thank goodness for the great pumpkin!

i don't know about you, but sometimes the idea of halloween and all the candy freaks me out. pictures of kids with chocolate all over there face, sticky hands, sugar overload. i know, i know, for someone who sells cupcakes and treats for a living this a hard concept for people to understand. the funny thing is, and my friends and family all know this, but we are a pretty healthy eating family! i mean, my kids will tell you we are the house that gives out things like pencils and glow sticks, and pretzels and crackers on halloween. i know, GASP! don't get me wrong, i love sweets, i mean how can my tag line for my business be "la dolce vita" if i didn't. the thing is, a snickers every now or then or some peanut m&m's are not lost on me, but for the most part, if my kids eat sweets i like to know where they came from, what's in them and have some sort of control with the amount of sugar and lack of preservatives and food dyes they contain. so instead of going into a panic the year my son finally got what it meant to receive free candy by just looking cute, i had already devised a plan and my daughter fell into it even quicker than my son. we all grew up watching charlie brown, well i did and most people i know have a soft spot for "the great pumpkin". you know the one "who rises from the pumpkin patch and gives children everywhere candy" well where do you think the great pumpkin gets all that candy? in our house he gets it from all the good children everywhere who sort through their halloween candy, and keep a few special pieces and then pack it up and leave it on the front porch for him to collect for his next trip. in return, he leaves them something for their kindness. for my kids, books, coloring stuff, small trinkets have always been their reward.
tada, stress free, de-fleecing of my children's candy every year. ok, so my son is going to be 10 and my daughter is 7, so they may not really believe the whole great pumpkin thing anymore, but what they do know is that if they do this and go along with their crazy mom's story, there will be something good on the other side of the door in the morning.
and this year a few $5 target cards might give them a little extra incentive for next year! ;-)
so don't stress out, and please don't take it upon yourself to eat all the candy yourself to "save" your children. be it a great pumpkin, halloween fairy or the boogie man, get creative and help your kids understand the real fun of halloween, i mean costumes, spooky stories and haunted houses are really whats fun and the candy, be it tasty is not the only reward. then smile and if your really need something sweet to eat, have a cupcake!

got grapes?

have you ever walked down the aisle at the farmer's market and seen the huge section of grapes? all colors, black, red, green their glistening hues shining in the sun, just begging you to buy them and snack away. hands down there is nothing better than icy cold grapes on a hot day, but have you ever thought what else could you do with that fabulous flavorful tiny little fruit? believe it or not they can be used in all sorts of fun recipes, salads, cheese trays, even main courses. so i am having a summer fling with grapes and finding all kinds of ways to use them. this recipe is an easy breezy summer appetizer that is great for a warm day with an ice cold glass of prosecco. (throw a few frozen grapes in your glass just to keep the chill on)

grape and prosciutto appetizers

1 baguette, sliced 1/4 inch
4 Tbls olive oil
36 green, red or black grapes**
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
4 oz softened goat cheese
6-8 slices of proscuitto

preheat oven to 350. lightly brush baguette slices with half of the olive oil and lay them on a sheet pan and place in oven. toast 5-10 mins until golden brown, and remove from oven and set aside to cool. put the remaining olive oil in a small saute pan and warm over med-high heat. add the grapes and saute for 2-3 mins. or until soft and warmed through. remove from the heat. sprinkle the balsamic vinegar over the grapes and add a few grinding of pepper.
spread each baguette slice with goat cheese. cut each slice of proscuitto in half and drape over the cheese. top each of the baguettes with grapes and drizzle with remaining oil and vinegar in pan. serve right away or at room temp.
** you can slice grapes in half (use half the amount) before heating if you desire so they don't roll off baguette slices, but if softened enough they usually are just fine.

not only is this recipe tasty, it looks beautiful. you can just imagine sitting in a small italian cafe on a warm summer day, enjoying the sweet and savory tastes of the grapes and proscuitto together. so as my summer fling continues i will try and photograph and post my new found creations. i feel a chicken, brie and grape sammie of some type in the near future.

adventures in dining with bite san diego!

a few months back a friend posted a groupon on her fb wall for a walking food tour of san diego, asking if she had any takers in organizing a trip together? being the foodie i am, i jumped at the offer. so thanks to the organization of a few gal pals we purchased some tickets, set a date and booked the tour. let me tell you, some of the best decisions are made on the spur of the moment and this was one of them!



so excuse some of the blurry photos, i forgot my camera and resorted to my iPhone, which is always hit and miss.

our first stop was royal india, where we met our very knowledgeable tour guide eddie. as we enjoyed our first treat of samosas and other indian delights, eddie started with some history of san diego and all the fun facts it has to offer.

our first course...

we then ventured out into the city on foot, after all, exercise it the best way to work up an appetite!
can you believe this used to be considered a sky scraper back in the day? our next stop on the trip was croce's, opened by famous singer/songwriter jim croce's wife after he passed away, fulfilling their life long dream of having a place together.

we were treated to their fiery and fabulous chili bacon bloody mary's. i'm not going to lie, this drink can cure anything that ales you. they make their own chili bacon infused vodka for this cocktail and it is every bit worth stopping in for.
the girls enjoying the cocktails and yummy firecracker shrimp, while listening to great live music.
back out on the street, we headed to a little gem of a pizza place in the keating hotel, called crust. this place will make anyone who has longed for a slice of what new yorkers call real pizza, think died and went to heaven. they employ their own full time baker and it shows, the crust and bread are perfect and the flavors of pizza, tantalize the taste buds. being italian i am skeptical about fruit on my pizza, but i tried the pineapple, capicolla, and jalapeno pizza and was happily surprised by the sweet and spicy flavor on the perfectly crunchy crust! other flavors including the cheese and pepperoni standards, were pesto and gorgonzola and artichoke and chicken! all fabulous!




the pizza, tom working the oven's and the wonderful hand made breads.
out onto the sunny streets to continue our sight seeing, while heading to our next destination. our guide eddie pointed out great buildings, along with fun history of the growth of san diego through the years. the next stop was karl strauss for some much needed refreshments after the long walk.




we enjoyed a tour at karl strauss while sampling great beer. i am not a big beer drinker, but i really enjoyed their lager and their raspberry ale!
here's our tour guide eddie posing for a pic with our rowdy group!













next my personal favorite place, little italy. our final savory stop of the day was indigo grill, where we enjoyed chips and scallop ceviche with fresh homemade guacamole.











on to the best part of any one's day, at least i know it's the best part of the day for me, DESSERT. what better way to finish off a great day of food, fun, and laughter than with a delicious cannoli.


a great bakery and restaurant right in the heart of little italy is cafe zucchero. i'm telling you, your italian nona would be proud to serve these little packages of heaven.
it doesn't stop with these, the bakery cases are loaded with mouth watering pastries and even some creamy italian decadence, gelato. check out these pics, to get you off your chair and into your car heading south!
all in all, this was a great way to spend the day with friends. we enjoyed wonderful food and drink and eddie was beyond great! i would recommend this tour to anyone with a taste for culinary adventure and history. bite san diego wraps all this into one beautiful package. next stop, i think we might have to try their coronado tour next! you can check them out on the web at
http://www.bitesandiego.com/

the lighter side

as summer fast approaches and temperatures rise, the thought of turning on the oven or stove floats right out the window. now your dilemma is, what do i serve with that beautiful chicken, steak (insert your main course of choice) that i have on the grill? here is the no sweat, literally, side that is appealing to everyone. this no fuss salad requires nothing but a knife to make. come on admit it, anyone can slice a few strawberries right? just so you know i employ my 6 yr old daughter to do this with a serrated butter knife, so if she can do it so can you. if your really crafty, like i am, i have both my kids put the whole salad together, while i sit and do nothing. talk about no sweat!

Summer Fruit Spring Salad



1 bag of washed spring salad mix,
1 cup blueberries,
1//2 cup slice strawberries,
1/4 cup of crumbled feta (more if you like),
salt & pepper,
olive oil**,
balsamic vinegar**,
1/4 -1/2 cup of candied walnuts,

ready, here's the hard part... ;-)

place spring mix in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, do this before adding the other ingredients. sprinkle salad with blueberries and strawberries. drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. sprinkle feta and walnuts over the whole thing and serve. really, how easy is that? light, healthy and the perfect compliment for any main course. you can really go wild and top with some grilled chicken, before adding the oil and vinegar, and you've turned an easy side into a quick, beautiful summer meal.

so turn off the heat and enjoy dinner alfresco. for those of you not watching your calories or carbing up for a big run or swim the next day, serve the same oil and vinegar, sprinkled with salt and pepper to dip fabulous crusty bread!



** use an olive oil that you like the taste of all by itself, the better the quality, the better the taste.

** when it comes to balsamic vinegar, the longer the aging process the better the taste. this also makes the vinegar thicker often giving it a more syrupy consistency. sometimes spending a few extra dollars on staples like these add a lot to your cooking in the long run. they also last quite a while so it's worth it.

sneaky healthy breakfast!!!

if your kids are anything like mine, vegetables are sometimes a hard sell. this frittata sneaks in your veggies in a very kid friendly and adult palate pleasing way. the best thing is once you learn the method you can fill them with endless varieties of filling and they are great for breakfast, brunch or dinner.

spinach and veggie sausage frittata

6 eggs beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
3 patties/4 links of veggie sausage
(i use morning star, but use your favorite)
1/4 of shredded cheese any kind
salt, pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg

preheat broiler with rack 4-5 inches from top.

lightly heat, over med heat, a sprayed or lightly oiled (i used garlic oil) nonstick pan. mix your beaten eggs and milk and pour into heated pan. sprinkle the egg mixture with spinach and sausage evenly covering the mixture. season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and slowly allow the bottom to set. 2-3 mins. when the egg mixture starts to set (you should be able to slightly run a spatula around the edge of the pan) sprinkle mixture with cheese, remove from heat and place under the broiler, approx 2-3 mins till golden brown and eggs and cheese are set. the tricky part here is not to walk to far away and keep an eye on the broiler to ensure the top doesn't burn. when set, remove from oven and allow to sit for 1 min, before running the spatula around the edge and sliding out of pan onto a plate. cut and serve.
i like to put a mixture of arugula with a bit of oil and vinegar on the top, my hubby likes to put some hot sauce on it and the kids just eat it plain. however you decide to eat it, i bet you love it!

you can't get an easier meal than that. between the eggs, cheese and sausage my kids have no idea they are eating spinach, and veggie sausage gives them another serving of veggies.
we substitute all the ingredients with the kids choosing the filling all the time, bacon and broccoli, all cheese, tomato, basil and pancetta and even prosciutto and apples with swiss cheese! the possibilities are endless. so the next time you don't know what to have for dinner after a long day of work, serve with some crusty bread and your set. with breakfast serve with cinnamon toast or your favorite bread recipe, we did zucchini bread and what do you know that gave us even more veggies! as my son says "i can eat my veggies this way anytime!"

2011 new years resolution, pantry, freezer, fridge challenge!!!

so as the new year approached and the christmas and end of the year finances came into play, i started to think "wow! it's time to cut the budget back again and regroup for a new year."
one of my annual christmas/new year traditions is to clean out the whole house and do a big good will donation. i have challenged my kids to this every year also, to teach them how to be giving and what the real meaning of christmas is. so they set to cleaning out toys and i set to the closets and house. while doing this i thought to myself, i clean closets, rooms,and the garage out every year, at least once, sometimes we do a summer clean too. why not my pantry, fridge and freezer. except instead of getting rid of stuff, how about i challenge myself to use and cook with what i have and see how creative i can get. i am not saying there weren't a few items that hit the trash can due to when did i buy this or what was i thinking? the best part of this challenge was the opportunity to cut that family budget while testing myself in the kitchen.



so this is what i decided: i would start by surveying what was there and then, allow myself to buy only what was really needed on a weekly basis. those items were things such as, milk, eggs, fresh fruit and veggies (all though using frozen ones if i had them first) the same for bread and yogurt which i do freeze or keep in the fridge a lot, but usually go through pretty quickly.the same goes for meat purchases, either use what's in the freezer, try a different version of protein such as beans or eggs, or just skip it for the meal. only purchasing if really needed and then looking for a sale or bulk buy to help with the freezer supply. basically what this means on a shopping trip is no visit to the middle isles, and no impulse buys just because something sounds good.
first rule of thumb, don't go hungry or sample hunting, and the two together! a deadly combo. second, avoid taking my kids at all cost. believe it or not, kids can cost us more wasted money in the grocery store than anything else. the treat to keep them happy while you shop, the snack they must have, because all their friends do. the best one, "MOM! I LOVE THESE!!! PLEASE??!!" only to come home and sit on the shelf and end up in the trash because, they taste different or they are not the right ones, code for never mind i'm tired of eating them.
so, as i head into the third week of january, things have been going really well. we have eaten a different meal most of the time, with a few left overs here and there. we've made smoothies with soy milk and frozen fruit, instead of yogurt and fresh fruit and milk. oatmeal from scratch on the stove with their own version of mix in's, like apples/bananas, brown sugar and cinnamon. my kids have been trying new grains, such as quinoa, brown rice and risotto, in sometimes interesting combos other than just a side. we wrapped quinoa, boca crumbles (from the freezer) and feta and broccoli in tortillas for a new version of a burrito. brown rice mixed with chicken tenders (another freezer find) with cheese and tortilla chips for an inventive rice bowl. lunches have been fun too, coming up with ideas other than a sandwich, like yogurt and granola, with dried fruit, or leftovers from a dinner that was a hit. the fact that we have been saving money in the grocery bill department is only one of the rewards. challenging myself and family to think outside the box has been fun and best yet, the opportunity to scale down and maybe learn a better way to shop and eat in the process. then i get to start stocking the pantry all over again, and maybe with some new family staples.