Liz Shivener, who played Belle, gave a fantastic performance, transporting the audience away to her small provincial life. And Sam Zeller, who played Gaston was spot on his self consumed, narcissistic character, as he proclaimed, one of my favorite lines of the play, “I use antlers in most of my decorating.” (What a catch!) The cast of characters was fun- Gaston’s side kick, Todd Schlader, gave a great gymnastic performance as he rolled with each of Gaston’s punches while Carl Danielsen, who played the suave Lumiere, added his flirtatious flair to the show. Cogsworth, Gene Brundage, and Arlene Thomas, Mrs. Potts charmed the audience with their love and affection for the Beast and their newly found potential spell-breaking Belle. The Beast, Mark Campbell, added a touch of fun to his tumultuous story as he learned how to properly woo the young woman whom would ultimately grow to love him and break his transformative spell.

In honor of this event, I’ve whipped up a drink to help you release your inner beast and celebrate the beauty of the moment.

Mandarin Beastie

Ingredients

Ice
3 oz Mandarin orange vodka
1 oz lemonade or fresh lime juice
1 oz club soda

Directions

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka and lemonade. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add club soda. Garnish with the twist.

Note: a fun alternative is to add ice, vodka, lemonade, 2 large slices of peach in a blender. Mix well. Add a splash of club soda or 7 Up.

Thanks for prompting me to come up with a drink recipe and a concept JoJo!

You can eat this fried goodness on top of pasta, on a soft baguette or even on their own.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Pasta with oil and garlic) e Fritti Misti (and mixed fried veggies)

* note there are two ingredients lists for the two recipes provided*

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Ingredients

1 lb dried long pasta
1/2 cup olive oil, plus 1 TBS
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
Paprika
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional)
1-2 TBS minced fresh herbs such as parsley, fresh oregano or a mixture (optional)
Parmesan, freshly grated

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Directions

In a large-size pot add 1 TBS oil to water and bring to boil. Once boiling add in salt and then pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions, al dente and drain, saving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, warm the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and heat just until the garlic turns golden. If using the red pepper flakes, add them. Set oil aside until pasta is drained. Place oil back on a medium-low flame and toss pasta, in the pan, with a light amount of salt until well coated. If the pasta seems dry add a bit of the of the pasta water to loosen it up. Add herbs and heat until warm. Serve immediately with a black pepper, and season with grated cheese.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish, or 8 if eaten with a heaping mound of pasta.

Fritti Misti Ingredients

2 zucchini, sliced length-wise 1/8 inch thick
3 yellow squash, sliced length-wise 1/8 inch thick
6 zucchini flowers
3 small Japanese Egg Plants, sliced length-wise 1/8 inch thick
parmesan cheese
olive oil
egg
flour
** paper towels**

Fritti Misti Directions

Wash, dry and cut zucchini, yellow squash and egg plant length-wise. In a pan, avoid a non-stick pan if possible for better browning results, add ½ inch of olive oil in your pan and bring to medium heat. Line a baking sheet with paper towels so that you can transfer the fried veggies over and drain off some of the olive oil. Complete all of these veggies before frying the zucchini flowers, as you do not want to risk dirtying the oil.

To prepare the zucchini flowers, remove the stamen (or stem in the middle of the flower), wash well inside and outside. Pat dry with a paper towel. Whisk egg and lightly coat flowers. Dredge flowers in flour mixed with a dash of salt and pepper and pan fry until golden brown.

Beautiful Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini Flowers in frying pan.

This last visit to the island for the summer had me chomping at the bit. On our previous boat camping/cooking escapades, I had left with a long list of new ideas to bring to our next adventure.

While no one does a shoddy job of planning their meals at Tinsley Island, my challenge was to come up with a tantalizing new adventuresome, yet uncomplicated series of meals, that enabled us to make good use of our leftovers; so that nothing on the food front had to be carried home. I am pleased to say – mission accomplished! No leftovers and an ample amount of others circling the fire pit asking about our menu and meal preparations – most importantly, the feedback received from my toughest critics made it well worth my while.

This is my summer bonus post- yes, two recipes to let you know that while I’ve been a bit challenged on uploading my recent blog updates, it was not due to lack of wanting to tell you more.

I must admit, as I sat down to plan this out, I had to think of Jane Maynard’s site as it is no easy task to put together menus. I recently ran into her at BlogHer10 in New York, and she seemed pleased not only with my menu, BUT with my modifications to make an adult version of the banana boats.

Voila! My no-left over weekend menu plan and a few recipes to savor your eats in the great outdoors.

Banana Boats (and Special Adult Dessert Modifications)

Ingredients

1 banana, slit on the concave side and slit into rounds
1-2 TBS chocolate chips
6-8 mini marshmallows, or 1 large marshmallows cut into small pieces
heavy duty foil

**Adult version modifications**
rum
lemon, squeeze of lemon wedge
honey

Directions

Lay the banana on its “back” and peel slit the top open. While in the skin, cut banana rounds every half inch. You may need to take out a few slices to make a bit more room for the yummy filling.

Stuff chocolate chips and marshmallows between the pieces. Wrap in foil and cook approximately 7-10 minutes until outside of banana skin turns dark brown.

If making the adult version, you may want to substitute the chocolate chips for a generous splash of rum, a squeeze of lemon and honey.

Serving: 1

Photo: Jane Maynard

Norwegian Stick Bread

If you found Siri’s Norwegian Sweet Buns recipe charming, you must try her Coveted Norwegian Stick Bread Recipe. On her recent visit to the United States, we brought her with us to enjoy our version of camping, and her menu contribution was wonderful. So many islanders wanted the recipe, that she agreed that we had to post it!

Ingredients

8 cups flour (I used 4 cups white flour and 4 cups wheat flour)
4 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups water
1 TBS oil
3 tsp baking powder
four for dusting
sticks for cooking bread

Directions

Wash all sticks so that they are free of dirt. Make sure that stick is wet before wrapping dough around it so that the stick does not burn in the fire.

Mix all ingredients together, dusting hands with flour, take approximately 1/2 cup of dough and wrap around the stick. Place on grill and continue to move frequently until bread is browned equally on each side.

Servings: 8-10

Step 1- You will need a few good sticks.

Step 2- Take a piece of the dough.

Step 3- Wrap dough around sticks and place on grill or in fire.

Step 4- Cook the bread until brown on all sides.

** Weekend Menu**

Friday
-dinner: Norwegian Stick Bread, pork tenderloin in a honey soy sauce glaze, grilled pineapple, roasted bell peppers and onions, and heirloom tomatoes/red onions/focaccia crouton salad
-dessert: banana boats (adult and kid-a-fied)*

Saturday
-breakfast: blueberry pancakes with pineapple and pork tenderloin hash
-lunch: grilled veggie and Swiss cheese sandwiches on focaccia, fruit salad, green salad with grilled bell pepper and fresh basil
-dinner: seasoned tri-tip, corn on the cob, sauteed zucchini and onions, grilled portobello mushrooms
-dessert: s’mores

Sunday
-breakfast: portobello, zucchini and onion scrambled eggs with Pan Fried tri-tip and broiled tomatoes, skillet toast and fresh picked blackberries and left over s’mores

While there are an ever increasing number of conferences for bloggers to attend, what I find has changed over the past few years is that the level of ‘experts’ that I am engaging with at these shows has greatly shifted, as has the overall content, which remains skewed to the entry level blogger. Those who might have been considered experts a few years may no longer be the best spokespeople, nor are these sessions the most relevant for me. This was far from the case with the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit. While I do realize that that I was presented with predominantly Yahoo! focused content, I found their business acumen approach to be worthy of my time. Yahoo! has realized that to best work with the blogging community, to expand their digital voice and footprint, they must also invest in educating their constituents about their products. Refreshing! I am constantly approached for various types of corporate projects and on one hand I do feel honored to be exposed to these various opportunities, I am very aware that many of these come with a specific expectation. I am not a stalwart writer or investigative reporter- I blog to celebrate food and fun (and occasionally technology). While I remain unconvinced that I want to make blogging or cooking my full time career, I adore keeping this world as my coveted hobby/passion project. I maintain this space because I like to be here. I like to talk to you..whomever you are…and some-days I even think someone may be listening to my random thoughts on fun and food. I am not convinced that my site is about advertising revenue, or that I want to blog daily, but I do want to curl up on my sofa with my laptop and share some words and thoughts and engage with this exciting frontier of cyber space.

While I debated just telling you about the content presented, which ties closely to my professional comfort zone, I did think we could meet half way and I could share with you my new favorite recipe with PURPLE INGREDIENTS (the same color as the famous Yahoo! logo) in appreciation to the folks at Yahoo! Mother Board for having the vision and foresight to assemble such a stellar summit. And for those whom wish to know more about the summit, scroll down to the bottom of the post for a few more insights.

Now time for foodie fun- purple food! Cherry Clafoutis or clafouti (pronounced kla-foo-TEE) is a rustic looking French country dessert from the Limousin region that has become very popular in North America. Traditionally it was made with the first sweet cherries of the season, and the cherries were left unpitted so their kernels could release their delicate almond flavor as they baked. It is a bit of a pudding of sorts, with the sweet cherries covered by a thin pancake-like batter and baked in a hot oven until the batter has set with nicely browned and slightly puffed edges. The clafoutis should be served immediately with a dusting of confectioner’s (powdered or icing) sugar. Et voilà!

Clafoutis

Ingredients

1 TBS unsalted butter, softened
4 TBS powdered sugar, plus a sprinkle
1 TBS + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups (about 3/4 pound) mixed fresh Bing (or Rainier) cherries; stemmed, rinsed, drained on paper towels, pitted, and left whole (frozen pitted cherries are an easy alternative to use as well)
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
4 large eggs
6 TBS flour
5 TBS unsalted butter, melted
2 TBS sliced almonds
1 TBS honey
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 TBS kirsch (optional)
1 cup creme fraiche (optional)

Directions

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Center a rack in the middle of the oven.

Rub approximately 1 TBS softened butter over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch oven-proof glass pie pan. Dust with 2 TBS powdered sugar, then about 1 TBS granulated sugar and tap out any excess; set aside.

Arrange the cherries over the bottom of the prepared pie pan.

In a blender or food processor, combine the half-and-half, eggs, flour, butter, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, almonds, honey, vanilla, salt and kirsch (if using). Process until it forms a creamy, smooth batter.

Pour the batter over the fruit. Bake approximately 30-35 minutes, until the custard is golden brown around the edges and puffy yet firm in the middle.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the top with 2 TBS of powdered sugar. (It will deflate as it cools). Eat warm or at room temperature.
Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche .

Adapted from Bay Area baking expert Flo Braker’s latest book is “Baking for All Occasions” (Chronicle Books).

And if you need a bit of reading while devouring your dessert, I shall continue to tell the tale of the Yahoo! Mother Board…

The Four Seasons in Palo Alto was the backdrop that kicked off this lovely roof-top cabana clad event. The cocktail party was well done and as people arrived from their flights they filtered into the location creating a fun filled room of both conversation and tweets. While the after party migrated downstairs to the main bar, and few other room parties took center stage things didn’t run late into the night as we all knew that the morning would come early and we wanted to be well rested.

The summit topics ranged from services like how to optimize your SEO, Social product offerings, utilizing your network, Flickr to a powerful session on Online Safety that showed a tragic video of cyber bulling gone horribly wrong. There was so much content that my mind was spinning, I’ve only provided a glimpse of the topics broached. Hats off to Jeanne Moeschler and Amy Heinz for acknowledging the value of bloggers and for Elisa Steel, Mother and Yahoo! CMO, for being brave enough to personally speak to this audience – it’s not easy talking to a group of bloggers who hardly look at you when you speak amidst the laptops and cell phone tweets and blog posts. That said, no one is better suited to talk to a group of people that appear not to be listening than a mother!

Yahoo! Mother Board Factoids:
- Yahoo!’s has grown its network from 16 to 80 smart, savvy, influential women bloggers
- On Friday, July 16th, it took less than an hour for the 62 summit attendees to have two trending topics on Twitter—Elisa Steele (proud mom and CMO keynote speaker) and #ymotherboard
- Attendees at this summit cover topics ranging from living a vegan lifestyle to the impact of political issues on moms—from across the U.S. and Canada
- This summit was dubbed “the mother of all conferences”, conversations were sparked between the 62 attendees and Yahoos from Shine, Flickr, Yahoo! Safely, Yahoo! for Good, Yahoo! Green, Social Products, Yahoo! Editorial, Yahoo! Accessibility and Ad Products.

A few photographic outtakes to bring this experience into color!

Vanessa Druck, Jessica Rosenberg, Lindsey Krolik, Gina von, Jennifer Perillo

Gina and Ilina Ewens finally meet!

Gina and Stacy Libby

Other great posts from this summit. (And a picture of the rice krispie treats with purple M&Ms)

Yahoo! Mother Board Summit Exceeds All Expectations

Yahoo! Mother Board Summit: The Mother of All Conferences

Yahoo!’s Mother of All Conferences

I went to the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit and all I got was this wonderful time.

The Yahoo! Mother Board Summit

Yahoo! The Mother of All Dirty Martinis

The flight over London proved a memorable moment for me as an adult, as I relived my childhood. Playwright Barrie is genius, capturing the childlike sense of joy and mischief that captivated me, oh so many years ago. I left with a greater sense of childhood, one which can be easily forgotten amidst a heavy work schedule and endless activities with the little ones out of school. I was thankful for the opportunity to remember all the antics of Peter Pan, The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, and his arch nemesis, Hook, and devoted pixie, Tinker Bell.

I encourage you to go and rekindle your inner child and while your imagination runs wild- perhaps a nostalgic cup of cocoa? Often mentioned during the play, I couldn’t resist the recommendation of Actress Shannon Warrick who plays Mrs. Darling. We met after the show and I asked her for her thoughts on a Pan-like food. She remarked, “Well it must be cocoa! We talk about cocoa the entire performance and then back stage we eat marshmallows – it would be perfect for your blog.”

She was spot on! And to up the anti, this is one of my coveted recipes for true yummy-ness in a cup.

Frozen Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows & Hundreds of Thousands

Cocoa Ingredients

6 half-oz pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolate, chopped or chips are fine too
2 tsps store bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 TBS sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk, set 1 cup aside
3 cups ice
whipped cream (optional)
chocolate shavings (optional)

Marshmallows with Hundreds of Thousands Ingredients

I bag large size marshmallows
6 oz milk chocolate, chopped or chips
sprinkles (British nomenclature is Hundreds of Thousands)

Marshmallow Decoration

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside. Set sprinkles in small bowl and set aside.

In a small-size microwave safe bowl, heat the milk chocolate, stirring every 15 seconds to make sure chocolate does not burn. When chocolate is melted, take marshmallows and dip top of candy in chocolate and then quickly dip in the sprinkles.

Note: Large sprinkles do not melt as easily in the chocolate and are much easier to work with when dipping the marshmallows.

Frozen Hot Cocoa Directions

Take 1/2 cup of milk out of refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in an microwave proof bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended.

Slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth.

Let the mixture sit and cool completely until it is room temperature.

Place the cooled chocolate mixture, remaining cup of milk and the ice in a blender. Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth and slushy.

Pour into a wide mouth glass or cup and top with whipped cream, marshmallows and/or chocolate shavings. Suitable for eating with a spoon or a straw.

Milena, 'Wendy' (Abby Ford), Gina, 'Peter Pan' (Nate Fellows), Secondo and Prima at the after party with cast members.

More about the play…

In this production of PETER PAN:

• 12 projectors, delivering 360 degree projection
• 400 square miles of virtual London were rendered
• The world’s first fully 360 degree projected movie for live theater performance
• The tent, which stands 100 ft high was shipped via boat, 6,000 miles from London to San Francisco.
• 100 computers took 4 weeks to create the images – it would have taken 8 years for a single computer to render

A few of my favorite Peter Pan quotes:

Second to the right and straight on until morning.. (location of Neverland and corresponding stars on the chocolate dipped marshmallow in the photo)

To live would be an awfully big adventure.

Your saving my life, what a great thing to do.

When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.

It was 12 minutes of incredible optical and auditory transformation which completely metamorphosed this historical building within seconds. It was memorizing and memorable. The only thing missing to complete this experience was a meal of color; and despite the yummy themed cookie bestowed upon me, when I reflected upon this experience I wanted to share with you my favorite colorful dessert growing up. Rainbow finger Jell-O.

Rainbow Finger Jell-O

Ingredients

1 (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk
7 sm packages Knox gelatin
1 (3 oz) package strawberry Jell-O
1 (3 oz) package orange Jell-O
1 (3 oz) package lime Jell-O
1 (3 oz) package blueberry Jell-O

Directions

Using non-stick cooking spray an coat a 9×13 pan.

Filling layers:
Dissolve 2 envelopes gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water. Add 1 cup boiling water to condensed milk. Mix dissolved gelatin with milk and add 1 cup more of boiled water.

To make these fabulous rainbow layers: Use 1 box Jell-O at a time. Mix 1 envelope Knox gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water. Add 1 cup boiling water, and 1 box Jell-O. Remove any bubbles that may have formed. Pour Jell-O in pan. Refrigerate 15-20 minutes until set.

Pour 3/4 cup filling over set Jell-O. Chill 15-20 minutes. Continue Jell-O, filling etc., ending with Jell-O on top. Chill until firm. Slice into squares and serve chilled. And there you have it, 7 layer Rainbow Jello. Should take approx 2 hrs to chill and make all of the layers.

Note: Do not make the Jell-O as directed on the package. Make each package as directed above – for each package of Jell-O, add 1 package or 1 TBS of gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Mix each layer separately in containers. Let stand till room temperature, stirring occasionally.

And if you would like to watch the World of Color Show, while eating your rainbow Jell-O, click away….

I enjoyed spending time with fellow-gal bloggers
The Silent I, Chalk and Cheese Chronicles, Tippytoes & Tantrums, Who’s the Boss?, and Xiaolinmama. And the other great ladies I had the honor of spending time with Techmama, Dear Bad Kitty, and Garza Girl!

Torte Piccolo Con Pomodoro

Cupcake Ingredients

1 box (18 oz) spice cake mix
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell’s® Condensed Tomato Bisque Soup
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
18 (2 1/2-inch) cupcake liners

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

1 cube butter, softened (not melted)
1 cup cream cheese (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 TBS vanilla
pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

Cupcake Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place liners into 18 muffin-pan cups.

Combine the cake mix, soup, water and eggs in a large bowl and mix according to the package directions.

Spoon the batter into the muffin-pan cups, up to the rim of the liner.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely.

Frosting Directions

In a medium-size bowl, mix butter, cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar on high for 2 minutes.

After frosting, you can sprinkle the cupcakes with toasted chopped pecans or walnuts.

Yields: 18 cupcakes

As a child I often wondered if this was anything like all of the posh East Coast spots I had heard the yachties speak about – Maratha’s Vineyard, The Cape, or Newport Rhode Island. Having grown up sailing on San Francisco Bay and taking a few summer sailing camps at the island I have spent a nice amount of time at this hide-away during the summer months. As I have grown-up, my love for this place has also grown deeper. Since returning as an adult, I recall all of the fond times spent with my Dad, Step Mother and brother running around with large bamboo sticks for the bonfire marshmallow roast, swimming endless hours in the pool, writing in my diary, playing dominoes (Dad’s favorite- don’t beat him he just isn’t made for loosing), backgammon, fishing, hunting crawdads (BTW-they like salami or other meat), water skiing, sailing, reading books and listening to music…..the memories abound! I’ll close the chapter on this aspect of memory lane, and not bore you further, as it truly is time to talk food. The focus of this post is on meal planning – while my friend Jane Maynard, of This Week for Dinner, does a great job of posting weekly menus, I felt inspired to share my humble attempt at this camping menu. The menu worked well and we ended up with very few things to take home with pleased fully bellies all around.

Camping doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a bit of gourmet, au contraire.

Friday
- dinner: Kobe steak kabobs with zucchini, red bell pepper and Maui onions (the vegetables were bushed with olive oil and rosemary. The meat was seasoned with salt and pepper only), field greens and whole wheat baguette served with a crisp white wine from Portugal
- dessert: watermelon au natural, ice cold

Saturday
- breakfast: cheesy scrambled eggs with fire roasted veggies and skillet butter toast
- lunch: honey roasted turkey grilled cheese sandwiches
- appetizers: salami with cream cheese, roasted garlic hummus with carrots and celery
- dinner: honey marinated chili chicken breasts; Yukon gold potato/onion herb packets; white corn on the cob brushed with paprika butter; romaine salad with carrots, Capri tomatoes, and home made croutons served with a crisp white wine from Portugal
- dessert: s’mores and coffee

Sunday
- breakfast: steel cut oatmeal with caramelized bananas served with fresh fruit salad (plums, white peaches, nectarines, apples) oh yes, and left over s’mores because it is vacation!

Upon leaving the island, we drove to our favorite spot in Stockton for lunch and had killer sweet potato fries, decadent milk shakes, delicious burgers with grilled onions and secret sauce- Moo Moo’s Burger Barn.

But when we arrived back home, we just couldn’t let the vacation feeling escape us, so we immediately invited some family over for dinner. The menu was simple, yet fresh and reeked of summer! BBQ’d sword fish, baked potatoes and some fresh greens.

Oh wait, what’s that you say? You wanted a recipe? Well, I had a feeling…but it is summer and I like to keep things on the simple side.

Photo Credit: Butteryum Blog Spot

Corn & Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

5 ears of corn, shucked (approx 2 cups)
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
3 TBS cider vinegar
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 whole bell peppers, sliced in half (this is your serving bowl, parboiling them is a plus if camping equipment permits)
1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed
1 lime, juiced
1 (4 oz) container, crumbled Feta (optional)
1/2 cup basil, finely chopped plus additional basil (garnish, optional)

Directions

Husk corn and rinse. Heat grill to 350F.

Shuck corn and remove all strings, place in foil and crimp edges tightly to retain moisture. BBQ corn packets for 20 minutes, turn every 10 minutes. Remove corn from foil for the last 10 minutes and allow to brown, turning regularly.

Note: Length of cooking time will vary depending on the tenderness, variety and age of the corn – some types of corn may be done in half the time.

Immediately immerse corn in cold water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob.

In a large-size bowl, add all remaining ingredients and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

———–
A bit more history I dug up while writing this post that I wanted to share for those of you still interested in learning/reading more about Tinsley Island.

Trivia: the lighthouse was one of a chain of seventeen stations that started at the entrance to San Francisco Bay (Point Bonita) and ended at Roe Island in Suisun Bay.

In 1955, the U.S. Coast Guard automated the light and fog horn mechanisms, and the main building of the Carquinez Strait Lighthouse was sold to a private party who, in 1957, moved the building by barge up the Strait to its present position at Elliot Cove, overlooking the scenic marina. Of the seventeen original lighthouse buildings, only two others remain in existence: the St. Francis Yacht Club on Tinsley Island, and the East Brothers lighthouse in San Pablo Bay (now a bed and breakfast establishment). Tinsley Island is located at latitude – longitude coordinates of N 38.0377 and W -121.49578

More great photos and historical information can be found at California’s Majestic Lighthouse’s blog.

Yet the lore of the story is about making something from nothing. A good-tasting soup, beginning with a stone and boiling water, becomes a fabulous soup with the addition of a little bit of this and that. At heart, the traditional story is a trickster tale. Typically, the person starting the soup is a beggar who is denied the food he requests from someone living in a house. In many versions, including in the American Civil War version, the beggar is a soldier looking for food. For the original version of how to make this soup, you’ll have to read to the end of the post, for those in the hurry I will share with you my very very favorite version of Stone Soup, named such because the person who taught me this recipe is named Colbi Stone. Read on, it will not disappoint you. Try it as a breakfast, snack or dessert and I promise you’ll be hooked before you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Acai Bowl Bliss (AKA Stone Soup)

Ingredients

1 100g packet organic acai smoothie packs/original Rio Blend with gurana, frozen
2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup blueberries + 1 TBS, frozen
6 strawberries, frozen
2 strawberries
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup granola
honey

All ingredients can be found at Whole Foods. There are two kinds of Acai smoothie packs, you want the original Rio Blend. The brand I used was Sambazon. They are sold in the freezer section in four packs.

Directions

In a blender add frozen acai berry puree, 1 sliced banana, 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries and soy milk. Mix until well blended. Pour into a bowl. Add granola, layer with remaining banana, strawberries, blue berries and drizzle with honey.

Note: for my version I used granola with chocolate chips- why? Because I love the flavor of chocolate and berries commingled.

Back to my previous story of pre-school Stone Soup cookery….
The day before the big meal, the teachers asked each student to bring in a vegetable to share and the teacher brought in a pot and one very clean, scrubbed, river stone. With the stage set, the story was read.

The Story of Stone Soup

Once upon a time, somewhere in post-war Eastern Europe, there was a great famine in which people jealously hoarded whatever food they could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day a wandering soldier came into a village and began asking questions as if he planned to stay for the night.

The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for all. The villagers offered the soldier a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell and traveled on the next day. The moral is that by working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved.

For those of you who are feeling adventurous, I would HIGHLY recommend this version of Stone Soup.

While I have attempted to cross post from my original piece done for the SV Mom’s Blog, technical difficulties have prevailed on my end and I am now going to just do my best to fill your foodie appetite for a new recipe. That said, for the full story behind this recipe please do read on at Silicon Valley Mom’s Blog: Mi Pueblo San Rafael’s Newest Latin Supermarket

Cactus Taco Filling (Nopales en Ensalada)

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs paddle cactus leaves (nopales), spines removed cut the size of French Green Beans

4 TBS white vinegar

½ tsp oregano, dried but not ground

¼ cup cilantro plus more for garnish, fresh chopped

1 large potato, peeled then cubed

salt and pepper, to taste

1 yellow onion, sliced length-wise

3 tomatoes, diced

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 package corn tortillas, cooked

sour cream (optional)

Panela or cotija cheese (optional)

NOTES:
Mexican and other Latino markets, like Mi Pueblo, often sell prepared cactus leaves, which is MUCH easier than having to wear gloves and use a paring knife to remove spines. If you would like to see a good video on how to do this I recommend Zarela Martinez’s son, Food Network star, Aaron Sanchez clip that shows you how to work with Nopales & Chayotes.

Directions

Cut the fresh cactus leaves into strips. In a saucepan, boil cactus with 1/2 cup water and a large pinch of salt, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rinse well in cold water to remove the slippery film which develops from boiling. In a bowl, combine cactus with white wine vinegar, oregano and cilantro. Let sit for 30 minutes.

I typically cook my tortillas on top of an oven burner, at low heat, for 15-25 seconds on each side. This does tend to mess up an electric burner — it is a bit less of a mess on a gas burner. You can also pan fry them by spraying a non-stick spray in a pan and turning once on each side or there is always the popular oil pan fry method. To keep cooked tortillas warm, place in a cloth or paper towel on a plate while preparing the remainder of tortillas. Set aside. Note: Plastic wrap or aluminum foil used to keep the tortillas warm often creates a damp tortilla unless there is an ample amount of paper/cloth involved to absorb the moisture.

Heat vegetable oil in a saute pan and add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent from sticking to bottom of pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in the onion and cook 5-7 minutes until translucent. Lower to medium heat and add in the tomatoes for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the cactus for 5 minutes to warm and absorb the flavors. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with cheese and additional cilantro.

Serves 4-6

This is an original recipe post to Silicon Valley Moms Blog.