Our Oakland buddy dubbed that as the name of his BBQ. Scott served up some our favorites from last time, including that amazing hickory-smoked salmon.
I fried up some beef lumpia for the party. I left out the patis & peanut oil in this batch. Another party-goer offered up his home-brewed Brown Ale. He said he used brown sugar. He says that’s probably what gave his foamy beer its caramel aftertaste.
For dessert, Scott made vanilla ice cream. It tasted so creamy and sweet. I wanted seconds.
Check out the video by clicking the “Read More” link:
Another highlight from the party: the Screw Drivers! I loved mixing up fresh squeezed orange juice and vodka. Our host picked the fruit from the orange tree blooming in his garden. Wowa!
Another lovely summer day with dear friends and new ones.
I planted the white potato seedlings last March. I started digging them up at the end of June.
Joy!
According to a couple of garden-centric web sites, I should harvest the potatoes after the green vines died off. We had a few tiny ones, but a majority ended up being impressive in size.
I also picked some fig fruit from the huge tree in our backyard. It’s growing on the other side of the fence, along a public walk/bike trail. Daisy freaks out when other people start picking that tree.
We decided to grill our new potatoes inside foil. We topped them with salt, pepper and olive oil. My hubby added some bratwurst links and scallops to the fire.
Inside the kitchen, I sautéed white beans, butter beans and spinach. I also added grape tomatoes from the garden. I sprinkled on some salt and pepper to the veggies. I also added olive oil and 2007 Barefoot Chardonnay.
Thank you for your support! Andrea, Matt, Ann, Kendall, Fally & Sara – you rock with your video/blog references.
It’s A Really Goode Job. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Hi. Sara O. here. I’m hijacking Kris’s blog to supplement the video that Andrea shot endorsing Kris for the really Goode job.
See this? It’s a post card with a date stamp of Oct. 31, 2004. It was sent to me in the Czech Republic from England by Kris, husband Mark, and Andrea, back when we were all living in Europe as part of our journalism residencies. If you look at it closely, you’ll see several stains on it.
Those are wine stains. Having traveled and visited and dined with Kris before, I can vouch that food and wine are a big part of her life. So are sharing her food and drinking experiences. I mean, they got me, a relative non-drinker, to go cavorting about Napa just this past January.
I also want to add that, sure, she’s got the multi-media thing going for her (does she ever), but don’t forget that she’s also great with personal touches. Like the post card I’m sharing with you now. I hope it’s worth a thousand words to help her land the Murphy-Goode Winery job.
These Roma Grape Tomatoes felt so warm in my hand when I picked them off the vine. I washed one off. Then I took a bite. So fresh and juicy! Can’t wait to get more from my garden!
So big and leafy. My dill plant buried under the potato leaves. I plan on moving that herb tomorrow. I love staring at our veggie garden and dreaming about the harvest. When life is crazy, it’s nice to have something solid and down-to-earth. Like this garden.
I think we have green thumbs! I also think the last round of rainy weather helped our veggie garden.
The potatoes are thriving. There are 10 leafy plants sprouting from the ground. I shot this picture last month. Now, the potato leaves cover most of the ground. I had to replant the rosemary because the potato leaves covered most of it. I think I’ll have to replant the dill as well, because of those potato leaves.
I’m quite happy Vacaville got rain overnight. My veggie garden can use it and it syncs up nicely with my Saturday morning watering schedule.
I’m also following all things about gardening, including the First Lady’s green efforts at the White House.
I think Michelle Obama’s amazing. She’s a style icon, dressed in fashion-forward outfits by American designers. Then there are these down to earth photographers, where she’s in a tank top and digging holes for new trees. (still wondering why the President doesn’t have a shovel or tree in his hands). She makes the transition from evening gown to working pants look so easy.
I also love the Official White House Photostream on Flickr. There are some wonderful candid shots of the President, the First Family and the White House staff.
Check out all the green leaves. I have three sunflowers standing up. There’s also green vines growing from my white potato seedlings. It’s quite exciting and satisfying to hang out in the garden and observe all the changes.
I love how the First Lady’s helping DC kids learn about the wonders of gardening with the White House Lawn.
We visited the Academy on the President’s Day Weekend. I loved seeing the changes from the multi-million dollar makeover. However, the museum was also very, very crowded.
Our meteorologist takes his family to the Academy during the week. He says they have the place to themselves. On a weekend, the place is packed to capacity: 5,000 people. That adds up to an hour+ wait on the popular exhibits, from the Morrison Planetarium to the Rainforest. I guess that’s why I have so many pictures of the Steinhart Aquarium. No wait.
Still, we enjoyed exploring the other exhibits. I also liked watching kids discover the different dimensions of Science.
Someday, I’ll have some little KVP’s running around. Maybe some little Mark’s as well. Come to think of it, I think I’m better of with baby boys versus baby girls. Little girls can be trouble. I should know.
Good question.
I’ve killed many plants over the years. So this year, I’m trying to keep them alive.
The Paupered Chef inspired me to take another chance on my thumbs. If he can grow a salad in Brooklyn, I should be able to follow in his footsteps back here in California. So, we planted our first garden at our Vacaville home on March 14.
Now we’re dreaming of the harvest. I’m looking forward to using fresh vegetables for stews, salads, grilling, anything! Mark’s dreaming about fresh mint leaves for mint juleps. It feels good to water the plants and monitor their growth. I’ve had some potatoes poke out of the ground. I’ve buried them in the soil again. Plus, I am thrilled to see green sprouts growing from our sunflower seeds. Joy!
Here’s what’s in our veggie garden:
Ace 53 Tomatoes
Roma Grape Tomatoes
White Potatoes (10)
Italian Parsley
Rosemary
Mint (I know. I know. I’ve read plenty of sites warning me about this herb and how it will take over the garden. I moved it to another part of the yard.)
Chives
Sunflowers
We also planted these flowers in the front yard, next to the house:
