Our Family Christmas Brunch

I'm so sorry that I haven't had time to blog lately and I still don't have time, but here are a few pictures from our family brunch at El Torito Grill.

OC Fire Storms

My heart goes out to all of those who lost their homes or businesses during these recent fires. It is amazing how fast these things can happen. One minute Michael is sitting on the couch with his family watching football and the very next hour he is out on the front lines fighting fires and aiding residents. Here is a picture from our front yard, 25 miles away from the fires. The smell is awful and there is ash everywhere. It was such a eerie feeling with the sun darkened like that in the middle of the day.

Papa's Boots

Here is Maddie trying on Papa's boots. The kids love it when Papa comes home. Esther love to see "Papa's Miko" as she calls his motorcycle.

Oktoberfest 2008

For the last several years it has been tradition for our family to go to the Oktoberfest held at Old World in Huntington Beach to see Christina and her Beach City Cloggers perform. It's fun to watch her perform as well as just people watch. The little kids dance on the dance floor and really get into it.

This is also a tradition...to watch these two old lady twins perform feats that would make my back ache just by watching. I have heard that they are in their 80's. They must weigh no more than 80 pounds, they have the bodies of 12 year olds but faces of old ladies.

It really is quite a freak show.

Mundel Bread (Mandel Bread)

Many, many years ago my Grandmother showed me how she made her Mandel Bread. (Mandel Bread is similar to the Italian Bicotti but way better.) She even wrote down the recipe for me. I never really made it on my own. Aunt Maddy now makes it (she makes it sooo yummy). She was going to show me how she makes it, but I was thumbing through my recipe box and I came across this recipe card written in my Grandma's handwriting.

So I decided to reach back into the corners of my brain and try to remember how she did it.
I remember her making these long skinny loaves.



And then baking them until they were set.



I made these ones too close, but they worked out any way.

Then she cut them at an angle about 5/8 inch apart. (5/8, can you tell that I am a seamstress?)

Here is Esther enjoying the end pieces.

Then she would lay them back out onto the tray and put them back into the oven to toast.

She would take them out, turn them over and put them back in to toast on the other side.

(This is the five generation picture I have hanging in my kitchen)



Thank you grandma for handing down the recipe for Mandel Bread. I have made it three times now and I feel that something is just missing if I don't have any in the house. I love the food of my childhood including the Sephardic cuisine of Mandel Bread, Barekas, spinaka, Fideo, lamb and bean soup, Boyos, stuffed cabbage, etc.

Here is a little history

Sephardic Jewish Food and Cooking
Sepharad is the Hebrew word for the Iberian peninsula that includes Spain and Portugal. Jewish cooking would need to adapt to these circumstances.Jews lived in Spain long before the Visigoth (Germanic) tribes invaded in 412, however after the Moorish invasion of Spain in 700, there was a large influx of Jews immigrating to Spain. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Spanish Judaism flourished under Muslim rule, producing poets, scholars, and courtiers - what is known as "the golden age of Jewry." By the mid-thirteenth century, however, the Christians controlled all of the Peninsula except for a small area from Granada to the Mediterranean. In March, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decreed the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Many Jews converted or left while others went to Portugal, where Judaism could still be practiced freely. But Portugal expelled its Jews in 1497, and the tiny kingdom of Navarre followed suit in 1498. Judaism could be practiced openly nowhere in the Peninsula. Driven from home, the Sephardim established their own congregations in such places as Morocco, Italy, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, the Land of Israel, and elsewhere.
With plenty of herbs and sometimes generous use of spices, Sephardic Jewish cooking is aromatic. They use a lot of lemon, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, cumin with turmeric and more. Sephardic Jews are known for their love of cooking vegetables, from salads to vegetables stuffed with fragrant meat and rice, and pies or Burekas which often have feta cheese, spinach, or potato fillings. Sephardic Jews from Morocco and other North African countries enjoy cumin, ginger, and saffron & chilies. Jewish cooks from the eastern end of the Mediterranean have adapted their food and cooking as well and make heavy use of cinnamon in their cooking, so much that they use it as a savory accent for meat dishes The kebabs, pilafs and dolmades (stuffed vegetables) of Turkish Jewish cooking are still some of the most recognizable Sephardic dishes. Fruits, vegetables, spices, and grains were plentiful in the Mediterranean climate, and thus plant foods figured heavily into Sephardic Jewish cooking.

My Experiment

Okay...so I had this problem...I had a bunch of fruit flies flying around my kitchen. I think it is because I left a few bananas out to get a little too ripe. These flies were driving me crazy so I thought that I would try an experiment. I filled a little shot glass sized cup up with apple cider vinegar. I heard that you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar but I know that the honey would not quite kill the flies so I left the cup out for a few days and to my astonishment I found a bunch of dead flies at the bottom of the cup. I am so happy... no more flies.

Click on the pictures to see a better view of my dead flies... ;o)

Yes on 8

I feel very strongly about this subject, but what I love is the fact that we live in a country where we can agree to disagree and still have love and respect for one another.

Check Out This Blog

I came across this article and thought that it was well said.

On A Lighter Note

I feel like the ones in the middle.

My Beautiful Grandma Virginia

I just love my Grandma Virginia...I can't tell you how awesome it is to have my grandma near me while I am a grandma. To see the five generations all at once is a miracle. I so appreciate the life my Grandma lead. She is such an example and an inspiration to me. This year she turned 90 years old. I just love her so much.

Here my Grandma is in her early teens.

She is so amazingly photogenic.

She's adventurous.
This is my Grandpa Sepe & Grandma Virginia. My Grandma has been widowed for about 51 yeara.
Don't they just belong in Hollywood? She was always mistaken for a celeb.

Boy does she love her time in Vegas!
She's even an athlete.
What a sexy mama! She is where I get my love for the River from.

I totally remember that coat...it was sooooo soft. Doesn't she look like a perfect cross between my mother and my Aunt Maddy.
She loves to travel. The cruise is the way to go!
This was taken when she turned 80. What a beauty!

Grandma Virginia...I love you!!

Blast to the Past Photo of the Week (Happy Birthday Wendy & Kevin)

This one of Wendy was taken December of 1984.

I just wanted to send out a special "Happy Birthday" to Wendy and Kevin. How old are you now? I have lost track...I think that you guys are now older than me...jk. These pictures were taken in 1985. We were all together celebrating Michael's graduation from the police academy.

Protect Families

Go ahead...don't be shy... tell me what you think...even if you are against it...please comment.

Click here.

Treats at the Mall

We went to the mall the other night and Esther got to eat an ice cream cone...dig her tongue action. She was sucking it like a bottle and heaven forbid you try to take it away from her.

Homecoming Dance

Sam and his date, Megan, met up with a bunch of friends to attend the homecoming dance. They all met (I think that there were 14 of them) in David's backyard and a few of us moms (and dads) put together this awesome dinner. David's dad Tony brought back Salmon from his Alaska fishing trip and cooked it up with some Fettuccine Alfredo ( and chicken for those who didn't like fish) and asparagus. I made my famous rolls and Janet make some scrumptious apple and cherry pies. They all had a great time.

Sam & Megan

Nolan & Kirdy

Nolan, David, Brett & Sam

These guys have been friends since the were "wee lads".

The whole group.

Isn't that a beautiful set-up?

Homecoming

This last week Marina had their Homecoming Game against Huntington Beach High School. It was a great game...especially for Sam. He rushed for 230 yards and made three touchdowns. The final score was 21-14 Marina. It got pretty close at the end, but our defense pulled through. The trophy at the bottom here represents our rivalry with HBHS. We have it back now and it's staying for a while. This week Marina will be playing Orange High School...Good Luck Vikings!!