Basic fresh pasta dough for reference. We’ve been going up to the local Italian place up the street for fresh pasta on Tuesdays so I decided to try it myself, this in not the first attempt by any means. This time it came out best. I’m thinking it may be that I actually use my hands for mixing the flour into the eggs. I could feel better and have more control and know when enough flour was enough. I didn’t use all the flour from the mound, but most. Came out great, kids loved, wife loved.

Made this great tasting banana bread the other day and just had to log it here for easy access. There are always a couple bananas in the bunch that try to make it into the trash. Not on my watch! Ate a little for a late night snack then wrapped it up for breakfast with some coffee.

For some reason I’m not much of a chicken person. To many weird parts I think. Though every once in a while I try it out again. I didn’t follow this recipe perfectly sauce wise but it came out fantastic nonetheless. You can find the original amaretto chicken recipe here.

Growing sprouts is so simple its funny. I bought this large sprouting jar from a neighborhood herb shop for maybe like 7 bucks. You can just buy the lids but slapping them on a normal quart jar will limit the amount of sprouts you will yield. I’ve sprouted several things but alfalfa is still my favorite. They make any sandwich a thousand times better adding a nice crunch and some good live nutrition. Sprouts also work nicely as a bed for almost any main dish to rest on.

I basically drop a couple tablespoons of seeds into the jar rinse them a few times then fill it up a third of the way and let it sit overnight. Alfalfa seeds are so tiny that they really only need about 5 hours of this initial soak. In the morning I dump out the water then rinse a couple times pouring out the final rinse (kinda gently here folks). Setting them in a bowl tilled downward (70°) so the remaining water can flow out. I then cover the jar with a towel so no light gets in. This is where I usually head to work. When I get home I repeat this rinse/drain process. I’ll do this two more days but on the last day I keep the towel off to let the sprouts green up a little (sunshine but not direct light). Once there ready I pull them out and rinse several times in a big bowl until most the brown seeds shells that rise to the top are gone. Put them in a container in the fridge and they are good for the week. They grow so quickly its cool for kids (and adults) to see nature and creation happen so quickly right before your eyes.

This dressing has an Asian flavor and comes across less heavy as our normal American creamy salad dressings. I love it and have made it several several times. The girls both like it too. Do try!

Our dog Dotty went through a period of a couple days where every time she went outside she came back in smelling horrible. Like she found the smelliest pile of leaves and dirt to roll around in and rub her cute little head in. So she spent a lot of time here in the sink getting bathed.

I’ve seen kale chips at the front checkout of Whole Foods several times and really wanted to try them. They cost like $5 for a small bag and to me that’s way excessive. This is one of those things where I look at it like, I could make those for next to nothing and easily, no way am I buying those. Yet at the same time I want to buy a bag for comparison alone. In the end J was no fan, Z was ok with them giving them a weak thumbs up and I just think I left them in the oven a bit too long. I stepped away for a second and that’s all it took. So keep an eye on them once the 15 minute mark hits.

I love the rich purples in vegetables. This kale is beautiful.

My favorite part of town was a little area called University Heights. It was basically where the closest coffee shop was, Twiggs bakery and Coffeehouse. Man, their sticky buns were AMAZING. The people in front of me as well as behind all ordered one. I went to Twiggs a couple times during our visit. There were also many little restaurants in that area so we hit it up as a family one evening for dinner. We ended up at Bahn Thai. It was good and the prices were great. There were lots of folks waking around and eating outside. The weather was, perfect. We hit a vintage shop next door and I got some sunglasses.

At the Thai place Z changed J’s iphone wallpaper to a funny picture she had in her camera roll so when she went to check something BAM! J is cracking up after noticing the switch.

This dog was at one of the few tables outside the restaurant.

We got up on Friday and had a nice breakfast with Kate, Sean and the kids. Then we were off to the zoo. This is Sean’s gas burner toast. Kate made us some peanut butter an banana sandwiches to bring for lunch. I actually made another one this week after we got back.

Z and B.

We went to the San diego Safari Park on Saturday. It was about a 40 minute drive north to Escondido. On the way back to the hotel we swung by and checked out the ocean in La Jolla.

This awesome orange tree just popped out of all the green ones in the safari park.

Watching the waves crash was thrilling to say the least. Z was not expecting that first one and neither was I to be honest. Powerful stuff.

On our last day (Fathers Day) we went to Coronado beach. It has got to be one of my favorites. We had a nice window seat lunch in a cafe then walked to the beach. When we walked up to the waters edge we noticed that the sand/water looks like someone dumped a ton of gold glitter on/in it. I looked it up later and I guess it’s mica. Either way it was so cool. Z and I floated and body surfed for hours. We even saw a dolphin. I freaked at first thinking it was a shark. It may go down as one the best if not the best Fathers Day to date. I didn’t want to drive back home but I guess all good things must come to an end. We WILL be back San Diego.

Z love hunting for shells.

My first Fathers Day with our littlest.

This is the simplest frosting I’ve ever made and it got rave reviews from the household. I didn’t have the full 8 oz. of chocolate chips so I used butterscotch chips for the last 4 oz. Next time we’ll go all chocolate but either way it was yum. Took about 10 minutes to make and most of that was just waiting for the water to boil. Went perfectly on this chocolate cake.

Ahhhh the classic peanut butter cookie, second only to the chocolate chip. As the recipe says these are rich and crumbly. I made these for J to take to her ladies Bible study group and I hear they were a hit. So good with an ice cold glass of milk, obviously.

I made this real quick last weekend for Z and me and it came out terrific. Again, very simple and just as tasty. This method cooks the broccoli perfectly and the simple sauce (ohh the garlic) gives it a wonderful rich flavor. It’s touted in the recipes “story/background” as a way to get kids to eat broccoli. Little Z is another one of those kids. As I mention below I made it a second time with other vegetables and it was just as good if not a little better. You must keep in the broccoli though no matter what, thats the rule.

Got tickets to see these guys with these guys next month. Stoked!

I have tried making homemade pizza many a time. It usually takes a lot of time or a lot of kneading or special flours (tipo 00) or all of the above. I’ve yet to try this one which I will soon, I’ve heard great things. But I just need something that is quick and simple that I can be munching on within the hour. Fortunately I like thin cracker-like crust so when I ran across this recipe for homemade matzo I instantly thought pizza. The girls usually end up eating (filling up) before I can even finish other pizzas but not this time. J and I really enjoyed it, Z is weird and only likes pizzas of the frozen persuasion.

I made these roasted tomatoes a few days before just to use them before they went bad. 250 degrees for as many hours as it takes, about three. Don’t forget to olive oil, sea salt and pepper them first! They were perfect on those little pizzas. I ended up topping the pizzas with some fresh oregano too but didn’t get a pic of that.