Where's Arnold?

At the end of January, Z and I traveled out of the city to a little town called Arnold. Where's Arnold?  I had no clue before this trip that Z had booked for us as my late Christmas / early anniversary present. With Lake Tahoe to the north and Yosemite National Park to the south, the town of Arnold boasts a truly central location in the Sierra. Arnold is home to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, where the continent’s biggest trees grow. Featuring giant Sequoias over 300’ tall and 30’ in diameter, the park flanks the Stanislaus River with terrific fishing and swimming, too. 

On Friday, we left to make the drive over to stay in the most charming little A-frame cabin. Z did an awesome job finding the home, since I've probably talked his ear off about how beautiful A-frames are and how I would love to stay in one. We were lucky that the owner let us bring our piglet pug along with us too. Finnegan was super excited to run around and hang out on the deck porch of the cabin while we unloaded our car for the weekend. Below are some photos of the exterior of the cabin with a little nosy pug prancing around. If you look closely at the last photos, you might see an emo pug peering out from the glass door because his owner left him inside while she took too many photos of the cabin and outdoor surroundings. More to come shortly!

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia con Granchio

My cousin recently received a promotion and could not turn down a great opportunity to live in Las Vegas.  I am saddened by him leaving San Francisco because I have such great memories hanging out with him and he was definitely one of the reasons I ultimately fell in love with the city. While I will be losing family up here in the Bay area, I wish him and his family all the best. I can't wait to visit Las Vegas and see how they're doing in the future.

Since my cousin's moving date is fast approaching, he gave me some squid ink pasta (from my aunt's trip to Italy) and some crab meat to use. I researched a couple of recipes online and decided that I would put two of my favorite ones (incorporating ingredients that I liked) into one. The result was delicious and I will definitely have to make more crab pasta again since it was pretty simple, fast, and easy to create.

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia con Granchio

Yields about 4 servings

Ingredients

½ pound squid ink pasta

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup jarred sweet pickled / smoked  peppers (Trader Joe's has a good one)

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Garlic cloves to preference, very thinly sliced (I use a lot because I love garlic)

⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup white wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

8 ounces fresh lump crab-meat
¼ cup basil leaves, shredded
1 1/2 cup of cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 lemon juiced
Lemon zest for garnish

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente.
2. While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic begins to become fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down and release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the sweetened/smoked peppers and cook until peppers are softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the white wine, lemon juice, and tomato paste, increase the heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Lower the flame and add in the cream, stirring to combine until the tomato paste is well mixed with the cream. Keep warm over low heat. Season as needed.
3. When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss to coat with the sauce, moistening it with the reserved pasta water as desired.
4. Just before serving, add the crabmeat and basil to the sauce and toss gently. Divide the pasta evenly among 4 plates, garnish with lemon zest, and serve immediately.

Salute!

Happy Howloween!

 Happy Halloween...errr...I guess Howloween! It's raining right now in San Francisco, but that didn't stop this crazy pug lady from forcing her pug to take multiple photos in costumes. A certain little pug was not amused because I was depriving him from his precious sleeping time, but HEY! I HAVE PHOTOS OF A PUG WEARING RIDICULOUS COSTUMES for your enjoyment!  We're heading over to Fremont tonight for a house party and I made some dark chocolate peanut butter marshmallow treats and a spiced pumpkin rum drink. Hope your weekend is happier and less grumpy than these photos of Finnegan!

Finnegan's Costumes:
Pirate + Peg Leg (Toilet paper roll) : Target
Bumble Bee : Nordstrom Rack (gift)
Mummy : Extra fabric scraps
Ghost : Extra fabric scraps
Punk Skull Sweater :PetSmart

Flora and Fauna

I've been missing the pretty red and orange leaves from our trip to Massachusetts, so I decided to wear this floral headband I had ordered previously from Mod Dolly.  The headband itself has an deep orange velvet ribbon band with some darker red, pale orange, and green flowers. Some of the flowers have pearl-beading in the center adding just enough detail to make me feel so fancy fine wearing it. I guess I am trying to trick myself into thinking that the weather is cool, despite the fact that it is so warm right now in San Francisco. I never really know what to wear when the weather is hot. Fall/Winter fashion always seemed more interesting to me since it takes a bit of skill to layer patterns and clothing together for a cohesive ensemble.

After taking tons of bathroom-mirror selfies because I had annoyed my boyfriend to the brink of breaking up with me that he refused to take photos of my outfit, I forced my poor little pissed off pug to model the headband along with me. It kills me sometimes that he knows what to do when I take out a camera and instantly begins looking at it with such an sad apathetic gaze. What a pug! I think I was able to capture his good side, yes?

Outfit Details:
Headband: Mod Dolly
Dress: Forever 21

Babies and Beer

Last weekend, I visited my cousin who just recently returned from a trip to Australia. I spent some time with his little baby--who is rapidly growing right before my eyes! His face gets more expressive each time I visit. My aunt was also visiting and she had made some Filipino food for dinner: pancit, lumpia, and beef kaldereta. I was in heaven!  It was great to catch up with everyone and I can't wait to see them for Thanksgiving later next month!

Next, Z and I went to a birthday party in San Jose at a German Restaurant and Beer Garden called, Teske's Germania.  Since it was the last week of Oktoberfest, there was live music in the beer garden and many lederhosen-clad lads. SO MUCH BEER SERVED IN LITERS THE SIZE OF MY HEAD.There were also sooo many bros (being that we were in San Jose), and I felt terribly out of place. Z and I shared some beer, schnapps, pretzels, and salmon topped-potato pancakes. Below are some horribly blurry photos from the evening (what happens when you drink beforehand):

Hope your weekend was great!