Category Archives: Food

Party!

We got together on Saturday night at Moreno’s in Orange to celebrate my sister Vera’s bigger than the last big birthday party!

Vera the Birthday Girl and Me,  Leticia my SIL and Tim my brother, The Mariachis, and the table conversation with David, Debbee (Vera’s kids) Noah, Melissa and my sister Kathy at the end of the table.

The Matriarch and Patriarch of the family…

There were these great old trees in the patio. The original part of this restaurant was a Friends church (Quaker) and built in the late 1800’s! Click here to read the interesting history.

If you like non-spicy Mexican food that any Gringo can eat and enjoy this is the place for you. For us spicy hot Mexican food lovers this was fun for the history, fun being with family, fun with the mariachis, but not memorable for the food. 🙂

The Ultimate Blog Party ~ March 7th – 14th

 

Ultimate Blog Party 2008

 

Welcome to my Blog Party. You have arrived at The Happy Wonderer.  I’m ellen b and I’m so happy to welcome you here. I’ve made a cake for the occassion and I’m sharing the recipe with you. My birthday is March 14th so this is a great week for a party around here. I would like to give you a taste of what my blog is like. I’m posting some regular kind of things you’ll see if you come back to visit. So relax and enjoy as you scroll on down…

Applesauce Spice Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4 serving size jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. all-spice (optional)
1/2 raisins finely chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl of electric mixer and blend then beat at medium for 4 minutes. Pour into well greased and floured 10 inch tube or fluted tube pan. (I’ve used a bundt cake pan and angel food cake pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. DO NOT UNDERBAKE. Cool in pan for 15 min. remove and cool on rack. When the cake has cooled and before I serve it I give it a dusting of powdered sugar.

This goes really well with whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream, too. This has become a favorite in my house and is requested for birthday cakes very often.

I like to share my recipes and I really enjoy inviting table settings like these…

Special times with family and friends are shared on my blog as well.

I enjoy walking and I share photos from these walks and I’m part of a Bloggy Walking Club. The bloggers who participate keep track of their average steps for a 5-6 day period each week and share their totals. My husband who I call “Dear” on this blog and I walk most every Saturday at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California.

I’m also a Brown Plate Special participant which is a sensible challenge for some of us older bloggers to eat smaller quantities and add more activity in our lives and be accountable to each other.

I participate in a few weekly blog carnivals like ABC Wednesday, Word Filled Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Sky Watch Fridays and Photo Hunters. I post a Hymn or Worship song on Sunday. Sometimes during the week I’ll share a devotional or a quote from a book I’m reading.

 

A fun experience I’ve had since I started blogging is meeting a fellow blogger who lives in the same city as me. After meeting we decided to walk together. We try to walk every weekday which has been great. Here’s a photo from the day we met at a local Coffee shop in town.

This is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. I’m the brunette (I think brunette sounds so much better than I’m the old lady on the right with brown hair)

I will also share photos from travels here in the states and abroad.

My sister Lana and I started blogging about the same time. We talk most everyday (mostly about our blogs). It’s fun to have a bosom bloggy buddy who doesn’t get tired of “blog talk”. We laugh all the time. Her blog is called Above the Clouds because she travels weekly by air.

I post a lot,  at least one post a day sometimes 2 to 3 posts a day on bloggy carnival days.

I choose for my blog be an encouraging blog and to honor the Lord so you generally will not hear me ranting and you will not find bad language and things that I find objectionable to my heart and mind here.

Whew! My posts are not this long generally unless it’s all photos (Did I say I’m visual and love photos!?)

Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you come again. Blessings on you…

You can see more blogs that are participating in the party at 5 minutes for Mom. I’ll add the link when they have it up later tonight. Well as soon as 5MFM fixes their site you can click and get there we all crashed it I think. For now you can google Ultimate Blog Party and find some sites!

My Blog is One Year Old March 3rd!

Update: The name drawn to receive the Butterfly necklace is Rosemary from Seasonings of the Heart! I’ll contact you.  Thanks to everyone for your kind words and visiting my party!

Happy Birthday Happy Wonderer!

So I contemplated how we should celebrate the anniversary of that day.

Should I serve one of my Russian favorites that my mom bakes, Roolyet? Make sure you roll your tongue on the roo part of the word.

Or maybe I could serve this dessert I’ve made that is so simple and I’ll include the directions below.

But in the great Hobbit Birthday Tradition I decided I would give away a gift to celebrate. The winning of this gift is open to all my regular bloggy friends and bloggers who participate in the same weekly memes I do. All you have to do is to leave a comment and make sure you include a good email address so I can contact you if you win. If you’re a guy I’m sorry that this is so feminine but if you win maybe you could give it to your wife, mother, sister, or friend.

I thought this was appropriate for the hope of Spring and new life it brings.

So thanks for stopping by my party and take time to comment and enter the drawing. It’s been a fun year for me getting to know all about blogging. I appreciate the friendships I’ve developed and am grateful for y’all.

Blessings..
ellen b.

Easy directions for individual trifle like desserts…

Cook one larger package of Vanilla pudding (not instant) according to package directions then put plastic wrap right on the surface of the pudding and let it cool in the refrigerator. While the pudding is cooling wash and cut 1 large carton of fresh strawberries into bite size pieces. Put them into a bowl and sprinkle sugar on top of them to make them juicier and sweeter. After the pudding has gotten cold whip up 2 cups heavy whipping cream (I add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. pure almond extract to the cream). Save some of the whipping cream to top the desserts and fold in the rest of the whipped cream into the cold pudding. Now all you have to do is assemble the individual trifles. Put some of the strawberries in the bottom of a fun glass or glass bowl, then add some store bought pound cake torn into pieces or angel food cake torn into pieces, next put some of the pudding mixture then keep layering in this same order. Top with a dollop of whip cream and a strawberry.  Simple and refreshing and yummy. (You could also make the layers in a Large Trifle bowl)

 

Lovella’s Walking Club Tally ~ Oh the Steps I Stepped!

My new Bloggy Walking Buddy Willow and I walked everyday this week. After our regular walk on Friday afternoon Dear and I had Willow and her husband over for dinner. When I took my pedometer off for bed it registered 14,176 steps. I had a busy Friday before our afternoon walk and the steps just added up. My average steps for the week were 12,089!

Here are some dinner photos and our Saturday Beach walk collage…

We had a nice evening. It’s always fun to find out all the things you have in common with people you’ve just met.

Willow and her husband. Willow is enjoying one of Dear’s famous Kensington Dreams. Here’s the recipe for you, Willow. In a shaker over ice cubes, combine juice of half a lemon, 1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. Amaretto, 2 oz. Creme de Cassis, shake and strain into water goblet then add 4oz. of Champagne. Don’t drive after you drink one. 🙂

Our beach walk on Saturday morning. A misty moisty morning. We saw some new wonders today. Because of the high rough surf this week there were lots of piles of driftwood and boulders thrown up onto our path. There was a lot of seaweed washed up, too. We even got down onto the sand this Saturday to explore.

The birds above are Marbled godwits. They use their beaks to probe the sand. They migrate to California and Mexico in flocks in Autumn from Canada.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone and keep on walking and enjoying God’s wonders.

Pasta Carbonara ~ Recipe

 I made this Monday night after being inspired by a Fun Monday post. It was very satisfying.

The next time I make this I’ll add sauteed red onions for my taste buds. The penne pasta was just what happened to be in my cupboard so I used it even though the recipe calls for fettuccine or spaghetti. I think farfalle would work well, too.

~
PASTA WITH CARBONARA SAUCE
Printed from COOKS.COM

4 eggs
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. whipped cream
1/2 lb. bacon, cut up (I used pancetta from Trader Joe’s that was cubed already)
1 lb. fettuccine or spaghetti
1 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 c. snipped parsley
Pepper
Let eggs, butter and cream stand at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. In a skillet, cook bacon until brown. Remove bacon and drain on paper toweling.Heat an ovenproof serving dish in a 300 degree oven. Meanwhile, beat together eggs and cream just until combined. Add pasta to a large amount of boiling salted water. Cook 10 to 12 minutes or until tender but not firm; drain well.Turn hot pasta into the heated serving dish; toss pasta with butter. Pour egg mixture over and toss until pasta is well coated. Add bacon, cheese and parsley; toss to mix. Season to taste with pepper.Serves 12 side-dishes.

ABC Wednesday ~ F is for…

F is for Farmers Market where we shopped this last Saturday.

The Farmers Market in Old Town Camarillo, California

F is for fruit. We have fields of strawberries in our town and strawberry stands where we can buy them all during the week fresh from the fields when they are in season.

F is for flowers the more unusual and flamboyant

and some more fragrant flowers

We bought purple cauliflower, artichokes, brussel sprouts, and limes. (Nothing starting with F) but all very fresh and flavorful. The artichokes were wonderful. My husband likes to have his with mayonnaise and I love mine with Ranch Dressing. Yum! I made a cauliflower soup that was blended with onion and garlic. (strange to eat purple soup). It was very good.

 

This is a strawberry field near my home. This made me want to sing “Strawberry Fields Forever”

This is a strawberry stand in my town that sells fresh berries from the adjoining field. So luscious, sweet and juicy!

For more ABC Wednesday photos go visit Mrs. Nesbitt all the way in the UK!

Fun Monday ~ February 25th

This week’s Fun Monday is easy, Mariposa is hosting and asking TWO things –

First (1) Please share with us how the NAME of your BLOG was made? I can’t wait to hear interesting funny stories!

This is a photo of my brother starting my blog. He’s sitting in front of his laptop excited that so far it’s all working. Now understand that I hadn’t started blogging yet so I still had a lot to learn about taking good pictures for posting.

When my brother told me he was going to start a blog for me I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the technology. He convinced me everything would be ok. We then started brain storming about what I should name it. We came up with a few fun names but the way I came up with my keeper is…

a. I’m generally a very happy person.

b. I’m also someone who wonders about a lot of things and have a deep need to know.

So as we were discussing point a and b my husband came up with The Happy Wonderer.

As far as the purpose of my blog I chose “to Honor and Encourage”. I’m an encourager to people around me and I wanted that reflected in the relationships I’d develop on my blog. It is very important to me to Honor Jesus Christ who I consider to be my King.  I want my words and posts to be things that will encourage people and be something that won’t reflect poorly on my King. My blog was born on March 3, 2007 so I am very close to my first bloggy birthday!

(2) Please share with us (in words or photo, though a combination of both will be a bonus!) your favorite/ most common dish!

Oh boy, I love food! I also love to enjoy people around a table with good food. So what to show? I’m going with a favorite dinner, lunch and breakfast!

A typical dinner is some protein with a couple veggies items. This is a easy dinner that we enjoy. Some great bbq’d Rib Eye Steaks, sauteed mushrooms with caramelized onions, and a green salad with tomatoes and cucumber. Now to go with this my hubby will make me one of my favorite drinks, a Kensington Dream. It’s a drink he copied after watching a bartender in South Kensington (England) make it for me. Update: A few of you wondererd what is in this drink. There is brandy, creme de cassis, juice of half a lemon, amaretto, shaken together and then you top it off with champagne! They don’t call it a dream for nothing, cuz you’ll soon be dreamin after you drink it 🙂

 

For lunch I am always ready for Mexican Food with lots of good salsa and cilantro! This happens to be a meal at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town, El Tecolote.  We are having an Open Tamale, chips, salsa, and guacamole.

Most mornings I have my high fiber cereal with a banana and large cup of black coffee. In the summer I add more fruit that is in season.

For more Fun Monday visit Mariposa who is hosting this week.

Lovella’s Walking Club Tally ~

Dear and I headed out again to Ventura to take our walk along Emma Wood State Beach. We started earlier than usual and the weather was more active today as a storm is blowing in. Here are a few of the many photos I took.

 

There were a lot more birds out today. We were the only humans out and about for a while until the groups of runners descended on us training for the Los Angeles Marathon.

On the way home we stopped at the Farmers Market in Camarillo on Ventura Blvd. We decided to buy some veggies for later. Lots of pretty flowers to look at, too. We bought a purple cauliflower, 2 huge artichokes, some brussel sprouts and a couple limes.

Have a wonderful day and keep on walking. Oh yes my totals were great this week because Willow and I walked an hour each day but Friday and I went on a hike and the beach walk too! 10,706 step average for the 6 days! I think hikes uphill should be double steps!

Recipe Round-Up ~ Banana Bread

Mummymac is hosting Recipe Round-Up and this month the theme is Breakfast. You can head over to her blog all the way in Northern Ireland tomorrow, Wednesday, when she’ll have links to all sorts of breakfast goodies!  If you want to participate just create your post and head over to her site and leave your link. I decided to make and show my blender Banana Nut Bread.

Banana Nut Bread

2-1/2 Cups Sifted Flour
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
3/4 C. Walnuts
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 C. Soft Butter
1 Egg
3 Small Bananas cut up
1/2 C. milk

In medium bowl combine sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. Put walnuts in blender to chop. Pour walnuts into dry mixture and blend together. Next put sugar, butter, egg, bananas and milk into blender and blend well. Pour blended mixture into the dry mixture and mix till blended.

Pour into greased and floured Loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Slice and enjoy…

Remember to head over to Mummymac’s at Home but Not Alone

Fun Reunions ~

 On Valentine’s Day night we met our dear friends from Washington State at a Mexican Restaurant in Venice (California) for dinner. They were visiting Disneyland with their daughter Deena, her husband Jeremy and their grandkids Talia and Martin. We decided to meet at La Cabana which was about halfway for both of us to drive.

They still make their own tortillas at this restaurant.

Jan and Bob…Jan is one of my walking buddies in the Seattle area. Bob was our former pastor and is our good friend. We have been on several adventures with Bob and Jan and our other good buddies Dave and Jody. Bicycle trips in the wine country, bicycle trips in the San Juan’s, bicycle trips in Victoria, B.C., and Leavenworth. Our most recent wonderful adventure was a walking trip in Great Britain. I for one am happy to have retired my bicycle after quite a nose dive and “knock out” experience in Leavenworth.

Dear and me.

What’s wonderful about good friends is that you can catch up in 3 seconds and feel as if you haven’t been apart.