MIA in San Diego

It seems my weekend trips have left me a little lacking in the blog posting.  I see I have been tagged for a few blog events and hope to get to those this week.  But for now, I want to share the Paws and Pours long weekend in San Diego. 

It all started the weekend before, when I was in Minnesota on a surprise birthday visit for my mom.  While it was a fun visit, freezing temperatures, snow and sleet are not what my Arizona blood had in mind for a weekend get-away.  So, on a whim we decided to take Friday off, pack up the paws and pours, and head to San Diego.   Mmmm....I heart San Diego.  We found a pet friendly Sheraton in La Jolla that was perfect.  (For you pet lovers, all Sheratons are pet friendly.) 

After a few stops and 5 hours of driving, we arrived and were walking the beach by 3 pm.  Somehow, this photo was taken of Chase and myself....didn't know we had the camera with us!

With temperatures unseasonably warm, we all felt like we had died and gone to heaven.  Nothing on our agenda except to drink a lot of wine,take lots of walks on the beach, and, oh, have some great meals. 

Friday night we headed to one of our favorite spots, George's in La Jolla.  We sat on the deck overlooking the ocean and it was as amazing as always.  I wishI had brought the camera, because the sunset was spectacular!  I had a wonderful persimmon and endive salad with a gorgonzola vinaigrette to start, followed by the salmon with roasted beet aioli.  YUM!  Since it was a warm evening, I had the Vin Gris Cigare dry Rose with my salad.  I used to love this rose, and while it was still good, it was a bit sweeter than I remembered it being. 

Saturday was filled with fun festivities like the Dog Beach in Del Mar, followed by the Dog Wash in Solana Beach, a long walk along the cove in La Jolla to see the sea lions, and a relaxing picnic in Del Mar, overlooking the ocean.  We sat in the grass and ate, and drank (cheap mini bottles of Chardonnay from the deli,) and almost fell asleep to the sound of the tide rolling in.  Saturday evening was another night in downtown La Jolla.  This time we hit Jack's for the wine bar/grill to hear some live music.  Great wine and great music, this place had a fun vibe and a very chic atmosphere.  I started with the scallop appetizer, then continued my seafood theme by getting the pan seared opakapaka in a broccoli puree broth.  Sounds gross, but was muy delicioso!

Of course, the foodies that we are, we could not be in San Diego and not go to a Farmer's Market.  Sunday we went to the market in Solana Beach, and it was just as wonderful as it was when we were there in August.  I wanted to get more, (the strawberries smelled amazing,) but this is the loot that we could fit in our cooler to bring back.

Pictured here are 2 kinds of kale,2 kinds of baby squash,(with squash blossoms!!) rainbow chard, lettuce, baby arugula, persimmons, gorgeous vine ripened tomatoes, and grapes.  Stay tuned to see what we make with our stash later this week. 

I am looking forward to being back in the kitchen.