mmm-yoso!!!

Petaluma: The Saturday Farmer's Market and Dinner at Risibisi

So what do you do after a fun day doing the Cheese Trail? Well, you go to dinner!

We did make one more stop in the late afternoon; Petaluma Creamery.

The focus of this shop is more geared toward ice cream and the café.

After our afternoon nap, we strolled back to downtown Petaluma, passing all those lovely Victorian houses.

Where D street meets 4th street is Walnut Park. We were visiting in October and from May thru November, Walnut Park hosts a Farmer's Market.

We had made the mile-and-a-half walk in record time....thanks to the ahem, the Missus's encouragement. So we took a nice break.

Would you believe that the Missus bought 2 pounds of apples? Which we brought back with us to San Diego?

We also saw what might be the cutest and most chubby, little pony.....

Petaluma Saturday Afternoon Farmer's Market
Saturday from 2:00 pm-5:30 pm
May though November
Walnut Park
Petaluma Blvd and D Street
Petaluma, CA

We were still early for dinner, so we walked around Petaluma for a while.

Our dinner destination? A restaurant named Risibisi. I liked the menu, Italian with regional NoCal touches, which uses local ingredients.

We were seated in a cozy corner. The place filled up really quickly!

The service was polished and very professional, no complaints from us.

I sent Candice a text after ordering my Aperitif, joking that I must have been channeling her when I ordered a Negroni. The Missus had a Pinot Noir.

We started with the Tomato and Burrata.

The tomatoes were very good; nice acid, the flavor textbook perfect. The Burrata was creamy, slightly milky, walking arm in arm with the tomato and the flavor of the Olive Oil. The Missus actually preferred this version to what we had at Central Market the night before. She believed that the flavors were more on target and true to the ingredients. I was on the fence. The tomatoes in this dish had much more flavor, but I enjoyed the umph the anchovy and the peppery olive oil added to the dish at CM. Still, there's no denying, this was quite good.

The Watermelon Salad ($12) was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.

The Hazelnut Vinaigrette was mild, but added just blended in nicely into the symphony of flavors. Watermelon and arugula playing well together! If anything, I'd have enjoyed a bit more pecorino to add a bit more savory-milky-salty tones to the salad. But this was very enjoyable.

Sweet Corn Risotto ($18).

I'm still looking for "that" risotto.....the usual restaurant style par cooked version, that excels. This one really didn't have the texture I enjoy. The corn added a nice sweetness, the pancetta and pecorino adding the salty tones to balance things out.

The Gnocchi Wild Boar ($18) was delicious. While the risotto fell short in texture, this was so good. The gnocchi was just firm enough, waiting to be eaten to start melting into the ether.

The wild boar was tasty, adding a nice richness to the ragu, which seemed simple, but full of flavor. An excellent dish!

The Missus had Her new favorite dessert; an Affogato. She asked if they would replace the vanilla ice cream with hazelnut ice cream which they gladly did. I had a Tawny Port, which proved to be a nice digestif. Man, we got get back to Porto one of these days.

We had a very nice meal at Risibisi. In fact, the Missus said that while the best dish of the trip was the Pork Confit from Central Market, She thought that our meal at Risibisi was better overall. It's a nice dilemma to have and one I'd gladly like to repeat again....have a dinner at Central Market, then at Risibisi....

Risibisi Restaurant
154 Petaluma Blvd N
Petaluma, CA 94952

We really enjoyed our time in Petaluma and I'm sure we'll return someday...especially when the Missus is itching for some cheese! I do have one more post from this trip coming up....I'll try to get it done soon.

Della Frattoria (Petaluma), Point Reyes Farmer's Market, and Tomales Bay Foods (Cowgirl Creamery)

Our one full day in Marin - Sonoma County was going to be a rather busy. Instead of doing what most folks here would do (wineries), we went after some cheese.

But first, breakfast. We headed to Old Town Petaluma, which looked quite sleepy.....

And headed to a place our good friend Candice recommended for breakfast named Della Frattoria. Part bakery, coffee shop, and brunch stop, we enjoyed the atmosphere, and the folks here are quite friendly.

The coffee was decent and the brunch menu was nice, lots of bread (duh) based items. While there were many tempting options, the Missus and I aren't keen on huge breakfasts. Especially if we have a busy day ahead of us. I did see something I thought we'd both enjoy, which I hadn't seen since we were on Malta, a sandwich made with an Italian style flatbread called a piadina. The sandwich seemed like more than enough for the two of us and we were willing to pay the split plate charge of three bucks, but the really nice young man said, "why don't you just order the sandwich and I'll bring you an extra plate....it's already cut in half. that way you won't have to waste three bucks." Nice folks, eh?

It was all the great breakfast suspects plus the addition of arugula which balanced things out. It's that bread that really made this sandwich.....closer to a "fry bread", than a piadina, it was really nice and crisp, and really good. Just enough for the both of us.

Della Fattoria
141 Petaluma Blvd N
Petaluma, CA 94952
Hours:
Open Daily 7am - 3pm

We then headed off to our first stop for the day, over to Point Reyes Station, parking our car on the street. The town is very quaint and seemed like a favorite stop of bicycle folks, who were taking a carb break along the street.

On Saturday mornings, Toby's Feed Barn turns into the Point Reyes Farmer's Market.

It's a cute little Farmer's Market, with a quaint small town feel. I love the vibe.

The main reason we drove here was because one of our favorite domestic cheesemakers; Cowgirl Creamery is located here. We started at the booth at the Farmer's Market.......where the woman working seemed quite uninterested in talking about the cheese and just really wanted to give out samples. Perhaps she hadn't gotten her morning coffee yet.....

We did enjoy Toby's Feed Barn though....which actually is a feed barn.....

But these days also a really cool store and art gallery......

Point Reyes Farmer’s Market at Toby’s Feed Barn
11250 Hwy 1
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Hours:
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Not having had great luck at the Farmer's Market, we headed down the street to Tomales Bay Food where Cowgirl Creamery's Shop is located.

Unfortunately, even though the sign said open (920 am Saturday morning)....no one wanted to acknowledge my existence......

Since I really didn't think I should have to hail the young lady standing behind the counter considering I was the only person in the place as well as standing in front of the cheese case a few feet from her....yes, I did have questions....and yes, I wanted to learn something about that Red Hawk we enjoy so much. But it was not to be.

Tomales Bay Foods
80 4th St
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

Point Reyes Station is a cute little town and Cowgirl Creamery makes some of our favorite cheese.....however......well, I'll just leave that be. We were off to have more cheese.

Thanks for reading!
 

2016 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Float Road Test #5, breakfast at Lucky Boy (Pasadena)

Here's another mmm-yoso!!! post with a bit of food, a bit of preparation and another road trip North. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are not posting today; it's Cathy who is writing.

Saturday was going to be a hot day and The Mister and I left the house earlier than usual to try to avoid traffic and hopefully get to another road testing of some floats which will participate in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade a bit sooner than 7 a.m..  This is the City Of Hope's entry as being tested on Saturday... ...and this is how it looked about one month ago.  
Similarly, this June road test of a rebar framed bison and horse and...other shapes... Has evolved into 'The Great Faces and Great Places of South Dakota', a float design in keeping with the 2016 Rose Parade theme of "Find Your Adventure", a collaboration between the Tournament of Roses and the National Park Service.
Last month, the City of Glendale float, "Getting There is Half the Fun!" looked interesting... ...and it is-there's even 'steam' coming from the locomotive!
Here's a 'Before and After' of "Innovation Rocks", the 2016 entry by Destination Irvine (on that webpage link is the artist rendition of the final float, and all of its colors).  The testing this weekend was of the many moveable 'gears' on the float.  

So, on to the food part of this blog post... Always, a stop at Cream Pan is first...We were there at about 6:05 and our quick snack choices were still warm. The short walk from the Phoenix Decorating Company barn, over the Metro tracks and one block North to Lucky Boy  was completed with these hearty breakfast choices of the Bacon Plate ($7) with sourdough, three eggs, hash browns and ..bacon! (yes, it weighed more than a pound) and my standing choice of breakfast egg sandwich ($3.75) on rye.

Lucky Boy Drive-In 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena, CA 91105 Website It is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, otherwise it's always open.

Proceeding over to the High School parking lot, the Certified Farmers Market had just opened and wasn't yet too crowded. 

We picked up a good variety of vegetables and fruits and headed home, arriving back just before noon...and the heat of the day.

I hope everyone has a good week.

2016 Rose Parade float road test #1 (Cream Pan, Roma Market, Pasadena Farmers Market, The Donut Man and Tom's Farms)

Thanks for (continuing to) dropping by mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food.  Today, Kirk as well as Ed (from Yuma) are both resting and Cathy is filling in with a post long on photos of an event and of food. 

Last Saturday, it was 'that time' of the year- the first Road Test of floats which will appear in the 127th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade which will happen on January 1, 2016.  The Theme for 2016 is "Find Your Adventure", which will guide the activities and designs for floats.  

The parade is being sponsored in conjunction with the National Park Service, a bureau of the Department of the Interior.  The National Park Service, formed in 1916, preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.The Mister and I left home early, stopped for a quick snack (you'll see, below) and arrived in Pasadena just in time to park, stop at Starbucks, walk over the Metro tracks and South on Raymond Avenue, where the floats were lined up for their 7 a.m. Road Tests.This is the Shriners Hospitals for Children float entry (I haven't found a title or artist rendering for it) in a 'ready for foam' stage of construction.  It looks like a Shriner Bear in a fire engine.  You can see the small rectangular cutout in the front, where the 'observer' will be looking out onto the parade route so he can tell the 'driver' of the float if there is a reason to slow down or speed up.This is the City of Los Angeles 2016 float in its most basic stage of construction.  The float is titled "Discover Los Angeles" and you can see several things: a sunshine, maneuvered to its low position so as to meet the height requirements along the Parade Route; to the left, an outline of the Capitol Records Building and just underneath that, the "spotter" for this float, in a red shirt...while just to the right of center (behind the man on the bicycle) are seen the legs and arms of the 'driver' of the float.  Even at this point, the Road Testing has them communicating via headsets.This is the Lutheran Hour Ministries 2016 float entry, "Jesus is the Light of the World", foamed and ready for color.  That's a lighthouse in the back, with the top down, a position tested for the float to be able to fit along the Parade Route.This will be the 2016 entry for Rotary International.  This float, in its foamed and 'cocoon' stage (I haven't found a title). I can see a cute squirrel and snail as well as a grasshopper and lovebirds. "The Tree of Life's Adventures" is the 2016 entry of the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, another Service Organization. Colors are marked for decorating and the rectangular slot for the 'spotter' is just under the 'deck' in the center; quite well disguised.The Kiwanis entry, "Children, Our Treasure" looks like a bright, fun float. Here, it is backing into the construction/decorating barn (at Phoenix Decorating Company), fitting through the doorway which is the maximum height and width every float needs to be able to collapse down to along the parade route.Lions Clubs International is showcasing more of their philanthropic work with "Camps for All Abilities".Finally, the City of Alhambra's 2016 Rose Parade float entry is "Parks Make Life Better" and is a small diorama of the City archway, along with park benches, climbing tower, slide and soccer net.

I know, you are here for the food.  The Mister and I haven't been on a 'road trip' since January and didn't want to hit traffic.  Most of the food we bought was consumed in the car while driving.

We stopped first at Cream Pan, which opens at 6 and is convenient from the 5 freeway. This wonderful Japanese Bakery has changed just a bit, adding the dumpling warmer/reverse refrigerator and removing some of the interior seating.  The ham and cheese croissant is still $2.50.  The pecan cinnamon roll is now made with chopped pecans instead of halves.  Both are still wonderful and amazing pastries.  We also purchased some sesame rolls for meals at home, and no strawberry croissant! 

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)665-8239 Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days

After the floats, we drove up Lake Avenue to the original location of  Roma Market (link is post about the Escondido/San Diego County location).   The Pasadena location is only about a block North from Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, where we stopped about two years ago. This store is smaller than the not large Escondido location and more interesting.  Mr. Rosario Mazzeo, who has worked here since the 1950's, was busy preparing "The Sandwich"($5.50) as well as working the deli counter.  He is very friendly and said to us "this is what I do, all day, every day".  The simple three meat, one cheese, olive oil on a fresh Italian roll sandwich is perfect. We also purchased one fresh made Burrata ($2) to bring home.

Roma Market 918 N. Lake Avenue Pasadena 91104 (626)797-7748 Website

Following Roma, while eating the The Sandwich in the car, we drove to the Saturday Pasadena Farmers Market, which was enveloped in fog. The overcast day made the fruits and vegetables bright.  We stopped at the one vendor who has prepared Mexican food and purchased a chile relleño burrito ($2.50).  It's not large but is filled with flavor; a good snack while walking around.

Pasadena Saturday Farmers Market Parking lot of Pasadena High School.

Soon enough, we were headed East on Route 66. The line at The Donut Man was around the side, back into the parking lot. 

Being able to watch the bakers in the back was fascinating.  We bought two donuts and headed home. 

The Donut Man 915 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA (626) 335-9111 Website

We made our final stop at Tom's Farms, because we got to the 15 after a *lot* of traffic and honestly, I needed to use 'the facilities'. 

We grabbed some ring bologna to go with the bread and cheese and veggies that had already been purchased that morning and headed home.  Got back just before 1 p.m.. 

Tom's Farms  23900 Temescal Canyon Road, Corona, CA 92883Website

Thanks for reading!

2015 Rose Parade float road test #3-(another) food road trip.

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  So many events lead us to food.  Today's post is about one of those days.  Cathy is writing; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are reading.

Saturday, we woke up around 3:30 and let the dogs out, made coffee, threw some laundry and dishes into their respective cleaning machines and by 4:50, The Mister and I were headed North in the cool darkness of the early morning. (Other 2015 road test posts here and here.

Our first stop was Cream Pan, six minutes after it had opened. We picked up a ham and cheese croissant, orange chocolate pastry and a loaf of walnut bread, all still slightly warm, from the filled shelving displays.

Cream Pan Japonaise Bakery 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 665-8239  

Back on the freeway soon enough; arrived in Pasadena and the Phoenix Decorating Company barn, just before 7 a.m..  

A few 2015 Tournament of Roses  parade floats were lined up on Raymond Street, ready for mechanical and maneuverability testing.

The American Armenian Rose Float Association, from Pasadena, is sponsoring this very large, beautiful float this year. It's the first time an Armenian float will participate in the parade, 100 years after an Armenian (M.S. Pashgian) was chosen as Grand Marshal for the 1915 Tournament of Roses Parade. The various details of this 'Cradle of Civilization' titled float symbolize the 'Inspiring Stories' of the American Armenian community. (Theme of the 2015 parade is 'Inspiring Stories').Here's the 'Observer' seated in the City of Hope 2015 float. He doesn't control anything, but speaks to the driver (seated more toward the center) telling him how and when to turn, steer and if the speed needs to be increased or decreased.  Here's a full length view of the City of Hope 2015 Rose Parade float- it will have various beakers and flasks, a DNA strand, and 'wishes' printed on the tags, all attached to hot air balloons. Seeing the bare outline now is as interesting as seeing the finished product. (The driver sits next to the red fuel tanks).The Shriners Hospitals for Children float, "A Million Stories of Hope and Healing", was also tested that morning. The Shriner Bear rocks from left to right and is just so cute! See the small rectangle cutout at the base of the green bookmark?  That's for the Observer on this float. 

When we were finished with the testing, we walked to cross the Metro tracks and this time stopped to check out the public art decorating the Fillmore Metro Station.The spire (top and bottom details in the above photos) is part of the entire work at the station and titled Geologica 42. (Link to a very detailed description)(Link to a less detailed description).  There is symbolism in all of it, from the baseball (at the very top), weather vane, anemometer, Bell X1 rocket ( which first broke the sound barrier, designed at CalTech and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; locals), the number 42 (Jackie Robinson was a Pasadena Resident) ...

...as well as the five bronze steamer trunks which are seats at the Gold Line stop (Harry Houdini was born in Pasadena). We walked over the tracks, to Arroyo Parkway and one block North, to Lucky Boy, for a quick breakfast. 

This 24/7, drive in, walk up, American breakfast, burger and burrito joint has been here for decades and prepares quality, hearty food for a good price (without tip jars on the counter). Above, the bacon and egg platter ($6.80): 3 eggs, hash browns toast and...bacon(!) and  my usual, an egg sandwich on rye ($3.35) with the included fixings of lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Served with the fresh made tomatillo based salsa, this was a great meal. Lucky Boy 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena 91105 (616) 793-0120 Website
 We drove five miles East, to the parking lot of Pasadena High School on Sierra Madre Boulevard and stopped at the Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, which was already buzzing.

We try to only shop at Certified Farmers Markets and this one is particularly interesting, being in such a central location to attract local farmers. Pasadena Certified Farmers Market 2900 North Sierra Madre Boulevard, Pasadena Website

Back on the road, headed East to the 15, I wanted some coffee and yet another snack (or three) and we stopped at the Chino Hills location of 85C (a location is being built in San Diego on Clairmont Mesa at Genesee, but seems to be taking forever).  This typical (grab a tray, line with paper, grab tongs and serve yourself, take to the cashier who individually bags each item for you) Taiwanese bakery chain is named because 85 degrees Centigrade is the perfect temperature for brewing coffee. There are two sets of cash registers, one dedicated to beverages (but you can order beverages from the other register also).  Our snacks, a mini apple pie (puff pastry crust) ($2), Cheese bread (filled with a sweet ricotta cream cheese blend)($1.50) and a Calamari stick (which was round, filled with cheese and topped with garlic)($1).

Sea salt beverages are available here.  Above an iced sea salt coffee ($3)and an iced sea salt (mountain green) tea ($2.75). There was no sugar added and each tasted wonderful, with the brewed beverage topped with a dollop of chilled steamed milk with sea salt crystals on the bottom, slightly blended in (swirling the  container helps). The flavor meshing is amazing. 85C Bakery Cafe 12959 Peyton Drive Chino Hills 91709 website 

We were home by noon.  Hoping you have an interesting weekend!

Saturday Morning in Vista: Lamb's Head at Vamos a Texcoco and a visit to the Vista Farmer's Market

*** I'm dedicating this first part of the post to FOY "Billy", who told me he was going to get his fix of lamb this weekend. I hope you did, Billy!

During the past week, the Missus told me She was in mood for a drive, but still staying within San Diego County. She also enjoyed the food I had brought back from Vamos a Texcoco. So we decided to head out to Vista for breakfast.

We arrived about ten minutes or so after opening, before the large families arrived. The Missus started with what She deemed a nice cup of  Café de olla.

As on my previous visit, I ordered the Mixiote.

This tends to be quite assertive in flavor and the last time the Missus mixed my leftovers with the order of barbacoa and really enjoyed it. This time though, she had something else in mind.

She decided to go whole hog....errr.....lamb and order the lamb head. Which is a good choice for us. After being married so ling, there's a kind of interesting harmony in eating sometimes. The Missus loves the eyeballs, not my favorite thing. I like tongue....you but open the back and scrape all the meat out, not Missus' fave. I'm ok with brains, the Missus loves the texture, but doesn't care for the after taste, which is mildly minerally-fishy. Of course we both love the cheek meat....it don't get more flavor-packed than that stuff.

They also serve the head "boneless"....hey, I know a few who would qualify for that...ummm, sorry to digress. But half the fun is doing the scrapping of every single wonderful flavor packed portion of the lamb's head.

Since we had gotten there early and they weren't slammed, the folks serving us were so friendly and nice. We had a rather rich breakfast that kept us the whole day.

Vamos a Texcoco
950 E Vista Way
Vista, CA 92084
Hours:
Open Daily 9am - 9pm

Now the round trip to Vista and back is over 60 miles for us, so I mentioned to the Missus that Vista had a Saturday Farmer's Market. It was fairly close to "Vamos" so we decided to check it out. We really enjoyed ourselves....as a plus, walking around a bit helped digestion as well. So here's a few photos from earlier today.

The Missus bought a 7 pound bag of Fuyu Persimmons ($10) and we got some natural dog treats for Da' Boyz. We loved the laid-back atmosphere. We'll be back.

Here's an interesting fact; established in 1981, the Vista Farmer's Market is the longest running farmer's market in San Diego County.

Vista Farmer's Market
325 S Melrose Dr
Vista, CA 92081
Hours
Saturday 8am - 1pm

 

2014 Rose Parade Float Road Testing-Baja Ranch Supermarket-Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

Thanks for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food-centric blog.  There are numerous ways to find and acquire ready made food and ingredients for meals at home. Today Cathy will share a couple of those ways along with sharing a bit of a quick Road Trip from San Diego. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today. 

The Mister and I woke up late yesterday morning.  It was 4:45 a.m. and the dogs had to be fed and let out, we dressed quickly and were out the door at 5:07 a.m.. There was a low fog overhanging the freeway the entire drive.  We got to the Red Hill exit from the 5 (in Tustin) around 6:25 a.m. and stopped at the Starbucks for coffee then drove up the street to Cream Pan and picked up three hot, fresh pastries. The cinnamon pecan roll ($3), which is filled with crispy, whole pecans; a raspberry bottomed cheescake in a paper cup ($2) and a ham and cheese croissant ($2.50)...light breakfast to eat in the car. The freeway entrance is just around the corner.

In about 45 minutes, we were in Pasadena, parked, crossed the Metro tracks and the Rose Parade float Road Test was already underway.  The eHarmony.com float (the first dot com float ever in a Rose Parade) was going to be tested with people on board.  (During the parade, Natalie Cole will be on the float, singing along the parade route).What will end up being the last float in the parade was also being tested- it looks like a football...and it looks like two GIANT screens will be inserted into those frames...we don't know, but speculate may be playing highlights of either prior Rose Bowl Games (2014 will be the 100th anniversary of the Rose Bowl Football game) or of prior parades (2014 will be the 125th Tournament of Roses parade). We'll have to wait and see... This VERY large float will be one of the first you will see in the parade- it is by Honda, the sponsor.  we suspect it will look somewhat futuristic, because  

it will be preceeded by these five smaller (powed by Honda motocycles and one driver, no 'viewer' inside) floats, depicting various "Dreams Come True"-the parade theme-along time... The famous WWII poster (and some sort of circular float behind it).

A sort of Model T vehicle.

A construct of the Spirit of St. Louis. There's also a small diorama depicting Man landing on the moon.

Other floats tested were in their basic  stages... The City of Beverly Hills will be celebrating 100 years as a City and will have a float in the 2014 Rose Parade. 

The RFD-TV float looks like a large barn-like dance floor will be on the front of the float, with smaller buildings behind.  I'm interested in seeing how this ultimately will appear. The front piece, made with heavy steel beams (instead of rebar) is unique.

We left the road testing area, and had no plans for breakfast, drove up to Orange Grove Boulevard and stopped at Baja Ranch Market, which I only mentioned slightly in another float road test post  last November. We wanted to grab another quick bite. When you first walk into this medium sized Mexican/Latin American Market, you are in the Bakery area.

It is right around the corner, next to an extensive steam tray area.

We picked up 1/2 lb of those fresh chicharron from the end tray.

and also asked for one of each flavor of the empanadas- the ham and cheese and the ground beef (which is made with corse ground hamburger, hard boiled egg, olives and raisins; a very traditional and wonderful flavor combination), sometimes called 'picadillo'.

We also picked up a few other items, went to the car and started driving East while munching on an empanada. 

Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website

Parking on a side street, we had a short walk to the Saturday Pasadena Farmer's Market  on Sierra Madre Boulevard (see Pasadena High to the right? The set up of booths is in the parking lot of the school.) This is the street where the Rose Parade floats line up at the end of the parade route.

I have become enamoured with young, small, tender jicama ever since I bought it here.  It is so good, a bit sweet and easily a craving without needing to be mixed with other foods or topped with Tajin.

The autumn vegetables and fruits are in abundance. This Farmers market is central to so many farms and really is the nicest one I've encountered other than the one I went to when I was young.. 

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend! 

Escondido World Marketplace (a swap meet with food)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food-centric blog.  Today, the post will end up about food, but the story of how to find it is part of the fun. It's Cathy writing today, by the way; the guys (Kirk and Ed (from Yuma)) are both crazy busy.

I've been planning (collecting photos) to write a post about the food vendors and items available at Kobey's Swap Meet and the ten or more food trucks parked at the Spring Valley Swap Meet each weekend.  However, the most interesting (food-wise) Swap Meet in the County is in Escondido, surrounded by West Mission Ave, North Quince Street, West Washington Avenue and Rock Springs Road. 

For a very long time, the Escondido Swap Meet was the name of this location. Escondido World Market has been the name of this space since 2011.  It's open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and, as all Swap Meets, charges admission ($1 on Wed and Sat, $2 on Fri and Sun)(Hours are at end of post).

Once you walk in. the Swap Meet sales areas are to your left, the stands selling fruits, vegetables and other Produce items are straight ahead and to the right are the 12 or so permanent structures selling food. The above photo is looking left.

            Covered sellers areas with some 'standard' items (lots of women's clothing, used and refurbished tools, athletic gear, kitchen items, religious items...garage sale sellers) On this day there were quite a few empty stalls in the covered areas. 

The Produce-fruits, vegetables, herbs, chiles (fresh hot peppers and dried-those are some very large habañeros  Manzano (Rocoto) peppers in the middle photo), nuts and many, many other choices are situated under covered stalls, all in one lane, staying cool and undamaged in the sun of the day. This lane is straight ahead as you walk in the entrance, and right next to it...

are the permanent structures which house the various food vendors.

There are several spaces selling an array of aguas frescas and juices (I bought a small ($2) of the dark green on the far right- it's spinach, cucumber, celery and pineapple...you can see the foam on the top of that juice jug- and also on the top of the yellow one; pineapple does that when juiced).

Here's a sandwich board sign in front of another vendor.

This small shop turned out to be my favorite- items from Oaxaca, brought in from Tijuana that morning.  Note the second from bottom on the sign-chapulines...

Pan de Muertos -Day of the Dead bread, traditionally sold this time of the year. Inexplicibly topped with plastic faces as well as sesame seeds. These were $10 and were on sale last weekend; the lady said she'll have larger loaves this weekend. There are other pastries, cookies, baked tortillas and several other items for sale here.

I decided to buy some red mole ($8/lb).  There was green mole (unlabled ingredients) for the same price for sale in the Produce section, and I'll try that after I finish this batch. 

Chapulines- fried grasshoppers.  $5 for a good size bag.  Crispy, lemon and salt topped and quite definitely alfalfa/grassy in flavor (which is exactly what the nice lady explained to me, while stressing they were organic).  A nice snack, or they can be put into sauces.

I was able to edit and zoom in...Those are intestines in the foreground, and tripe and other parts near the back of the grill.  

 

The Mister wanted to try 'real' Tostilocos ($5.50).  This was HUGE, hardly any chips on the bottom, filled with a lot of cueritos (sliced pigs ears), cucumber, jicama, chamoy sauce, tamarind and cacahuate (coated peanuts). This was an excellent excellent breakfast.

But, I had to try more...a birria taco with beans-excellent stewed meat, beans, toppings and tortillas.

and a pupusa (the taco + pupusa price was $4.50), which was made after I ordered it and brought out to our seat in front...the side of curtido was not 'dumbed down' and was crispy fresh with a good amount of heat, complimenting the 'plain' corn flavor of the thick, fresh, hand made dough, which was filled with both beans and cheese (I was asked which I wanted or if I wanted both). 

Here's a cross section of the pupusa- that's a Mexican cheese inside along with the very flavorful beans. Really good.

There were at least two vendors selling mariscos (seafoods), but those places were crowded...

If you aren't in a mood for Mexican food of any type, there is an option.

Escondido World Market 635 West Mission Avenue Escondido 92025 (760) 233-7703 Hours: Wed: 7-3, Fri 2-9:30, Sat 8-3, Sun 7-3:30. Admission $1 on Wed and Sat, $2 on Fri and Sun Website

Andy's Coffee Shop & 2014 Rose Parade road test & Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy busy busy right now, so Cathy is writing a post for today.

Yes, another road test for some floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade was conducted on Saturday and The Mister and I woke early so we could be there at 7 a.m.  Since this is a food blog, the first part of this post is about our breakfast that morning. 

Andy's Coffee Shop is located on Colorado Boulevard; it's easy to miss (parking is in back and we are always looking for cars on the street to see if a place is open).

Inside, it's a step back to the 1950's.  In fact, a few episodes of Mad Men were filmed here. 

There are photographs signed by famous stars of the past.  The large photos are of crowds camped in front of the storefront to watch the Rose Parade.

The Mister ordered French Toast ($5).  It's made with fresh bread, unlike when we make it at home with days old bread.  So very good- crunchy on the exterior and creamy soft on the interior. 

I ordered a bacon and egg sandwich on rye toast ($7.25).  Really really good and served with crispy hash browns. 

This was a very good meal and we enjoyed sitting at the "U" shaped lunch counter in the center of the room, seeing the hustle and bustle of the workers: the booths and tables were taken. 

Andy's Coffee Shop 1234 Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91106 (626)793-0825 Mon-Sat 7-3, Sun 7-2

Before our breakfast on this overcast morning, we were on Raymond Street

The colorful float with them "So Near and Yet Safari" is very animated with the gazelles racing, giraffes bowing their necks and elephant ears flapping as well as water flowing from the top of the 'rock' formation.  Behind that float, you can see the "Banner" float- which will introduce the 2014 parade with it's theme of "Dreams Come True".

 

Here is the City of Glendale float, covered in its cocoon.  Last month, it was only out of rebar and a lot of the design wasn't very clear.

The CIty of Los Angeles float was also in it's rebar form last month.  Now that it's covered and partly painted, the details are emerging.

Above, you can see the City of Los Angeles float in its collapsed state (so it can fit into the Phoenix Decorating barn as well as under street and signal lights along the parade route) and you can also see the head of the Chinese dragon, which is painted with its colors and ready to be decorated. All items covering the float must be natural, alive or had been alive and in case glue fails or items are washed off by rain, you'll still see color when watching the floats in person or on television. I think it's nice that the dragon will be on the 'other' side of the float- away from the television cameras-people sitting on that side of the street sometimes don't get to see a lot of the float details.

After our breakfast, we stopped at our usual Saturday morning Pasadena trek- the Farmers Market, held in the parking lot of Pasadena High on Sierra Madre Boulevard.   

You can see the cloud covered Sierra Madres in the distance...very overcast.  That's the booth where we always buy a loaf of seed filled, corn meal bottomed rye bread for $4.75. It's so good.

This market is my favorite out here; it's busy and the vendors are knowledgeable and the variety is amazing.

We drive North on the 5 and home on the 15...where we passed a convoy of about ten Marine LAVs (Light Armored Vehicles; they float)...another Saturday of fun.  Hope you are having a good weekend!

House of Cookies, Pasadena Farmers Market and 2014 Rose Parade float testing

mmm-yoso!!!-a blog about food and the events leading to acquiring said food.  Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy acquiring and Cathy is posting today.

Hi.  I'm writing this post about our day in backwards order...we stopped at House of Cookies last on this road trip to Pasadena, but it's been our destination since we parked in front of it on the first day of the year and today we had time.  

The signage for House of Cookies is visible...if you look for it. The doorway is small as is the interior of this family run Armenian bakery.

As you walk in, there are cookies packaged  and on the shelves at the door...

There's a refrigerated case with cakes to your right...

and small pastries in another refrigerated case at the back wall, next to another set of shelves of cookies.  Yes- those are the prices.  

It's *tiny* insde- four adults have difficulty turning around if all are inside at the same time.  The husband and wife owners are very friendly.  They are Armenian (as are a few of the businesses in this area) and only on Saturdays, they fry a few items (seen above, on the front counter) and offer them for sale- the powdered sugar covered rounds are filled with a custard, the oval shaped fried cakes are filled with either a peppery mashed potato filling or a ground meat filling.  (The fried items are $1)

We also purchased what's in the photo above. The fruit topped one has a delicate crust and the same not too sweet cream filling as in the round fried donut. The eclairs are marvelous, not too large, fresh, not too sweet... and the flaky cream filled horn was perfect. We bought all the above, plus two meat filled and one potato filled.  ($7.20-total. Really)  You can see the delicate layers of the fried sweet donut, and just a little of the custard filling layer: not too much, not too sweet; perfect! Did I mention it was still warm?

 

Lightly fried, still warm, perfectly seasoned ground meat...these little meat pies are wonderful- and only made on Saturday.  

A **wonderful** local place.

 

House of Cookies 2451 East Washington Blvd.  Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-4280

 

 Before stopping at the House of Cookies, we were just down the street - Pasadena High School- which has a Farmers Market in the parking lot every Saturday morning.  I've written a few posts about this market.  

On this day, almost every booth -and one entire booth- had fresh peaches available. I suspect in a few weeks, the same will be true for tomatoes.

This is a really nice Market, filled with a great variety of booths with beautiful fresh produce, flowers and other products.  It's busy, bustling and filled with pleasant odors of fresh.

     
   

I really enjoy looking and shopping here. Overhearing the farmers telling cutomers that regular cabbage is not growing now and only Napa is available...and that the lemons from last week are all gone and the only ones are still white and on the tree is a good sign that the farmers here bring quality products to sell.  

Our real reason for waking at 4 a.m. Saturday July 13; it was another Road Test day for the floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade, being held for the 125th time. (Here's a link to the first road test)-at the Rose Palace assembly and decorating barn of Phoenix Decorating.

   The Trader Joe's float, "Relish Your Dreams", is in the basic/rebar phase of construction and looks to have wheels of cheese, pickles and crackers as well as some small appetizer forks. I haven't seen the Artist Rendition yet and can see the float is very detailed.

 Last month, the  City of Alhambra float as in its rebar stage and now it was road tested in the 'cocoon' stage.  It's a "Monster" truck- complete with monsters!  Rotary International's float, "Engage Rotary, Change Lives" was road tested with adults aboard today. Last month, it was wood and foam over rebar.

Shriners Hospital for Children with it's "Love to the Rescue" titled float, Lions Club International and Lutheran Hour Ministries were also road tested with people on board.

The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float was driving down Raymond Street when we got there this morning-this is the 'camera view' side of the float; more detailed than the other side...

Having the people onboard- and having them all able to get off the float in 45 seconds (in case of fire)- is the final stage of Road Testing and the floats will be stored at the Barn next to the Rose Bowl Stadium (the Rosemont Pavillion) until the first Saturday in December, when 'detail decorating' begins.

The Kiwanis float is very detailed, with an owl in one tree and an eagle at the top of another tree.

The Donate Life float is a group of lanterns and the float is titled "Light up the World".  I heard that the float will have organ donor families and recipients riding on it and walking along the five mile parade route next to the float. 

The Western Assets float was also tested today.  You can see a giraffe rebar outline to the left.  I also saw what looked like gazelle and elephant outlines.

Well, that was an early and busy Saturday.  We woke at 4 a.m, left at 4:59 a.m. and got back into the driveway at one minute after noon...  Hope you had a good weekend!