San Francisco

We spent a few days in San Francisco recently.
It is an amazing city that has beautiful scenery,
fantastic food and very diverse people.

We stayed in Mill Valley, outside the city, and this was the view from our room.


While in San Francisco we visited Stow Lake, Pier 39, The Golden Gate Bridge, China Town, The Ferry Building, Nob Hill, Muir Woods and Berkley.

Here are a few photos from the food market inside the Ferry Building.

A wide variety of mushrooms are sold at the market.


Check out all this cheese:



We went on a walking tour of China Town. One of the stops on the tour was this fabulous tea shop.






The Golden Gate Bridge:


The Seals at Pier 39


Stow Lake



Driving through the city:




Muir Woods:





As you can tell from our photos we were able to get around and see so many things in four days. Then we took off for Yosemite National Park to do some hiking and bird watching.

Saucy Coconut-Chicken Stir Fry

My copy of Eating Well, my favorite cooking magazine,
came in the mail the other day. I love it because
it has great recipes as well as some very informative
articles. One feature I really like is that they
list the nutrition information after each recipe
so you know exactly how many calories, sugars,
proteins and vitamins you are consuming in the meal.
After paging through the magazine I was very happy
to find several recipes that I am going to
make in the next couple of weeks.

Saucy Coconut-Chicken Stir-Fry
by Eating Well
Ingredients
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
1 bunch scallions, sliced, whites and greens, separated
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3/4 cup “lite” coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce (see Note)
4 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
6 cups sliced napa cabbage
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* I added just a pinch of red pepper flakes

Preparation
1.Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
2.Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the wok or pot. Add jalapeño (if using), scallion whites, mushrooms and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant and the mushrooms start to soften, 30 seconds to 1 minute.



Stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cabbage, the chicken and scallion greens; cook, stirring constantly, until the cabbage is slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in basil just before serving.



This is a healthy, delicious meal.

Apple French Toast

It is so nice to wake up to a prepared breakfast.
Thanks Jim!
He made Apple French Toast, bacon and peach smoothies.

This Apple French Toast, which is a family recipe,
is made with a sugar glaze and apples on the bottom.
Then the french toast is dipped in a vanilla extract
and egg mixture and placed on top of the apples.
Then a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg on top before
baking. As you can see once it is baked it turns
out crispy on top and all the sweet goodness is underneath.
*It is served with a special sauce made of apple jelly,
apple sauce and cinnamon. Sadly, we did not have those
things available so we topped ours with syrup.



A great start to the day - Apple French Toast.

Chicken with Cucumber Melon Salsa

The days are so busy righ now that I find comfort in
coming home and cooking dinner in a quiet kitchen.
Ahh - a little peace. I am even more pleased
when the meal turns out to be something special
~ so here is another great summer recipe.
The combination of flavors is unique and goes together so well.

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Melon Salsa
From: www.myrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed honeydew melon
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed cantaloupe
1/2 cup diced peeled English cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray
Preparation
1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine first 10 ingredients; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, tossing well to combine.

3. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Coat chicken with cooking spray. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with salsa.



A little piece of chicken and some salsa - MMM, that is good.

Spiked Berry Half and Half

This is a great summer time tea recipe.
It has wonderful fruit flavors combined
with Earl Grey Tea and a splash of vodka.

Spiked Bery Half and Half
Original recipe from Everyday Food
This is my version with a few changes.

In a small container combine 2-3 Earl Grey Tea bag,
2 cup warm water,1 cup of sliced strawberries and peaches
and 1 cup vodka. Let steep for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small pitcher, stir together
1/4 cup of superfine sugar and 1 cup fresh
lemon juice (until the sugar dissolves).

Discard the bag,add the two mixtures together.
Chill and serve with ice.



Ahhhh ~ Refreshing!

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

My bi-weekly menu included several new dishes that I was excited about making.
This recipe from Cooking Light for Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas was very
good. It was fairly easy to make which is one of my requirements for a week
night dinner. The chicken salad is light but has great flavors.
This recipe could easily be made for lunch or dinner.



Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas
from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (such as Fage Total Classic)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 large)
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives (about 20 small)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
6 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, cut in half
12 Bibb lettuce leaves
6 (1/8-inch-thick) slices tomato, cut in half
Preparation
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine chicken and next 5 ingredients (through chickpeas)
in a large bowl. Add yogurt mixture to chicken mixture;
toss gently to coat. Line each pita half with 1 lettuce leaf
and 1 tomato piece; add 1/2 cup chicken mixture to each pita half.



I served hummus and chips with our Chicken Salad Pitas ~ YUM!

Cooking Trout

What a nice dinner!

This trout was caught and cooked by my husband.

The trout was coated in blue cornmeal and pan fried in butter and lemon.
He also made a nice arugula salad with parmesan slices and tomato.





You gotta love a guy who catches and cooks dinner!