Apple Mountain Golfing

This weekend was hot! Both Saturday and Sunday were in the triple digits, ending our HVAC free streak at 8 months!

I went golfing today with Kyan at Apple Mountain Golf Resort in Placerville, CA. The course was carved out the the foothills and surrounded by towering pines. There were many beautiful vistas, including snow capped mountains. I played well carding an 79 (41-38).

Cake & Ice Cream

Josh brings home cake mixes from work sometimes, so Wednesday I made this cake. And I finally got to use the cake plate we got as a wedding gift.

Then Friday, after a trip to Jalapenos for dinner, we stopped at Vic's Ice Cream. It's really cute inside and they have items on their menu like malts, pb & j and hot dog sandwiches. Yeah that's right...we saw the kid making one and they cut a hot dog in half the long way and then in half again and put it on bread. Then they add cheese and put it in a panini press. Where were these shops when I was growing up?

In the Kitchen

Orecchiette with Roasted
Broccoli & Walnuts
(Real Simple, February 2009)

Prep: 10 minutes, Total Time: 25 minutes, serves 4

12 ounces (3 cups) orecchiette or some other short pasta
1 bunch (1.5 pounds) broccoli cut into small florets
1/2 cup walnuts roughy chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400º F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water, drain pasta, and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until broccoli is tender, 18-20 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter, and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. (Add more if the pasta seems dry.) Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.
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This is a new recipe that Josh and I have made a couple of times and we really like it. For all you Midwesterners who need meat in their meal, you can add chicken, pork or beef. Enjoy!

Hollywood

We just had a great weekend in LA. It was the first time for us being there and we wanted to do as much as possible. We were so lucky to have Ryan as a guide and to meet up with Christine and Anna! We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. The best time to see it is at night when everything's lit.

Saturday morning, we all hiked up Runyon Canyon Park, in the Hollywood Hills. Then, we cleaned up and headed to the beach. First we saw Santa Monica and went down to the pier.

Later, we drove down to Manhattan Beach which was less touristy and watched the surfers and volleyballers.

Sunday we went to the Pride Parade in West Hollywood with Ran and the girls before we made our 6 hour drive back home. For dinner, we stopped at Andersen's Pea Soup. We both tried pea soup for the first time (since it's their specialty) and really liked it.

Thanks so much Christine, Anna and Ryan for such a fun weekend!!!

Flea Find

We haven't been to the flea market in Alameda since February when we found our buffet, so I was really looking forward to going this weekend. This time we found this old blue watering can. I can't wait until I can actually use it!

After the flea market, we checked out Point Isabel north of Oakland. There were tons of people out with their dogs enjoying the weather.

Lightning!

Josh and I just woke up to some amazing lightning and thunder. Which we haven't seen since July 7th when we were on our way to the airport and moving to California! It was so loud and wonderful.