On Top Of Spaghetti

I was craving spaghetti. Not just noodles and red sauce, but spaghetti with big ol' meat balls! It's not like I hadn't eaten this week - sushi at Tokyo Joes, fish and chips at Tognazzini's, home made egg McMuffs, chicken enchiladas (below) - but tonight it had to be spaghetti.

Mom cooked spaghetti often. A package of pasta, a pound of ground round, tomato paste and a packet of Schilling spaghetti seasoning fed five of us, and the taste and smell of that special sauce are deeply imprinted in my memory.

I'm not sure where I learned to appreciate meat balls, but now it can't be spaghetti with out them. One local cafe serves spaghetti with three inch diameter meat balls to die for. I rarely take time to mix up meat balls at home, and last night's turkey meat balls came from a local deli. Dinner was excellent, but reminded me of the old campfire song:

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,
I lost my little meat ball, 'cuz somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table, and onto the floor,
And then my poor meat ball, rolled right out the door.

My errant meat ball, which I dropped while serving, met a far different fate. Munchkin the cat was on it even before I could invoke the 5 second rule; golf ball, meat ball, ping pong ball are all the same to him - prime kitty toys. He pounced upon, then batted the meat ball around the kitchen while the other cats assembled to watch. Pixie joined the fun and was the first to discover that their newly found toy was edible. Once they decided the meat ball was "dead", it was quickly shredded and scarfed down. Gracie watched from the sidelines as the feeding frenzy was too scary for her; I discretely slipped her a slice of meat ball after the others dispersed.

My other "comfort food" for this week was chicken enchiladas. The enchilada casserole version of the recipe goes something like this:

1 roasted chicken (being lazy, I buy one at the grocery store)
1 small onion
1 can (7 oz) salsa verde (Herdez green tomatillo sauce)
1 cup chicken broth (or water)
1 small can green enchilada sauce
6 tortillas (I used 8" flour)
sour cream, shredded cheese, spices to taste
8" square baking pan, lightly oiled

I remove the breast meat from the chicken and save for other tasty meals. Remove all other meat from the chicken, leaving it in chunks if possible.

Saute the onion in a skillet on medium heat until soft. Add chicken meat and stir to heat up. Add salsa verde and chicken broth; add spices to taste (1 tablespoon cumin, some salt and pepper, maybe some cayenne or other milder ground chili). Cook mixture uncovered on medium low heat until free liquid is absorbed.

Wrap tortillas in a damp towel and heat in microwave to soften (45 seconds). For each enchilada, place two scoops of chicken and one scoop of sour cream, then roll up and place in greased pan. Snack on any extra chicken mixture that falls out when rolling. Pour enchilada sauce over top of the enchiladas, then top with grated cheese. Bake at 425 F for 20 to 30 minutes until cheese is browning and sauce is bubbling all around.

Chicken enchiladas are all purpose food, suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy!

Lizard Days

It was a good day for lizards at Shell Creek on Sunday April 18. The wildflowers are still blooming, but the grasses are growing taller and covering the remaining blooms. The full fields of yellow carpet are pretty much done, but many interesting and colorful flowers are blossoming in the road cut at the north end of the flower area.

The sun was shining and it was near 70 degrees early in the morning. Lighting is good in the morning, and the lack of breeze makes it easier to photograph flowers without them dancing around in the viewfinder.

And the lizards had the right idea - lounge in the warm sun - but not too far away from a convenient hiding hole.

Cambria Chili Cook-off and Car Show

Car buffs and chili heads were out enjoying the 70 deg sunshine at this year's Chamber of Commerce event. Besides the typical bland beef and bean chili, some of the contestents cooked up some spicy, smoky, unique blends of meat and chili which put some zing into the competition. Despite this welcome variety, I'm sure the local favorites (the Sons, Rotary or Lions) will, as usual, win, based upon name recognition rather than a superior recipe. Thanks to the T-Rex team from Southern California for showing up again - they cook up some tasty chili.



And now for a little whine. Can somebody tell me why there can't be more benches or picnic tables at the Pinedorado Fair Grounds; is everyone supposed to stand up for 3 hours tasting chili and drinking beer? It's down right hard to drink beer for hours and remain standing!! The crowd started to thin out well before the awards ceremony - there was no place to sit and relax. I couldn't "stand it" any more and had to leave early. Hey, and how about adding some live music to the festivities next year?





The coastal hills are still green and painted with flowers, but the grasses are starting to dry and the hills will soon turn California "golden". I drove backroads to Cambria - Vineyard Rd past all the western Paso Robles wineries; Cypress Mountain Rd over the crest of the hills (with nice wildflowers and ocean view at the top); and Santa Rosa Creek Rd along the clear twisty stream into Cambria. The road was unusually busy as over 100 cars were attempting to park along the one lane road near Lynn's Fruitstand for some sort of event. Later afternoon explorations included climbing up San Simeon Creek Rd to the locked gate below Rocky Butte, discovering the waterfall in the canyon on the way back down, and hiking around the wetlands trails in San Simeon State Park. Wildflowers were still going strong down by the coast, and the deer were happily munching up all the leafy greens.

Ranchita Canyon Vineyards

Today's adventures started with another early morning visit to Shell Creek. The wildflowers are still wonderful, and a sweet fragrance fills the air. Few folks were out early, but we enjoyed a diveristy of blooms. You have to get out of the car, maybe lay on your belly to see them all, but well worth it.

Next stop, California Valley and Bitterwater Rd north. Nice hillsides of fiddlenecks along the way, and a very cool creekscape descending Palo Prieto Canyon just south of HW 46. On to Parkfield for a great burger lunch at the Parkfield Grill (which was pretty busy at lunchtime). Then west on Vineyard Canyon Rd back to civilization.

On the way back, I stopped at Ranchita Canyon Vineyard to taste some of their flavorful Zinfandel. The winery folks are really really friendly, and brought out a bottle of unnamed, soon to be released, killer zinfandel.

You can visit Ranchita Canyon Vineyard at http://www.ranchitacanyonvineyard.com
Check out more north San Luis Obispo County back road wineries at http://www.pleasantvalleywinetrail.com

In Which Nearly Everything Goes Wrong

I tried to explore the back roads of Fort Hunter Liggett to check out the old trails across the Santa Lucia's used by the early settlers and miners from the Los Burros mining district. Even with all the proper papers, travel on the base roads is not allowed for the public. Oh well - I had called ahead and was mistakenly told it would be ok. Instead, I went to the Mission, then across the reserve to National Forest access via Milpitas Rd. But Milpitas Rd north was also closed, and I had to backtrack. The fort had some wonderful hillside flower displays, but stopping on the road is not allowed, and taking pictures on the base is not permitted as wildflower photos might divulge national security secrets to global terrorists. So I drove about 200 miles, could not get where I wanted to, and have no pictures. It was not a good day.

Highway 1 Coastal Flowers

Lovely day on the California central coast today - sunshine, light breeze and no fog. Poppies were blooming all along the road near Lucia and Gorda. And the 5 hidden fountains were all fully flowing - did we find the 6th missing fountain at Spruce Creek?

There were about a half dozen Caltrans projects repairing landslide work between Ragged Point and Posts. There was major heavy equipment rebuilding the roadway, flagmen (and women), even one way road stoplights.

And spring break tourists. They were everywhere. Still, it is a wonderful drive if you are not in a hurry and stop to take in the flowers.

Stop and Smell the Wildflowers

I stopped by Shell Creek early Sunday morning to view the flowers. Perhaps the colors are not as bright as a week ago, but the variety of flowers is wonderful. And most folks, focussed on the fields of yellow and gold, drive by some of the more spectacular but less prolific blooms. Like the tall purple thistle sage along the creek bank, or the chia (another sage) on a rocky road cut. The Owl's Clover is blooming, but how many stop to see the little owls? The air was scented with lupine, and the cool pre-storm wind was refreshing. So get out, stretch you legs, and enjoy this year's flower display!

Hearst Castle Vistas

I took an early evening Garden and Vistas self-guided tour at Hearst Castle last Friday. Weather was gray but comfortable, and the garden blooms were really spectacular. I appreciated the chance to wander the gardens and grounds at my own pace, which left enough time for photographs. Guides were available to answer questions, and it was interesting to see all the small details in the buildings and sculptures. I'm sure I will go back again; just need to time it for the perfect sunset.

Details of the tours at http://www.hearstcastle.org