Kono's Surf Club Cafe - San Diego, California

Overlooking the ocean at Pacific Beach in San Diego, Kono's Cafe offers an extremely casual and tasty breakfast or lunch.  Customers order at a counter and then sit down outside for the gorgeous view or inside to catch the morning football games.  The pancake syrup is not maple, the plates are styrofoam, and the chairs are of the plastic lawn furniture persuasion, but the burritos are stuffed with fluffy eggs and the potatoes covered in plenty of cheese and scallions.  Everything is so enormous that you should consider sharing...or asking for some foil to wrap up your delicacies to enjoy later.

704 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109 (858) 483-1669 () ‎ 

Taco Asylum - Costa Mesa, Orange County, California

When we are in Orange County visiting grandparents and friends, we LOVE to eat at Taco Asylum.  This eatery cleverly taps into cuisines from all over the world to bring customers tasty fillings such as ghost chili pork, short ribs, duck with brie, pork belly with hash browns, and wild mushroom.  The tortillas used to house these delights are like none I've ever had before; they are something of a tortilla-flatbread hybrid and are simply delicious.  Sweet Pea and Little Man like to eat the tortillas by themselves filled with little non-spicy selections of meat from our tacos.  You can order the tacos a la carte, in a flight (so that you can sample different kinds), or with Israeli couscous and lentils.  I always stuff myself silly at this place because I can never decide which taco I want, so I eat too many.  Which one is the best?  The meats are often in different marinades, so it's hard to have a "favorite," but I have never been disappointed with the pork belly, no matter what they've put with it.

Avocado & Salad Pasta

We will often come across an evening when I just don't feel like breaking out the saute pans or chopping up a lot of different ingredients.  For such times, or when I just want to whip up a quick lunch, I will turn to this fantastic idea from Giada De Laurentiis.  She takes avocado and arugula and zaps it all together in the food processor with some other tidbits.  Since I feel the need to cut corners with every recipe, I've taken her idea and omitted a few things.  I'll often just serve it by itself or sometimes I'll pair it with sauteed scallops, chicken or fish.

Avocado & Salad Pasta (aka Green Spaghetti)

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis'  Linguine with Avocado and Arugula Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 2 medium avocados, halved, peeled, and seeded (about 12 ounces total)
• 1/2 - 3/4 bag of supermarket salad (50/50 Mix or Spring Mix work well)
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place in a serving bowl.

Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the avocados and place in a food processor. Add the salad, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and cheese. Blend until smooth.

Pour the pesto over the pasta and toss together. Add some pasta water if you need to loosen the sauce. 

Homemade Granola - Perfect for Breakfast, Recess or After School

This looks like a whole lot of granola, but you'd be surprised how quickly we go through this pan.  I cut it into bars for the kids to eat at school (wrapped in foil), sprinkle it on top of yogurt for afternoon munching and serve it with milk in the morning for breakfast.  When I'm feeling peckish during dinner prep, I will often just put some in a little bowl and pick at it.  I thought that the kids wouldn't be able to distinguish it from supermarket granola, but they actually request it frequently!

Homemade Granola
largely inspired by Ina Garten's recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 2 cups sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (or raw wheat germ toasted in a frying pan)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup chopped dried fruit (cranberries or blueberries are great)
• couple of handfuls of chocolate covered seeds or chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal and almonds together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  If you are using raw wheat germ, you may want to toast the wheat germ at this time.  Spread it out onto a nonstick frying pan and toast it on medium-high heat, gently swirling the pan occasionally for a few minutes until the wheat germ seems darker.  

Put the browned oatmeal and almonds into a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.  

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. 

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruit and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares or bars. Serve at room temperature.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.