Day Date: North Beach Food Tour

At the beginning of this month, Mark and I had our 8 year dating anniversary (we are not married) and decided we wanted to do a little day trip to celebrate. Since moving from Illinois, we don't get to go out much alone, so we were both pretty excited about it. We live 30ish minutes away from Napa and wine country, but I don't drink so, although probably romantic, it doesn't do much for me. There is also the beach, but we like to do that with Myles. So I convinced Mark to do something in the city (he hates crowds and traffic), but had not a clue what that something was going to be. Naturally, I popped on Groupon. I love Groupon not only for the deals, but in a city as big as San Francisco, a focused and narrowed list is a must. This time it was an easy choice for us... "Walking Food Tour".. duh!!! The company does tours in 3 different neighborhoods, but the only one that worked for us was North Beach. Now going into this, I had no idea what kind of neighborhood North Beach was, and I probably should have looked into it before booking, but hey, food is food!

When we arrived our guide talked a bit about himself, the history of the area, and gave us an overview of the tour. The tour would be three hours long, we would stop at 5 places, and get a bit (which was really a LOT) of history along the way. I would say the tour was about 1/4 eating, 1/4 walking, and 1/2 history. But overall, we both loved the tour, food, and learning a ton about North Beach, which we found out is basically the Little Italy of San Francisco. 

First we had a sandwich at Molinari's: salami, mozzarella, pesto, red peppers. It was simple, but the ingredients were so fresh and authentic; I even ate the red peppers on it! 

Next was meatballs in red sauce and gnocchi in pesto sauce from Original US Restaurant. I was dying inside when he said we would be trying gnocchi. It literally melted in my mouth. 

Their original menu: under $1 for sandwiches and $2 for entrees!

The neighborhood right next to North Beach is Chinatown. They meet right at this intersection. In front of us was North Beach and this was the view behind us:

Chinatown:

So much culture, history, and beauty in this city, it is truly incredible. 

Next next stop was a vegetarian Bolivian restaurant called Pena Pachamama. The owners are also Grammy winning Bolivian folk musicians, so we got to listen to some wonderful music while we sampled kale chips (out of this world), potatoes, and plantains.

Our last two stops were desserts. First we visited XOX Truffles to sample 100% handmade truffles. The owner and chef makes every single truffle by hand. He talked with us about his background and the process of making the truffles. He said that he could never trust anyone to even help in the process of making them, so all of the 50 dozen made daily are done exclusively by him. We each got to pick three truffles. Of course, I made sure Mark and I picked different ones so that I could get a bite of his as well. Sampling one bite of six is better than two bites of just three! 

This is peanut butter, hazelnut, and raspberry. The raspberry was the best by far!

 

We also walked by the famous St. Peter and Paul church where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio took pictures after their civil ceremony (they weren't actually married here, they just took pictures for press and such).

Our last stop was cannolis at Cavalli Cafe. I have to be honest and let you all know that I have never eaten a cannoli prior to this. Because of that I have nothing to compare it to, but it was pretty good.

Before we found this walking food tour on Groupon, I didn't even know that such thing existed! And after talking with some other couples on the tour, apparently they are a thing all over the country! Now this is all I want to do in every place we travel to in the future! Learning about a new place, its history, experiencing the culture, and eating; winning all around!


Oh, and you can't leave San Francisco without some social commentary painted on a building:

Irony...

Have you ever taken a walking food tour?

My Perfect Fall Day

Moving across the county to a place where you know absolutely no one in your late 20s is a little jarring (to say the least).  We moved to California from Illinois two years ago and have lived in our current city a little over a year now. Exploring a new city can be fun, but also very overwhelming. What to do on a beautiful weekday morning or the ever elusive 'parents night out'? Where to start? Luckily in this age, we have the convince of technology and social media. Yelp has been a saving grace on days we can't be in the house any longer. But you can only go to the same places so many times. Que... Eventbrite. Eventbrite offers tons of options for creating and promoting events (if interested use their event management and planning page), but I love it for finding events! It's super easy to search for things that are going on in your area; good for planned day trips or impromptu nights out. I usually check it once a week and save events based on our schedule. We don't always make them, but I love knowing it is always there if we need something to do.   

As a somewhat newbie to the area, I thought it would be interesting to use this prompt from Eventbrite and share with you some of the awesome things we have found in Petaluma.

 One of the best things about visiting or moving to any new place it checking out the food! Mark and I pride ourselves on being (very) amateur local food connoisseurs. We make it a point to try to never eat the same place twice for our weekly date night. Out of all the places we've ate here in Petaluma, I have my top favorites for each meal. So, of course, I am starting out the day with: 

.Breakfast.  

Wishbone Ranch Food

This place... there are no words, really.. I don't know how food critics write! The owners have their own farm and purchase from other local farmers to create amazing dishes with homegrown taste. The menu changes with seasons, but never disappoints! If you do anything in Petaluma go here.. and just stay for all 3 meals!

.Shopping.

After the fulfilling meal, a walk downtown is a must. The streets are lined with locally owned quaint shops of many varieties. Downtown offers something for everyone (literally) with boutiques, toy stores, tons of resale, craft stores, coffee joints, salons all intermixed with parks and a river view. My two favorite places to stop are Copperfield's Bookstore and Powell's Sweet Shoppe. 

Copperfield's is a regional chain bookstore. They have about 7 locations in Sonoma County. I used to be a Barnes & Noble kinda gal, but when we moved I discovered the closest one was about 25 minutes away. So I thought I'd give this place a try. I have to say my favorite part about this store is the customer service. I would go as far as saying it is the best customer service I have had in a store ever. The staff is so knowledgeable, but not condescending. It is very laid back and inviting, with that corner bookstore feel. And for being just a local bookstore, they get a huge variety of nationally known authors to do events regularly. You could most definitely spend hours in this place and you should!

Powell's is a franchised candy shop with about 15 locations (mostly in California). I'm a bit of a candy freak (although I don't eat it much anymore because of sensitive teeth), so I have been to my fair share of candy stores. NOTHING compares to this place. They have everything you could ever want and more. Candies, old and new, sodas, specialty chocolates, and to-die-for gelato. My son loves picking out a couple of his own candies (he likes the gummies) and I have an affinity for the raspberry chocolate sorbeto mixed with the white chocolate strawberry gelato.  When I took my out-of-town parents here, I saw both of their faces light-up as they relived their childhoods' through their favorite old time candies. I'm not even joking when I say this is one of my favorites parts of living in Petaluma! 

.Winery.

After a couple hours of shopping, take a break and enjoy the beauty that is wine country. I'm not a big drinker, but being that Sonoma County is wine country, I have to add a winery into the list. Even if you aren't into drinking, experiencing a winery is a must in Petaluma and Kastania Vineyards is the one to experience. They offer tours and wine tasting on weekends and allow you to bring a lunch (grab sandwiches from Lucchesi's Deli) while you enjoy the views and test out wines. I love that it is family owned; their commitment and hard work is definitely shown in the quality of their wine.

.Dinner.

By now you should be ready for dinner and if you're not, just one whiff of the smells coming from Sauced will get you ready for your newest addiction. If you know me, you know that I was super hesitant about going to this place. That is because I don't like barbecue. I have just never liked my meat drowned in sauce; way too overwhelming for me. So when we decided to give it a try, I wasn't expecting much; even reading the menu didn't change my mind. I just wasn't sure how the meat would be with all the sauce on it. BUT the awesome thing about this place is the meat comes dry and you put the sauce on it. They have 4 homemade sauces on the table and you choose what and how much to put on your meat. Oh and the meat.... sooo darn good! The chicken is so juicy you don't even need sauce and brisket is mouth-watering. And the sides are even better; the corn bread and sweet potato casserole are the best I've ever had by far. We've been to this place more times than any other in Petaluma and we have brought every out-of-town guest here as well. 
They also have a really fun event calendar with trivia, bingo, and live music on Fridays and Saturdays.

 Take it from a non-barbecue lover, go here; this place will change you! 

.After Hours.

End the night at the famous Lagunitas Brewing Company. This place has an awesome history here in Petaluma and recently opened another facility in Chicago. You get to hear the whole story when you take a free brewery TASTING tour. Like I said earlier, I am not a big drinker, but the tour alone is well worth the visit. When we moved here, Lagunitas was always the first suggestion everyone gave us when we asked for things to do. It has such a fun atmosphere with live music everyday and some unique special events throughout the year. 

It is the perfect place for a day date or end to your night. You are sure to leave with happy taste buds and a greater appreciation for the art of craft brewing.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my perfect Fall day in Petaluma. If it sparked your interest... good, come visit us!!!! 

***I'm talking to you family and friends!***

{Kids in the Kitchen}: Fruit Leather & GIVEAWAY

Another Monday here and that means another Kids in the Kitchen post! Fall officially starts this week and I am so exited for all things Fall! Check back here tomorrow to see what we did for our first Fall activity! But for now, on to Kids in the Kitchen! If you are new to the series, check out my introduction post. This week we are doing snacks; if you missed the past weeks, here is our breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. Snack time is a BIG deal around here; Myles' very favorites are fruit and fruit snacks. He could seriously eat a whole box a day if I let him (we try to limit to one every other day, but even that is difficult for him!) Needless to say my choice for this weeks' snack recipe was an easy one; easy for me to make to: 

2-Ingredient Fruit Leather

What You Will Need

3 cups of fresh fruit
1 tablespoon of honey 
Parchment paper (a must)

Directions

1. Turn oven on to 200 degrees. 

 2. Prepare your fruit (rinse, de-stem, etc.) Measure out 3 cups and pour into blender. I chose to use raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. The raspberries made it very tart, so be wary of that when choosing your fruit. 

3. Add the tablespoon of honey and blend on high until it is a uniform liquid.

4. Prepare the pan(s) by lining them with parchment paper. The three cups makes enough to fill two 9x13 pans. 

5. Pour the fruit mixture onto the parchment paper lined pans. Spread out with a spatula to make as even as possible.  

  6. Place the pans into the oven and 'bake'/dry-out for 1.5-3 hours. There is a high variation due to many factors (altitude, oven, thickness of fruit strips, etc.) I cooked mine for 2 hours and that was just a bit too much. 1 hour 40 minutes probably would have been perfect. I would start checking at 1.5 hours and every 15 minutes thereafter. You want it to be dried out (not wet), but not so dry that it just cracks off of the paper. 

7. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Peel off paper and then shove in your mouth!

And we still have our giveaway going on: 

Win a 30 Piece Caddy Collection from Curious Chef!

Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. And if you have a post (new or old) that you created featuring kid friendly snacks ideas submit it below in the link-up. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be sharing our kids' creations!  

 And in case you want to join and get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
September 29: Kid Creations...(Let your kids come up with a recipe!)

{Kids in the Kitchen}: Strawberry & Banana Shortcake Kabobs & GVIEAWAY

Well here I am back again with Kids in the Kitchen and I haven't posted since last week's dinner post. Part of me really misses blogging regularly and I have a ton of things on my mind lately I want to write about, but time with my little and house duties always come first. I have been keeping so busy lately, I literally don't sit down at all during the day, so when night comes and Myles is in bed, I have been reading and relaxing instead of writing. Seasons of life come and go, so I am just learning to go with the flow and embracing this season as well. I promise I have not totally checked out yet.... Good thing for this series to keep me around at least a bit!

If you are new to the series, check out my introduction post. This week is all about dinner; if you missed the past weeks, here is our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Myles is not a dessert fan, he doesn't like cookies, cakes, or chocolate, so I went with a fruit based dessert and added a little treat for the adults in the house! These would be fun for a party or little get together at your house:

Strawberry & Banana Shortcake Kabobs

What You Will Need

*This makes 12 kabobs*

24 package of pre-made sugar cookies
2 banana
12 large strawberries
Small circle cookie cutter (I used a shot glass)
6 wooden skewers
 Vanilla icing

Directions

1. Bake cookies according to package. 

2. While the cookies are baking, cut the strawberries and bananas. Cut bananas into 24 pieces of the same size. For the strawberries, cut the bottom and top off. Then cut each strawberry in half, making 24 pieces. Keep the two pieces from the same strawberry together so that the kabob will stack properly. 

3. When the cookies are done, use the cutter (or shot glass) to cut them while they are still hot. 

4. Cut wooden skewers in half to make 12 smaller skewers. Assume kabobs by staking cookie, bottom strawberry piece, banana, cookie, banana, and top piece of strawberry.

6. Drizzle icing and enjoy! 

And we still have our giveaway going on: 

Win a 30 Piece Caddy Collection from Curious Chef!

Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. And if you have a post (new or old) that you created featuring kid friendly desserts ideas submit it below in the link-up. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be talking all about snacks!  

 And in case you want to join and get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
September 22: Snack Attack!
September 29: Kid Creations...(Let your kids come up with a recipe!)

{Kids in the Kitchen} Mini Chicken Pot Pies & GIVEAWAY

Well better late than never... right?!?! You may have noticed I've been super slacking on this here ole blog of mine. I think I am just going through a funk (which seems pretty normal in the blogging world every now and again) but hope to get my grove back soon! In the meantime, I will still be here every Monday finishing out the Kids in the Kitchen series. 

If you are new to the series, check out my introduction post. This week is all about dinner; if you missed the past weeks, here is our breakfast and lunch. In keeping with the muffin tin theme, I am revisiting a popular and favorite recipe on the blog and in our home. It happens to be a perfect dinner idea for toddlers and adults alike (and perfect for lunch leftovers as well!):

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

What You Will Need

*This makes 16 minis.*

2 chicken breasts, cooked and dices/shredded

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed 
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, diced

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cans flaky layers refrigerated biscuits (16 biscuits)

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

*Make sure to have chicken cooked before starting these steps. I put 2 chicken breasts and 1 cup chicken broth into the crock pot and cocked on high for 4 hours. Then I shredded the chicken. You can also cook in oven/stove top and dice it up.*

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In large bowl, combine chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, soup, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; mix thoroughly. 

I didn't realize I gave him the salt first and what happened was pretty amazing! LOL.. I ended up just scooping that salt covered section out before mixing the rest!

3. Lightly grease a muffin tins. Take one biscuit and roll it out just enough to make it wider, but not too thin (about 5 inches round). Place the biscuit over the top of the muffin cup and spoon 1/16 of the mixture (about 2 tablespoons) onto the biscuit. Then press the mixture down into the cup, leaving some of the biscuit hanging over the edge of the cup. The mixture should at least reach the top of the cup. Pull the extra dough over the filling towards the center. You can pinch the dough to keep it in place, if needed.

4. Repeat for the remaining fifteen biscuits. When finished place tins in the oven and bake at 375°F for 20 to 22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. 

6. Remove from oven and let cool for 4-5 minutes. Enjoy! 

This time I actually made 8 mini pot pies and then a normal pot pie with the rest of the mixture. I placed the remaining mixture in a glass pie pan and then topped it with a box of cornbread (made according to the box). I cooked it along with the minis at 375 for 22 minutes. I am pretty partial to cornbread, but it was amazing!

And as promised a super awesome giveaway for your little ones:  

Win a 30 Piece Caddy Collection from Curious Chef!

Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. And if you have a post (new or old) that you created featuring kid friendly dinner ideas submit it below in the link-up. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be talking all about desserts!  

 And in case you want to join and get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
September 15: Delicious Desserts.
September 22: Snack Attack!
September 29: Kid Creations...(Let your kids come up with a recipe!)