can imagine, Samantha LOVES Sofia. Samantha's eyes light up when she sees her and she says, "Fia, Fia, Fia" over and over.

Today we arrived home to find this message on our sidewalk:

Samantha and I decided to go pay Sofia a visit and we were happily greeted by the little entrepreneur and her orange juice stand.

Since we are neighbors, Sofia offered a 25 cent discount on our juice but made sure to point to the tip jar which read, "Feeling Tipsy".

Why We Live In Santa Barbara