making some covid lemonade outta some sour ass covid lemons

thinking about how much fun we had planned for this summer just sucks so much.  covid snatched away some really awesome trips and things - a great animation camp for the bean along with what promised to be an amazing leadership camp in washington DC that would have brought her and her BFF (who'd moved to a different school last year) back together for a full week.  we were going to follow that up with a fantastic east coast road trip, hitting different spots than the one we did a decade ago.  and our big family vacation should have been all of last week, down in cabo san lucas at the viceroy resort.  sigh.

instead, we decided to pack everyone up and do a local road trip up to santa barbara.  while it wasn't what we'd imagined doing, we were all still pretty excited for a change of scenery and a fun getaway together.  and i got the old lady to help me cover up my gray roots the day before we left, because they were a little out of control and i wasn't going to be seen out in public looking like THAT.

after packing some bags and supplies for all three dogs, we hit the road.  of course, about halfway through the 2-hourish drive, we stopped for a potty break (which also happened to be near a starbucks, so we grabbed a pick-me-up too).

it was amazing watching the temperature change as we drove up.  when we left home, it was about 104 degrees - and by the time we reached santa barbara, there was a good 30-degree difference.  it was lovely.  we pulled up to the hotel milo and took the dogs out for another potty break while the hub went into the lobby to get us checked in.

the kids were in a cute room in the next building over from us, while the hub and i got this adorable little bungalow that faced the courtyard - perfect for taking the dogs outside when they needed to get out.

inside, we had a small sitting area and a little dining table.  the bed was cool and comfy, and there was a little patio outside, off to one side.  the bathroom was teeny-tiny and the hub found three spiders within the first few minutes.  but overall, it was clean and comfy and perfect for spending the next few nights in.

we dropped off our bags and then headed outside to sit on the patio near the lobby that faced the ocean.  while we waited for the kids to join us, the hub went inside to grab some snacks and wine from the little market.

like my mask?

the hub and cocoa had matching crazy eyes going on.

whenever we're in this area, we always make it a point to head to the original location of the habit.  while this doesn't sound particularly exciting, since they've expanded in recent years and have locations all over southern california, at the original one they have a secret menu item that you can't get anywhere else - chili.  really good, really tasty chili that you can add to your burger, your hot dog, your fries.  mmmmmm.

teddy loves to sit in the hub's lap whenever we're in the truck.  i think the hub secretly adores it despite his protests to the contrary while it's happening.

while the hub and the old lady's special friend decided to walk over to state street to check out the cigar lounge, i spent some time with the girls in their room.  when the dogs started sniffing around and looking to go outside, we headed back to our own room where cocoa jumped right up onto the bed and promptly fell asleep.  the hub got back around that time too, and then teddy took a few minutes to relax and destress with one of his favorite toys before he dropped off to dreamland.

day one of our annual family vacay, check!

on the move again

man, time really flies.  it's already been two years since the old lady and her special friend moved into their first apartment.  with their lease renewal date coming fast, we'd been helping them look around for a bigger place to move into - which has been interesting in these times of covid.  there really hasn't been much in the way of small houses, condos or townhomes available in the area that are in their budget, and after accompanying them on several self-guided tours they ultimately decided to move into a different apartment complex instead.  this time they have two bedrooms instead of just one, and they were pretty excited for the extra space - plus, there's a washer and dryer in the new unit.  bonus!

they were able to sign the lease and receive keys about a week before they had to be out of their old place, which gave them ample time to get packed up and start moving their things out.  they hired a local mover to help them with the big pieces of furniture, and the bean and i went over to help them out and expedite the process.

their new apartment is pretty nice, although still on the second floor.  trudging back and forth between  the car and up and down the stairs reminded me of how much i hate moving.  heh.  but with the help of the movers and everyone pitching in to help pack up cars and then unload and take everything upstairs, it went fairly quickly.

we'd left the dogs in our back yard while we were out getting everything moved, and they were happy to be together.  when we got home they were just hanging out back there, digging through their toys and alternating between snoozing on the couch and chasing each other around the yard.

i was excited to present the old lady with custom masks i'd ordered online a few weeks ago (and promptly forgot about).  look how cute!

later, all 3 dogs got a fun treat - doggy ice cream!

the peanut butter flavored frozen treats kept them occupied for a good amount of time, and it was funny to watch them enjoy their little cups.  every now and then they'd trade places, and before long those cups were licked completely clean.  of course, teddy decided he wanted every little bit - tearing his cup apart in search of more of that tasty treat.

the kids seem to be happy in their new apartment, and while it took stevie a couple of days to adjust to his new surroundings it sounds like he's settled in as well.  they're still unpacking the last bit of their stuff, and it's always amazing to see how much you can accumulate over time.

as for us, we're finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel that is our home renovation.  the majority of the big stuff is complete, and now we're just waiting for all of the final details to fall into place.  while the guest suite is lovely and comfortable, i can't wait till we can move back into our own room again.  i'm looking forward to not having people in the house every morning, banging and stomping and sawing and all of the other noise that we've been listening to.  it'll be great to unpack our things and put them all in their proper places, get our garage back, take down the gates in the back yard that keep the dogs separated from the areas under construction.

soon.  very soon.  i cannot wait.

round foods for every mood

bonus points if you can tell me where that title comes from!

there were a couple of days when i randomly found myself making lots of round shaped foods.  i'd seen a tweet where IKEA had shared their recipe for swedish meatballs and gravy - or, at least, a recipe they were willing to release for them.  and even though it wasn't exactly a light summer meal, once i saw it, it's all i wanted to eat for dinner that night.

the meatballs were pretty easy to make, and cooking them wasn't as much of a pain in the ass as i'd imagined.

the gravy was a simple recipe too, and instead of serving them with mashed potatoes i settled on simple buttered egg noodles.

it was really good - just as good as the ones you get at IKEA.  definitely making these again.

and then i got a bug up my butt to try my hand at mochi donuts.  i decided to try the first recipe i found via google, which i later realized wasn't the greatest.  still, it was fun to try.  i mixed up the dough, rolled it into long ropes and then cut pieces to roll into little balls.

i put together the "donuts" by sticking some of those dough balls together and placing them on a piece of parchment paper for frying.

of course, when i went to flip the donut the balls all fell apart.  d-oh!  but i fished them out and dipped them into the chocolate frosting i'd mixed up.

texture-wise...not great.  but if i'd just been expecting a regular donut, it wouldn't have been as disappointing.  and i finally managed to get a couple of them to come out intact.

the next day, i decided to try my hand at making bubble waffles like the ones we'd eaten at the 626 night market in summers past.  remember the night market?  those were good times.  sigh.  anyway, i'd ordered this pan from a friend to support her online pampered chef party and was pretty excited to bust it out.  finding a recipe for the hong kong-style bubble waffle took no time at all and after i got my hands on all of the ingredients, i mixed up a batch of the batter and refrigerated it as instructed.  then i had to take it out and let it sit for about a half hour to bring it back up to room temperature, which the recipe writer admitted sounded like a pain in the butt but worth the hassle.  and when it was finally time i busted out that waffle pan.

while it preheated, i put the bowl of batter next to the stove along with the mochi bits we'd bought to recreate that night market waffle.  when the pan was ready, i placed one in each bubble and poured the batter.  i closed the pan and flipped it over and let it cook for a couple of minutes before flipping it again and waiting another minute or two, and then...

i scooped out some homemade cookies & cream ice cream i'd mixed up earlier that day and served it up to the kids.

OMG, that waffle was PER. FECT.  it was identical in flavor and texture to the ones from the night market, and everyone loved it.  that recipe is most definitely a keeper.

tea time...in the comfort of our own home

somehow i got it in my head that since we couldn't go to a proper afternoon tea, i should just find some recipes online to create our own at home.  DIY at its best, amirite?

it started with a post i saw on facebook of someone making fresh clotted cream using their instant pot.  i'd seen this before and filed it away in my head for later use, but it seemed like now was a good time to give it a shot.  the tricky part was having to find non-ultra pasteurized cream to make it with, which i ended up finding at sprouts.  not cheap, so i was really hoping it would be a success.

so really, all you have to do is dump it into the instant pot and use the yogurt function.  you press the button until the display reads "boil" and then you let it go until it beeps, which took just a few minutes.  the kicker is that now you leave it in the pot for ten whole hours.

well, my dumb ass didn't think things through and started this process around 5:30.  that was a long night.  somewhere around 4:30, i finally shut off the pot, took the inner liner out and covered it with plastic wrap to chill in the fridge for another 8 hours.  it looked just as the recipe said it would - with this weird yellow crust on the surface.

after i had a chance to get some sleep, i got up to make a couple of treats for our tea.  i'd found a recipe for some earl grey shortbread cookies that sounded really good, and it starts with mixing softened butter with actual loose tea leaves.

the recipe said to set it aside to allow the flavors to infuse into the butter to intensify the flavor, so i took that time to whip up a batch of the bean's favorite mint chocolate chip meringues.  while those were in the oven, i got to work on making the shortbread dough.  it only required a few ingredients and came together pretty quickly.

it smelled really good, and the cookie was already pretty tasty on its own - but it was even better with a little lemon glaze drizzled on top.

i did cheat a bit on the scones, using this mix instead of making them from scratch.

but first, back to that clotted cream.  i scraped it out of the pot and transferred it into a glass container for storage.

and then i poured out the whey left over at the bottom of the pot to use it in the scones.

the old lady got to work on making the tea - very appropriately named.

while it was steeping, i got to work assembling our tiered tea tray.

at the top was our freshly baked scones with the clotted cream and some lemon curd that we'd bought with the scone mix.  i could've made that too, but i figured i'd save something for next time.

tea sandwiches were on the middle tier - cucumber and cream cheese for me and the old lady and egg salad for the bean.

and then at the bottom, those earl grey shortbread cookies and the mint chip meringues.

we weren't dressed for the occasion at all, but that's okay.  we were together, we were hungry and we were excited for our DIY afternoon tea.

i'm happy to report that everything was just as delicious as we'd hoped, and worth all of the effort we'd put into it.  fresh clotted cream, while it sounds kind of gross, is super delicious.  and next time, i'm totally going to make the scones and the lemon curd from scratch and maybe switch up the sandwich fillings too.

it's been really fun rediscovering how much i love to cook.  good times, even better because we get to eat the results!