The Annual Kensington Memorial Day Parade 2013

Here it is! Hot off the press! This little neighborhood parade just seems to get bigger every year. This year's theme was Bloom and Grow in Kensington. Enjoy!

Let the parade begin

Our Neighborhood Preschool

St Didacus Parish School-My brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew and I all went to school there. I returned to teach kindergarten there a few years back.

San Diego Model A Car Club


This one was my favorite

Home Grown Cuties

The Crofts outdid themselves again with this cute float

Franklin Elementary-Our neighborhood elementary school

Little Leaguers from MidCity

Irish Dancers

Here's the son of a friend of ours-Joey Rugas-he's quite talented. Of-course he chose to stop dancing as I went to snap this photo

I get a kick out this. I had no idea you could raise chickens in this neck of the woods


Art Around Adams is next weekend. I may have to check it out this year

I was so excited to see this. These guys are a woodfired pizza company started by vetrans. They were featured on ABC's The Chew's All American Memorial Day BBQ Celebrations. They are a product of a local program for vets called the Vetran's Agricultural Training Program. The program helps vets find employment in agri or food based jobs.

Our neighborhood volunteers. They keep our community looking fabulous by picking up trash in the area. They always do a crowd pleasing dance number.


Vets from Foregin Wars

John Kaheny-the parade director. Thanks John for another great parade.

Blackberry Pie Bars

This is one of those dessert bars that can become just about anything you want it to be. I can see making apple, cherry, peach.....With just a change of fruit and flavorings the possibilities could be endless. This is perfect foil for that leftover summer fruit that is ripening away with no one to eat it. This recipe is easy to double to make for a crowd. By the way, these are scrumptious.

Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup(1 1/2 sticks)of cold butter, cut into pieces

Filling
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 + 2 tbsps flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz fresh blackberries
juice and zest of half a lemon

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with baking spray and set aside. In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again until the contents resemble fine crumbs. You should be able to squeeze some in your hand and it should hold its shape. Scoop out 3/4 cup and set aside. Pour the rest into the bottom of the baking pan and firmly press into the pan to form a crust. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Fold in the blackberries and pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the filling and bake for 40-50 minutes or until set. Let the pan cool completely and then cut into bars.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

This is a take on Chicken Tagine. It's really a slow braised chicken dish with or without the tagine. My husband loved this and he is not a big fan of raisins or apricots. The slow cooker allows the apricots to cook down to the point that you really have to look to find them. The tomato paste keeps the dish from becoming too sweet. Served with couscous and a green salad this is definately an easy week night must do.


Serves 6-8
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, diced
4-6 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cups raisins or currants
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
2 cups + 1/3 cup chicken stock
juice and zest of 1 large lemon
3 oz tomato paste(1/2 a small can)
1/4 corn starch
2 tsp salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Place the onion, garlic and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle some of the salt and pepper over the veggies. Heat the oil in a large skillet, sprinkle the remaining salt and pepper over the chicken thighs. Brown the chicken in the skillet over high heat on both sides. Add a 1/3 cup of chicken stock to the skillet and deglaze the pan. Let the stock reduce and then add the chicken and remaining stock to the slow cooker. In a medium bowl mix together the remaining 2 cups of stock, corn starch, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice & zest, and tomato paste. Whisk to combine and pour over the chicken and veggies. Cook for 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Serve with cooked couscous topped with toasted pinenuts if desired.

Slow Cooker BBQ Meatball Subs

There has to be more to a meatball's life than Marinara. I played around with a couple of pounds of ground turkey meat today to see if I could come up with something a little different. I browned the meatballs in a skillet and then added them to a slow cooker with a homemade bbq sauce. Don't be afraid to make your own bbq sauce, it's way easier than you'd think. You can make it as spicy, sweet or tangy as you like it and there are no perservatives like in the bottled kind.

Meatballs
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, minced
2 tbsp Montreal Steak Sesoning
1 tbsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp fresh minced parsely
3 eggs
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands until just combined. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop out and round the meat mixture into balls. Place them into the skillet and brown on all sides. Place the browned meatballs into the bottom of a slow cooker insert.

Cook's Notes- I know the apple butter may seem a bit strange, but it blances the acid and the sugars nicely. It also adds a nice fruity note to the sauce
BBQ Sauce
1 small onion minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup good red wine
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple butter
1 5.5 ounce can of tomato paste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup molasses

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until heated through. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Split hoagie rolls and place 3-4 meatballs in each roll. Spoon more sauce over all and top with coleslaw if desired.

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream

These are so delicious they are worth the time and effort to make them. I recommend that you don't wait for 90 degree weather to make these like I did this past weekend. The meringue needed to chill out in the fridge before it would come together. But thankfully it did!

Makes 30 cupcakes

Cook's Notes- Coco Real is a coconut product used in making Pina Colada's. It is a syrup made from real coconut and can be used in baked goods as well as drinks. You can often find it in the liquor aisle of the grocery store.

2 cups cake flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup(2 sticks)butter, softened
7 large egg whites
1/3 cup Coco Real
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp coconut flavoring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites
3 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/4 cup cocoa real
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut flavoring
1/3- 2/3 cup coconut milk
Preheat the oven to 325 and line your muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl of a standing mixer, place the flours, sugar, baking powder, shredded coconut and mix breifly to combine. Cut the butter into 2 inch pieces and with the mixer on low add a few pieces at a time until all have been added. Beat unitl the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, Coco Real, coconut flavoring, vanilla extract, and coconut milk. Add half of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while the mixer is running on medium. When that is well combined, add the rest of the wet ingredients to the mixer bowl. Beat until the batter is a uniform consistency and is light and fluffy in appearance. Using an ice-cream scoop, fill each liner 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they spring back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Whisk together the sugar and egg whites and add to the top of a double boiler that has been set over simmering water. Heat the mixture, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. You can tell if you rub a bit between your fingers and it does not feel grainy. This will take 6-8 minutes. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium/high speed until the mixture is a fluffy meringue. Turn the speed down to low. Cut the butter into 2 inch pieces and add a little at a time unitl all is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium/high and beat for 4-5 minutes more or until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. If the frosting looks curdled, keep beating it will come together. If it appears too loose, stop the mixer and place the frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then return to the mixer to continue beating. Add the vanilla, CoCo Real, coconut flavoring. Add the coconut milk a little at a time until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe the frosting onto each cupcake. Decorate the top with more shredded coconut if desired.

University Commencement

Last Saturday we celebrated our oldest son's graduation from college. It is thrilling to see your child's dream's come true. I never realized just how difficult it is to accomplish an Architecture degree. To see his final thesis project was quite impressive. So now it is on to finding a job.....we hope that happens soon! Congradulations Chris!!!

Apple Dessert Enchiladas

I've seen these all over pintrest and have pinned a few myself. I finally got around to looking at the recipes thinking that they might be a delicious finish to the mexican food I'm thinking of serving on Memorial Day. Well the recipes I found were a disappointment to say the least. Most of them called for canned pie filling rather than fresh fruit. I decided to create my own recipe as really this was just another version of apple pie so to speak. It really was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm thinking of doing a peach version when summer fruit comes into season. I also think frozen fruit would work well too.

Serves 8-10

8-10 flour tortialls
4-5 large green apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 medium lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Place all the above ingredients in a large skillet and cook over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 and spray an oblong baking dish with cooking spray.

Sauce

3 cups apple juice
1/3-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp butter

Bring the apple juice and cinnamon stick to a boil over medium/high heat. Boil until the juice has reduced by half. Add the sugar a little at a time(the amount will depend on how sweet the juice is out of the bottle). Add the lemon juice, butter and corn starch in water, whisking continually until smooth. Bring the sauce back to a boil and cook until thickened. Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon a small amount of the apple filling onto the edge of each tortilla and roll up. Place the rolled tortilla seam side down, nestling them as close together. Dust the tops with cinnamon and spoon any leftover apples and their juices over all. Pour the remainder of the sauce over all. Bake for 25 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice-cream.