Palmabella's Passions

We only get a leap year day every four years. What did YOU do with your "extra day"?
I have been going 90 miles an hour all of February with a couple of big projects, and a very busy time at work! I've been averaging 5 hours or less of sleep a night...not QUITE enough. I haven't had a day off since the Slow Bowl! I FINALLY had a free day!

6:15 AM: Morning Coffee

7:00AM: Time for blogging. I actually blogged EVERY DAY in February! Phew!

8:30AM: Showered, dressed, and ready for the day. It is a beautiful morning. Right now it is in the low 70s, and heading for 81 degrees. THIS is how I like my snow!

9:20 AM: A Slow Travel Fix: I was SO VERY SAD and upset at a new announcement!
The PMs are flying!

10:05AM: A quick stop at Trader Joe's

10:30AM: I also needed a few things at the grocery store. What to have for dinner? Then I mailed a package at the mailing store next door.

11:30AM: The flags are flying on EL Paseo, our main shopping street.

11:35AM: Nothing like a shopping fix when you are upset!

12:17PM: Not a bad laser strike at Chicos! Now I'm home and need to unload the car!

12:35PM: LUNCH! Glad I bought those strawberries! YUM

1:05PM: Ego contemplated a swim, but the water is still too cold! We read in the sunshine for a while instead.

2:04PM: I better give some water to my thirsty tulips!

2:14PM:Naptime! Ego spends most of the day like this, but I REALLY took an hour and a half "in bed, under the covers, down for the count, sleep"!

3:55PM-5:20PM: I worked on the centerpieces for one of the venues in Savannah. No sneak preview!

5:25PM: Prepping dinner. Crab cakes and broccoli slaw, but Brad won't be home for HOURS on a Friday.

5:45PM: A break at sunset. I'm STILL drinking coffee!

8:50PM: Brad is finally home after slow Friday night traffic. Time to relax with some wine by the fire! We had Blue Castello cheese, and pecorino with lemon honey.

10:15PM: We completely lost track of time. We had such a delightful conversation, sharing about upcoming fun events, our reactions to today's disturbing announcement, and looking forward to our May time in Rome and Montisi. We forgot to eat dinner! We were content with our cheese and vino. So we popped open another bottle, continued our conversation, and then had dessert at around 11:30PM. Those crab cakes in the fridge will be there tomorrow!

It's March! I love March as it is the beginning of "springy" things and colors!
I have always thought, "Thank God I'm Italian", but if I couldn't be Italian, I'd choose to be Irish. I already have the freckles and coloring for it! Let's bring on the green!

Crab Cakes (I have seen many recipes, but none exactly like MINE)

8 oz. fresh crab meat
1 green onion, chopped
1 slice of bread, crusts cut off, torn into tiny pieces (I used ciabatta)
2 T. mayo
1 T dijon mustard
1 1/2 t. Old Bay seasoning
1 egg, beaten

Mix all of ingredients. Form into patties and chill for a few minutes. Fill a quart or sandwich size ziplock bag with potato chips, and smash them. I use Hawaiian Chips (or kettle chips). Smash them into tiny crispy, greasy crumbs! Now roll those chilled crab cakes in the potato chip crumbs and fry them quickly in some hot olive oil. Just a couple of minutes on each side for a wonderful crunchy crust with no additional salt needed.

Enjoy an excerpt from one of my favorite childrens' books, If I Found a Wistful Unicorn by Ann Ashford and Bill Drath:

"If I found a wistful unicorn, and brought him to you all forlorn...
Would you pet him?

If I took an empty midnight train across the country in the rain...
Would you meet me?

If I picked a little flower up and put it in a paper cup...
Would you smell it?

If I found a secret place to go, with you the only one to know...
Would you be there?

If my cricket coughed and got the flu, and needed warmth and comfort too...
Would you hold him?

If my rainbow were to turn all gray, and wouldn't shine at all today...
Would you paint it?

If my soul were feeling all alone and wasn't near a telephone...
Would you write to it? (PM, email or text???)

If my clock developed nervous strain, and needed help to "tock" again...
Would you fix it?

If I were to dance for you, as hard as that would be to do...
Would you watch me?

If my pet turnip turned on me, and bit me fiercely on the knee...
Would you bandage it?

If my nightingale were a monotone and much too shy to sing alone,
Would you hum with him?

If all that I would want to do would be to sit and talk to you...
Would you listen?

If any of these things you'll do, I'll never have to say to you...
Do you love me?"

If everyday I blogged for you, and you liked to read it too...
Would you leave a comment?

I think my spices are out of control. No, I KNOW they are! We are supposed to toss and replace them after a year or so, right? I think I might have some that were purchased when I was..., well, never mind!

Here is ONE area of pull out spices, an easy reach while standing at my stove. Why are there 3 jars of ginger, and NO nutmeg? When I need nutmeg, I go over here:

I love my "test tubes" from Dean and DeLuca. Brad got them for me one of our first Christmases together. Well, THAT was 11 years ago! I have refilled the mustard and cinnamon. The thyme is always empty, and I ALWAYS use the fresh rosemary and basil from my yard. There are juniper berries and four kinds of peppercorns. What the heck are "fine herbs"? It must be time to toss "herbs for meat" and "herbs for fish".
I can refill these with my Italian herb blend. I am fairly certain I have never used "anatto". Does anyone know what it is? Where is the damn nutmeg? I can NEVER find the nutmeg! I can toss the cinnamon, as I just bought a huge Costco jar.

Then we have the baking section in my pantry. The vanilla is multiplying: "REAL" vanilla extract, the big jar that someone smuggled back from Mexico, the "condensed paste" from Sur la Table that I use for special recipes, and the Costco size box of vanilla beans I bought at Christmas.

You don't want to know about the various jars of sea salt. You really don't want to hear about extracts or sprinkles or food coloring! It must be almost time to dye eggs!

Another quick Wednesday night dinner: grilled veal chops, artichoke and mashed potatoes. I worked until 7:30, Brad got home at 8:30, and we managed to eat by 8:45. I think of it as dinner "on Italian time". I had the artichoke steamed, the potatoes boiling, and the veal chops had marinated all day. Brad turned on the grill when he walked in the door, had a glass of wine, and we caught the last 15 minutes of American Idol.

I baked these buttermilk vanilla cupcakes last night. This morning, I made vanilla buttercream frosting, and decorated the cupcakes. I used grapefruit-flavored jelly candies I found at Trader Joe's, and gumdrop spearmint leaves. I sliced the triangular grapefruit candies in half, then cut the triangles in half with scissors. I put some of the "petals" sugared side up, and some down. They ARE pretty, aren't they?

I have been on the planning committee for the Slow Travel April "Great Gathering in Savannah '08" for over a year. Our committee has met weekly to plan this event since December of 2006! It seemed so far away at first. (We took a couple weeks off now and then for holidays and vacations.) It has been both a wonderful and interesting experience. I do love planning parties, but this event was different in a number of ways:

1. We had no idea early on how many people would attend.
2. We were planning with people we didn't know well (or had never met) who lived all over the U.S. and Canada. We were in different time zones, sometimes making our meeting times a challenge for some.
3. We all have jobs, families and/or spouses, and other commitments in our busy lives.
4. Working with a committee of 6 different personalities,( though we got along very well, and became friends through this process) sometimes seemed to take longer than doing something alone, where you make all the decisions without discussion (WHO has control issues?). I have been fortunate to have met ALL of the committee members!
5. BUDGET! We wanted to keep it both wonderful, and affordable. NOT my strong suite!

We divided up the many tasks and responsibilities according to our strengths:

SHEENA: Our leader and organizer! Sheena did a great job of keeping us on track and accountable for our tasks, leading each online meeting, and keeping the enormous job of registration accurate with who was coming, who had paid a deposit, and when the final payment had been received. She has made all deposits, and reimbursed expenses. Sheena is our "spread sheet queen of Excel"! She also had our "Welcome Bags" made.

KATHY: Our organized, PR chairman responsible for over a year of weekly countdown posts, newsletters, emails, scouting trip, printing a program, and posting announcements on the Slow Talk message board. Kathy has accepted the many boxes of door prizes that generous members have mailed for her to drive to Savannah!

LESLIE: Our resident travel agent who booked blocks of hotel rooms in Savannah, scouted options for rental houses, and has been working with the nice people at Old Fort Jackson on Saturday night's event and menu.

TERRY: Terry has arranged transportation,( the trolleys), a map of Savannah, and other optional events during the weekend. She has researched emergency info, places of worship, and contacted all registrants to coordinate accommodations and trolley pick-up and drop-off. She takes on all the jobs nobody volunteers for, and will cheerily help any of us when needed.

JAN: Jan has worked with the menus (food, bar, pricing, contracts, and endless details) for both Friday's event at the Gingerbread House, and Sunday's Brunch at Vic's on the River. She is bringing a car load of "stuff" we will need during the weekend, and picking up more the day before the festivities begin in Savannah.Jan is great at details and planning. She and I are shopping for Thursday's "Happy Hour" at our house.

We have had others step up to the plate and help. Brenda has organized a "Ghost Tour", and Marcia is organizing those going to lunch at Paula Deen's "Lady and Sons" Restaurant.

MY PART: I was asked to participate because of my "reputation" for being a "creative party planner with good ideas". My jobs were the "fun stuff": door prizes, entertainment, centerpieces, name tags and other creative details.

Door prizes have been donated generously by members, advertisers, and Slow Travel affiliates. I have kept in touch with all the donors, and coordinated getting these items. What an AMAZING assortment of wonderful gifts we have! This was fun!

Name tags: Brad printed them for us on the computer. I supervised.

Centerpieces: I had a budget of $50. HAHAHA! Do not fear. I only went a teeny bit over budget, and I am ALMOST done, after over 70 hours of "creativity" spread across my kitchen. Brad just smiles and says, "The s___ you do!" (Then he helped.) If I had earned minimum wage for this week's work on the centerpieces, I would have earned about $560 (not counting overtime). I believe the term "obsessive-compulsive" could be used here. The good news is they are NON-breakable, PACKABLE, and REUSABLE. I think they are adorable!

Entertainment: Now this is where I had to get creative. Do not worry... the Slowchicks are NOT appearing in Savannah. I had grander ideas, but a budget of zero. With a mere 240 hours of time and creativity, this was more fun than I can even describe! Brad also put in many hours of "tech support" and other expertise on this project!
We are SO READY!!! You will just have to wait!

Memories of a wonderful weekend with old and new friends? PRICELESS!

Two years ago I didn't know what a blog was. Last year I couldn't download my digital camera into my computer without waiting for Brad to do it for me. Once there, I could size photos for printing (only because I HAD to learn Photoshop Elements for my scrapbooking). I have come a long way in the past year. I've learned to blog, and add links to my sidebar. We now have an i-pod, so I've learned to spend money on i-tunes. I'm better at manipulating photos. Now I know how to do special things with my digital camera (must be time for a new one). I have learned PowerPoint, i-MovieHD, and how to do fun things with my fabulous photo printer. I can even change the ringtones on my phone. We shop, plan trips, chat, find recipes and LIVE on the internet. I hate email, but read and answer 20-30 Private Messages a day on Slow Talk. We have a Garmin Nuvi 370 GPS I know how to use, (and keep the voice of "Parlabella" in Italian). I can talk to people on other continents for free with SKYPE with my very own headset and microphone.

I am still behind. My "filing system" on my laptop leaves a lot to be desired. It is only recently that I discovered that EVERYTHING on my computer doesn't have to live on my desktop. I can make FOLDERS and subfolders and keep them in places called things like "Documents", "hard drive", or "Palma's Stuff". Stop laughing. I am too old, and they didn't teach personal computers when I went to school in the olden days.
I have a "back up thingy box" so I don't lose anything (Brad calls it an external hard drive. I call it another friggin' thing on my desk.)

I don't know how to "burn a cd". I still haven't tried TIVO. We have an antique VCR (4 years old) I can't program. I still can't figure out how to get photos off my phone into the computer. I think I need an i-Phone.
Don't you think???

I love daylight savings time! I am a sucker for flowers at the grocery store. I treat myself about once a month, and couldn't pass these up. Tulips and daffodils are my favorite sign of spring!

Now I'm off to work on a busy Monday!

Make lemon pasta!

Brad walked in with these from our tree. BIG puppies! Hmmmm, what can I do with them? Another lemon cake? Nah, we just had one. I peered in the fridge and decided I could throw a few ingredients together for a lemon pasta sauce. I cooked my FAVORITE pasta: FAT spaghetti with a whole down the center. (I could do a whole blog on the various names for these, but I will call them bucatini.)

I took a scoop (serving spoon) of marscapone cheese, the zest from two lemons, a splash of milk, and a handful of grated Romano cheese and stirred it in a small pan util almost boiling. I added more lemon zest, and a little more cheese, and we had a very tasty lemon pasta!

Bailey's Chocolate Mousse Pie (From "Master Cook")

Make a chocolate crumb crust from chocolate wafer cookies or smashed Oreos, or buy a "Ready Crust".

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. Bailey's Irish Cream liquore
6 oz. chocolate chips
2 c. frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a saucepan. Let sit for 1 min. Stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved (4 min.) Add chocolate, and stir until chocolate is all melted. Stir in vanilla and remove from heat. In five minutes, add Bailey's and stir. Chill chocolate-Bailey's mixture, and when mixture thickens enough to form mounds when dropped from a spoon (it looks like chocolate pudding, about 50 min.), fold in Cool Whip, and turn into crust. Chill 4 hours. Garnish as desired or add more Cool Whip before serving if you like.

Cook a corned beef, simmering with spices, as directed, but remove 30 minutes early.
When cool, place in a large zip-lock bag with half a bottle of BBQ sauce. Let it marinate all day or over night. Heat the BBQ. Wrap corned beef in foil and heat through on BBQ (turning twice) for 30-35 min. Slice and serve.

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Click your curser anywhere and see what happens. Even better, click and drag it!

Then have a very happy day!

I LOVE Easter. It is quite visible in the house!
Dining room table:

My baby chair:

Bunnies and chicks and lambs too!

And the eggs my fourth grade students made in 1981 (oh my!)

Of course at my house we call today "Palma Sunday"!

Palm Sunday, the last Sunday in lent, marks the beginning of Holy Week and is always the Sunday before Easter. It marks the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and the crowds met him waving palm branches, and covering the path in them. The palm fronds represented victory and triumph.

As a child, my family celebrated Palm Sunday as my "feast day", since there was not a saint's day close to my name. There was a big dinner in my honor, and it was like having another birthday. Brad always honors the day for me with a card and small gift.

In the desert, all you have to do is go outside, and look up, and you will see various kinds of palm trees. I love being surrounded by the bright blue skies, sunshine and all kinds of palm trees.

Here are the four most common:
Date Palms

Queen Palm

Fan Palm

and my FAVORITES: The Royal Palms

Hope you are wearing your green! I have been!

Have an oatmeal cookie with me!

I had a lovely weekend visit with my friend, Roxanne, and her parents, who were visiting the desert to escape the winter snow of Wisconsin. We enjoyed the nice weather, some shopping, and lots of good food!

My meal was as good as it looks! Audrey and I both had Filetto Gorgonzola:

Dave enjoyed this variation of veal saltimboca:

Roxanne raved about her linguini with shrimp and scallops in a pink sauce.

It was cooler than usual over the weekend, and dipped back down to the 60's and 70's. Today we will all enjoy a more typical low 80's week! The desert wildflowers are blooming!

Happy St. Joseph's Day! The swallows will return to Capistrano today.

On "Palma Sunday", we had dinner with Slow Travel friends Carole and Roy, Barbara and Gary, and my friend, Roxanne, who was visiting. We ate at Pacifica, a great seafood restaurant in Palm Desert. I began with a pomegranate martini.

The food was great, and I took NO photos! We sampled several entrees: seabass in a Thai coconut sauce, swordfish in lobster sauce, shrimp stir fry, whitefish with spinach, calamari, and an assortment of fresh salads. Good wine flowed.It was a lovely evening!

Lots of good stuff coming up! My "pack lists" are done.

We leave for Savannah in 13 days!

We leave for Italy in 56 days!

Then we return to Italy in 163 days!

Kim and Chris are coming to dinner TONIGHT! I'm going to go decorate my dessert.

We had a lovely evening last night with Slow Travel friends, Kim and Chris, who are visiting from New Jersey. Glad to share our sunny temperatures in the 80's!

It was a balmy night, so we enjoyed appetizers and prosecco by the pool during sunset, until Brad made it through traffic from Pasadena. Dinner started with pear-gorgonzola ravioli in brown butter-sage sauce and a King Estate Pinot Gris.

Next: salad with mangos, raspberries and starfruit with a passionfruit dressing.

The entree was veal saltimboca and broccolini with almonds, raisins and bacon, and a Barolo Brad has been saving. (Guess I'm really starting to think about Rome.)

Back to the patio for dessert and coffee. Limoncello blast cake!

I love my candy bees! (Yellow M&Ms, black jelly candies, almond slice wings and licorice antennae.)

We were so busy eating, drinking and talking, we forgot to take a photo of US!

I had quite a nice day on Friday. During school holidays, I always miss those "teacher holidays" like 2 weeks at Christmas, "Spring Break", etc. and I was thinking, I needed a real day off! I decided to take one! No clients, no big cooking for Easter, as I am just making a cake to take to Fiona's for Easter dinner, no long "to do" list, and my house was clean.

I lazed around most of the morning, (usually bustling by 6:30), and didn't even get dressed until 10! This is VERY rare for me! I had coffee, played on the internet, read my book outside, and really did nothing. By 11:00, I decided to look for shoes. In 40 minutes, I was home with 2 new pair of Cole Haan sandals for Italy! I even got $50 off from a promotion they were having. Those Nike Air soles are so comfy, I bought them in black and white!

I came home, had lunch, and took a two hour nap! Guess I was tired!

Then my friend Maria called, and came over to bring me a two lovely surprises: a Chico's "Friend's and Family" coupon for 25% off your entire purchase this weekend.That, together with my 50% off your most expensive item coupon will require a visit to Chico's on Saturday! Oh darn! Maria is quite an accomplished artist, and she brought me the beautiful watercolor Easter egg pictured above. She painted it on a HARD BOILED egg, so I will not be able to keep it forever, but it is an exquisite desert scene on an egg!

Maria and I shared a bottle of wine. As we were sipping some Pinot Grigio on my patio, the doorbell rang, and another amazing gift was delivered. Look at this beautiful edible arrangement of fruit and chocolate-covered strawberries from a wonderful couple who recently finished a few weeks of marriage therapy. They sent it to thank me for "saving their marriage". I promise you, they did ALL the work to make that happen! I just gave them a few tools to get them back on track. It was a LOVELY thank you gift, and I will share it with friends on Sunday!

Soon Brad was home, I didn't feel like cooking dinner, so we made tuna melts, finished the wine, and had a delightful rest of the evening!

Buona Pasqua!

Spring, new life, bunnies and eggs, flowers and warm weather, the spiritual significance, I love EVERYTHING about Easter!

I'm off to make Procsiutto-Buttermilk Biscuit Benedict for breakfast!

Have a lovely day!

There was plenty of good food on our Easter Sunday.

We started the morning with some fresh buttermilk biscuits.

They soon became Prosciutto Benedict.

We had Easter dinner at Fiona and Steve's: pork roast, lots of great salads and fruit.

Finally, Lemon Olive oil cake with lemon curd filling and lemon-honey whipped cream for dessert!

There was not a chocolate bunny, egg or jelly bean in sight!

51 days away, and I am dreaming of Italy!

I long to see road signs like this:

And hill towns like this:

And eat bread like this:

Soon! I have begun the Italy countdown!

Yesterday, I mentioned our trip to Italy in May. With the Savannah Gathering coming up NEXT WEEK, I am so excited, I need a distraction. Italy always works for that!. It is obvious that I am a planner (for travel, parties and menus). What I love about this trip to Italy, is that our first week is almost completely UNPLANNED! We will wing it in Rome. I want to wake up each day without an agenda and say, "Let's wander today, and see where we end up!"

We leave on May 16, and arrive in Rome the next day. We will meet Massimo and Biancamaria at their Via dei Chiavari apartment, Rome-is-home, near the Campo di Fiori to check in for a week.

As this is a third trip to Rome, we are not going to do any of the typical "tourist" things. We have seen the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Forum, Colosseum, Borghese Gardens and Museum, etc. We want to "hang out", wander neighborhoods, eat, drink wine, visit kitchen shops, food stores, take a nap, and wander some more. We will eat lots of gelato and drink many lattes!

I want to explore the Trastevere, eat pizza, paint flowers in the campo, and have a picnic for dinner. We will spend a lovely evening with our generous hosts, and have a special birthday dinner for Brad's big 6-0. One day I'd like to have lunch at the Bramante cloister at Santa Maria Della Pace. I want fried artichokes in the Jewish quarter. I'm sure I will find some wonderful pastas, and we may go to a GTG. We are most looking forward to some time together doing next to nothing. I bet the week will go by in a flash, and then we will be on our way to Montisi to cook and play with the gang on Gail's Great Escapes!

Another quick, "Work Late on Wednesday" dinner:

Ida made this for Easter, and I have been craving it ever since. It is from The Hali'Maile General Store Cookbook by Chef Beverly Gannon (from my favorite restaurant in Maui).

Warm Gorgonzola Potato Salad: (I halved the recipe)

2 lb. red potatoes (about 20 small ones)
2 T. olive oil
1 c. sliced shitake mushrooms (I used regular mushrooms)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 c. chopped chives
1/2 c. crumbled gorgonzola cheese (I used 6 oz.)

Cut and boil potatoes for about 10 min. until tender. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and saute mushrooms over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. If mushrooms dry out, add a little chicken broth. Toss with onion, chives, and potatoes. Add gorgonzola and toss again, keeping it warm in a 350 oven until serving. Serve warm.

*I made it in the morning, kept it covered in fridge without adding the cheese. 20-25 minutes before serving, I added gorgonzola and put baking dish in a 350 oven for 20 minutes, melting the cheese.

We ate it with Korean ribs (Trader Joe's), and glazed carrots I put in the oven at the same time as the potatoes.

Dessert was another quick no-brainer made with stuff I had around the kitchen.
Pre-made pastry shells, a jar of lemon curd (I like home-made better, but hey, I was working!) and some cream cheese softened with powdered sugar and lemon honey.
Fill the tart shells (or frozen phyllo cups) with cream cheese mixture, top with lemon curd, and berries or whipped cream.

When NOT in Rome, YET, eat it anyway!

It is said that this sauce came from the charcoal workers in the Appenines to sustain them during their long days of work. Others say, the pepper looks like charcoal dust, giving the dish its name. I like to use my favorite dried pasta, buccatini, instead of spaghetti for this dish.

1 lb. pasta
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
6 oz. chopped pancetta
5 eggs (or 4 eggs and one yolk) at room temp
4 oz. heavy cream
salt and black pepper
1 1/4 c. freshly grated cheese (half Parmesan and half Pecorino Romano)

Beat eggs and cream together with a pinch of salt. Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan, and cook pancetta until fat is transparent, but not too crisp. Cook pasta until al dente, and drain pasta water into serving dish to keep bowl warm. Pour hot pasta into pancetta pan and stir well to coat. Remove pan from heat, and stir in eggs, cream a some of the cheese. Work quickly. The eggs will coagulate when they come in contact with hot pasta. They should not look scrambled or raw, but creamy. Add the rest of the cheese and toss with black pepper. Empty serving bowl of hot pasta water and serve. Delicious!

After making the Warm Gorgonzola Potato Salad the other night, I continued browsing through Beverly Gannon's wonderful Hali'imaile General Store Cookbook.
I found this recipe for "Coulibiac of Opakapaka with Passion Fruit Hollandaise" to try for dinner last night.
I really made a simplified version like this:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (I always keep Trader Joe's in my freezer, but Pepperidge Farm is very good.)
a 2 lb Opakapaka fillet (may use salmon, halibut or sole) I used three chunks of fresh Alaskan halibut.
2 T. each of fresh basil, thyme, and chives
salt and pepper
2 T. melted unsalted butter
4 c. fresh spinach (I used a bag)
an egg yolk beaten with 1 T. water for an egg wash

Duxelles:
2 T. unsalted butter
2 chopped shallots
1 lb. finely chopped mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas)

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions (TJ's takes 10 min.)
Place 1 sheet on a floured surface. Season fish with thyme, basil, chives, salt and pepper, and set aside. Saute shallots in butter over medium heat. Add spinach, and cook for about 2 minutes (just until wilted). Squeeze out any moisture, and lay down the center of the puff pastry. Top with seasoned fish.

Make Duxelles: Melt butter in a saute pan over low heat. Add shallots and mushrooms, and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt. Let cool for a few minutes. Top fish with mushroom mixture using a slotted spoon to avoid too much moisture.

Top with second sheet of puff pastry, cutting away extra dough, and crimping the edges. Use scraps of dough cut in strips to decorate top, or make cut outs with a cookie cutter. Carefully move to a baking sheet. Brush with egg wash, and place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes while you make the hollandaise.

I cheated on the hollandaise. Here is what I did (EASY and delicious):

Mix the following in a blender:
3 egg yolks (room temp)
1 t. sea salt
some freshly ground pepper
1 T. lemon juice
a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Blend those together. With blender on, slowly pour in one stick of unsalted butter, melted and very hot (from microwave) Add 2 T. of either guava or passionfruit jam (Lilikoi). Pour over slices of coulibiac on serving plates.

* When I said I simplified the recipe, this is what I left out: There is supposed to be a layer of chive crepes under the spinach and fish. I decided there were ENOUGH steps to the recipe, and we didn't need them. The only thing I might change is if I made this for guests, I would make individual ones with portion-sized pieces of fish, instead of one large one which made 5-6 nice sized portions.

I needed a quick, fun, "beach read", laugh out loud, girl book! My tastes range from psychological thrillers, to murder mysteries, courtroom dramas, historical fiction, memoirs, and what I call "pool books". Pool books include anything by Janet Evanovich, the Women's Murder Club series by Patterson, and anything else (usually paperback) that can risk getting slightly damp with salt water.

I have perfected reading on a raft in my pool. From YEARS of tanning, I have wrinkles, a few EXTRA freckles, and the ability to read on a raft (while lying on my front OR back comfortably). I have not yet submerged a book!

What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes was the perfect book to read in 2 days while doing last-minute obsessive things for the Savannah Gathering! She has written a number of books with Janet Evanovich, and this one was right up my alley. It is a romantic comedy about a clinical psychologist in private practice with a crazy family, eccentric secretary, "interesting" clients, and a soon-to-be-ex-husband (a gorgeous firefighter who is almost perfect except when he keeps running into burning buildings and scaring her) she is still in love with. Our heroine is threatened, and herself "over the edge", while trying to treat her challenging clients. Perfect for Palmabella!

Here are two of my favorite quotes (which will not ruin the story line, so go ahead and enjoy them):

First paragraph of Chapter 1:
"As a clinical psychologist, I've spent most of my time trying to convince my clients they're not crazy. The truth is, everybody is a little bit crazy; it's just a matter of degree. Take me, for example: I'm not exactly the poster lady for mental wellness, and I'm the one treating these people. I find that scary.
Even scarier is the well-dressed thirtysomething guy threatening to jump from the rooftop of the ten-story North Atlanta building housing my office. He's a new patient, referred to me by a psychiatrist I once dated."

Another chapter that had me chuckling out loud, (I could SO see myself in the character) was when Kate decides she needs to "live a healthier lifestyle" (exercise and diet). She heads to the grocery store with good intentions to eat better, and maybe even become a vegetarian:

"With my list of wholesome foods in hand, I drove to the grocery store and loaded my cart with fresh fruits and vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrots, nice purplish asparagus spears that were ridiculously over-priced, and plump, ripe tomatoes. I added bananas, a container of giant strawberries, Red Delicious apples, and a plastic bag filled with seedless grapes.

I found a box of cereal that promised to lower my cholesterol, prevent heart disease and cancer, and provide me with enough nutrients that I would never again have to worry about taking my multivitamin tablet before I left for the office.

At the meat counter, I turned my nose up at the steaks and tossed in a pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

I bought skim milk, whole wheat bread, and olive oil that wore a seal of approval from the American Heart Association. I figured that at this rate, I was going to live until age 110.

I headed toward the front of the store to check out and skidded to a dead halt when I saw the "buy one get one free" offer from Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I gave myself a mental smack on the forehead. What was I thinking?

It hadn't occurred to me that the healthy new diet and lifestyle I'd planned might be a little extreme. Extremes don't work, especially when it comes to diet and exercise. You can have the best of intentions, but if you're not at all flexible, you can sabotage your best efforts and set yourself up for one huge failure. Which leads only to low self-esteem, of course, and maybe even an eating disorder, I reminded myself.

There are times when it helps to be an expert in human behavior. I promptly turned my cart around and headed for the freezer section."

From April through October, I will be on my raft for an hour a day. It is my reward for swimming laps and doing pool exercises. I look forward to the sequel, Nutcase.

We went for a ride up Highway 74 to see the desert flowers in bloom. It was loveliest about 3 weeks ago, but still a pretty drive.

Desert plants are in bloom.

Even the rocks look like they are blooming.

AMAZING STORY

Then we met Ubaldo and Denee for brunch in Palm Springs. I LOVE the story of this couple! We met Ubaldo in Pienza when we stayed at L'Olmo in 2003. He did everything there to make guests comfortable: help with bags, breakfast room, coffee, concierge, pool, grounds, etc.

Ubaldo, an Italian originally from Torino, met Denee, a lovely California guest, who was traveling alone. He helped her with dinner reservations for Easter Sunday. They talked in the lounge afterwards, and, well, they fell in love! A year and a half later, on New Year's Eve, we had a phone call at our home in Palm Desert, saying they were in town. They came over, we met the lovely Denee, Ubaldo was on a vacation while L'Olmo was closed for winter, and of course I wrote about it on Slow Travel.

Fast forward: The couple's relationship grew and they could no longer live on two continents. Ubaldo began the LONG task of getting a "green card" to come permanently to the U.S.. We have gotten together with Denee and Ubaldo each year since then, either in Italy, Palm Desert or Los Angeles.

I just love happy endings! Ubaldo is "legal", he and Denee were married last summer, and are coming up on their first wedding anniversary. They live in Los Angeles. I invited them to the October Desert GTG.

Here is the corker: In order to prove their "story" with Immigration, they used all of my posts and photos on Slow Travel! This verified the dates on Ubaldo's passport stamps, and "proved" that their love story/relationship was legit!

Moral of the story:Keep blogging and posting! You just NEVER KNOW!