Good Living with Aprilanne

Welcome to the first post in Back Page - “always a work in progress…’

Visit MarinHumaneSociety.org  for more information on their “Santa Paws” event and to sign up for your pet photo sitting with Santa!  Your donation of $25.00 will help shelter animals AND you will receive 2 same day 4X6 prints of Santa with your pet plus a digital file will be emailed to you!  Great for this season’s holiday cards - Enjoy!  Aprilanne

Do you have an upcoming event to share with Aprilanne’s community?  Post it in a reply here!

Thanksgiving is one holiday that is fairly universal here in the states  - meaning almost everyone celebrates this day of sharing bounty with good food, good family and good friends.  And - no surprise, our friend the turkey traditioanlly finds it’s way to our Thanksgiving tables every year - often times yielding those fabulous turkey leftovers…

I often think of my mother’s brother “Uncle Ben” who among numerous other extended family members would join us at Grandma Rose’s house for Thanksgiving diner.

About 2 hours after dinner Uncle Ben would call out “who wants a sandwich?”  When I was younger I used to wonder HOW  Uncle  Ben could be hungry so soon after eating so much.  As I grew older I realized this was part of our family’s tradition of Thanksgiving - the fun of making sandwiches on Thanksgiving after dinner  - with the leftover turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce and stuffing.

For those interested in doing more with the leftovers than making sandwiches (which I do not knock - we had that last night!)  I offer Grandma Rose’s One-Pot-Wonder” Recipe - which is as easy to make as it is delicious and healthy to eat!  Try it tonight and I will bet this dish quickly becomes your “go-to” recipe when you want to serve something quick, delicious and nutritious! 

Side note:  Other than the fresh greens and herbs, most of the ingredients can be stored in your pantry making this a wonderful dish to serve last minute guests, especially when you add the olive oil and crushed rosemary garnish.   This dish is hearty enough to serve alone, or you can add some fresh french bread, and a beautiful green salad on the side - Enjoy!  Aprilanne

Do you have a unique family recipe you would like to share?  Feel free to send it along and we’ll post it accordingly!

It’s a known fact in the adveritsing biz that babies and puppies sell - sell - sell!  Well, let’s add seals and marine mammals to the list of heart tugs because I have to ask - for a minimum donation of just $30.00 who could turn down a face like the sweet little one in the picture on the left ?

Now - you can “Adopt” Arrow -  as a “Poster Seal” for TMMC who represents a particular species of mammals the Marine Mammal Center cares for.

Oh - and there are many others to choose from like Garnett pictured at the top of this post, to the world famous mother and daugher Humpback Whale due “Delta and Dawn” - you can adopt the ones that appeal to you and feel good knowing your helping in the rescue and rehabilitation of our marine mammals.

“Adopt A Seal” packets include a bio and photo of your adoptee, an adoption certificate, and much more…making this act of giving a great gift to share this season - check out  the details here and enjoy this incredible season of “California Giving!”  Aprilanne

Meet BIG RED - our “impostor” in the hen house (see post below) who has turned into a really sweet addition to our California Farm.”

While he is pretty cool with me - read:  “the one who feeds him everyday” - BIG RED  does find my husband’s presence somewhat of a threat (although sometimes I think it may be the other way around!)

Growing up on the East Coast - I had the pleasure of experiencing a few key good things in life - one of them being “clambakes on the beach” - which are probably the best experience you can have when talking about cooking and eating food on the beach.

Now, as luck would have it, I’ve discovered a special place in Half Moon Bay, CA - Sam’s Chowder House - where they do Lobster Clambakes right on their oceanfront property in large, traditional, authentic wooden steamer boxes.   You can also order the Lobster Clambake for 2 off the menu - which is beyond incredible - yet for entertaining - I think the whole idea of “let’s sit around and eat and drink while the dinner is steaming experience” Sam’s Lobster Clambakes offers on their beachfront property location is the ultimate in good living.