March New Recipes

It was another crazy month in March but I was able to try 5 new recipes. Honestly, most of them were kind of a bust, but I think I can fix a few of them and I will enjoy them again later but some are just done. I am going to list these in order of best to worse.

Chicken Milaese: I got this recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook. Yes I know I can't believe I read it either. Now I did check it out from the library to see what she had to offer. This is an easy healthish fried chicken. I am going to figure out exactly how to make this and share the recipe with you. I am in love... this is a keeper.

Garlic-Butter Shrimp: Now this wasn't really a recipe exactly but I had read about how you can sauté shrimp in butter that garlic has been browned in. It didn't involve much and I kinda overcooked the shrimp. I had grabbed some fresh gulf shrimp from Kroger and they were good.

Strawberry Shortcakes: I snagged this recipe from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That? book. I had pretty high hopes for these but they were salty and super dried out. Now I think that they are supposed to be pretty dry honestly. I think the extra salt was due to the fact that I didn't use unsalted butter and then added the salt as well, this happens occasionally in baked goods. I also tried to make strawberries in some sort of sauce and that didn't go well which could have added to the dryness. I will probably try these again eventually and see if they are better. 

Chicken Fried Rice: I snagged this from Pinterest and it was mediocre. The recipe suggests that you sauté the veggies in sesame oil, which was good but everything taste like sesame oil. If I make this again I will probably just use canola oil or something with no flavor. Either way I didn't love this and it made so much more than I had anticipated so I ate it for 3 days.

Spaghetti aglio e olio: I also snagged this recipe from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That? book. This is essentially pasta with garlic oil, I was intrigued by the idea and wondered if her version would be better than mine. No, it was not amazing. Now I made some shortcuts and substitutions so that could be why it failed, but I wasn't overly impressed. I think if I am in a hurry for dinner this isn't going to be an option but just regular pasta probably is an option. This is definitely out.

All in all it was a mediocre month for recipes but it was fun to try several new things. I am on the hunt these days for easy dinners to make when I get home from work and I am starving and I don't have much time to cook. Let me know if you have something you want me to try.

March BarkBox

I feel as if I always post about last months BarkBox when I am just getting the new one. I guess that isn't too surprising since I can't ever seem to get my life together and post consistently. But this was another win for me and Lily.

So what did we get:
-2 toys: a bone with a hole in it (kinda like a kong) and one that crinkles
-Twistix
-Salmon treats
-Biscuit cookies

Both of the toys are a bust but Lily likes the salmon and twistix treats, we haven't gotten around to the cookies. I am sure that she will like those. I love getting all of these treats but honestly we are rarely out when the new box comes. Aside from the toys, which for us always suck, it was a great box. I like the treats and it seemed like just the right amount of stuff. Honestly, Lily is kinda over the toys and we have a million so I took some to my mom and I may see if some of my friends dogs are interested in the other toys.

So far BarkBox has been a pretty good investment. We are coming up to the end of the 6 months that we got so I am trying to decide if we are going to get another 6 months. I think we might, I guess it depends on what comes in the next box. For the most part we have loved all but one of the boxes, so that is a pretty great success rate. I will let you know when I know what I am going to do!

San Francisco: More Pictures

As always when you visit a new place there are always a few random pictures that don't really fit into any category but they are too cool not to share with you. I loved every single second that I spent in San Francisco including the time I spent at the conference. I saw some big names in my field (which is amazing) and heard some pretty exciting science that should be coming out soon. 

The Golden Gate Bridge

From above

Trust me, this was the only time I saw the whole bridge!

We drove out to the bridge one afternoon and it was shrouded in fog. I had heard about the fog, but this was intense. You could see all of the city but only the top of bridge was visible. When we drove across the bridge you couldn't really see anything. I would not have enjoyed driving over that, my dad was a champ for doing that. When I flew out the pilot flew over the city and then I saw that bridge! It was pretty, you can't tell from the pic but it was there!

Pillow Fight?

On Valentine's Day apparently there is a giant pillow fight that is announced on twitter the day of. I kept seeing people with pillows, it was strange. But eventually we found the pillow fight, it was insane. I saw lots of people beating each other with pillows and feathers were everywhere, I mean everywhere. Also, on the way back to the trolly I saw that most of the homeless people had new pillows.

Chinatown

We stopped on the trolly in Chinatown. It was so cool. It was decorated for the Chinese New Year, which was the next day. I wish we had more time to actually shop but we just walked through it and then back to the trolly.

The Parade for New Years

Alcatraz

The last pic I have for you is Alactraz. We didn't go out to the Island, my dad had already been and neither my mom or I was super excited about seeing it. I decided that since it would take up so much of our limited time in San Francisco we would pass on this one. I would like to see it at some point but it was neat to see it from a far.

I am sure there are more pics but these are the best of the best. I loved seeing all of these things and wish we had more time to spend in the city but I love that there is still more to see when I finally get back to see San Francisco!

San Francisco: The city

After we toured the PCH and Pebble Beach we headed back to San Francisco to see what the city would hold for us. We spend Valentine's Day seeing as much of San Francisco as possible. It was a whirlwind of a day, so much to see and so little time.

And we are off

After we grabbed some coffee at Starbuck's and headed over to the trolley and decided to take it down to Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco

Family fun

Check it out...

We loved riding the trolly, I particularly loved hanging off the side and allowing the wind to blow in my hair.

rawr... yummy

We stopped into Boudine to have some sourdough bread. This was so yummy. I tried to get as much as I could. The fun shapes were so fun, we chose a turtle! It was so good, I wish that I could find a way to make this here, but alas there isn't something like that here.

The lovebirds

As we wandered through the Wharf I could hear the sea lions and that was exciting. I loved getting to see the sea lions. They stunk but they were so cute and it was so fun to see them swimming and playing with one another. Some of them looked young and almost snuggly but don't worry I didn't allow them to get close. From the Wharf we headed over to Pier 39 to actually see the sea lions.

Swimming!

After we spent time down by the water we headed over to Ghirardelli square. This is where the great chocolates are made and there is an ice cream shop. We wandered through their shops and spent time wandering by the water.

Out on a pier

Yummy Chocolate Sunday

The day in San Francisco was amazing. We saw so much of the city and there is still so much left to see. I am already looking forward to going back some day and seeing more of the city. It was so neat to spend the day with my parents and see another part of the country.

San Francisco: The PCH and Pebble Beach

When I got into San Francisco, after a long delay on the tarmac, we headed south down Highway 1 to see Monterey Bay, Carmel, Big Sur, and the Pacific Ocean. When my dad suggested that we spend sometime south of San Francisco I was slightly skeptical but since we were sharing the planning on this one I decided that it sounded wonderful and something I wouldn't have had a chance to see. I will gladly admit to being wrong about this trip it was amazing.

The Pacific Coast Highway

We saw a car commercial being filmed on this one

The beach was made-up of small rocks not sand, the water was freezing

This made me laugh... not something you see down in the gulf

After we drove down the coast we stopped in Big Sur for lunch. The food was pretty good, the shops around there were interesting to say the least. I saw lots of things that were not my personal taste, but I am sure that someone would have liked them. I loved driving up and down the coast and seeing how different the ocean was than what I am used to. The gulf is practically placid compared to the pacific ocean.


Pebble Beach
Once we drove back toward the cities we headed into Pebble Beach to see the golf course and drive the 17 mile scenic route. This was amazing. I think we paid $10 to get in and there was so much to see.

The lone cypress

Seal Island

Playing golf

The sunset over the ocean

I loved seeing the golf courses, I will admit that I probably won't ever play there but it was so neat to hear my dad talk about the courses. He said that once when he played in this vicinity one of his friends said they saw whales. I loved seeing the seals. They were amazing. The birds were pretty cool too, they were HUGE, I have never seen a bird that big.

This was a great way to spend a day and a half. If you have a chance to spend time down in this area I  definitely recommend it. It was so neat to see so many places that my parents had been while they were down in the area several years ago. I think the only thing I would pass on was the shops in Big Sur, unless you are a super hippie.