Earlier this week I went shopping at Pancho Villa’s Market with a friend who knew her way around the Mexican grocery store better than I did. She shared a great tip- if you like pan dulce, try the larger version sold as “Concha Grande,” that look like a monster Pan Dulce. Dee Dee says that she thinks that the larger loaves are more moist than the little rolls.
Going for a dunk…
We tried our big loaf o’ Pan Dulce this morning at breakfast with our chorizo burritos. We all agreed with Dee Dee… Yum! It was great dipped in coffee and nice on its own. Down right delicious like the little rolls, but the smaller Pan Dulces are definitely a bit more dry.
Haven’t had Pan Dulce before? Try them for breakfast or a snack. Look for them in most Mexican grocery stores with bakeries.
Pan left from this view and you can see how many empty growlers are on the kitchen table…
How do you get your Thanksgiving Turkey safely from the roasting pan to the carving board? Your crispy, tender, perfectly cooked bird is at risk of taking a spectacular dive onto the kitchen floor- it’s probably twenty pounds of hot, slippery yumminess.
And what if the head Turkey Chef is cooked? And all the other family Sous Chefs are probably equally toasted by this time in the family’s day, too.
You think ahead and equip your kitchen with the equivalent of a Turkey Gaff, that’s what you do!
This bird was perfect, by the way… way to go, Chef!
This Good Grips Poultry Lifter is a good idea, way better than the two wooden spoons that we have traditionally shoved unceremoniously into either end of the bird… ouch! We hardly knew him, after all, how rude! But seriously, anyone with grip issues (arthritis, strength, etc…) will appreciate the big, rubber, ball-shaped grip at one end and the fork-y hooks, general physics, and gravity proved that this design is way better than two flimsy spoons.
I should thank the family for letting me throw them under the bus in the name of humor (“Artistic License,” is just another way of exaggerating for the sake of a good laugh, really).
Six months is way too long to wait. Time for another “field trip,” this time with Dee Dee and Suzanne, friends from our church’s Bunco Club. Incidentally, Bunco Club needs to be renamed to “Let’s Have a Blast Chatting about All Our Favorite Things, Then Finally Get Around to Throwing Those Dice” Club (at least on the day it was held at my house, oops). Well, we chit-chatted about so many different favorite products, foods, restaurants and other places that we promised to go on a field trip to a few of these spots the very next week.
According to Dee Dee, Fruitilandia was once a dumpy-looking small shop across the street from it’s current location at 4328 University Avenue in San Diego. Now it is located in a bright spot, still offering smoothies and all kinds of fabulous Mexican drink specialties.
We asked about the different snack options and were all in for sharing a Tostilocos, and tried the Strawberries and Cream (unfreakingbelievably delish), Pico de Gallo Fruit Salad, Fruit Salad with cottage cheese, raisins and honey, and a Licuado.
Holy cow, where has a Licuado been all my life? It is kind of like a Mexican milkshake, only lighter, like a smoothie. And tastier. And more refreshing. Choose which of many fruits you want blended into your drink with the milk- I chose pineapple and mango. Wow. Delish.
The three of us split a snack that we decided was like a Walking Taco… on steroids. We barely made a dent in the Tostilocos- served in one opened small bag of Tostitos was cucumbers, jicama, fried peanuts, tamarind bits, spicy sauce and chicharron strips. I’m pretty sure there were 42 other things in there, we just couldn’t get down to the bottom of the bag.
Three forks-full of chicharron… not fried.
Imagine how sad I was to find that the chicharrones were not fried… boo hoo hoo! I definitely prefer my chicharrones fried. Pork skin cooked this way is like calamari, only a little more firm. Not bad, but not to my taste.
Fruit Salad Pico de Gallo- something I never had, but always meant to- chunks of fruit with chile. Definitely tasty, now all my So Cal and Mexican friends and family can get off my case. I think I liked the papaya and watermelon best.
Fruit Salad Pico de Gallo
Fruitilandia could take over the country’s smoothie market. I hope it does.
I particularly enjoyed the different cities featured in his designs- many are only blocks from where I lived (our apartment up the street from Seattle’s Space Needle), or at least the same general yet beloved area (the Midwest rocked my world). Go check out his great art and sweet commentary!
It’s worth mentioning that the only way I came across Brad Young Art (and many other great blogs) is because he simply clicked that “LIKE” button on one of my posts, so I went and looked at his work… go discover some new blogs and encourage the love of great subjects today, everyone. And don’t forget to give that positive feedback.
While I’m at it- I’d really like to give a shout out to a few other fabulous writers I have come across over the course of this year while playing around on WordPress:
Cool San Diego Sights!– great pics and fun insights into what’s happening in the San Diego area
Cycling in the South Bay– about as introspective and funny as a cyclist can get, with life choices, hobbies, and family offered up on the Altar of the Blogosphere
Story Shucker– short, well crafted stories from a talented writer. I’m always looking for his works to show up in my favorites feed.
Finding Jeffrey– a family friend who can produce more thoughtful and humorous writings in two minutes with only an elbow on the space bar than an infinite number of me on an infinite number of keyboards could ever hope to pound out. Get cranking on that book, Jeff, we’re waiting.
Cooking with a Wallflower– I had to narrow down from a couple dozen food bloggers I’m following on WordPress, and Andrea’s blog has a fabulous compilation of really good recipes, wonderful photography, and culinary world finds that she came across on the Big Ol’ Web.
How lucky can you get? The people on Kenamar Drive- a little side street packed with industrial worksites- get not only Duck Foot Brewing, but a fabulous lunch spot, too. Thyme for Lunch has a menu board featuring breakfast and lunch offerings that can keep me coming back for months, I think, everything looked delicious. With design warehouses, a heating and cooling business and solar company nearby, the brewery and café must be cleaning up.
We picked up a Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Panini with Fig Jam, and California Burritos bursting with both French Fries (a must in your CA burrito) and really good quality Carne Asada.
I tried a different beer on this visit- the Choco Porter with Coffee… yum. Like most porters I’ve had, this was also lighter than the stouts but full and rich. Yum. We also brought home a growler of the Double White IPA for Thanksgiving… you’re welcome, family who will be drinking this with us next week!
I’m glad The Husband spotted Thyme for Lunch last week while we came to Duck Foot, and we both had time to meet up in Miramar to bring our lunches into the brewery. That is one of the great things we learned During San Diego Beer Week 2015- if the brewery doesn’t serve food, there is either a food truck for the crowd, or you can bring food into the establishments. So we did! And it was a great lunch, complete with Vanessa from his work, too. Hi, Vanessa! Great seeing you today!
Which brings us to today: 
Holy cow, where has a Licuado been all my life? It is kind of like a Mexican milkshake, only lighter, like a smoothie. And tastier. And more refreshing. Choose which of many fruits you want blended into your drink with the milk- I chose pineapple and mango. Wow. Delish.
How lucky can you get? The people on Kenamar Drive- a little side street packed with industrial worksites- get not only
branching out... on a limb 