Vacation

A family reunion is currently claiming my time. My days are filled with grandchildren, nephews, in-laws of all kinds, Virginia sun and wind, and hours in the swimming pool or out on the river in the boat.

Well, and food, of course.

This side of the family is solidly devoted to fake industrial food, but even these people have a special dish that gives them pleasure to prepare and share. Breakfast and lunch are on-your-own affairs, with lots of *shudder* pop tarts, toaster strudels, sliced American cheese, crackers and chips for people to grab whatever they want. Also, sodas and energy drinks galore. On the good side, there's a never-ending bowl of fruit.

Each family takes a turn with dinner, and it's these meals that allow everyone to shine. My father-in-law made his favorite stir-fry, with lots of real vegetables: carrots, onions, cauliflower, snow peas, scallions, and the addition of marinated beef and chicken. All served over homemade fried rice. Yumm.

My step-son and his wife made beautiful shish kebabs packed with bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, and beef.

My daughter-in-law made a great potato salad, with careful attention to the flavorful dressing.






Their  four-year-old daughter, from the first day they arrived, was enamored of the apple tree in the back yard, and picked apples every time she could get someone to lift her up high enough. As soon as her 12 and 15 year old cousins arrived, she had them in the tree, tossing apples into her bucket.

So I made a pie.

For my turn in the kitchen, I made lasagna, easy to use to feed a crowd:

And a salad with radishes, zucchini, and asparagus, a surprising hit:

Our hosts, my sister-in-law and her husband, prepared a southern meal of barbequed spare ribs, corn on the cob, and a colorful pasta salad. Tonight, my other sister-in-law brings out her family's favorite beef tacos, with lots of veggie toppings. Along with Coronas and lime.

The rumor for tomorrow is crab legs and pizza. THAT one will be interesting!

Vacation Results

 We just returned home from a visit to children and grandchildren in the midwest.

I gained weight.

That's to be expected - these trips invariably involve doing an awful lot of NOTHING. When I'm home, I have my Wii Fit to do, and I guess I do a lot more moving around than I realize. I know this, because when visiting family, I end up in pain from sitting. It's the arthritis - lack of movement causes everything to stiffen up. I sit so much on these trips, that sometimes I end up in tears at night, at just the thought of laying in bed for several hours.

Sleep is out of the question. And the plane ride home is a nightmare.

We did take a walk one day, but with snow, and temps in the teens or lower, outside activities didn't happen much.

But it's over, and I'm on the road to recovery. And back to eating vegetables and other Real Food. I did have some vegetables on this trip, because I ordered a veggie omelet for breakfast twice. That was my vegetable allotment for the day, except for the day I cooked spaghetti for everyone, and steamed a big batch of spinach. When we got home yesterday, we had a bowl of homemade potato soup loaded with greens: spinach and kale torn into little pieces and simmered in the soup.

Then we celebrated a late Valentine's Day by having a bit of chocolate cheesecake, followed by a glass of absinthe, properly diluted with ice water until it was cloudy.

It all works out.

Eating on Vacation III

Yesterday, I rambled on about Filippi’s. Great Italian restaurant. But the real reason we visit Oceanside (well – except for the relatives) is Marieta’s Mexican Restaurant.

Right in Oceanside, Marieta’s has lovely, homey Mexican food. I grew up in Tucson and I’m truly picky about Mexican food. I like the Real Thing, spicy and tasty. And please don’t give me a Margarita made with that horrid sweet & sour stuff. Use a lime, please. Sugar isn’t even necessary, as far as I’m concerned.

Like most Mexican places, they start you with chips – thin, lightly fried, and slightly salty. The salsa is finely blended, with generous use of cilantro and peppers. Some people might like it to be milder, but I’m happy. They also give you a little bowl of spicy, marinated carrots and onions. My husband’s 12-year old nephew and I agree to share these and we always have to ask for more. Such good stuff!

The food is simply good. I’ve never had a bite of anything that wasn’t top-notch. Well, until this time. I had to agree with my father-in-law: the rice was not up to standard. It was just blah. I didn’t notice until he mentioned it, because I always mix my rice and beans and add salsa (a habit from childhood). And frankly, lately I’ve taken to avoiding the rice in Mexican restaurants, because it’s always white rice. No fiber and waste of calories as far as I’m concerned. But I tried it here and when I tried a spoon of rice alone, it was like eating air.

Rice aside, everything else was better than ever. The beans are made the way your Mexican grandmother would make them, if you have one of those. I had the pollo mole and it was spicy and good. My husband always has the chili Colorado and he’s always happy with it.

There’s nothing exotic here, just typical Mexican food for Americans, so you get the enchiladas and tacos and burritos. They do have an extensive seafood section, with lots of fresh catches, all cooked with generous spices or sauces. The grilled shrimp is fabulous. There is also a popular Sunday brunch, but I’ve never done that.

Even though it’s typical food, it’s truly good. A big step above the usual chain places and I wish we had something like it in my neighborhood. There’s not much that’s good east of the Caldecott Tunnel. There are a couple of places I like in Berkeley – Mario’s and Cancun – but we never go to Berkeley to eat (wish we did). We always joke that for good Mexican food, we need to go to Oceanside.

Eating On Vacation II

We had a chance to visit my daughter and her husband for a day, while on vacation last week. Like me, Mary is a foodie, and so is Alec. So after a few hours of climbing over cliffs and exploring tide pools, they knew exactly where to take our famished group for a late lunch.
Filippi’s Italian Grotto. It’s in Little Italy in San Diego and Oh My Goodness. This was Heaven.
Filippi’s is a delicatessen – a tiny store packed to the rafters with olive oil, sardines, and a hundred specialty Italian items. Prosciutto. Smoked Provolone. Aged Parmesan. The freshest bread you can imagine.

But the real secret is the restaurant. Even at 3:30, there was a line. As you squeeze through the narrow aisle past the meat counter, the hostess takes you back to a room with tables. Then another room with tables. And another one. It was like a space warp or something. The inside was bigger than the outside!

We decided to forgo the excellent pizza and ordered a large antipasti for the four of us to share. Then we ordered lasagna and ravioli with meatballs and sausage. Alec had a meatball sandwich, deciding to concentrate on the main attraction. The sausage is freshly made in the store and was the best Italian sausage I’ve ever had, with a substantial sprinkling of caraway. Marvelous sauce with fresh parmesan cheese. A decent Chianti – I’m sure they had better ones, but we’re cheap when it comes to ordering wine in restaurants. There was enough food for two more meals, each. I’m serious!

Don’t bother with the rolls. Order the garlic bread and let yourself live.

Health-wise, it’s probably not something you’d do every week, although if you ate just a quarter of what you’re served, you’d probably be all right.

Can we get one of these in Walnut Creek?

Eating While On Vacation I

I find it amusing that vacations are so much to be desired, anticipated with relish, planned for, saved for and “yeah, we’re finally going!” But one thing that always has to be put aside, is healthy eating. I know that people who are on diets experience this. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, whatever you’re doing, you can’t do it on vacation.

Just eating a healthy diet is practically impossible.

Visiting family is the worst. I love these people. I don’t want to offend them. So I always approach the visit with the idea that I’ll eat whatever is offered and keep my mouth shut. It’s just for a few days, after all. A few days of processed food won’t kill me.

But, I do what I can.

My husband and I have started packing up some food to take with us. We used to be coffee snobs, until coffee began causing stomach problems and we had to give it up. But all the relatives are used to us showing up with our bag of Peet’s coffee and taking over their coffee pots early in the morning. We always offered to make enough for them, but they usually turned us down. They wanted wimpy coffee, preferably flavored with hazelnut or something. So we’d make our coffee, then wash the pot and leave it available for them to make theirs.

As we’ve begun eating a more natural diet, we’ve added things to packed food. Breakfast at the relatives’ homes is always a do it yourself option. So my husband packs his cereal and raisins and nuts, as well as a few bananas. ‘Course, the relatives usually have bananas; we just bring what we have to use them up. I bring my grains for hot cereal, some of my canned fruit sauce, local honey, some cream and my homemade yogurt. We now bring green tea instead of coffee.
I usually throw in a bottle of brandy or gin, too. Most of my husband’s relatives don’t have hard liquor in the house and I get antsy after a week.

Once we’ve arrived, I offer to cook, at least one meal. More, if they’ll let me. Then I hit the produce section and buy the freshest stuff I can find. Most of the grocery stores are things like Vons or Wal-Mart, so I’m rarely happy with the state of the produce. But it doesn’t come in a can.

I spend a lot of time biting my tongue in the eternal effort to stick to my resolution and not say anything about the food. I don’t give suggestions when they talk about what’s for dinner. I don’t refuse to eat at any particular restaurant (except Denny’s. They all know I won’t eat at Denny’s.
So far, no one has suggested McDonald’s so I’ve been spared that.)

I eat Aunt Jemima pancakes and Jimmy Dean sausage on the one day when breakfast is a group effort. I eat the Betty Crocker Salad, which I truly do not understand, and I ignore the white bread and margarine. If we’re going to be eating sandwiches, we’ll usually buy some whole grain bread at the store, assuring everyone that we wouldn’t dream of eating all their Wonder Bread.

I think it’s hilarious. And I hope I’m not coming across as snobbish, critical, or hateful. The simple fact is, I don’t eat the way most people do, and when I’m visiting, I’m putting my food preferences on hold.

No, I don’t need a medal. But when they come to my house – it’s my turn.