Happiness is...Pasta with Roasted Asparagus & Goat Cheese

The Asparagus has been so abundant, delicious, and cheap this year.  I've been eating it several times a week for the last 2 months, I can't get enough asparagus. 

I throw it in eggs, toss it in salads and rice, eat it cold dipped in balsamic vinegar, and for breakfast I love to toast up some French bread and top it with some soft cheese and a few spears of garlic roasted asparagus...yum.

My new favorite meal is Pasta with Roasted Asparagus & Goat Cheese, it has a no-cook sauce and can be thrown together in the time it takes to boil the noodles.  Super easy and delicious.

Pasta with Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese
Serves 4-6

2 bunches of fresh Asparagus, any woody parts of the stem removed
Olive Oil
2 cloves fresh Garlic, finely minced
Kosher Salt & lots of Black Pepper

1 lb. Fettuccine, Linguini, Cavatappi ~or~ pasta of your choice
6 oz. Garlic & Herb soft Goat Cheese, crumbled
3 T. Butter
1/2 c. Peas, fresh or frozen
2 T. fresh Parsley, minced
Lots of Black Pepper
Kosher Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Place the Asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper; drizzle with Olive Oil, sprinkle on the minced Garlic, and season with Kosher Salt and lots of Black Pepper. Roast until tender, 9 to 11 minutes; cut into 2-inch lengths.

Warm your Peas in some boiling water ~or~ the microwave.

While asparagus is roasting, generously salt the boiling water. Add the Fettuccine, and cook according to package instructions ~or~ to your desired doneness. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add the crumbled Goat Cheese,  Butter, and 1/2 cup pasta water to the cooked pasta; toss to coat the pasta adding more pasta water if needed. Add the Asparagus pieces and Peas to pasta; toss to combine.  Season with lots of Black Pepper and Kosher Salt. Garnish with fresh Parsley.

I also like to substitute Cherry Tomatoes for the Peas...M'm m'm...
I promise you will like this dish.

Happiness is...This Garden

This garden is so beautiful it takes my breath away.

I came upon it while on a walk with a couple of friends.

We were talking and laughing and suddenly we all fell silent...

We couldn't believe what we were looking at.

Every Tulip was at least 2 feet tall with blossoms the size of my hand, 

and the colors were so vivid they almost looked like they 

were made of wax.  It was like a Fairy Tale Garden.  

You could almost envision the Tea Party and White Rabbit right there.

I have never seen this variety of Tulip before.

My photo does not even begin to capture their true color.

I think they look like paper cranes or flamingos stretching their wings.

This is truly a Magical Garden.

Happiness is...My Coffee Maker

I am in love with my Coffee Maker!  He is my BFF.

He is the one that gently whispers for me to wake up every morning.  Ooh...does He ever smell good!! He never lets me down, supplying me with delicious cup after delicious cup of coffee, never asking me for anything in return (except for maybe a quick warm bath and a swipe with a sponge). 

Without him in my life I would be a horrible nasty bug-eyed mess.  He keeps me calm and bright and clear headed and supplied with delicious cup after delicious cup of coffee.

He came into my life about 4 years ago.  I picked him up for $3 at Goodwill, the BEST $3 I've ever spent!

I love you Mr. Coffee. I don't know what I would do without you.

Happiness is...Jimboy's Tacos

For years and years I've known about Jimboy's Tacos.  I've been into Jimboy's with my family many, many times.  I've just never eaten at Jimboy's...until now.

Why have I passed on eating at Jimboy's on so many occasions?  One time I actually walked across a parking lot to a grocery store to grab a salad so I wouldn't have to eat there.  What was I thinking?  Jimboy's is Great!

This is greasy, crispy goodness at it's best.

Jimboy's makes the best Taquitos, filled with lots of seasoned chicken and fried super crisp, but not dried out.  The guacamole is freshly made just like I would at home, a blend of avocado and sourcream with the right amount of onion and garlic.

Jimboy's also has a salsa bar, so you can mix and match to your hearts desire.  I am partial to the zippy/tangy green sauce, but the hot red sauce is good too.

I also had a chicken taco which was really greasy yumminess...you know I love tacos.

Lots of juicy, saucy chicken, shredded cheese, thick slices of ripe tomato, and lots of fresh iceberg lettuce all wrapped up in a crispy corn tortilla shell that was dipped in parmesan cheese...squeeze on 2 packets of their spicy Taco Sauce and you're ready to go.   

Just remember this is not Mexican food, it is tacos...wonderful, fast-food, greasy tacos.  M'm M'm.

Happiness is...The Corti Special

My Dad and I share a special fondness for Corti Brothers. We have been going there for as long as I can remember.  It seems every trip to Sacramento has to include a visit to this amazing Italian Market/Deli. 

I have been to Italian Markets in lots of cities, big and small, and Corti Brothers is by far my favorite.  There is something about it...it's not fancy, it's not trendy...it's a grocery store, with great stuff and a great smell (there is nothing like the smell that hits you as the door opens in front of you).

I love walking up and down each aisle to see the awesome array of pastas and chocolates and pickles and giant beans and cheeses and crackers and cheesecakes and pestos and wines and Ouzos and Amarettos and I could go on and on.   And, they always have samples!  Last time I had a fresh mozzarella with fresh cream in the center, it was like mozzarella wrapped around a center of butter...so good.

But that's not why we keep going back.  We keep going back for the CORTI SPECIAL.  The Holy Grail of Sandwiches. The CORTI SPECIAL will make you regret the years you've wasted eating other sandwiches.  This is the one.

Let's begin our tour on the bottom floor with a thick layer of Provolone Cheese.  Then we move into the meaty layers of ham, mortadella, cotto, prosciutto, coppa, and toscano salami.  Top it all off with pepperoncini, garlic pickles, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, salt & pepper, spicy mustard and fresh mayonnaise on a sesame seed Italian Roll.  From the time you unfold the clean white paper until you crumple it up when you are finished you are in for a treat.   You won't find better for $4.49!!!

Actually thay make all kinds of sandwiches at the Corti Deli Counter.  Delicious I'm sure, with cured and smoked meats, exotic cheeses, roasted veggies and pickled peppers, but I have never strayed.  I have only ever had The CORTI SPECIAL.  If I was ever to try another sandwich I think I would choose the DaVinci, with grilled Italian sausage, roasted red peppers and housemade mozzarella cheese...doesn't that sound good?

http://www.cortibros.biz/

Happiness is...Beautiful Tulips

Everywhere I look Spring is in bloom!  The Lilacs are sweetly perfuming the air.  The Lavender is heavy under the weight of busy bumblebees.  Daffodils and Irises dance peacefully in the warm spring breeze.  Happy Dandelions are popping brightly up out of the grass (a weed, yes, but such a cute one).  Fluffy pink and white blossoms fill every Cherry, Apple, and Plum tree.  But most of all, there are Tulips...Everywhere.  And I can't get enough.

The Farmers Markets are just bursting with fresh Tulips.

This is my favorite time of year.

There are so many varieties and colors and shapes.

Every booth has something new to share, something special.

I really can spend an entire afternoon walking around enjoying the colors.

I spend hours trying to pick my favorites.

I love these Lily-flowered Tulips.  

When you look at them straight on they look like a six-poined star.

Gorgeous! These beautiful French Tulips are so elegant.

I want vases of them in every room of my house.

These Fringed Tulips make me giddy with joy!

How I would love to take a bunch of these home.

Everywhere you look, Tulips, in every nook and cranny.

Wrapped in crisp white paper, ready to be taken home.

Gardens and sidewalks are also bursting with colorful blooms!

Beautiful Tulips, absolutely my favorite flower.

Happiness is...Cooking and Eating with Your Family.

When the family gets together there is always a lot of cooking, and eating, going on.  It's how we roll.

Cooking, eating, drinking, talking, and having a really good time.   While cooking and eating we share stories from the day and life.  We come together to laugh and pray.  We try new things together, savor our old favorites together and plan what to have when we get together next time.  We challenge each other and create together.  It is all so wonderful and comfortable and delicious.

There were a lot of Birthdays and occasions on my latest visit with my family, so we did a lot of cooking:

My Aunt Dorothy's German Chocolate Cake...

She made it for my Grandma Jo's ##th Birthday.

My Aunt Dorothy makes really good cake...and not boxed cake either.

She made this Pineapple Upsidedown Cake (my Mother's favorite) for

the girls, on Bunco Night!  She should have made 2!!!

There is nothing better than when Grandpa Mal makes us Portuguese Breakfast.

We all look forward to it every time we visit.

Linguisa, eggs, crispy potatoes...m'm m'm.

Cheesy Potato Casserole...

It was as good as it looks.  Thanks again Aunt Dorothy.

My Cousin Charlene and her husband, Ross, made the most amazing Fudge.

My friend Michelle was still talking about it two days later...

Charlene & Ross also made some delicious Quiches that were devoured so quickly I didn't get a photo.  You gotta' be quick in this family.

I made some Chicken Noodle soup, as a birthday present for my Grandma Jo, and a big pot of Minestrone for pizza and game night.

We cooked and ate, did it again the next night, came together again for leftovers, and did it as a Family.  Good Food, Good Times...

Happiness is...Grandma's Pie

I had no idea that my Grandma Jeanette made pie!  The crust, the filling, the whole shabang.

It blows my mind because these delicious desserts are coming from the woman I have not seen eat more than a handful of peanuts and a few corn chips with cottage cheese in the last 30 years...the woman eats like a Bird!

But her pies...are like Heaven!  Tender flakey crust (all butter) and delicious fillings.  I was lucky enough to be there when she made three different varieties...and I doubt she tried a single one, but I tried them all...

Come on...who doesn't like a blackberry pie?

Not too sweet a perfect filling (not a drop of juice).

Pecan Pie is one of my favorites.

She makes hers the right way with lots and lots of chopped pecans

and whole pecan on top for lots of nutty flavor.

The Chocolate Pie was everybody's favorite!

Super smooth, rich, and chocolaty with a delicious layer of

pudding skin on top...mmmmm pudding skin.

I hear her best is a Pineapple Pie.  Doesn't that sound good?  I've never heard of pineapple pie before and I guess I'll have to make another trip to California to see what that is all about, since I wasn't there long enough for her to get around to making that one.  Keep up the good work Grandma.

Happiness is...Easter Candy

I'm really a potato chip girl, but I like Easter Candy, as with most candies, mainly for the pretty colors and the foil wrappers.  I like to fill jars with pretty candy and put them on tables to look at and I like to fill pretty cello bags with  brightly colored beans, tied up with pretty ribbon, to give as gifts to friends.  I don't actually eat all that much candy.  I still have a box of See's Coffee Toffee from last Easter, half a bag of Carmel Apple Pops left over from Halloween, 2 boxes of Harry & David chocolates I got for Christmas, and a huge tin filled with miscellaneous candies I pick up because I think they are pretty and fun.  I really just like to look at candy...it makes me Happy.

However, Easter Candy is my favorite candy to actually eat.  Here are my pretty favorites:

Cadbury Mini Eggs are THE BEST Easter Candy there is!  But as they are only available at Easter, they are also the hardest to find.  I had to visit 5 stores before I actually found a bag, because they were already sold out for this year.  They also make the mini eggs in a dark chocolate variety that I really like, but they are even harder to get your hands on. 

What is it that makes The Cadbury Mini Eggs so good?  First of all it's the speckled, matte, candy coating that gives the mini eggs it's unusual mouth-feel.  Like licking sweet chalk. Then it is the smooth melting Cadbury chocolate, though very sweet it's the texture of the smooth chocolate and the crispy chalky shell that is so good.  Luv, Luv Luv...


Reese's pieces Pastel Eggs are another one of my Easter favorites.  I have loved Reese's pieces ever since I saw E.T. : The Extra Teresterial, as a child.  I love the ultrasmooth crisp candy shell and I am also a lover of everything peanut butter. 


Not only are these candies beautifully colored and egg shaped, the smooth shell is extra thick, lending itself to a pretty spectacular crunch, and they are 4 times as large as the regular Reese's pieces.  There is so much sweet and salty Peanut Butter goodness inside! 

I am not a big fan of the Cadbury Egg.  They are way too sweet and way too messy for my liking.  The mini Cadbury Creme Eggs are more my style, and I adore the way they are packaged by the dozen in a mini egg crate.  Plus I am always a sucker for candy wrapped in pretty colored foil.

These little milk chocolate eggs are the perfect size for unwrapping and popping in the mouth.  Though they are very sweet, you only have one bite to deal with and unlike the regular size egg you aren't left with 2 bad options:  #1 getting sick by eating the entire thing or #2 creating a huge mess by trying to save the goopy sticky leftovers.
My favorite thing about these sweet eggs, again unlike their larger relatives, is that when you cut into them they actually look like a real egg.  How happy is that?!

Another close relation of the Cadbury Creme Egg is the decadent Cadbury Carmel Egg.  Gloriously wrapped in gold foil and again packaged buy the dozen in a tiny plastic egg crate.  I love the way these candies look all packaged up and shiney.  Evidentlly I just really like egg shaped candy.


These are by far my favorite carmel filled chocolate.  I really like how well the smooth Cadbury chocolate shell melds with the salty and  florally carmel that is inside (the vanilla is very pronounced).  Again it is the perfect size to be a one bite delight and not a messy disaster.

Happiness is...Pretty Pretty Cupcakes

This was one of my delicious Birthday Cupcakes.

Samoa Flavor!

A beautiful Holiday Cupcake Tree... 

The skier makes me smile.

Neopolitan Cupcake..

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry and Vanilla Icing.

Red Velvet Cupcakes...

and some with Toasted Marshmallow and some with Sprinkles.

Cinnabon is making Cupcakes...

I like the Cinnabon Swirl on top.

 

A vegan Chocolate Cherry Cupcake...

even vegan can be pretty.

Another pretty Cupcake Tree...

All pretty pretty pretty.