I took a few months off from blogging.  During that time I’ve tried a number of new yummy recipes.  So … I’m ready to share with you the best ones.  I also have a very fun vacation coming up in two weeks:  Paris, the Amalfi coast and Berlin.  (I know … interesting combo.)  But, I’m sure to have some fun travel tips and pics to share after the trip.

While it isn’t quite tomato season, I do always enjoy a good tomato bruschetta.  I ran across this recipe last fall, but just tried it this past week.   The lemony, feta spread makes such a nice addition to a traditional tomato bruschetta.

I made this for a party last night – and all that tried it thought it was quite good.  My husband and I had some with our lunch today.  Yum!

Once again, I was able to get all of the ingredients at Trader Joes.  I bought some cherry tomatoes to add to the baby heirloom tomatoes — quite a good combo.  And, I loved the variety of color with yellow, orange, red, purple and green.

Tomato Bruschetta with Whipped Feta

Ingredients:

6 oz. Feta Cheese, crumbled

2 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature

2/3 cup Good Olive Oil, divided

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper (freshly ground, preferred)

2 Tbsp. Pine Nuts

2 Tbsp.  minced Shallots (about 2 shallots)

2 tsp. minced Garlic (2 cloves)

2 Tbs. Red Wine Vinegar

2 lbs. ripe, small heirloom Tomatoes, sliced in halves

3 Tbsp. fresh Basil leaves, sliced (Plus extra for serving)

20 to 25 diagonal baguette slices (1/2 inch thick), toasted *

Directions:

1.  Place feta and cream cheese in a food processor.  Pulse until cheeses are mixed.  Add 1/3 cup of Olive Oil, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. of Salt and 1/4 tsp. of Pepper and process until smooth.  Refrigerate spread until ready to serve.

2.  Place pine nuts in a dry saute pan over low heat.  Cook 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often until lightly browned.  Set aside.

3.  For the tomato topping (up to an hour before serving), combine shallots, garlic and vinegar in a medium bowl.  Set aside for 5 minutes to allow shallots to absorb vinegar.  Whisk in remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp. Salt and 1/2 tsp. Pepper.  Add tomatoes and stir gently.  Set aside for 10 minutes.  Stir in basil and tasted for seasoning.

4.  To assemble bruschetta, spread each baguette slice with a generous amount of whipped feta.  With a slotted spoon, place tomatoes on top.  Put bruschetta on plates and scatter with the toasted pine nuts and reserved basil.

NOTES:

*  I misread the recipe and did NOT toast the baguette slices.  I thought it was a bit odd not to toast the bread, but it was still very good.  And, it was easy to eat, as sometimes toasted crostini can be a bit difficult to bite through.

Santa Monica store entrance

During school break, my girlfriends and I took our teenage daughters to Santa Monica for a day of shopping.  The best “find” was the beautiful Restoration Hardware Baby & Child store on the 3rd Street Promenade.

None of us had ever been in a RH Baby & Child store.  What a treat!  Our girls even thought the store was amazing … oohing & ahhing in every room.

Little Girls’ Room with Double Bunks

So many great ideas if you are furnishing or decorating a baby or child’s room.  The framed dresses were made of colored maps.  Very Anthropology like …

In one of the nurseries, children’s songs and nursery rhymes from old books had been framed in gilded frames.

It’s not a great picture, but the series of charcoal drawn fashion pictures would be great in a teenage girls’ bedroom.

And what girl, from young to old, wouldn’t love a chandelier in her bedroom?

If you’re in Santa Monica, it’s definitely worth a trip to the Restoration Hardware Baby & Child store.  It’s absolutely beautiful!

Don’t you love using fresh greenery when decorating your home for Christmas?  I sure do!  Cedar and Douglas Fir pine, holly and boxwood are my favorites …

My “go to” place for fresh greenery has been Trader Joe’s.  But, you must get them early in the season, as they go fast!  Especially the cedar swags and wreathes.

This year, our TJs even had fresh boxwood wreathes.  I bought several to hang from mirrors.

I often buy the $4.95 boughs and break them apart.  I tuck the individual pieces of greenery in the artificial garland on my mantels.  It makes it look more natural … and I love the smell!

And of course, I save small pieces to use in my floral arrangements.

And I combine fresh greenery with fruit (apples, pears & persimmons) to decorate our outdoor patio.

It’s been a busy few weeks with trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Here are a few snapshots of Christmas “on display” at various retail stores.  (Above:  Anthro)

Santa with an interesting clock display at Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach.

We visited the Christmas shop at Roger’s over Thanksgiving weekend.

Beautiful displays from Rolling Greens, a nursery and home store in Los Angeles.

I’d love to recreate a hanging snowflake vignette in our outdoor patio area.

The Christmas tree in the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel.

The entrance to the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, across from the Fairmont.

A great display of wreathes in the Union Square Banana Republic.

The last of the Halloween decorations are put away and all that remains are a few pumpkins and fall wreathes around the house.

Over the weekend, I picked up a couple of Pottery Barn mercury pumpkins.  I have been waiting for them to go on sale.  A nice addition to my white ceramic pumpkins (Tuesday Morning).

I can’t wait to pack away the pumpkins and get out the Christmas decorations!   Just a few more weeks…

Happy Haunting …

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Halloween is such a fun holiday.  I love creating Halloween vignettes around the house with decorations I’ve collected over the years.

Here’s a peak at some of our Halloween haunts …

In our entry, we have an old pine bench.  I change out the pillows each season.  I found these sequined black & silver pillows at HomeGoods.  Love them!

Across from the bench, I have an entry table with a large mirror.  I like to hang seasonal wreaths from the top of the mirror.  A black fuzzy bat hangs out during October.

We have an old black bar in our living room.  It makes a great place to display apothecary jars filled with seasonal items.

Last year I bought several silver beaded spider webs (from Roger’s Gardens).  They are great to drape over mirrors, pictures or chandeliers ….

I found strands of orange & black bulbs at Target — they make great fillers for large apothecary jars.  And I couldn’t pass up the “Keep Calm” sign, another HomeGoods find.

I still have some apothecary jars filled with sea shells left over from the summer.  I added a few spiders to make them fit the Halloween theme.

Spiders add a creepy surprise!

I added a few Halloween touches to some bookshelves …

And every Halloween, I change out my hall cabinets — displaying my Halloween plates.

Happy Haunting!

This is one of my favorite appetizers!  The combination of mild brie with the sweetness of the papaya or mango makes a winning combination.  You can make the Papaya/Mango mixture ahead of time and even have the tortillas layered with Brie slices, so you’re ready to bake when guests arrive.

Brie and Papaya (or Mango) Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 Papaya, peeled seeded and diced ** (or Mango)

1 Jalapeno Chili Pepper, seeded & minced

1/2 bunch of Cilantro, stemmed and minced

Juice of 2 Limes

4 large Flour Tortillas (or whole wheat)

10 oz. Brie Cheese, rind removed & thinly sliced

2 Tbs. Butter

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

Directions:

1.  Soak the sliced onions in a small bowl of water for 20 minutes.  Drain well and pat dry.  In a medium bowl, combine the onion, papaya (and/or mango), chili and cilantro.  Add the lime juice and gently stir.

2.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lay the tortillas on a baking sheet.  Place slices of the Brie on one half of each tortilla.  Evenly divide the papaya mixture over the Brie slices.  Fold each tortilla in half.

3.  Melt the butter in a small ramekin in the microwave.  Add the olive oil.  Brush the top of each quesadilla with the butter mixture.  Bake for 5 to 7 minutes.  Turn the quesadilla over and brush the other side with the butter mixture.  Bake 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly browned.

4.  Cut each quesadilla into 3 pieces and serve warm.

NOTES:

• ** I often substitute Mango for Papaya … or even combine Mango & Papaya for this recipe.  I like the sweetness of mango with the onion and Brie.
• If I’m making just one or two quesadillas, I will cook them in a skillet instead of baking them in the oven.  I omit the butter and olive oil and just make them nice and crunchy on the outside.

We rented a home that we found on VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner).  We vacationed with another family and had 5 teenagers and 4 adults total … so it was nice to find a home that had a large game room for the teenagers to “hang”.

View of Lake Mamie

View of Twin Lakes from Lake Mamie

Friends of ours that have a place in Mammoth recommended that we drive up to Mammoth Lakes Basin on our first day — to get familiar with the area.  The first lakes you see are Twin Lakes. Lake Mary is the next lake, the largest in the area. When you get to Lake Mamie, there is a great view point on the right, looking down over the Twin Lakes. Horseshoe Lake is the last lake, reachable by road. It’s the only lake in the basin area that permits swimming.

If you’re in Mammoth for 3 to 5 days, here is my list of some favorite summertime activities.

Top things to do in Mammoth during the summer:

1)  Hike Little Lakes Valley trail in Rock Creek.   This is one of my most favorite hikes of all-time.  It’s about the most picturesque hike you’ll ever take!

To get to Rock Creek from Mammoth, you head South on 395 and take the Rock Creek exit at Tom’s Place.  It’s about 25 minutes from downtown Mammoth.  Rock Creek has many great campsites, places to fish and of course, many hiking trails.

Mosquito Flat & Rock Creek

The Trailhead is located at the end of Rock Creek Road.  Mosquito flat starts at an elevation of 10,300 feet.  The Little Lakes Valley trail is very easy and skirts the largest lakes in the basin, including Mack, Marsh, Heart, Box, Long and Chicken Foot lakes.

Marsh Lake

The trail stays fairly close to Rock Creek.  There are many great spots for photo ops along the way.

Trail with Heart Lake in background

We hiked to the end of Long Lake and then turned around.

Long Lake

2)  Eat homemade pie at “Pie in the Sky” after hiking in Rock Creek.  In the summer, they usually run out of pie by 1 or 2 pm.  So … hike early then go eat.  (They have great burgers, too.)

Pie in the Sky Cafe

3)  Ride mountain bikes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin area or Mammoth Mountain Bike Park.  Since most of our group hadn’t ridden in a while, we rented bikes at The Village.  You can take the free trolley (with bike trailer attached) up to Horseshoe Lake.  From there, the trail around Horseshoe is easy and pretty.  You can ride around the other lakes and when you’re ready to head back to town, there is a paved bike path through the trees.  You mostly coast down the path — which is a blast!

Bike Trail – Mammoth Lakes Basin

For the more serious rider, Mammoth Mountain Bike Park is the place to go.  There are trails for the serious down hillers and trails for all abilities.  You can get daily passes for access to the trails, gondola and shuttles.  Prices are between $15 – $45 daily.

4)  Picnic in the Mammoth Lakes Basin.   There are rocks and logs along the shores of most of the lakes – which make for great spots for picnics.  We parked on the road at Mamie Lake and hiked in several hundred yards and had a great picnic on rocks overlooking the lake.

Lake Mamie

5)  Take a day trip to June Lake.   This is great on a hot day when you’d like to find a place to play in the water.

• Splash around in Rush Creek.  If the water levels are high, float down the creek in tubes.

Tubing on Rush Creek

• Swing on the Rope Swing (into the water) at Gull Lake.

Rope Swing at Gull Lake

• Eat lunch at the Silver Lake Cafe (closes at 2 pm).  Great burgers & sandwiches!

6)  Hike to Crystal Lake.  It’s a moderate hike with some of the most amazing views.  You climb 900 feet in elevation with quite a few switchbacks.  The trail head starts from the Lake George parking lot.

View from Crystal Lake Trail

The hike is well worth it!  It’s one of the lesser traveled trails in summer in the Mammoth Lakes Basin.

Crystal Lake

7)  Eat lunch or dinner at Toomey’s — located in The Village.  The food’s just as great as Matt’s food was at the Mobil Mart (Lee Vining).  There’s not much seating, so make a reservation for dinner.  Check out the menu here.  Beware … they serve large portions — even the appetizers make a meal by themselves!

Matt Toomey (chef) at Toomey’s

8)  Eat homemade ice cream at Looney Bean Coffee & Roasting Co (corner of Main Street & Old Mammoth Road).  During the summer, they have 6 to 8 different flavors daily.  So creamy & delicious!  Our groups’ favorite flavors were Peaches n Cream, Blueberry and Mud Pie.  Their coffee and tea is great as well.

Barista at Looney Bean

If you’re in Mammoth for a longer stay, there are some great day trips:

• Drive into Yosemite via Tioga Pass.  It’s about a 2 hour drive from Mammoth Lakes.
• Take the shuttle bus to Devil’s Postpile & Rainbow Falls.  Due to the crowds in summer, the shuttle bus is the only way to visit this area.
• Drive down to Bishop and float on the Owens River.
• Visit the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery (off the 395 at the Mammoth Airport exit).  It’s a very interesting self-guided tour of one of the largest trout producers (the fish are then stocked in the nearby lakes).  This is a short trip and can easily be added on your way home from Mammoth.

What are you doing for the 4th of July?  We’re having our annual 4th of July BBQ … so I’m updating outdoors with a bit of Red, White & Blue.

Switching out our regular pillow for red and blue ones…

Have a fun and safe 4th of July with your family and friends!