Kitchen Ranch

Cake and Fan Letters

David Lebovitz is one of my favorite people that I´ve never met.  I love to read his blog which makes me laugh out loud AND get inspired.  I want to ride bikes with David through the streets of Paris, then drink cocktails while we stuff chocolate pastries and pickled beets into our mouths.  

I like him so much that I have even considered writing David a fan letter.  Not the fan letter like I wrote to Tony Danza FROM my friend Bill that begged Mr. Danza for an autographed photo; but a real fan letter, like I once wrote to Erica Jong many years ago.  

And, when I need a delicious dessert, I reach for Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.  This birthday cake for Rich was top top delicious: Banana Walnut with Mocha Frosting and Candied Peanuts.

By the way, Tony Danza never wrote to Bill.  But, Erica Jong did send me a signed greeting card that thanked me for reading her work.

The One Pan Pasta and Chocolate Ginger Ale

I had to try it: The One Pot Pasta recipe over at Martha.  I loved the ease (really, throw it all in the pot and sit down with a cup of tea) but the dish overall was underwhelming.  I might try again with double the herbs as well as adding a bit of this or that.

 Anyone that has come to visit us knows that they can look forward to several Amazon packages on their doorstep to transport to us.  When I went to San Diego recently, I had several boxes waiting for me (In fact, I traveled to San Diego recently with a nearly empty suitcase that returned to Costa Rica filled).

The delicious chocolate ginger ale was inspired by one of the treats that made it back in my suitcase (below).  The recipes are easy, often the ingredients are already in your kitchen.  I personally am not keen to serve my kids store-bought soda, not only because of the health reasons but also because of the waste that purchases like that generate.  BUT, a homemade fresh and fizzy drink is very appealing.  Yes, please!

San Diego To-Do list and a few thoughts

I needed to travel to San Diego to gather some important documents so that we can file here in Costa Rica for a long term residency status.   The timing worked out because I needed to also purchase a couple bits and pieces that were stolen from us.  

It had been over a year since I left San Diego for Australia. 

I had a super time in San Diego.  I walked around the city day after day crossing off items on my to-do list  and eating delicious food.  I spent (not enough) time with the people I had missed most while I was traveling.   

As cities go, I don´t find San Diego especially likeble but it does offer familiarity and nostalgia. Like all cities, San Diego is overflowing with filth, hope and creative expressions.    

Although we are in the process of filing for a long term residency here in Costa Rica, we are open to anything happening.  And, I mean anything.  When we left for Australia, we planned to return to San Diego after a year, buy a house and live happily ever after (well, you know what I mean-plans, we had them).  

Now, we have no idea where we might be living or heading a year from now!  

There are times I feel at peace existing wholly in the present and not knowing what the future might offer but there are definitely times I don´t feel at peace with this lifestyle and I crave stability and routine.  

There are moments when I feel invigorated and a sense of freedom at the fact that everything the five of us currently own can fit into a couple suitcases.  There are also times I miss (with an ache) the belongings I have that tell me I am home.    

Love these ladies that are always doing inspiring things.

My sister and Serena are beautiful.  

No matter what the future brings, I like knowing San Diego is there and it is an easy and welcoming place to be, we might very well end up living there again.  Or, we might not.  

To be cont....

Then our computers were stolen . . .

It was an evening like any other. We ate dinner, we read to the kids before bed and then we all went to sleep. I looked at the clock, it was 9:48 PM. At 12:01 AM, Rich said, "Someone has been in the house." Naturally, I was a bit groggy, confused and I thought Rich was dreaming. I jumped out of bed and headed straight to the kids who were all sleeping soundly. We walked around the house for the remainder of the night in shock noting how the burglers entered, what they took and what they didn't take. While we slept. I think there were two of them. They entered through the second story kitchen window which was the only window without bars. I am guessing it took them about five minutes to sweep through the house. Rich had fallen asleep with his iPod on and headphones in his ears while listening to NPR (which always puts him to sleep). One of the burglers disconnected the headphones from the iPod and took it from his sleeping body. You must be wondering if we are the deepest sleepers on the planet. The answer is no, both Rich and I wake up in a pinch if one of our kids mumbles in the night. I hardly slept for the following two weeks. I'd like to say this sort of thing does not happen all the time, but it does. While the town we live in is very awesome, it is also a town in a Central American country. This sort of thing happens all the time and the best one can do is play it smart and raise the barrier to entry. We have since had bars installed on the windows, picked up a security alarm, motion sensor lights and we are dilligent about placing our belongings away at night. We really were sitting ducks, as they say. All the i-devices on the table next to the bed, the cameras in a neat pile on the counter, wallets in plain sight and two laptops right on the desk. The bits and pieces stolen are just things. All of our data, photos and music is in the cloud. Passports were left untouched (the new US passports have GPS chips, that is the word in the street). The GPS on our I-devices was not activated, but It will be in the future (I think eventually word will get around and all I-devices have the ability to be tracked and like passports, will remain untouched). I have had many thoughts like: What if one of the kids would have woken up? What if Rich had woken up? Although we were greatly inconvenienced and heavily spooked, all are without harm. For that, I am grateful. So, that explains the break from blogging.