National Caramel Apple Day

It has been a while since we have celebrated a national food holiday.  Today we made caramel apples after school.  n could not wait for k to get home from school!

We just microwaved Kraft caramels with a little water.  I think the key was pre-chilling the apples in the refrigerator before dipping.  The caramel stayed on pretty well.  We let them harden up in the fridge on a Silpat and they were easy to remove. 

The kids wanted to wait until D came home to eat them.  I think they wanted to experience his silly and dramatic reactions that he makes when eating yummy food. 

Fun in Fontana

On Friday, D took off a half day of work, and we went to Fontana to see the qualifying and practice rounds for the MAVTV 500 Indycar World Championships. We had free tickets from the OC Register and the kids were free too.  The parking was even free, although we did spend a lot on gas $ because they don’t call it Fontucky for nothing!

We came prepared with earplugs.

Mazda, represent!

As you can see, we had our pick of seats.  It was kind of nice that it was not crowded at all.  We also appreciated the tram service to and from the parking lot.

We feel the need…the need for speed!

Mediterranean Food Date Nights

My sister and I swap babysitting duties once a month so we can have date night every other month.  This past weekend was our turn to go out, so we ended up at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill.  Believe it or not, we did not have a coupon, but we shared an entrée (steak shwarma, side of falafel and drink for $11, and it was enough.

People liken it to Chipotle, since you pick a protein, and then whether you want it in a wrap, salad or plate.  I liked how it comes with all of the sides—hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, plus a garlic sauce, tzatziki, etc.  Everything tasted fresh and the flavors all melded well.  We tried to go to the Solar Decathlon afterwards, but they had already closed the gates so we ended up shopping at Trader Joe’s.

Going there reminded me of our undocumented date night back in August, when we also chose a Mediterranean/Greek place, Luna Grill.  I guess we lean towards Mediterranean because it is not the kids’ favorite type of food.  Luna Grill is in the Spectrum.

That’s one full parking lot!

At this restaurant, we had a BOGO coupon from a booklet provided by the Irvine Company.  This place is also quite good.  The atmosphere is a notch above Garbanzo Grill, too.

Afterward, my curiosity got the best of me and wanted to try a piece of Dragon’s Beard candy from a cart by the merry-go-round.  There’s a young Asian guy listening to music with his ear buds that makes this delicate candy to order for $1 a piece. 

This is the Oreo flavor.  Not very appetizing, I know.  Kind of looks like bug larvae or something.  It was interesting, but will probably be one of those “one time things” for us.

OCFA Open House

We went to the OCFA Open House for the second time last Saturday.  The key to this event is to arrive early.  The parking lot fills up fast.  We arrived at around 9:50 for the 10:00 start time, but there were already lots of people there.  The sign said they opened the parking lot up at 9:45. 

Last time the line for the fire engine ride was too long, so we made that our first stop this year.

This truck was from the 1950’s.

We knew a family that was on the truck before us.

Kitchen fire demo.  The moral of the story was never pour water on a kitchen fire.  Turn the stove off, put the cover on, leave the house and call 911.

There was a Habitat for Humanity house model.  n is munching on his Krispy Kreme donut from Salvation Army.  There was also coffee/hot chocolate.

We also took a tour of the 911 call center along with a boy scout troop. 

I was surprised to hear that the 911 operators have sleeping/living quarters there. 

There was some old school equipment.  When was the last time you saw a dot matrix printer in operation?  They also had Gateway computers in another room. 

However, they also had some high tech equipment, like this huge HP printer that they bring to the field to print maps.  Can you imagine how much the toner costs? 

I always like tours that give you the “behind the scenes” view of things.

Afterwards, we had a hot dog lunch prepared by the firefighters.  We ran into another family we know there.  I’m actually surprised we did not see more people we know, but I think a lot of them showed up later in the afternoon.

We are so appreciative of firefighters and those who protect our community!

The Melt

Friday afternoon I took the kids to the Grand Opening for a new grilled cheese restaurant at the Spectrum called The Melt.  They were offering a free sandwich and side, and you know that I cannot pass up a chance for free food. 

The signage reminded me of The Veggie Grill, which is right across the way.  We had to wait in line for around 30 minutes.  The process was very streamlined: they let in 12 people at a time, and there was a set sandwich and side (no choice was given) which I guess changed throughout the day.

During our wait, they handed out free mini samples of their vanilla shake.  I liked the vanilla bean specks, but it tasted a little thin.

As a surprise, they also gave everyone a free drink from the soda fountain.  The sodas had sugar (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup), and I allowed the kids to have one (this is quite rare, so they were quite excited).  I did not allow them to drink the whole thing, however!

You can see the food being prepared.

Our sandwich turned out to be the “Mac Daddy” and the side was a Caesar salad/chips.

Yes, it was carb central.  No, it would not have been my first choice.  Of course, the kids loved it.  n even ate the same amount of sandwich as k and me!   (We saved one meal for D at home).

Aren’t those grilled cheese croutons so cute?

All told, our order of three sandwiches, sides, and drinks would have cost $33! 

Yelp Monster Mash

Last week, D and I went to our first Yelp event.  The Halloween-themed event was held at the Anaheim Garden Walk.  I think the last time we were there was for Taste of Anaheim.  Kids were not allowed, so they slept over at Baba and Zaza’s house!

The event was supposed to start at 7 p.m., but we arrived by 6:30.  This turned out to be a good thing, because we were able to go to all of the booths within about 45 minutes.  By 7:45, the lines were WAY longer. 

I know, my pictures of that night are pretty bad.  Let’s just say it is not easy to take pictures in the dark while handling multiple plates of small food.  Some highlights were the Avocado burger from Slater’s 50/50, Reese’s Italian ice/frozen custard from Confetti’s and lobster mac and cheese from House of Big Fish and Cold Beer.  There was a good amount of food—we were full, but did not feel overly stuffed/gross at the end.  The event was free with an option to donate to Make a Wish Foundation.  Good food for a good cause.  I’m glad we had the opportunity to participate.