Misu – Trapped!

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Our silly cat Misu:

He’s been really needy lately so has been bothering us every evening. He’ll sit right next to you and wait you for you to look at him and once you look at him and start speaking to him, his ears perk up. If you don’t touch him, he’ll rub his face on your arm or leg to coax you to scratch his head. He’s super sweet.

In this case, he was sitting right in front of me so I lifted my legs onto the table (excuse my swollen feet) with his head in between. He didn’t budge. He seemed happy that I was paying attention to him.

I wonder if he knows a baby is coming so he’s trying to get even more attention now than usual…

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

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http://www.beachboardwalk.com/

Ron and I went down to Santa Cruz just to get out of the city. We visited the Beach Boardwalk which was mostly closed except for the arcade and mini golf. It was quite a drive and it started to rain a bit but it was just nice to get away and see some different scenery and spend some time together.

We got there around lunch time so had lunch at one of the eateries. I enjoyed a smoked turkey leg while Ron had a hamburger and garlic fries.

It was very chilly down there so I was bundled up.

We went to play some video games before heading home.

Berry Corn Muffins

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http://www.marthastewart….ry-corn-muffins

Tried my hand at baking again, this time Berry Corn Muffins, using a recipe from Martha Stewart for Blueberry Corn Muffins.

Ingredients

Makes 6 large muffins

1 cup (2 sticks) + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar + 2 tbsp for sprinkling
3 tbsp honey (substituted 2 tbsp agave syrup)
2 large eggs (substituted 1 egg + 1 portion Egg Beaters)
3 cups all-purpose flour (substituted whole wheat flour)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (used 1-1/2 cups frozen berries)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place a Silpat (French nonstick baking mat) or parchment paper on a baking sheet; place six 2 3/4-by-2-inch pastry rings on it. Cut parchment paper into six 10-by-3-inch strips; use them to line molds (paper will extend above rims). I used 2 mini muffin pans (24 muffins) and 1 regular muffin pan (12 muffins) lined with paper liners.
2. Place softened butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and honey in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs; beat 1 minute more.
3. Whisk flour, cornmeal, and baking powder together in a medium bowl; add to butter mixture in mixer bowl. Beat until combined. Slowly pour in milk, beating on low, until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Divide dough among molds (do not pack too firmly; each will take about 1 cup). Brush tops with cold water; sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over each.
4. Bake until tops are browned, centers are set, and a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 minutes. Tie kitchen twine around muffins to hold parchment. Serve at once.

Here is my tray of completed muffins.

A closeup of the muffin, the sugary sweetness on top.

The muffins were a bit dense for my taste but went well with coffee or tea. My coworkers described it as having more of a scone texture as it was a bit crumbly and had the sugary top.

Next time I’ll try the recommended way but I can’t imagine how big they’ll be as I was surprised at how many mini/regular muffins I was able to make.

Gorilla Barbeque in Pacifica, CA

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http://www.gorillabbq.com/Gorilla_Barbeque.html

I guess we’re in the BBQ mode since we’ve been eating it for the last few days. Ron remembered seeing this place called Gorilla Barbeque in Pacifica that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network.

So we made the drive out to Pacifica around 1pm and came across a line of about 15 people from the old railroad car that Gorilla Barbeque is housed in. Currently they are only doing take-out and catering but they do have two picnic tables above their parking lot and the beach is only a few blocks down the road. We decided to wait since we had driven all the way down there and some people slowly started get out of line and leave. At one point, they ran out of ribs but we still continued to wait.

Their menu is on their website but the types of meats they have include pork ribs, beef brisket, chicken, hot links, and for 2010 (according to their website): beef ribs on Thursday nights.

We ordered a 3 meat combo, a 1 meat combo, and a Philly cheese steak sandwich. We did it this way because the 3 meat combo includes an extra sauce (2 containers instead of 1). Included with the combos are 2 sides of your choice, rice & beans, cornbread, and 1 container of BBQ sauce. After we picked up our order, we drove down the road and parked near the beach and had our lunch on a bench on the beach which watching the surfers catch some waves.

This is the 3 meat combo of hot links, chicken, and brisket. Everything had a delicious smokey flavor and everything was surprisingly still very moist. The chicken skin was nice and crispy. The brisket was tender, not tough at all. The hot links delicious. The sauce made it even better.

Some of our sides: corn bread muffin, cole slaw, rice & beans. In the canisters, one had mac and cheese and the other two are BBQ sauces. The corn bread was the best thing, it even had fresh corn but the others were only so-so.

Our 1 meat combo was pulled pork with corn on the cob and potato salad.

We also ordered a Philly Cheese Steak which is also served with 1 BBQ sauce and 1 side (grilled eggplant in this case). This was very yummy, actually probably my favorite thing of our lunch.

We have plenty of leftovers and I think we’ll have to go back to try their ribs. Some of the customers were pretty disappointed when they ran out of ribs so they must be really good.

Oh, and to note, they use Tater Ware, biodegradable food containers and utensils, made from potatoes. I like them better than plastic utensils, they are much sturdier.

Gorilla Barbeque
2145 Coast Highway
Pacifica, CA 94044

Daffodil Restaurant – Dine About Town 2010

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http://www.thedaffodilrestaurant.com/

Dine About Town starts today Jan 15th, so we kicked it off with dinner at Daffodil Restaurant, which is less than 2 blocks from where we live.

There were three of us for dinner and we ordered the DAT menu and the regular menu as well. To start off with, we had these cheese topped biscuits. So delicious with the butter.

The DAT menu includes an amuse bouche, this is a potato croquette with a creamy sauce that had a bit of a spicy kick.

From the regular menu, we tried the French Fried Green Beans with a Horseradish Honey Mustard Dip ($6). Nice and crispy but also a bit oily. The green beans were also a bit stuck together so a bit hard to eat because you had to figure out separate them.

For the First Course of the DAT menu, I chose the spinach salad with fennel and pomegranate seeds. Refreshing.

From the regular menu, the pulled pork with cole slaw and onion rings. Nothing amazing but not bad either.

For the main course of the DAT menu, V chose the short ribs braised in red wine and served with mashed potatoes and broccolini. The meat was tender and you could really taste the red wine.

For my main course of the DAT menu, I chose the Artic Char served with squash and quinoa. The skin of the fish was super crispy and delicious. I’ve never had Artic Char before but it was yummy, nice and light.

Dessert for the DAT menu was an apple galette served with some berries and vanilla ice cream. I haven’t had a dessert like this in the last 2 months, so perhaps my taste buds don’t know any better anymore, but it was yummy.

Not sure if we’ll be back as it wasn’t amazing but DAT gives us the opportunity to try all these different restaurants for an affordable price.


Daffodil Restaurant
665 Bush Street