"Explorer Spirit…Servant Heart…"
May 7th, 2013 by leigharev2
After our hike at the Confluence Trail, a few of us decided to go to Pachamama’s Organic Cafe for a treat.
The boys and I shared two raw pizzas. The crust was like a thick seeded cracker. One flavor profile was Greek, and the other was Mexican. Both were terrific. Surprisingly, the boys liked the Greek one better. I liked both equally. I would love to try to make these some time, but until then, will continue to enjoy these.
May 7th, 2013 by leigharev2
Whew, it was a HOT day, but with the river, it made the hike a lovely one.
The kids before…
Wait…I thought we were staying along the river. We keep going up, up, up, and it’s getting hot, hot, hot…
Deer tracks
Annette’s daughter made her a pretty wildflower corsage…
Ahhhhh….shade….
I love the colors in this pinecone. The picture does not do it justice. There is life in nature colors…
Ending the hike with lunch on the river…
Mamas skipping rocks…
Apr 30th, 2013 by leigharev2
Every year, I get to go away for the weekend with three wonderful women! We typically go to Nevada City, but this year we decided to do Napa Valley! WOO HOO!
We left early afternoon Friday. DH loaned us his Jeep. First stop: Domaine Carneros. Since DH and I are members, we get to have a free tour for four once a year. I took the girls on the tour. It was Shanti’s first time trying sparking wine!
Going behind the scenes….
This is a neat vintage picture of men manually rotating the bottles. Now, it is all done automatically via computer (see the crate photo). The men wore lead aprons because the glass was thinner back then and corks would pop, causing them to fly HARD…
The tour tasting room…
We then drove to Cindy Pawlcyn’s Wood Grill and Wine Bar.
We shared appetizers: EGGPLANT FRIES (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND) with thyme, sesame & spiced yoghurt, and SWEET CRISPY PORK BELLY with Thai chile jam & pickled garlic.
For my main course, Tina and I shared a dozen ‘Bonita’ oysters from Washington state. YUM!
I was thrilled to discover that the special dessert for the evening was Bananas Foster.
This is pretty much my favorite dessert of all time! We also had Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it. We made it decaf.) Perfect ending…
Drove up to Calistoga and checked into our room. Roman Spa Hot Springs Hotel is a decent property. It could use some updating, but the property was well maintained. It was perfect for our girls getaway because we were able to have four to a room and there was a little kitchen as well. They have a couple of hot spring pools and we spent our first night alternating between the sauna and the pools. I will say the whole staff was excellent; professional and courteous from beginning to end.
The next morning, we ran a 5k. It was not an organized fun run, just a nice run through Calistoga. Running is something we all enjoy doing together. It’s one of our many common bonds. We stopped for breakfast, then walked back to our room to get changed for a day of wine tasting.
I love this cute store sign in Calistoga…
First stop: Chateau Montelena
This is a property I have been wanting to visit for quite a while. I hadn’t yet because it was so far north. Since we were staying north, it made sense to stop here. Chateau Montelena has an incredible history. A movie was even made about it.
Check out Bottle Shock.
Chateau Montelena has a beautiful building, pond, and garden…
Next stop, a property I love to take friends to…Castello di Amorosa, AKA, “Disneyland for adults”.
Touring the grounds…
Shanti enjoyed tasting the grapeseed oil bar…
We had the best host for our tasting! Ecktor was funny, friendly, and engaging. He really made the tasting one of our highlights of the trip. If you visit, try to get him.
A late picnic lunch/dinner at Clos Pegase completed a wonderful day of wine tasting.
We went back to our room and watched ‘bottle Shock’. At first we watched it on Eun’s iPad, but it kept crashing. Ended up watching it on my iPhone! (Love the chocolate stash nearby!)
Next morning, we picked up coffee and breakfast at a terrific little coffee place, Calistoga Roastery.
These are olive trees that have cards that people write on and hang on the tree. Each tree has a different theme…
‘Past Loves’. ‘I am grateful for…’. ‘I am happiest when…’ etc. It was funny, touching, and poignant to read them.
Afterwards, we went to a little boutique called North Star. Shanti, Tina, and I all found dresses, and Eun found some jewelry. We are all wearing our new purchases in front of the store here:
Drove down to Napa for the Gourmet Walks Culinary Tour. We had the same wonderful guide I had before (Maria), and we were the only ones on the tour, making it was wonderful, personal, experience!
The tour begins at the Oxbow Market, one of my favorite stops in Napa. Our first bite was at C Casa for a breakfast taco.
Then, we moved to cheese tasting at the Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant
Olive oil tasting at The Olive Press
Charcuterie at The Fatted Calf
Crossing the bridge to downtown Napa…
Tuna ceviche, taro chips, and beer at Fish Story….
A few blocks to Anette’s Chocolates…
Cacao pods!
Group shot with our guide, Maria!
Eun, hugging a cork tree.
Last stop: wine tasting at the Vinter’s Collective. This is located in the oldest building in Napa. It started out as a saloon, then a brothel, then a laundry…
It was a fun, refueling weekend! I love my friends!
Apr 30th, 2013 by leigharev2
My friend Grace, and I, took our boys to lunch at the Sacramento Executive Airport. They have this fun, funky, old school restaurant. We watched private planes and helicopters fly in and out. I assumed we’d see maybe one or two, but something took off every five minutes!
‘J’ showing his mom which plane they should buy…
Next stop, a little park play…
Final stop, a baked good at the Plum vegan cafe and bakery. Includes a kombucha bar!
Apr 30th, 2013 by leigharev2
DH decided to take care of the two dead rats we had on our property. One was thanks to our ever diligent cat and one was up in our attic decomposing in the mouse trap. Life is never boring at our house…
Apr 30th, 2013 by leigharev2
‘R’ and I made pizza together. It was a definite stretch from our typical cheese-laden gooeyness, but we all declared it (for the most part) a winner.
A nutrition class I am taking has taught me to saute items in veggie broth instead of oil. It really has been a wonderful way to cook healthier without sacrificing flavor.
For the pizza, I sautéed onion and garlic, then added orange peppers, artichoke hearts, and black olives. I added dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme and kept adding veggie broth as everything cooked down.
In the meantime, ‘R’ made the pizza sauce. He took a can of tomato paste, and added some water, then added garlic, and all the herbs listed above, as well as a little salt and pepper. His special secret ingredient to take it over the top was a little bit of Cajun Power sauce. It made just the right bit of flavor and bite.
We layered the pizza sauce on the Whole Foods whole wheat pizza crust and added the sautéed ingredients. I layered fresh basil on top, then place them in a 400 degree pre-heated oven. We cooked it for about 30 minutes. I was not happy with how the crust cooked. My guess is that there was no oil to crisp it up. Still, the flavor was very good and everyone was happy. Next time I think I will cook just the crust by itself a little first and see if that helps.
Apr 30th, 2013 by leigharev2
As a part of our nutrition education, the boys and I went on a field trip to the Sacramento Whole Foods and took a tour with a woman who showed us different plant based items to discover throughout the store.
Our tour guide, Linda!
After the tour, we enjoyed a nice plant-based soup and salad lunch and talked to another mom about homeschooling.
Apr 23rd, 2013 by leigharev2
Our homeschool group toured the KLOVE/AIR1 radio station!
Our group was so large we had to break up into smaller groups and go separate directions. Everyone we met was gracious and accommodating. The kids were able to see everything, from where things were recorded to engineering, finance, and the chapel.
These stations are not only for entertainment, but they are also a rich ministry. They have about seven full time pastors that pray for people who call in. Also, all employees attend chapel three times a day and pray over prayer requests. Each prayer request is printed out and is prayed over at least three times and each is marked after it has been prayed over.
DH and I support this ministry with monthly donations. They call us a few times a year to see if there is anything they can pray for us.
Speaking with one of the engineers…
Entering the news room. These staff members follow breaking news and decide what gets placed on the air.
This was a very special day for touring. The band Citizen’s Way was at the station recording some music. The kids got to meet and speak with the members of the band. You can hear one of their songs here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xlNwDpPoWs
Air1’s afternoon DJ Brant Hansen stopped a visited with the kids for a few minutes. This was a really big deal for a few of them!
This is DJ Amanda. She was working when we paid her a visit. She did an amazing job answering questions and engaging the kids. She also let us stay in the room while she talked on air…we were really quiet…
Some quitars gifted to the station by music artists.
Looking at gold albums (and other awards) gifted to the station by major artists…
Apr 18th, 2013 by leigharev2
Yet another terrific recipe from Dr. Neal Barnard’s crew. I received a handout that has a recipe from the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart. Recipe by Jason Wyrick. I used his recipe as my base, but doubled the ingredients to feed my family of four and also added/altered ingredients to suit our tastes. This is what I ended up doing:
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
32oz. canned black beans, rinsed
16oz. crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
2c. frozen corn
2c. fresh chard
2T. chili powder
1T. cumin
1T. oregano
Veggie Broth
Over medium heat, heat a quarter cup veggie broth. Saute the onion and garlic in the broth until soft. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat, and simmer until thoroughly cooked. Keep adding veggie broth to desired consistency.
Apr 18th, 2013 by leigharev2
This is a recipe that is in the Food For Life book by Dr. Neal Barnard and recipes by Jennifer Raymond. I changed it up a bit to reflect what I had in my kitchen and we are all happy with the result. This is the recipe with my changes. This bread is super easy to make (I talked the boys through doing it themselves), and is delicious as a breakfast bread, or with anything really.
1.5c. rice milk
2T. vinegar
2c. Whole Wheat Flour
1.5c Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
1/2c. molasses
1/2c. raisins
(By the way, ‘A’ asked me what molasses was and I was not sure. I thought it was a sap like a maple syrup. Actually, it’s the thick, dark brown, uncrystallized juice obtained from raw sugar during the refining process. Now we know!)
Preheat oven to 325. Mix rice milk with vinegar and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add everything else to the dry ingredients and hand mix together gently until thoroughly mixed. Spoon batter into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
