Did I get them all done? Yes, but with two asterisks - bet you can't guess which ones! Since there were so many left to do, I am breaking the accounting into several posts. And I promise not to wait several months between them! ;-)
So without further ado, here is the first batch... all about food!
Big chain coffee shops (read: Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, etc.) are everywhere and you know exactly what's on the menu. I have to admit, I frequent them fairly often but finding an independent coffee shop is a real treasure. I had four new-to-me coffee places on my list and visited three of them in August - SoZo Coffee House (#28), Inside the Bungalow (#24) and Bold Roost (#34). I had a mocha at each one and they were all delicious. SoZo Coffee House has fabulous cookies and Inside the Bungalow has scrumptious homemade breakfast casseroles. Bold Roost has a limited breakfast and lunch menu but since I visited there in the late afternoon, I didn't eat anything. I am, however, looking forward to returning during a meal time.
Three different friends joined me on my coffee house adventures. I introduced my grandson, Christopher, to the wonderful world of mochas (decaf, of course!) which he enjoyed so much we went back to SoZo a second time! Inside the Bungalow (LL) is located in downtown Mesa and used to be Coffee Talk. Its whimsical interior makes it a fun place. Bold Roost (LR) in located in Gilbert in a strip center. The industrial decor gives it a workplace feel.
Making s'mores (#43) proved to be a bit of a challenge since I really wanted to make them over a campfire and there are always fire restrictions during the summer. But persistence paid off. We walked over to a camping and picnic area across from the lodge where we stayed at Jacob Lake (during our Grand Canyon trip - a later post!) and noticed that they allowed campfires in their fire pits. The catch was we didn't have any firewood, I forgot to bring the marshmallow forks and it was closed for the day. While that might be enough to stop some people, it was not enough to stop me. As we walked around I realized the camper belonging to the camp host for the picnic area and campground was located nearby so I knocked on his door to ask if there was any way we could build a campfire and make s'mores. He was quite agreeable and even helped us get our campfire going. We purchased a bag of firewood from him, gathered some kindling, built a fire, sharpened twigs... and voilá! S'MORES!!!
Graham Cracker + chocolate bar + roasted marshmallow + graham cracker on top = a gooey, sweet treat!
I had three foods left on my list that I needed to make: homemade granola (#47), breakfast for dinner (#45) and something (anything) made out of phyllo dough (#1). I like granola on my yogurt but don't like the high calorie count in store-bought ones so I looked for a recipe with minimal sugar and fat. I ended up combining two recipes and used rolled oats, flaxseed, a variety of chopped nuts, honey, orange juice, vegetable oil, cinnamon and cloves - and it was delish! Breakfast for dinner was a special treat when I was growing up. Or at least I thought it was - but in reality it was probably just a quick dinner when my mom was in a hurry. For my trip down memory lane I made eggs scrambled with spinach, mushrooms and cheese, toast and sliced peaches. It was every bit as good as I remembered it! All that was left was making something out of phyllo dough (paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough commonly used for making pastries). I had never used phyllo dough before despite it being on my "To Do" list for the last three years. I chose a recipe called Lusciously Nutty Holiday Logs but used pecans instead of walnuts. They were heavenly!! And easy to make!! And really, every day celebrates something so you could make them all year long!
Three tempting taste treats!
"Bon appetit!"
~ Julia Child
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