Strozzapreti “Priest strangler” Primavera

It’s nice so far this August at food flavor fascination headquarters. Lots of stuff to do, but always trying to do things with a smile and that “keep calm, carry on” mentality. We had lots of smiles and laughter yesterday with my family at Del Mar for the horse racing. We’ve been going to the races at least once every season since we have been living in San Diego. I never win at gambling, but I just bet on the horses for fun and not over 10 dollars a race, LOL. It’s nice when someone in my family wins like my husband did. I think maybe a couple of others in our clan won too. But we always have a great time. Great weather, fun food (Gourmet Food truck Festival was on that day too!), and great company! Having an excuse to wear a fascinator hat is also a good thing for the ladies 🙂 “Easy breezy,” I think could sum up the day in two words. I’m not really talking about the Cover Girl motto, however. Just the experience of letting loose, especially with the weather and the nice breeze. Okay, I love being out in the breeze. Speaking of that and going with the theme, if you are looking for something “easy breezy” to cook, here’s is a dish for you:  strozzapreti primavera (no-cook tomato sauce).

Birthday Peach Pie

Turning a year older, to me, is an exciting thing. More things to learn and explore!…and more time to celebrate life. Doesn’t hurt to celebrate a little, right? With a dessert of course! I love what Zen Master Edward Espe Brown writes in The  Tassajara Bread Book about sweet treats,

“A good dessert is a celebration of any occasion. Not that we have to treat ourselves royally every day, but offering dessert with generosity and warmth, we can appreciate the bounty of our lives and celebrate a moment of our aliveness…But I am not also going to scold people for eating a dessert that is really a dessert. Every moment is a gateway to the truth. Which way is in? Which way is out? Are you entering or leaving?…May all beings be healthy, happy, free from suffering. And may desserts celebrate our wondrous nature. Fully.”

Today is my birthday and I’m going to raise my glass, eat a dessert and say “Cheers to the world!” LOL. It’s fun to be a bit kooky, especially on such a day! Despite being a chocolate lover (who always has a chocolate stash!), if there was only one dessert in the world that I would pick, it would be this peach pie made with my dad’s homegrown peaches.

Caramel sweet treats on a relaxing and surprise-filled Mother’s Day

This was a really fun Mother’s Day weekend! Relaxing and yet surprising! We hope you all had a nice Mother’s Day! As for the surprise, on Saturday, my husband, I, and the two dogs Pipi and Nutter drove up to “the Valley” at my husband’s parent’s house. His mom did not know at all that we would be there and she was so surprised and happy that we came up to spend Mother’s Day weekend with her. You should have seen the look on her face when we got in the door! A happy shock! It’s always a great time visiting them. Pipi and now also Nutter love visiting too!

We took her out for dinner at a cafe not far away from their house and had a great time. The only thing that could make it better is if the dogs could come along to the restaurant too, LOL. After dinner and walking with the dogs, I baked some alfajores, a sweet treat of caramel sandwiched in between two British biscuit-like cookies. I baked some at their house and then finished baking more at my parent’s house on Sunday evening. Lots of alfajores! This time it was alfajores–two ways:  whole wheat and a gluten-free variation.