C'est la Vie

The Beautiful Bounty of the Central Coast

2012-03-01T17:29:00.003-08:00

Farmers' Markets

anytime

anywhere

are

such

fun

places to visit

farm to table

salsa

flowers

radishes

onions

glorious

beets

strawberries

red

ripe

and oh, so sweet

we are

SO lucky

to have

local

seasonal

produce delivered

to Petit Soleil

every two

weeks in great big boxes

from

SLOVeg

this weekend on Petit's

morning fruit tray

are

sweet local kiwis, strawberries and

grapefruit

we'll make

amazing

Brussels Sprouts Quiche

Broccoli and Bacon Strata

Carrot Muffins

and tonight

our house

for dinner

Salmon with Sauteed Kale

We so

appreciate

all the local

organic

farmers

that work so hard

bring us

such

gorgeous and delicious

produce

and thank you,

SLOVEG

for bringing it to

Petit Soleil

p.s.

check out

SLOveg's website

for

delicious

recipes

and ideas

how to prepare

the seasonal produce

"Go get Nottie and call me!"

2012-02-29T13:00:00.007-08:00

adopted

Wally's best friend.

Nottie,

from

Wood's Humane Society

in 2009

for us,

going

an animal shelter

was

quite

emotional

adventure

we wanted to adopt

ALL

the animals

Annie

sat in front

of the

cages

and cried...

so many puppies,

middle aged and older dogs

needing

homes

and love

we seriously

wanted to

adopt them

all

we brought Wally with us

to choose

a friend

after

a bit of

hesitation,

Nottie and Wally sniffed

and

chose

each other

we think

Nottie

was a

barn dog

that had to

fight for food

and

attention..

adopting

isn't always easy...

some animals

(like people)

have issues

LOVE HEALS

Wally loved

Nottie and Nottie loved Wally...

Nottie missed Wally when he died...

but

Love heals

yup,

it does

twice the love

came

when

we got Huckleberry and Phinn

and

they adopted

Nottie

as their

"Nottie Mommy"

quite a trio

a contented and

LOVED

smile

;

love heals

the

"go get Nottie and call me"

is when

Annie and Andrew

were

tag team

baby sitting

Nottie

and Nottie

decided

to chase the wild turkeys

in our neighborhood.

Annie's friend

heard

her tell

Andrew to

"go get Nottie and call me"

Blarney, Blessings and the Irish Hills

2012-02-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far.

a wee

Irish Blessing

begin

our

hike

the

wild

Irish Hills

Annie,

John

and I

thought

the

sunny

cool

day would be perfect

for a hike

the hike

actually starts

(or ends)

right behind our house

and

goes

and up

and follows

the hills

canyons

and valleys

west

behind

Costco

you can see

SLO

hidden

behind

the foothills

of San Luis Mountain

it's

pretty

rocky and rough

along the way

we followed

the Froom Creek Trail

babbling creeks

and

waterfalls

break the quiet

of the

deep canyons

evidently

folks hike

these hills

and forage

for Chanterelle mushrooms

they say when

the

weather

is cool

and moist

there are hundreds of Chanterelles

hidden

under logs

and

tree roots

you would

have

thought

that we found

the

'shrooms

but

no,

just happy

the poppies

are

just starting

pop

waterfalls

trickle

down

throughout

the canyons

and after

about

five

miles

of trails

you end up

(or start)

behind

Costco

and

return

to civilization

May brooks and trees and singing hills
Join in the chorus too,
And every gentle wind that blows
Send happiness to you.

Red hearts for those you LOVE!

2012-02-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Breakfast

For

Those You Love

….

A year

or so

ago

read about

Red Velvet Pancakes

from

Caroline,

the

creator

and chef

one

my favorite blogs

coeurdela.blogspot.com

I have

pondered

those

RED VELVET PANCAKES

and have salivated

just

thinking

about

them….

Pre-Valentine's Day

Sunday

was the

perfect

day

test

them out

used

recipe from

Recipe Gir

andl

…doubled it

as we had over forty guests for breakfast

and

used our cute

heart pancake molds

to make

the

perfectly

delicious

chocolatey

Red Velvet Pancakes

PANCAKES:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or make your own buttermilk)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon red food coloring

Whisk the dry ingredients

(flour to salt)

and set aside

Whisk buttermilk, eggs, vanilla,vinegar

and

red food coloring

and

carefully

mix the dry and wet ingredients

together

until

just incorporated

(do not overmix!)

Spray the heart mold with PAM

as the batter sticks

and

cook pancakes on a 400f f. griddle

as you cook pancakes

Happy Brithday, Boog!

2012-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

he celebrated

his

24th

birthday!

and feeling

the

need

to be

self-indulgent

again….

Happy Birthday

#25,

Andrew!

proud

of this kid!

although not quite perfect,

he is

educator

(aka teacher)

passionate

thoughtful

caring

brilliant

and

he
has

this

great big smile

that warms my heart

love

and

celebrate

YOU

today

and always!

food glorious food

2012-02-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

you know

when

you

have

really

delicious

meal

you want to

scream

from

the

mountain tops

and tell everyone about it!

yesterday

had

one

those

meals

for

lunch

at Thomas Hill Organics Bistro

love the

brick

facade

and

the

choices

on the menu,

unique

combinations

of flavors

fusions

of goodness

really...

LOOK!

a grass fed beef burger

with

bacon

and

Cambozola cheese

and

carmelized onions

really?

yummm

and

Beluga black lentil

tacos

with

gingered carrot puree

coconut cream

toasted coconut

cashews

and cilantro

….really?

yes,

REALLY?

o.u.t.s.t.a.n.d.i.n.g.

!!!!!!

and

then

I had

Kale

and

Brussels Sprouts

salad

oh…so GOOD!

John

had

Thomas Hill Organics'

take

on the

Vietnamese Bhan Mi sammie

with

Pork Belly

….it was divine!

the local wine list

rocked

with really lovely

wines

by the bottle

and

by the glass

simple beautiful touches

were everywhere

cheery

fountain

lunch

was

amazingly

delicious

..farm to table

organic

fresh ingredients

and

affordable

Thomas Hill Organics Bistro

Paso Robles

can't

wait

to go

back!

Raindrops keep falling on my head..I hope!

2012-01-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

Rain drops from the clouds and onto trees,
Down the tree trunks and off the leaves.
Down a mountain, into a brook,
Past a chipmunk in a nook.
Into a pond, off a log.
On top of a turtle and onto a frog.
Onto roads, onto the grass,
Onto trains and trucks that pass.
On top of bridges, cars and boats.
Even onto people’s coats.
Onto houses and my windowpane.
I just love to watch the drops,
The drips and drops of rain.

- E.B. (1938- ) MotherGooseCaboose.

San Luis Obispo

well, actually

CALIFORNIA,

has had such a dry winter

Normally

the hills in January

are

lush and green

not this year…

until

yesterday

THE RAIN.

it came.

cool

lovely

fresh

the creeks filling up again

and

little animals,

well, turkeys anyway

came out to play

this

babbling

creek

is at the

foot

of the

hiking trail

the Irish Hills

beautiful

p.s.

Hwy. 1

just south of

Big Sur

by Lime Kiln

is closed

due to rock slides

from the rains

..take 101 when traveling between Salinas and SLO

Happy Birthday, H & P!

2012-01-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

Two years ago

said

good-bye

to our

big

irreverent

Airedale,

Waldo von Airedale

aka Wally.

We miss him still!

as the old cliche

states

"when one door closes another one opens"

today

sing

*HapPy BIrThDaY*

our

two

two- year old

Welsh Terriers

Phinny and Huckleberry!!!

decided

for their birthday

to bake

them

homemade

dog cookies

(if they like them, we will be serving these

special

our dog friends at

Petit Soleil)

The recipe is

easy...

all in the

food processor

...roll out

the dough

and cut into shapes special for your doggie!

So easy

and healthy

with

parsley for good breath!

Huck got a bit

of the

cookie dough

as did

Phinny

as did

their sister, Nottie

the cookies

bake up

nice and crunchy

I could barely

get a picture -

the boys were

excited for

their birthday treats!

Phinny smiled

so did Huck

and

Nottie

grinned, too!

They LOVED the treats

and we

WILL

begin

to have them

Petit

for

our special

four legged friends!

(here's the recipe

you can make them, too)

Petit

Dog Cookies

...

2 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. parsley

1/4 c. carrot chunks

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 Tbs. oil

1/4 c. water

In the food processor, using the metal blade,

grind up the parsley and carrots.

Add

the remaining ingredients

and pulse

until a

ball is formed.

Empty out onto waxed paper

and

roll out dough

to about 1/2" - 3/4" thickness.

Cut into desired shapes.

BAKE at 350 c.

for 25 - 30 minutes.

Mother Nature's Seaside Gallery

2012-01-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

miles

north

San Simeon,

the southern end

Big Sur,

a half mile

Mother Nature's

creative

artistry

Mother Nature

put

quite

a sense

of humor

into her craft

She

created

massive blobs,

with fins

and tails

and

big ugly noses...

and

she

called

them

"Elephant Seals"

There

is about a half mile

boardwalk

along the beach

where

you can

enjoy

Mother Nature's

gallery

quite

up close

baby

Elephant Seals

are

born during

winter months

here

in the

Central Coast

there

a baby

alongside

virtually every female...

.....along

the expanse of

Elephant Seal beach

Mother Nature

was not

kind to her

female

seals

their life is

basically

grow -mate -give birth - nurse - mate - give birth - nurse ...

but then

those

babies

are so darn cute

that I guess it is all worth it

and those

blobberous

(is that a word?)

males

they

just eat

grow to be massive

mate

eat

fight

and mate

and chase females

Mother Nature

does

provide such

a beautiful playground

for

her

creations

lots

cold, clean water

to play

Elephant Seal games

warm sunshine to sleep in

fish to eat

and humans to keep the playground well protected

You can

spend

hours

watching

the

hundreds

Elephant Seals...

the babies squawk

as they

play,

the bulls

growl

as they fight for

their

ALPHA status

they flip sand

and

scoot,

dive in and out

of the water

and then

all snuggle

together

and

warm themselves in the sun

took

it all

in.......

warmed our faces

in the sun

breathed

the fresh sea air

and

took in

Mother Nature's glory

heading

back south

stopped

for lunch

Moonstone Beach

(near Cambria)

lots

of good food

on the menu

and

really delicious

grilled fish tacos

(the salmon was perfectly delicious!)

and

the view?

spectacular!

The Elephant Seals

can be seen year around -

so worth

a visit

check here

for any special events

2012-01-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

We delight in the

beauty of the butterfly,

but rarely admit the changes it has gone through

to achieve that beauty.
Maya Angelou

often

forget

what

a beautiful

place we live in

mean

it's

January

and it's

80 degrees

in SLO

rumor

has

that

it is

at the beach

a fish taco day,

I think!

and

let's

go find the

Butterfly Grove!

Brad's

of Pismo Beach

big menu

oak pit grilled

meats

and seafood

and

fish tacos

the fish tacos

were actually

broiled

(not grilled)

rock cod

with

tortillas

cabbage, avocado cream and salsa

good!

especially

in the

warm

sun-filled patio

John had

his

fave....

fried scallops and chips

Monster scallops!!

From

the Pismo beach pier

you

walk

along

the beach

about

1/4

mile

south

(or run)

and

head

inland

through

the Eucalyptus trees,

and

there you see

the

Monarch Butterflies

arrive

like clockwork

in October

every year

and stay until

about

the

second

week of

February

they

are magical

flitting

in the trees

silent

and

perfectly designed

Butterflies are self propelled flowers.
R. H. Heinlein

Not quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures. ~Elizabeth Goudge

hundreds

flying

in the soft breeze

and

hundreds

clustered

like this

you can

mistake

them for leaves

until

they

flutter

and move

to another

branch

lunch,

a walk

(or run)

along

Pismo Beach

and a

visit

with

the butterflies

a glorious

way

to spend

winter's day

the Central Coast

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing

Memories of CAKE

2012-01-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

New Year

always

conjures up

memories

the past

suppose

that

was

what

ol' Robbie Burns

had in

mind

with

Auld Lang Sine

and

why

the song is sung

New Year's Eve

wrote

that it was

time to remember

times gone by

had

"cake memory"

yesterday

(January 2, 2010)

the

memory

was

of a

cake

my mom

used to bake

my mom

didn't

really

bake,

like to bake,

but

she

often

made

this

cake

AND

LOVED

IT!

...

this

cake

was

fragrant

with

nutmeg,

crunchy

with

walnuts

and

oh, so moist

and

remember

it being

Armenian

middle Eastern

Gotta

love

GOOGLE

typed in

"nutmeg cake"

and

"Armenian cake"

and all sorts of words

hoping

to spark

the

"cake memory"

and

voila`

the memory

came

alive

in a recipe!

sweet

success!

the

"memory cake"

from

George Mardikian's

1944 cookbook

Dinner at Omar Khayyams

exactly!!

(I remembered the cookbook!)

folks

used to

enjoy

Omar Khayyam's restaurant

San Francisco

for

special

occasions

I think I was there once or twice

and

my mom

must

have

snagged

the

cookbook

found

the

recipe

"All Purpose Cake"

and then,

explored

and

found

similar

version

the

all-purpose

"memory cake"

****

Annie

(aka Dottie)

tweaked

with

the changes

baked

the

cake

for

Petit Soleil' s

breakfast guests

AND

the

cake

AS GOOD

if not better

than

the

original

Here's the recipe:

1 c. raisins

2 c. brown sugar

2 c. flour

1/2 stick cold butter, but in cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 c. sour cream

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Cover raisins with hot water and soak for 15 minutes to plump. Drain and pat dry.

Heat oven to 325 f. and spray spring form pan lightly with Pam.

Combine sugar, flour, butter and salt in food processor and pulse only until crumbly.

Measure 2 c. of mixture and spread evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down to form a mock crust.

Mix baking soda into sour cream.

Mix remaining flour mixture with sour cream, egg, nutmeg and raisins. Spread evenly over crust and top with chopped walnuts.

Bake for 50-60 minutes

was

so fun

that

Annie

(aka Dottie)

baked my

"memory cake"

believe

Scottish

mom

was

working

through

her

for

auld lang sine

and Tangerine skies

2012-01-02T17:26:00.001-08:00

IMG_0632, a photo by c'est la vie petit on Flickr.

I mean, come on! January 2, 2012 and this is the sunset in San Luis Obispo?
Tangerine Tango it is!

tangerine

2012-01-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

they

say that

tangerine

(aka "tangerine-tango)

THE

color

for 2012

such

cheery,

happy,

bright

color

These

beauties

are from

our little

mini-orchard -

please come by and grab a few

beautiful

and

delicious

and

2012

Peace

2011-12-31T14:25:00.000-08:00

Wishing

you

JOY

in your heart

and

PEACE

the

New Year.

Put a bird on it!

2011-12-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Sweet

Hannah,

one of our very special

(and tall)

employees

at Petit Soleil

gave

this very special little

salt

and

pepper

duet

because…

this

this…

facelifts and fish tacos

2011-12-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

WELCOME!

Isn't

this great!

C'est la Vie

…

travels

temptations

tastings

was

tad bit worried

that

you might

not

feel

HOME

with this new face

I am going to start

the

first

BLOG

C'est la Vie

with

drum roll………..

Fish Tacos!!!!

yup!

fish taco eating

partner in crime,

Barbara,

and I

scooted

Tognazzini's

DOCKSIDE

Morro Bay

literally

right

in front of

Morro rock

The Tognazzini's

are

a fishing family..

they

literally

catch

the

fish

that

they serve at

this dockside restaurant..

the halibut

was

fresh

"off the boat"

really!!!

the

family dog

greets

you

(he LOVES fish tacos, too)

your

dog is welcome

to join

you for

lunch in the patio,

as well

ordered

halibut tacos

the

fish

was

especially

DELICIOUS

grilled fresh

with

onions,

creamy something

and

a bit of red cabbage

in corn torts

hard to tell

how

perfectly

yummy

these tacos

are

this is the view from our

sun- filled

table

beautiful!

The

barbecued oysters

were being

ordered

by the dozens…

and were highly recommended….

I tried one.

an oyster

maybe

6 inches big

super yummy,

if you like

barbecued oysters!

The day

was

sunny

and cool…

busy

with

fishing village

sounds

and smells

Morro Bay!

p.s.

the

blue fin tuna

was just

in,

as well

(like sushi fresh!!)

I bought

a lb. -

"black and blued"

it for

dinner

later that evening

Oh, my…

Note:

bring your cooler and pick up

whatever is

fresh

and

bring

it home for

dinner