Category Archives: Restaurants

Orange Hill Celebration

On our last full day in our rental home during our DisneyCaliFam Vacation, we spent some time relaxing in the spa in the morning.

When the Minneolas were hanging over the fence onto the property we were staying at, was it okay to pick them? Asking for a friend.

These two shared a muffin treat that was purchased at Disneyland the day before.

During naptime Josh drove some of the gals to Downtown Disney for a little shopping venture. He dropped us off at the Disneyland hotel and then picked us up a couple hours later. We enjoyed walking through the lobby of the hotel to get to the entrance of the shopping area. We had to go through extensive security to get into the area.

The Lego structures at the Lego store were impressive! No Lego purchases on this trip. Everyone made purchases at a couple of the other stores but me.

Josh picked us up where he dropped us off and we went back to get ready for our fancy dinner out at the Orange Hill Restaurant. Did I mention we only had the one vehicle for the twelve of us during our time in Southern California and that Josh was our trusty chauffer back and forth to everywhere?!

The skies were putting on a show of God’s Creation and Glory. The twelve of us arrived in our van at the door of the restaurant in time to further enjoy the sunset and views.

Cheers to our extended family and our three birthday kids, Josh, Dan and Jamie! The Twelve of us enjoyed our food and our time here.

Our grands’ Granny and Granny Great. Granny Great picked up the tab for our drinks. Thank you, Florence!

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy! Or in Colville. 🙂 Crispy Whole Snapper above and Half-chicken below.

I had the Short Ribs, and most of the rest of us had the Prime Rib.

The Sticky Toffee Pudding was so good. And the restaurant brought out 3 complimentary desserts for the three birthday kids we were celebrating.

I would have said this was the grand finale of our trip but we ended up having another full day of fun our last day before we flew home.

Fast Forward to the present here in Colville, Washington.

We had another light dusting of snow here on Friday and Saturday. Starting Sunday our highs have been below freezing. So far the predictions say we won’t make it above freezing until Thursday, February 2nd.

These are some of our views from our windows!

We finally enjoyed a full day of sunshine on Sunday with clear skies. Hope your week moving into February is a good one.

Walk on the Pier

On Sunday my sister Vera and I were happy to see that June Gloom was nonexistent. We dropped our brother off at the Orange County airport for his trip back to Dallas and decided another trip to the beach was warranted. We had a good meal at Dukes at the Huntington Beach Pier with this view from our table…

After our meal we headed to the pier to walk it and enjoy the views.

I’ll have a full post with this pelican as the star later.

The crashing waves looked like snow from above.

This post is being published on Tuesday June 14th, Flag day. I will be in the air for a few hours and then on the road home.

Happy Flag Day from Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.

Cali Day One

On Thursday we got up at O’dark’thirty and drove south to the Spokane airport for my trip to Southern California. It was a two leg journey for me. First leg from Spokane to Seattle which is a quick hour up and down trip with not much in the world of perks. The second leg was from Seattle to Orange County (John Wayne Airport also known as Santa Ana Airport). The airport is in the city of Santa Ana which is in the county of Orange.

I’m now in the land of Palm Trees but the sun and blue skies are not breaking through the June Gloom here.

My youngest sister works in a high rise that’s close enough to the airport to see the planes landing and she captured my plane as it came in for a landing. She was looking out for it since she would be picking me up from the airport.

Thankful for another safe landing.

Three of us ‘sisters’ enjoyed dinner out at the Black Trumpet in Huntington Beach before retiring for the evening.

The French Onion Soup was delicious and I’m sorry I didn’t take a photo before I destroyed the top of it!

Today (Friday) my sister Vera and I will have a walk along the Pacific Ocean. June Gloom is still happening here so I’m not sure what photos I’ll be snapping.

Our brother from Texas arrives tonight.

Saturday will be a day filled with many reunions with friends and family as we celebrate the life of our friend Alice.

Our daughter Katie with Alice at Katie’s bridal shower.

Our mom and our life long friend Alice. They are both in heaven now.

Rex Hotel

On our last night of our Land That We Love Tour we had our favorite meal at the Buffalo Block Prime Steakhouse at the Rex in Billings, Montana. The barbecue we had in Kentucky was real good, too, but Buffalo Block won out with the ambiance.

We chose this spot to eat because the Historic Rex Hotel caught our eye. Dear’s dad’s name is Rex and he was born in Montana and we enjoyed paying homage to him while in the Treasure State of Montana. Montana is also known as Big Sky Country.

French Onion Soup

Bone in Chop crusted in all kinds of yumminess on top of garlic mashed potatoes.

Prime Rib Sandwich with horseradish, aujus, coleslaw and fries.

creme brûlée

Lemon Pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

If you are ever in Billings and want some upscale food at upscale prices this is the place.

I’ll be recapping our trip with lots of photos starting at the beginning soon.

Christmas Spirit Hodgepodge

Wednesday Hodgepodge questions that Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks each week are not surprisingly Christmas themed in December. Here we go…

1. What do you think it means to have the holiday spirit?

Going deep on this one and deferring to my hubby:

“It’s having the Spirit of Christ, who convicts of sin and enables faith in that Jesus is who He says He is and has done what He has says He has done. Without the work of the Spirit of Christ we would have no hope for forgiveness, for eternity with Him, for glory.

Romans 5:1 (ESV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

2. What’s one thing you’ve baked this month?

I baked a Chocolate Decadent Bundt cake last week for our card night.

Have you eaten the finished product?

Yes, at the card night last Friday night. It got very good reviews from those who ate it.

How much baking do you do around the holidays?

This varies from year to year. Some years I don’t make any cookies…shock!

What baked sweet something does your family insist is on the menu during this season of the year?

Roolyet is a Russian treat our mom would make every Christmas. A yeast dough rolled with a  walnut filling (walnuts, sugar, egg whites and vanilla). Now that my sister and I perfected the recipe I should make it every Christmas, too.

3. Your most recent ‘half-baked’ idea?

How about thoroughly baked. In January I clicked on the buy button for plane tickets from Seattle to London for September of this year. Then COVID-19 struck us all. Plane tickets, Air BnB deposits and many plans made that had to all be cancelled. Thankfully all was refunded.

4. Where were you the last time you ‘baked’ in the sun?

In my own backyard pulling weeds.

The top ten sunniest destinations in the world (most sun from January-December according to this site) are Dubai, Bali Indonesia, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, Barbados, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Antiqua, and the Canary Islands Spain. Have you been to any of the cities listed?

I was born in East Los Angeles and raised in the “burbs” of Los Angeles and spent many summers baking on Southern California beaches slathered in Coconut Butter. Craziness!

Which one on the list appeals to you the most?

We do not choose sunny destinations these days. We do not lay in the sun. We look for shade and head straight to an umbrella when the sun is out and the air is hot. The only reason L.A. is appealing these days is because of our loved ones who live there and who we enjoy spending time with.

If the world were not upside down crazy and you could lie on a beach anywhere right now where would you go?

Never mind lying on the beaches, I would choose Jolly Old England any time of the year, walking down a lane instead of lying on a beach!

Now that said, we do enjoy walking on the beach at dawn in the summer and any time of day in the Winter.

5. Today I wish I had more _____________________.

Options for shopping in my little town of Colville.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This past Sunday to Monday we enjoyed a 46th Anniversary night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Dinner at Beverly’s on the 7th floor made us feel like normal before all this craziness came upon us all.

Our complimentary Anniversary dessert! Vanilla ice cream wrapped in cotton candy with some fruit and dessert bark.

When the Christmas cards are all signed, sealed and delivered to the Post Office I feel like I should get an award. Do you still send cards?

Canlis

There’s a restaurant in the Seattle area that is a kind of icon that reminds you of bygone days when people would dress up to go out to eat and service was top notch. We had never been to Canlis before. We might have been a little intimidated but no more…

Josh and Laura invited us to join them in the Canlis Lounge to break the intimidation and celebrate a late Mother’s Day/Father’s Day meal together.

P1050409One of the views from the restaurant. Remember the fact that I was a little intimidated to start so my photo taking suffered because of that. I did not get one photo of Laura and I on the other side of the table.

P1050406Father and Son with Father starting or re-visiting a style statement from years gone by.

P1050407The Bolo or String Tie. Do you remember these? Dear has 3 of them that were his fathers.

P1050398A shot of Josh with the piano player behind him. The soft live piano music was a very nice addition. I just noticed that nice shiny table top that picked up a reflection of Josh.

P1050399We ordered small bites along with the Canlis Salad. The Canlis Salad has been on the menu since opening night of the restaurant in 1950. The recipe was taught to Peter Canlis by his Lebanese mother. Oops, forgot to take a photo of the salad.

P1050396

P1050403I did get a photo of myself in the ladies room so you can see I was wearing pearls and I did wear a dress instead of my usual jeans. Fabulous expression on my face. Looks like I was holding my breath hoping no one walked through the door and caught me!

P1050404We had to order this dish to top off the night.  Canlis Souffle ~ Grand Marnier, Orange zest and creme anglaise. Please allow 30 minutes for this dessert. We were happy to allow the time and enjoyed it very much.

There is a story that we keep retelling about this night at Canlis. Josh drove us up to the door and the valet team let us out of the car and drove the car away with no tickets, no names exchanged. They just said, “Have a nice evening”. We stepped into the restaurant and walked to the host/hostess area and said “We don’t have reservations but we would like to eat in the lounge”. No names exchanged. We were guided to the lounge where we chose our seats and enjoyed our time together. Josh paid the bill at the end of our time and we walked up the stairs and out the front door of the restaurant and Josh’s car magically appeared at the door as soon as we exited the restaurant. We did not have a seconds wait for our car. I looked at the Valet and said “How did you do that?” He looked at me and smiled. They are not giving out their secrets but we had fun speculating on how that little bit of magic happened on the way home. The next time we go to Canlis I’ll take a photo of that famous salad!

 

Tuesday Tips!

GrazieWe enjoy eating earlier these days so when we decide to eat out we try different Happy Hours around the area. Some Happy Hours are happier than others.  Last Friday we re-visited an old favorite from a few years ago and were very pleased. All of these dishes were half priced and each selection was plenty for the three of us to enjoy. Yes, three, as our daughter Katie is still with us while our Son-in-law Andrew is serving in Afghanistan. There were three meatballs on that plate before I took the photo. We were pleased with the selections that Grazie in Canyon Park offered.

P1040819This Bruschetta appetizer was great with the added ricotta and herb spread and olive tapenade. I’ll be trying to duplicate it and will post it on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook webpage. I’m thinking it will be a great dish for Super Bowl Sunday.

Speaking of Andrew if you are a praying friend of mine could you please pray that Andrew’s time in Afghanistan will not be extended? We all would appreciate it here at this old house. Originally he would be returning before April. Now we are praying he’ll be home before May.

Monday was an amazingly non-productive day at his old house. I did manage to make dinner. Can I have some applause please? Thank you. I hear our Midwest and Eastern friends will be experiencing some more nasty winter weather this week. Stay safe please! All we have in the forecast here is rain…

Renovations…

…are a great excuse for eating out. Thankfully we can take advantage of the lower priced Happy Hours around town since Dear starts work early and gets home earlier than most. Remember if you don’t drink alcohol you can still enjoy Happy Hours. Usually they just require you to order some type of drink including soft drinks or iced tea, etc.

We have found a new place to us in town that we have enjoyed a few times now.

Main Street Ale House1Main Street Ale House in Bothell. I didn’t take a photo of the jalapeno poppers we had last Wednesday night. They were delicious stuffed with cheese and wrapped in thick bacon. They came with a dipping sauce that was sweet (maple syrup and brown sugary). A great sweet and savory combo.

We actually had a meal in from items I purchased at Costco last Thursday. They had their rotisserie chicken packaged in leg quarters in the fresh refrigerated section 8 quarters for $4.99. I bought those a container of Coconut Curry Sauce, some Naan bread, rice and a Caesar salad. I simmered 4 of the chicken quarters in the sauce to serve with the rest of the sides that I bought. Easy peasy in a kitchen that is not totally back to normal.

What is your go to restaurant or bring in meal when things are topsy turvy at home?

My mom continues to be cared for at home and she has her major ups and downs. My family is continuing to make adjustments to make her as comfortable as we can. Thank you so much for all your prayers and kind encouragement during this time. My family is blessed by it all.

mom coloringHere’s my mom from Monday night having some ice cream and coloring with my niece Melissa. She really enjoyed this and I love seeing these photos.

Adventures in Eating…

Since my parents lived in Persia (Iran) from the early 1930’s till 1947 they learned to enjoy Persian cuisine and to cook many dishes. We finally found a Persian restaurant we enjoyed in Bellevue, Washington.

Dear had the lamb kabobs.

I had the Ghormeh Sabzi. Chopped and sauteed parsley, spinach and leeks, simmered with stew beef, herbs and red beans.

Katie had Chicken Vegetable Curry. All entrees were served with basmati rice with saffron.

This is my all time favorite salad. So simple and fresh and delicious. It was called Shirazi at this restaurant.

We would recommend Caspian.

Do you have an international food favorite?

Old As The Hat!

This past Mondayafter visiting my folks at their apartment in Brea I headed for the freeway and spotted The Hat. I enjoy a good pastrami sandwich so I decided to pull through the drive-thru to order one.

The Famous Pastrami Dip Sandwich was my choice for the day.

They don’t skimp on the size and the pastrami portion. I could only eat half.

I got my sandwich in this bag and noticed The Hat is as old as I am. It seemed fitting for this old girl born in California in 1951 to enjoy a sandwich from a company that’s survived and thrived for over 61 years in California.

I’m back from Canada and the Border Agents going and coming were very nice to me as usual. My time in Canada was filled with lots of good conversation and good food, oh my! My Dear is in Vienna right now and I’ll be interested in hearing about the food he’ll be eating. He’s there for a conference and won’t have much time for sight seeing but he does hope to see as much as his free time allows.

Have a good weekend everyone. I’m recuperating and laying low for the rest of today.