Recap of our Weekend Part 2 and Moustache Baked Goods Review September 11, 2012

Today, we are definitely back to the grind. The laundry is finally done, folded and put away. I prepared our dinner this morning (spaghetti squash tomato bake, with ground turkey added for a one-pot meal) while Keenan hauled all of his kitchen things in the trailer behind his trike. I also hosted a play group at our house for my MOMs Club. It was quite a productive morning!

Loading up his trailer!

After the play group, we had lunch. I made Keenan a pork and cheese sandwich (using the left over country style boneless pork ribs from our dinner last night) with carrots and some of my pluot. I made myself a turkey and pork sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mustard, along with baby carrots and a pluot. I just love pluots, because they are tart and sweet, a nice balance between a plum and an apricot. I’m not much of a fan of fresh apricots (I love them dried!) or plums, but I love the combo in the pluot!

Anyhow, after Keenan gets up from his nap, we are heading to CrossFit (my triceps are still sore from yesterday’s ring dips!) and then home for our easy dinner. Speaking of, look for the recipe of the spaghetti squash tomato bake with my addition of turkey coming tomorrow!

Onto my review of Moustache Baked Goods in Healdsburg, CA and a recap of our weekend Part 2:

Part of the wonderful display at Moustache Baked Goods!

On our way to Gualala last week, Keenan and I randomly stopped into Moustache Baked Goods, as we were waiting for my husband. The moment you walk in the door and see the wonderful display of cupcakes, you know you are in for a VERY special treat! The aroma of coffee and baked goods is heavenly! Since there were so many cupcakes to choose from, we decided on The Milkman (Keenan’s pick): chocolate cake topped with housemade oreo cream frosting, The Butcher: vanilla cake with maple spice frosting and crispy local bacon and The Local: almond cake with honey mousse filling and a blood orange frosting. All three cupcakes were delish! It goes to show that scratch-baking really pays off, because my husband and I aren’t usually fans of cupcakes. Honestly, they were the best cupcakes I have ever eaten in my life. All three cupcakes were super moist, full of flavor, and perfectly balanced (not overly sweet). I have to say the best one was The Butcher (my husband’s favorite); I never thought maple and bacon could taste so good together, especially in a cupcake! My husband is really picky about savory-sweet cupcakes, and he said that their bacon-maple version is the BEST he’s ever tried. Oh, I can’t forget about the coffee that I ordered, the Macchiato; it was nothing like I’ve ever had. It was served in a small cup with a shot of espresso and warmed cream. It was SO rich and creamy, I didn’t need to add any sweetener! I can still taste it in my mouth!

The Butcher cupcakes…SOOOOO good!

Since everything was so delicious at Moustache Baked Goods, we had to stop in again on our way back to Healdsburg, before the wedding. We wanted to try some different cupcakes and I wanted my husband to try their coffee. We ordered The Miller: meyer lemon olive oil cake filled with lemon curd topped with meyer lemon cream frosting, The Outlaw: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and caramel filled with sea salt and their chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting. Again, everything was amazing. In addition, I ordered a Cappuccino and my husband had the Macchiato. Once again, my cappuccino was so creamy and rich from the espresso and milk that I didn’t need to add any sweetener (my definition of an excellent coffee)! My husband enjoyed his Macchiato so much that he sucked it down in seconds (so much for sipping a nice coffee!). Keenan certainly loved all of the cupcakes, as he practically ate half of each one with his huge bites! Needless to say, Moustache Baked Goods will not disappoint! It is a must-stop if you are ever in Healdsburg, or passing through!! After writing this, my mouth is watering, even though I just ate lunch. I guess we will have to head back to Healdsburg, sooner, rather than later!

Our second set of cupcakes that we snacked on before the wedding!

My beautiful Cappuccino!

On Sunday morning, we joined my uncle and his partner at their church, Community Church of Sebastopol. It was so great to see my uncle and his partner, since we hadn’t seen them in several months. The church service was wonderful: the music was fantastic (my uncle plays the piano and organ) and we enjoyed listening to their great pastor. He had a great sermon, so relevant to our lives. Also, everyone was so friendly and welcoming.

After church, we stayed for the luncheon/carnival and Keenan had a blast playing all of the games. He won quite a few prizes: a a cupcake, a couple of small rubber bouncy balls and three little cars. All in all, we had a wonderful morning and we can’t wait to see my uncle and his partner again, soon!

Question of the day: What special dishes or foods that you ate during a recent outing or meal make your mouth water when you think of them?

Recap of our weekend Part 1 and Gelati Pazzo Marco Review

Well, it is back to the grind (and back to our normal, healthy eating habits and regular exercise) at our household today! We had a great time in Gualala and at my cousin’s wedding this past Satuday, as well as visiting my uncle yesterday, but it is nice to be back home. Though I’m not ready to face reality, it is nice to sleep in my own bed! I am a creature of routine, so it was nice to get back into it today. Are you a creature of routine? How do you get back on track after being on vacation?

Keenan had music class this morning, so we had to be up and out of the house quickly. Since we were all SO tired from staying up late and not sleeping well over the weekend, Keenan woke up at 8:50 a.m.!! It felt wonderful to be able to sleep in this morning because our bodies needed it! Since Keenan’s class was at 10:00 and it takes a good 20 minute drive, we ate a quick breakfast of toasted pancakes with peanut butter and honey. My lovely husband made me a latte to go, so I could drink it on the drive. After class, we went to the grocery store to stock up for the week (since we hardly had any food in our fridge).

After we got home, we had lunch: Our “usual” breakfast–since we hadn’t had yogurt in a while–with peaches, flax seed and Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal. Keenan was so wired (and tired) from  a lack of sleep over the weekend, he thought everything was funny! He kept saying, “That funny!”

After Keenan’s nap, we headed to CrossFit for a MUCH NEEDED workout! I was looking forward to a gruelling WOD, because I need to burn off all of the calories I consumed over the past 5 days! Today’s WOD was 7 rounds for time (12 minute time cap) of 10 kettlebell swings (35 lb for women) and 10 ring dips, rest 3 minutes and do as many burpees as you can in 90 seconds. It was short, but certainly sweet!

Well, onto a recap of our weekend (Part 1) and review of the Gelateria, Gelati Pazzo Marco, that we visited on Friday, while we were in Gualala:

I know I said this in Friday’s post, but WOW! I was so impressed with Gelati Pazzo Marco’s gelato, and owners (very friendly and accommodating)! The texture and creaminess of the gelato was exactly what I had while I lived in Italy! Most other gelato that I have tried in the States has a great flavor, but lacks the texture and creaminess that you find in Itay. Gelati Pazzo Marco is a micro-gelateria (making small batches of gelato) in Gualala, California. Marco Moramarco and Paolo Vierra moved to Gualala, leaving the corporate world in San Francisco to do something that they were passionate about, leading a slower pace of life, thus making gelato. Marco studied the art of gelato making in Bologna, Italy and worked in a gelataria, before starting Gelati Pazzo Marco. Most of their equipment is imported from Italy, and they make all of their gelato from SCRATCH, and use all natural, organic ingredients, unlike many other gelaterias in the states that use a pre-made base. Since they make their gelato from scratch, they are a USDA licensed milk handling facility, thus they can make anything with milk, including cheese (something that they are working on for the future). They purchase their milk from Walter Stornetta Ranch, a local dairy a few miles up the road from them; in fact, Marco and Paolo pick up the milk themselves in the stainless steel jugs below.

Gelati Pazzo Marco Gelateria: All of their gelato is made in this small building.

After they get the milk, they pasteurize it. Once it is pasteurized, they place it into a cooling machine to bring the temperature of the milk down to 39 degrees quickly, so they can mix in the other ingredients (sugar and any other flavoring, etc). Depending on what flavor they are making, they mix in the rest of the ingredients and let the gelato sit for 24 hours (so the flavors meld together) before pouring it into the freezing machine.

The jugs that they use to collect milk from the dairy.

A view of the machine that pasteurizes the milk (cylinder in the corner) and the chilling machine (rectangle to the right).

Once the gelato is in the freezing machine, it mixes in there until it’s ready.

Taking the gelato out of the freezing machine.

After it is done, they take the gelato out and store in the freezer for 24 hours before packaging it.

Paolo packaging the gelato!

We were very fortunate to taste about a half a dozen delicious flavors! We tried some of their sorbetto (non-dairy) flavors, such as plum-apple, peach and blood orange, which were amazing! We also sampled their regular gelato flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and mint stracciatella. All of the flavors we sampled were excellent…perfect texture, creaminess and richness. It is now three days later and I can still taste the different flavors in my mouth, in fact, my mouth is salivating just thinking about it, again! I wish we lived closer, because I would be a regular customer! Anyhow, I HIGHLY recommend trying some of Gelati Pazzo Marco’s gelato, if you are ever visiting the North Coast, or traveling through Gualala!! You can find their gelato at a couple of local stores, Trinks Cafe or at Surf Super Market (both serve cones or cups), or you can purchase a small container to go.

Tasting!

On Saturday, we headed to Healdsburg for my cousin’s wedding. Before we went to the hotel to get dressed, we stopped at a little cupcake shop for a little snack and a coffee (my husband and I desperately needed a little pick-me-up). We ended up getting three cupcakes, because they looked SO good! My cappuccino and my husband’s macchiato were probably some of the best (if not THE best) espresso we both have ever had! Anyhow, look for my review/write-up of the cupcake shop for my next post!

Once we got dressed we headed to the wedding, which was outside, in a small courtyard, next to Bear Republic Brewery. It was a lovely wedding and Keenan had so much fun dancing and playing with all of my little cousins! It was so cute to see the little boys take him under their wings and dance and play with him! Keenan enjoyed himself so much that he literally partied until he dropped (on my shoulder), around 10:00 p.m.! It was a wonderful evening and it was fun to see Keenan interact with everyone, especially dancing with Uncle E, Nonna and Avo! Poor thing, we didn’t get back to our hotel until 11:30 p.m., so Keenan was exhausted, to say the least! We had to be up fairly early to meet my uncle for church the next day, so we were all tired!

Having fun with Nonna and Avo at the wedding!

Playing with his cousins!

Dancing with Uncle E!

Such a tired boy!

Well, this is already getting to be a long post, so I’ll save the recap of the rest of our weekend for my next post! Have a great evening!

Monkey See, Monkey Do September 4, 2012

After going to bed early and getting a good night’s rest last night, we have all recovered from our weekend. Isn’t it the best feeling when you wake up rested and refreshed? My goal for this month is to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night because I feel and function so much better. It is also better for your health! Starting tonight, I’m going to make sure I get to bed early. We’ll see how it goes!

Speaking of sleep affecting your health….over the weekend, I had a great conversation with my husband’s cousin about modelling healthy habits for your children. My husband’s cousin is a Librarian, and a mother and her son recently came into her library asking for book recommendations and how to get her child to read more. The mother admitted that she doesn’t read that often, but she wanted to make sure her son developed a joy for reading. As my husband’s cousin helped her with finding books, the mother stopped as she was walking away and said, “Wait, if I read more, and my son sees me reading, he will probably want to read more.” This is powerful and really stuck with me. It is a perfect example how we as parents are crucial and important role models for our children. We can’t expect our children to do something, if we don’t do it ourselves. We need to model the behaviour we want our kids to exhibit. If we want our children to eat healthy foods then we need to eat them. If we want our children to develop a love for exercise and/or being active, then we need to demonstrate for them and incorporate them into our activity, i.e. family bike rides, jogging (having our child ride in a jogging stroller), swimming, hiking, etc. If we want our children to learn to be polite and be respectful to others, we need to respect others. Too often, we get busy or too tired to remember to be consistent in modelling the behaviours or actions that we want our children to learn, but it shouldn’t be an excuse to forget about it. Children are like little sponges and pick up things from us and their environment so easily; we need to remember how our actions effect them, both positively and negatively.

Since Keenan has turned two, he’s even more of a little sponge these days. He mimics what we say and do all the time, so we always have to be careful with what we say. I aim to be the best role model for him as possible, which is why I bring him to the gym, we go for family walks and bike rides, he is our “Sous Chef” in the kitchen, my “Little Shopper Helper” at the grocery store, picking out fresh produce and being respectful to others. In order for Keenan to be the best that he can be, I need to be the best that I can be. How do you influence your children? How do you handle negative influences?

Once we got up and made our way downstairs this morning (Keenan is now waking up at 7:00 a.m. again, ugh!), we had breakfast. We had some of the peach oatmeal bake that was leftover from yesterday, with yogurt and blackberries on top. It was a perfect combo! Keenan loved it, because he inhaled his breakfast in 5 minutes! I also made myself an iced coffee using the coffee concentrate that my husband made (he made another batch last week). It was tasty!

Breakfast this morning!

Today has been a nice and somewhat relaxing day. After breakfast, Keenan and I played at his table with his new toy, thanks to our friends, Elisa and Jon! He loves sticking random things, like his salt and pepper shakers, in the holes!

Thinking about what he wants to stick in the holes next!

A little while later, we headed upstairs, got dressed and had some “piano time.” We hadn’t played the piano together for a while, so it was fun to play and sing together. Keenan did so much better today, playing the keys (instead of banging them!) and singing with me. We played and sang several songs from one of his music class books!

Piano time with “Mr. Turtle!”

After playing the piano, we skyped with my brother and niece and then headed to the park for some outside play time (riding his trike there). It was a fun morning!

Playing on the Teeter Totter!

Playing on the play structure!

By the time we got home from the park, Keenan was pooped! He had a busy morning and played really hard at the park! He loved going on the “roundy slide” (as he calls it)!

Going down the “roundy slide!”

For lunch, Keenan had some leftover pasta (whole wheat noodles with pasta sauce), chicken and carrots. I made myself a salad with half of a peach, chopped chicken, dried cherries, walnuts and feta cheese with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Keenan was so tired from this morning that during lunch, he kept saying “sleepy-sleep!”

My lunch.

Once Keenan wakes up from his nap, we are heading to CrossFit. After our food-filled weekend, I’m looking forward to a good workout today! For dinner tonight, we are having Chinese long beans that got at our local farmer’s market over the weekend sautéed with an onion, sun dried tomatoes and Italian sausages with feta cheese. I know, you are probably thinking…Chinese long beans and Italian? The flavors actually blend really well together (and the Chinese long beans are more tender, so they’re easier for Keenan to eat).

Well, it is time to do some packing for our little getaway before we go to CrossFit. We are heading to the North Coast for a few days before my cousin’s wedding on Saturday. They are getting married in Healdsburg, so we thought it would be nice to make it a little getaway. I’ll be sure to post from over there and share some of the activities we will be doing. Have a great afternoon!

Oh, before I forget, here is the recipe for the basil avocado edamame dip:

Basil Avocado Edamame Dip: (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients:

– one 14-ounce bag frozen shelled edamame, unthawed

– 1/2 ripe avocado

– 1yellow onion, peeled and sliced into quarters

– 1 clove of garlic, peeled

– 2 teaspoons olive oil or more, if needed, to create a smoother dip

– 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or more to taste

– 1 large handful fresh basil or more to taste

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Cook edamame in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
2. Place cooked edamame, avocado, onion, garlic, oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid in food processor. Blend in more olive oil, if mixture is too thick.
3. Transfer to a bowl and serve with pita chips.

Notes: I doubled the recipe, since it didn’t seem like enough for 8 people. I’m glad I did, because most of the dip was all gone by the end of the evening. I also added a little of our sodium-free garlic all-purpose seasoning from Costco for added flavor. Since I didn’t have any lemons, I added a little red wine and white wine vinegar, instead. The dip turned out okay, but I think the lemon juice would have added the zip that it needed.