Breakfast with my Sister

 I haven't really felt like blogging lately - or doing much of anything really.  Sometimes life just gets the best of you.  But, I am back and sharing some delicious food that I didn't even make.  I kept it in the family though:)

My sister, Sarah, turned 30 a couple weeks ago and I went down to Newport Beach to celebrate!  After a long weekend of celebration, Sarah and I needed some vitamins and a boot camp class to kick our butts back into shape.  We picked up a fresh juice blend call Goddess of Green from Mother's Market.  The juice blend, Goddess of Green, had apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, kale and we added lemon juice.  It was tasty and uplifting.  Then Sarah cooked breakfast for John (boyfriend) and me.

She toasted a couple slices of sourdough, spread on goat cheese, piled on lettuce and tomatoes, and topped with a sunny side up egg.  Looks amazing!

Goddess of Green Juice Blend

Sarah's birthday presents

And the best part:  John and Sarah's dog, Molly.  Cutest dog ever.  And Molly loves to cuddle!

Over at Jello's Kitchen + Leftovers

I am over at Jello's Kitchen today, where she is featuring me as this week's Amazing People Thursday!  So sweet of Jello to think of me as an Amazing Person!

I also wanted to share with you how I ate my Wheat Berry Vegetable Salad leftovers.  Super easy, just topped a big spoonful of this healthy salad with a couple of sunny side up eggs.  The yolk ran out and mixed with salad and changed the whole persona of this dish.  It was a great way to use the leftover salad.

 I am heading down to Newport Beach tonight to celebrate my Sister's 30th Birthday!  

I hope you have a great weekend too:)

Mother's Day Brunch

Happy Mother's Day!

I was so lucky that my Mom and Grandma came down to San Francisco for Mother's Day.  My Grandma has never seen my apartment before and she loved the "San Franciscan" feel to the apartment.  We filled our stomachs with delicious brunch food and laughed about memories together.  I gave my Grandma a card that plays music when you open it up and she was surprised and delighted by the added card entertainment.  I set up my tripod to snap a couple pictures of us (took maybe 20 tries to get it right) but I think the one above is a great picture of the three of us.  

Here was my menu for our Perfect Mother's Day Brunch:

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (thanks Amber for the idea!) topped with Yogurt and a Homemade Blueberry and Raspberry Compote.  Note:  I made a few adjustments to the pancake link.  1.  I made my own topping sauce:  Blueberries, Raspberries, sugar, water, lemon juice, and cornstarch.  2.   I added lemon zest to the pancake mix.

Thick Cut Applewood Bacon

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Chives

Fruit

I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day!

Aguas Frescas

 For Cinco De Mayo this year, I treated myself to homemade Aguas Frescas.  I went out to dinner with one of my friends, Nicole, and she told me about a Cantaloupe Aguas Frescas that she saw being made at a mexican restaurant in LA.  She was surprised how simple Aguas Frescas is to make.  I immediately needed to make my own refreshing version.  

 Aguas Frescas means "Fruit Water" and the translation is not kidding.  Blend fruit, water, a little sugar and lemon juice until smooth.  Strain if you want, however I like mine with some texture.  I decided to make two Aguas Frescas versions:  Watermelon-Strawberry and Cantaloupe.

I would post a recipe, however its so simple that I think I'll just provide some guidelines:

Pick a Fruit (some work better than others - be sure to chill)

Cut your chilled fruit up and add to a blender (I used about 4 Cups of Fruit)

Add about a tablespoon of sugar or more to taste 

Add Juice from 1/2 Lemon

Blend and add about 1/2 Cup Water as it's running (I used less for Watermelon-Strawberry and more for Cantaloupe)

Enjoy!

Wheat Berry Vegetable Salad

My girlfriends and I had a weekend getaway to Stinson Beach to celebrate the 25th birthday of one my best friend's, Niky!  

Our weekend consisted of wine, walks, beach, Corona's, chips, dogs, hot tubs, Nouns (game we made up while studying abroad in Italy), and good talks.  It was so nice to get away for the weekend and relax with all my girlfriends.

I got home this afternoon and felt anything but healthy.  I'm burnt and I ate way too many chips.  I felt like a pick me up and this salad definitely hit the spot.  

However, I wish I back at our Stinson Beach House looking at this view...  

studying this sign for inspiration...

watching this sunset...

and enjoying the sunshine.

I hope you had an amazing weekend too!