Ojai - Ventura Sister Trip and Dad's Memorial Trip

 

    Yesterday, May 21 2022, Lisa and I took a trip in memory of our dad who passed away on July 30, 2013.

    We took this same route in September of 2013 in order for the two of us to do something special to say goodbye to our daddy, that post is here.

    My mom and dad were really big on road trips, just taking off with all of us kids bundled up in the back seat and seeing where the road would take us. I don't believe there was ever a plan, but maybe mom and dad did plan things and just didn't tell us, we just went with the flow because we had utter and complete trust in them and their ability to always make sure we were safe. 

    I want to remember this trip and to post it to my blog in case (God forbid) that I end up with Alzheimer's which does run in our family. Having it here means my kids and my sister will have access to it and maybe they will read me these words and show me these pictures and for a brief moment I will be me again...Alicia, the documenter of her life!

    Unlike my mom and dad, Lisa and I had a plan. We took Highway CA-33 which is a winding road through the Los Padres National Forest that reaches an elevation of  7,510'. When we took the trip shortly after dad passed away, the whole trip was so beautiful because everything was lush and green and flowering. We went again a few years later and everything was dry and brown and it made us sad. I was hoping that this trip would be better and it was! Just take a look at these gorgeous photos.

Los Padres National Forest Highway CA-33

Clouds coming over the mountains

View of the cloud cover and the mountains

My beautiful sister, my partner in crime - Lisa

Obligatory Selfie! As you can tell, it was very windy!

Happy to see flowering plants!

Downtown Ojai - We just came up and over that mountain!

    Once over the mountain we had to make a pit stop as one normally does on a long road trip, we stopped in at a local Vons Grocery Store, did our business and then ogled the aisles of wine they had, quite an expensive selection. Needless to say we did not buy any there, but the day was young!

    There was a cute little liquor store in the same shopping center and Lisa snapped a picture of the name of the store, we thought it was pretty unique! Attitude Adjustment Shoppe. We didn't stop in but plan to do so next time. 

Attitude Adjustment Shoppe 

    Just by luck we happened to find a craft store in the same shopping center. It was just the cutest store and they had so many great things for crafting and art journaling plus they had ready made items you could give or purchase for yourself. I really wanted this beautiful hand  that was carved out of wood and painted red with several Zentangle patterns on it, but it was a bit above my price range for what I wanted to spend for the day. Now I regret not buying it.

    We met a very nice art journaling instructor by the name of Carolynne who was there that day for a 3-series Art Journaling Class held on Saturday. When we told her that unfortunately we were from out of town she offered to do a special class for my sister and I on another Saturday if we wanted to drive back to Ojai. While we were there it sounded doable, however on the drive back we realized that is was a long, long way away to make the trip just to take a 3-hour Art Journaling class, but we would try to find a place in Bakersfield that offers the same thing. Sorry Carolynne, I would have loved to take the class with you, you were so sweet and gracious.

     I did buy quite a few things at this shop, they were very reasonably priced and had some items that I've not been able to find at our craft stores in Bakersfield. I will do a separate post with those items.

    From there we headed to downtown Ojai to do some sightseeing and shopping. Here's some pictures from this location, it was beautiful, cool and overcast with a slight breeze and everyone was so happy and friendly, we had a great time!

Loved this hand-painted tile on the side of a building and had to take a picture with it.

There was just beauty everywhere, Lisa in front of a fountain.

Cute little shop. I want to make a string of beads list this one.

We had to do some Wine Tasting of course. Lisa had the 2021 Syrah Rose and I tried the 2020 Roussanne, both we good, but not good enough to buy a bottle.

It was a lovely place to just sit and unwind and catch up with each other.

My pretty sister and her wine. I know she will hate her hair in the picture, but it was windy!

After our little wine tasting while we were still relaxed we did some walking around and headed into the little shops on the street. 

    Lisa and I pitched in to buy our mom this beautiful hand-crafted necklace. We know she's going to love it just because it's red!

Detail on the hand crocheted flowers with seed beads in the center.

    I'm going to do a separate post also for our time that we spent in Ventura for lunch there, so stay tuned for part two. 

Memory of Going to Work with my Dad and Penny Candy

I just saw a post on Facebook that reminded me of my dad, here's the post...

When I was little we lived on the outskirts of a teeny-tiny little town by the name of Harquhala, Arizona. My dad worked as a ranch foreman for a company there and sometimes he would take me to work with him.

My dad in his Romaine lettuce fields

I loved going to work with my dad! Just being with him and having him give me little jobs to do made me feel so grown up and loved. 

One of the best things I liked is that all his workers knew me and every time they saw me they would give me money. Not a lot of money, a nickel here, a dime there, maybe a quarter once in a while...but by the end of the day I felt like Rockefeller (I'm sure at that time I didn't even know who that was).

Sometimes in a day I would have a whole dollar or more in change. My dad would take me to the only store in this little town. It was probably called Harquahala Market, I don't really remember. What I do remember is that they had penny candy at that time. PENNY CANDY! Rows and rows of penny candy and with a dollar in change I could get 100 pieces of candy! 100 PIECES!

I was in hog heaven! I would fill up a little brown paper bag with all the goodies. It was a great time and a great memory of a day spent with my dad. I sure miss him!

Love you dad!

Faux Caldo de Papa with Cauliflower - Low Carb Style

Don't you love my multi-lingual title, a little French, a little Spanish, and some English! I'm weird, I know. It's the little things that I find amusing!

So Faux means imitation, fake or false. Caldo is Spanish for Soup. De Papa is of Potato. Be sure you pay attention, there will be a pop quiz! With Cauliflower is the English part and that is pretty self explanatory. So this is a post about how to make an imitation potato soup using cauliflower.

My dad who passed away in July of 2013 was famous for his Caldo de Papa. If we were sick, he made Caldo de Papa. If we were cold, he made Caldo de Papa. If we were pregnant, he made Caldo de Papa. We had to only hint that we wanted his Caldo de Papa and he would make it. It was delicious. Hot and spicy with the jalapenos he used and creamy and cheese with the Monterey Jack Cheese he used. Oh how I miss him!

Last night I got home from work a little later than usual as I stopped to do some Christmas Shopping and no one was home waiting for me and I was cold so I checked the fridge and saw that I had a lot of diced up cauliflower as I had planned to make CauliMash for Thanksgiving and I never did. I remembered that I had made low carb cauliflower soup before using my dad's recipe but I couldn't find the recipe and didn't realize that I had done a post last year in October, see that one HERE for a different version.

So I winged it!

Here's the basics: I'm calling 4 servings since I ate two bowls full and have about the same amount left for dinner tonight. Per bowl and using the website Calorie Count I estimate 2.2 carbs per serving.

2 cups of diced or riced cauliflower
Olive Oil
1 Diced Jalapeno, seeds and all
1 small can of Chicken Stock
1 cup of Half and Half Creamer
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

In a soup pan add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the cauliflower. Saute the cauliflower until it's about half way done. I had to add a few tablespoons of water and cover it with a lid as it was browning more than I wanted. But you're the Master of your own Kitchen, so you do it your way!

I then added the diced jalapeno and stirred it around for a minute or so to let it soften a bit. Add the can of Chicken stock, or your own homemade stock, you choose. Add the Half and Half, Salt and Pepper and let it come to a boil, cover and lower the heat and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once in a while. Throw in the cheese and continue to stir until it's melted and it's thickened a bit.

You could at this point puree it using an immersion hand-held blender and I may do that with the leftovers just for a different texture, but I left it as is so I could have the chunkiness I remember of my dad's soup.

I wish I had thought to cook some bacon to add as a topping, but you can certainly do that if you like.

It was warm and soothing and it was almost like daddy was there with me, and knowing how he liked to be in the kitchen all the time I'm sure he was :)

Now writing this I remember when my sister and I were little we had an Easy Bake Oven and we'd bake cakes using random ingredients we found in the kitchen. Lord knows what we used, but daddy always ate them and said they were delicious and I'm sure he would have had a big bowl of this soup as well!

Ok, pop quiz time! For 25 points, what does CALDO mean? Go!

Shadows of My Dad

Today I cried at work.

I hadn't cried at work since my dad passed away in July of 2013.

See, this man called me at work. He was one of our clients and he speaks only Spanish. He is a trucker and was involved in an accident.  He was calling me because he didn't know if he should report it to the police. I asked him what exactly happened.

He said he was driving along, minding his own business, just putting in another day at work when a tire came off of a car. I don't know if the tire actually came off the wheel or if it fell from the bed of a truck...I don't know all the details, he just said a tire came off the other vehicle and rolled underneath his truck-tractor causing quite a bit of damage to his truck.

He said he was there with the other party and the other party didn't want to call the police. I told him to call the police. He said the other party wouldn't let him and said he thought there was something fishy about the other party, like maybe he was on drugs or something. The other party didn't speak Spanish and my client didn't speak English very well so it was also a communication issue.

My client asked me to call the highway patrol for him. I told him he had to call and he said, “You don’t understand, I can’t call, he won’t let me, he’s watching every number I dial, and I’m on Hwy 58 and” …and then he stopped talking. So I asked him if he wanted me to conference the CHP in and nothing, I could hear talking but he wasn’t talking to me and then the phone call dropped.

So what do I do? I’m imagining all kinds of horrible things; the other party has a gun to his head, or stabbed him, or ran him over with his car or took him hostage! These things can and do happen all the time.

So I called 911 and they transferred me to the CHP and I spoke to someone there and explained what had happened and she pretty much said “Yeah and what do you want me to do about it?” I was stunned! “Ummm, I want you to help him!” She said the driver has to call them and report this, I said “But the other party WON’T LET HIM!” She wanted to know if I knew where he was, what road, what highway? I told her I didn't, but thanks to caller ID I have his name and phone number and you guys can call him and she said no they can’t. That is not what they do, the driver has to call in and report it himself and I told her “So he could be getting murdered right now and you can’t do anything?” She said no, there is nothing we can do.

She told me to call him back and tell him to call them. I told her “Thanks for nothing”, hung up and called the insured and he didn't answer. I called the insured a couple more times throughout the day and no answer; I left him a voice mail and no response! I still don’t know what happened.

I told a co-worker about it and she said, “Oh well it was up to him to call the CHP, not to call you, what are you supposed to do? You did more than I would have done, I wouldn't even have called the CHP like you did.” I told her that I thought of my dad and how when he first came to this country he didn't understand English well, let alone speak it and in memory of my dad I try to help people that have language issues like that so that no one will take advantage of them, and then I told her I had to go before I started crying and then I cried. I miss my daddy.

   

Potato Soup Fakeout - Low Carb Cauliflower Soup

I'm so ready for Fall already! Ready for football and hot chocolate, for reading while wrapped in a blanket, for soups and sweaters and cold misty mornings!

Unfortunately, Fall is not accommodating me this year! So I'm having to continue with Fall like things even though it's in the 90's outside and I have to turn on the air conditioning just to give me Fall-like conditions!

Earlier today it was a bit chilly in my office. I was having lunch at my desk, a cold Asian Chicken Salad. It wasn't what I wanted, even though it was delicious; what I was really craving was my daddy's Caldo de Papa, Potato Soup!

He made the best Potato Soup ever! He used potatoes, of course; and tomato and jalapenos and lots and lots of cheese! It was warm and soothing and very, very spicy...that was the best part. He taught me how to make it several times, but in one ear...out the other. Fortunately my sister wrote it down for me.

I realized when I got home today, that I had all the ingredients. I had gone grocery shopping yesterday and my cupboards were fair to bursting with all sorts of goodies! So I dragged out my recipe book and started gathering supplies.

I took half a head of cauliflower and cut it up into florets. I diced up one Roma tomato and one Jalapeno, being careful to remove the seeds. I didn't have any fresh cheddar cheese to shred so I took out the handy pre-shredded bag of Cheddar that my son uses to make Quesadillas with and got to work!

With some Olive Oil in the pan I browned the cauliflower for about ten minutes judging the softness by crushing some of the bigger pieces with the spoon. When it was almost tender I added the diced tomatoes and jalapenos and cooked those all together for about five minutes or so.

Then I added about two and a half cups of water. My dad used to add milk, but milk would ruin the low-carb aspect of this dish so I used water and then added just a splash of heavy whipping cream, about a 1/2 cup. You could also use half and half or if you have a super fast metabolism and you can eat anything you want then you can use regular milk and I will envy you forever!

I let that simmer for a bit until it came to a boil then I added salt and pepper to taste. I had to add salt again later and I still think it could have used more but I'm a salt-fanatic, so don't go by me! While it simmered I did the dishes and put things away and found that I had some Monterey Jack Cheese so I cut that into small cubes and added it to the now boiling pot along with about a cup of the shredded Cheddar Cheese, just cause I'm crazy like that!

Now of course you need to wait for it to boil again and then check it for salt and pepper. (This is where I added more salt, don't be like me...watch your salt intake!)

Look how beautiful all those veggies look together! The cauliflower is crisp-tender and the jalapenos have given just a bit of heat to the broth. The cheese thickens the soup almost like a chowder and you don't have to use flour as a thickening agent. And the tomatoes? Well they just give it a pretty little pop of color!

Then you serve it in a pretty bowl. I tossed in some bacon bits as a garnish and it did this weird thing when I did. I created a different color and made almost a flower in the middle. Do you see that or is it just me? Maybe I need to quit drinking wine while I cook?

Well regardless, it was very, very good. Not as good as the soup my dad made, but he would have been proud and would have smiled at me and said "Muy bien Chaparra" (Very good Shorty), and then he would have eaten a big bowl of it, probably adding several shots of Tabasco!

 

King of the Row Crop and We Are Our Father's Daughters!

Our dad was King of the Row Crop. That man could grow anything! When I was just a baby we lived in Arizona where he farmed cotton and hay. Once we moved here to Kern County he farmed lettuce, bell pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes and those are just the things I knew about, I’m sure there were tons of other produce that he farmed that I didn't know about.

One year he had a crop of romaine lettuce that was legendary! All you saw as far as the eye could see was rows upon rows of beautiful, huge, green Romaine Lettuce! I'm not even kidding, just look at the picture! That's my dad and his romaine lettuce!

I remember going out there with my mom and siblings and our children to see them. He had been bragging and begging us to come out to the ranch. Mom took her video camera and we have some beautiful footage of my dad walking in his fields and talking to his workers. It’s something I will never forget. Just as I cherish this picture that I took that day. Dad loved farming!

None of us...his children...were born with as green a thumb as his. But we do try! Recently my sister and I remembered a flower that my mom used to grow when we lived in the Imperial Valley. In Spanish we knew it as Rayo de Sol, translated to Ray of Sunshine. The lady that lived next door to us there, Vicenta, cut a small clipping off of her existing plant and gave it to my mom. She planted it and it just grew like gangbusters!!! The official name of the plant is Portulaca, but it's called by many names.

What I loved at the time and remember now about the flower is that it bloomed best and most beautifully during the dog days of summer! The hotter it was the happier this flower was and the bigger it smiled. My sister Lisa and I recently went on a hunt for Portulaca and had to go to several different nursery's before finally finding it and buying a flat which we split in half. And then we got to planting!

The first picture are my flowers, the second are Lisa's flowers. Not bad right?

ALICIA'S RAYO DE SOL/PORTULACA

LISA'S RAYO DE SOL/PORTULACA

The one flat gave us enough plants to fill two big planters like the ones pictured here and then a smaller one. I think we did a pretty good job following in our father's footsteps or green thump print!

My dad fed the world with what he planted and grew and harvested...so we are starting small here, but I think we're doing pretty good for rookies!

Have you ever heard of these flowers? What's your favorite flower? Do you have a green thumb?

 

Mini Baby Bell Peppers and What I did with Them and how to get out of a Funk after a Stressful Day!

There are so many memories that we leave behind to those that love us. My dad left a lot of them. Even when he was just going through his normal day he would say something random and not realize that it would stick in my mind forever. For example...I can never look at baby corn without thinking of my dad.

My dad loved salads! He actually loved all vegetables and fruits. I remember one time when we ate at a place that had a salad bar and he found these little baby corns and he filled his plate with them. Then when he got back to the table he showed them to me and tried to make me eat one by telling me, "Mira, los mataron chiquitos" translated he said, "Look, they killed them little". Well that made me want to eat them even less, but every time I see baby corn I remember my dad and it makes me smile. Remember, we are all making memories for others every day, so make them good ones!

My wonderful baby sister Lisa made a good memory for me today. Today was a super stressful day at work! I wasn't in the best of moods. I just wanted to come home and lock myself in my room and watch TV and probably eat something not very healthy for me. But hanging on my fence was this little bag.

Little baby bell peppers! Los mataron chiquitos! I had been wanting to buy these little peppers since forever, but a bag of them is about $4.79 and I wasn't sure I would like them or what I would do with them, but Lisa found them at our local grocery store for 99 cents! At least she told me they were 99 cents, but I wouldn't put it past her to pay $5 for them just to make me happy!

So what to do, what to do with them???

I remembered that I had some Pork Carnitas left over from a weekend breakfast. I had just shredded them and put them in a plastic container this morning. I also remembered I had some browned ground turkey make with taco seasoning. And then I remembered I had some cream cheese and that sounded really good so I went Cahrazy!

First I cleaned those little bad boys, which was easy because they weren't very big and didn't have a lot of seeds. Then I cut them in half. I warmed up the Carnitas and mixed them with some salsa that was left from the weekend and some shredded cheese and stuffed about six of them and topped them with some sliced black olives. I filled another six with the ground turkey, topped them with cheese and more olives and then the rest I filled with cream cheese and topped them with bacon bits and freshly ground black pepper.

Then I baked them at 350 for about 10 to 12 minutes.


Check these out! These are the ones made with Carnitas! They were so delicious! I was going to top them with Sour Cream but it wasn't necessary, they were perfect as they were!

Then I sampled one of the ground turkey peppers. I have to be honest and say I liked the turkey ones better, but then I love my ground turkey with taco seasoning!

Once the cream cheese ones were done I put a few of each on a plate, grabbed my glass of wine and sat down to munch away on my delicious...and LOW CARB...yummies!

My stressful day melted away with the help of memories of my daddy, loving thoughtfulness shown to me by my baby sister Lisa, beautiful bright colors of the baby peppers who died chiquitos just to please me and a lovely glass of wine. Plus some Pandora Music on my computer and lots of singing at the top of my lungs to the dismay of my kids and the doggies...but oh well! It got me out of my funk!


 

All Dad's Should Write a Book about their Kids!

I recently read a book for my online book club, From Left to Write, written by a dad, Jim Gaffigan.

Jim is a wonderful comedian and I've listened to him many times on my drive to work while tuned in to The Bob and Tom Show. He is hilarious! He does this bit about bacon bits being “the fairy dust of the food community”! He mentions how you offer someone a salad and they are ho-hum about it, but sprinkle some bacon bits on it and BOOM! Instant deliciousness! Cracks me up every time because it is so true!

Here's a youtube video I found where he does some of his bacon jokes!



Jim’s book, Dad is Fat reminded me that a year ago during this time was when my dad took the fall that fractured his pelvis. That was in April of last year and he never quite recovered, passing away on July 31st.

I miss him so much! It would have been so wonderful to read a book written by my dad about the crazy antics his kids pulled. We used to love to listen to his stories about us when we were little kids. How he felt the first time he saw us when we were born.

I remember dad telling me that when my mom was pregnant with me he wanted a boy! Of course! I was the first born and he wanted a boy, makes sense. He told my mom as they were wheeling her into the delivery room to make sure that it was a boy because he didn't want a girl. Guess what? It was a girl…it was me! So of course when he told me this story I always said, “And what happened dad, when you heard it was a girl?” He always said, “I saw you and I fell in love with you in that very second and I never regretted that you were not a boy! Your leg was only as big as my finger!” (And he would point his index finger to show me how big my leg was!) I loved this story and never tired of him telling it.

My dad, my mom and me

And he had stories like that for each of us, me, my sister and my two brothers. It would have been so great if he had put them into a book, like Jim Gaffigan did. But regardless, we will never forget those stories!



This post was inspired by the novel Dad is Fat by comedian Jim Gaffigan who riffs on his adventures in co-parenting 5 kids in a two bedroom Manhattan apartment. Join From Left to Write on April 22 when we discuss Dad is Fat. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.