BOAT.....HOUSES???

Yes, you are seeing correctly. These are boats that used to be buildings, which then became houses and they are on dry land, not water. The other day while I was taking a walk, I parked right in front of them, and thought I must share the unique story of one of Encinitas most famous landmarks.

A little history....Miles Minor Kellogg, a maritime engineer, with imagination, creativity, and recycled lumber from the 1888 Moonlight Beach Dance Hall and Bathhouse that was dismantled in 1925, built the now famous Encinitas Boat Houses.

They are a National treasure that exemplify early California courtyard architecture, early building with recycled materials, and vernacular architecture associated with Historic U.S. Hwy 101. The Encinitas Boat Houses have been deemed eligible for the National Historic Registry.

They are the most photographed houses in our town, now you can see why! Another quirky, funky, unique thing that makes Encinitas a great place to live!

Random, but interesting.

SAY IT ISN'T SO FABIO!!!

Today is a sad day for me---Last night, Fabio, the Italian chef, originally from Florence, was eliminated from the competition on Bravo's "Top Chef ".....it is one of my favorite TV shows, and this particular season, it was made so much more enjoyable because Fabio Flavia was competing---he is charming, adorable and of course very talented!

The final four competition took place in New Orleans and Fabio attempted to recreate creole style dishes... Grits with Sausage and Rabbit, Craw fish with Crab Stew and homemade pasta, and a Bell Pepper Martini, but I guess it was too sweet for the judges....not enough heat!!

He owns a restaurant, Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, CA....I think I might have to make a trip up there soon to taste his food for myself....and maybe a get a glimpse of Fabio....

Personally, I think that Stephan should have been eliminated!

Arrivederci Fabio!

FRIENDSHIP....

It has been a hella of a week, the internet was down, and I haven't been feeling great, went to the doctor convinced I had some strange disease....the disease is called MENOPAUSE!! Not being able to log on to the computer made me realize how important it is for me to visit blogs everyday, it is truly a source of great pleasure! Sure I could watch TV, read a book, peruse all of my favorite magazines, but I felt a sense of sadness not being able to go to all my favorite blogs and find out what is going on in your lives

Then Lisa at The Coastal Nest gave me this award----my first one---Lisa is one heck of a funny gal, with a heart as big as the the State of California and Washington combined, that's where she's from, Washington. Her blog is creative, funny, entertaining and a joy to read!....of course, now I am supposed to pick 8 people to pass this along to....I hate to break the rules of the award---you all get the award, if you read my blog, you have been officially awarded.

We had a lovely Valentines Day, complete with lobster tails for dinner at home, and roasted banana gelato with nutella drizzed on top for dessert!

Hope you and your sweeties enjoyed the day!

Please go visit Lisa's blog -- she is having a 250th post giveaway!

PEANUT BUTTER NUTELLA BROWNIES

World Nutella Day was on February 6th---I am a little slow on keeping up with my posts, sooo I made these brownies as an early Valentine's Day treat for my daughter Ali up in San Francisco. I am popping them in the mail today. I found this recipe at Culinary in the Country.

I know the photo is NOT good, I am not a food stylist, I am not even a good baker, but they are moist, decadently chocolate with a hint of peanut butter and hazelnut flavor. What more could you want?

PEANUT BUTTER NUTELLA BROWNIES

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup good quality cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Prepare a glass 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.Melt the butter over very low heat; when melted remove from heat and gently pour into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together. Combine the flour mixture slowly to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture – mix well.Mix the peanut butter and Nutella in a small microwave safe bowl, and heat until it reaches a runny consistency. Stir the mixture into the batter; then pour it into the baking dish.Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting

50TH POST!!

I HAVE FINALLY REACHED 50 POSTS....



WHAT CAN I SAY REGARDING 50...THAT BY NOW I SHOULD BE At 100 POSTS, BUT I AM NOT A VERY DISCIPLINED BLOGGER.



I COULD LIST 50 FOODS I LOVE, 50 THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE, WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO TURN THE BIG 50, 50 BLOGS I LIKE...OR 50 FAVORITE MOVIES OR BOOKS....



WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS I AM THRILLED TO HAVE MET ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL WOMEN IN THE BLOGGING WORLD. IT HAS BEEN A GREAT ADVENTURE SO FAR. OUR KIDS HAVE FACEBOOK AND MY SPACE...WE HAVE BLOGS...ISN'T IT REALLY ALL ABOUT CONNECTING, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR AGE IS? THIS INTERNET WORLD HAS OPENED UP A WAY TO CONNECT TO PEOPLE OF LIKE MINDS AND INTERESTS ACROSS THE GLOBE....AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BOARD A PLANE.



I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE BLOGGING. THIS IS A PLACE WHERE WE CAN INSPIRE, SHARE AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER; WHETHER YOU'RE IN MY OWN BACKYARD, OR HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD. I FIND IT SO INTERESTING TO READ A BLOG FROM THE LOVELY COAST OF AUSTRALIA, THE GREEN HILLS OF TUSCANY, AND THE COLORFUL AND EXOTIC MARRAKESH... AND LET'S NOT FORGET ALL THE GREAT BLOGS FROM OUR CANADIAN NEIGHBORS.!





AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR LEAVING SUPPORTIVE, KIND AND SOMETIMES FUNNY COMMENTS!

SIX PICTURE MEME

My new friend, Tammy at Hot Flashes in the Desert, tagged me on the Six Picture Meme game, Go to your pictures folder, go to the sixth folder and choose the sixth photo and write something about it. My sixth folder had nothing in it (??), so I went to my seventh folder, which contains my photos from Spain last year, and chose the sixth picture. It is a photo of Salamanca, Spain from the window of the hotel I stayed at. My daughter Ali, who is a Spanish major, went to Spain in February, 2008 to study for a semester. I went in March to visit her for a quick 5 day trip. It is a beautiful, small city. We were there during Easter. We had the opportunity to experience the religious procession on Good Friday, where the entire town comes out to celebrate and enjoy the re-enactment of the stations of the cross. It was sooo crowded and we were getting hungry, so we went out to dinner....to an Italian restaurant! Oh well, gotta have Italian,no matter where I am. It was a great trip, and I am so happy she had the opportunity to soak up the Spanish culture.

I am not going to tag anyone, but feel free to share your 6 picture meme!

WHAT EXACTLY IS CLEAN EATING?

That's what I wanted to find out, when this magazine caught my eye on the newstand at Border's. What really intrigued me was the "New Italian Cuisine" article, and the cover recipe--Baked Penne with Asparagus and Turkey Meat Sauce.

According to the publishers, Clean Eating is consuming food in its most natural state--or as close to it as possible. Since visiting the farmer's market this past weekend, I am trying to do that more...I am using the bunch of asparagus I picked up there in this dish.

I altered this recipe, since Steve decided vegetarian is his new way of eating. I eliminated the ground turkey, and added chopped spinach and one package of baby portobello mushrooms...

Check out their website, www.cleaneatingmag.com and let me know what you think. I don't think I will get a subscription (12 issues for $21.97) , but I am always looking for new magazines with interesting recipes to try.

It's in the oven now, I'll let you know if it was a keeper or not!

P.S. It was really good! Of course my photo doesn't look the one of the cover of the magazine!