Not only did it have the not so conventional touches on food such as artichoke tacos, burritos and cupcakes.

But it also provided an artichoke art competition.

Probably the most entertaining part of it was the artichoke eating contest. Each of the five competitors tried to eat 3.5 lbs of whole artichokes.

and the champ…

It was good times.

Living room and balcony

Outside view. We are on the third floor. No elevator.

Living room and dining area.

Kitchen

bedroom 1

The beach is at the end there.

And the bathroom.

It’s a very nice apartment!

The ocean is such a powerful body of water and it provides such a soothing feeling. It can cause such destruction as seen yesterday in Chile, but is usually so predictable. Sort of like me I guess. Sometimes I feel so orderly, with an edge of chaos under it.

This is a recipe that a friend asked me to post months ago. It has served me well over the years in making a kick-ass homemade pizza. The recipe was originally taken from an online source, but looking around it is a pretty general recipe so I don’t feel I need to reference it.

Samaipata Pizza Dough

1 cup wheat flour
5 cups white flour
pack of yeast or pinch
2 tb. olive oil
1 tb. Salt
1 tb. Sugar
2 1/2 cups warm water

For conversions click here.

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water for 10 minutes.  stir in oil, 1/2 cup wheat flour, salt and 3 cups of the white flour. Mix in the remaining flour slowly. At a point you will need to tip the dough out of the bowl and begin to knead it. Knead for 8 minutes and create a ball with the dough. Place the dough in a bowl and rub with a layer of oil on top (this will keep it from getting hard). Leave it for 1 hour and then roll it out and make pizza.

You can add what you want to this recipe at the end when you are kneading it to make flavored doughs. Try chopped garlic, fresh herbs or even just pepper. It will make a good herbed dough. I think I used chives in the dough above.

Experiment with the amount of wheat flour you put into the dough. I like it with more wheat dough, but some like it with none.

Cooking tip: I have found that it helps to pre-bake the dough. Roll out the dough to the size you want it and bake at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes. After that, put the toppings you want on it and finish baking for another 10-15 minutes.

I’ll leave you with an image of my pizza tossing skills.

It’s been so long I’m not sure who will even read this. I am sure I’ve had no visitors in months. This is my effort to continue a blog.

Our travels have almost come to an end. We do not yet have our own house over our heads, but we are taking baby steps toward that and hopefully in the coming week it will happen. We are moving to Santa Cruz where I will begin full-time…normal work from 9-5. My Wednesday afternoons with flamingos has come to an end. I will be working as a student advisor in a small international office. It is on the most amazing campus of the University of California Santa Cruz.

I am hoping to return to blogging. I will try to post recipes (made an awesome leek, kale, arugula soup last night) and pictures of our new lives.

We are happy and healthy and I’m back online.

Update: Well, we have moved to Santa Cruz, but I am not beginning work at UCSC. In this past week I have been offered a job with a Canadian company and begin that next week. I am settling in and yes, I did actually post a recipe although not the one mentioned above. I’ve changed the name of the blog as I am the only one who will update this.

With temperatures between 60 and 115 Fahrenheit, endless amounts of peaches, nectarines, excellent Mexican food and health food grocery stores galore, California has to be one of the coolest states the northern part of America has to offer. Arriving in the southern part of the state on the Forth of July to fireworks and constant Michael Jackson music and  news, I was reminded that returning to the United States is a challenge, but always an entertaining one. I began the adjustment with five days in Los Angeles before heading north 4 hours to Morro Bay for Grandpa’s 95th birthday. I stayed with family (see picture of totally cute nephew above) and enjoyed the incredible vacation.

 From Morro Bay I continued traveling north and met up with friends. We hung out in Santa Cruz and once again I had awesome weather and incredible company.

We played frisbee (see pictures above), checked out the boardwalk including rides (below), ate lots of Mexican food (the national food of California I’m sure) and chilled on the beach. 

I also visited a farmers market in Santa Cruz. What incredible produce that state has.

Fresh blueberries were in abundance….for $10 a cup. 

After reaching the most northern part of the world I will visit in the next 2 years, I ended my trip with an exceptionally long drive back to LA and another few moments with my parents. I then set out for a journey south through Atlanta and on to Santiago…where I am currently chilling on the 7th floor of Mar del Plata, Providencia with a glass of Chilean (of course) Cabernet Sauvignon. From here it’s on to finding our traveling vehicle, getting our things together and setting out for six months of traveling. 

Thanks to all who made the past 17 days possible. To good friends and family who made the time to hang with me, drive me places, laugh like fools together and catch up on lost time. And to the beautiful state of California for it’s incredibly dry, hot and clear weather (a complete contrast to where I am now) and its sunsets after 8 p.m., I couldn’t have asked for more. 

Lastly to the California Kittens who surely have a home on earth or in kitty afterlife today. You made me laugh harder than I had in years and gave me yet another tragic animal story for the year. 

A special thanks to Mom and Dad. They make it all possible.

We will move in less than 2 weeks. Packing is a pain. It is not something that gets easier the more times you do it. It’s still a headache the 10th time I’m pretty sure. The cat does not get to come with us, at least not for the time being. Maybe next year we will ship him to Chile with the in-laws. He will be greatly missed, along with a number of things. It’s been a good 12 months.

He’s the bright eyed one. I just love the “I Love Jesus!” sign behind them. Ridiculously cute.

And the Rest of the family; Christine, Kali, Jo and Grandpa Phil.

What a crazy bunch.

Thanks Dad for supplying the pictures.