Taco Tuesday!

I haven't posted FOREVER! Not because I haven't been doing anything..but because I've probably been doing way too much. Lots of progress renovating the old Theater I've mentioned before, little projects around the house, and nicer weather setting in. But.. I digress.
I bought a small pork shoulder on a recent grocery trip. After drying it off a bit, I pierced it all over with a paring knife and dry-rubbed it all over with taco seasoning. I then stuffed it into a bowl and poured a little taco sauce over top of it. I left like this - covered - in the fridge overnight, and stuck it in the crock pot (with a little apple cider vinegar and a lot of water) on low while I was at work. Come 6 o'clock, it was shredded and INCREDIBLY tender. It didn't have a ton of seasoned flavor to it.. but that was fine - I got to use it for BBQ pork the next day!   

We had our avocados, refried beans, queso, salsa, sour cream, and more. This was pretty low key and store bought...I figured I made the pork, I didn't have to try too hard on the rest of it ;)

While we're in the kitchen: I was really intrigued by this when I saw it online, so I thought I'd try it.
3M Command Hooks attached to the inside of a cupboard door to hang your pot lids - it actually saves a lot of space..and now they aren't banging around in the cabinet every time I go looking for something. Quick and easy! 

Californ-i-a: Food

We had some really great food in California. Some of it had it's picture taken..some of it was devoured before I remembered.
In addition to In-N-Out Burger and some of the traditional stuff like that, we ate at a couple really cool little local spots. This one was called Back Abbey - a little British-inspired pub with nice outdoor seating.

I had the Back Abbey with fries and a French beer :)
The burger was ridiculous: Angus beef, Nimon Ranch bacon, caramelized onion, garlic aioli
I was really excited about the fries, too..fried in duck fat. I've heard good things, and they didn't disappoint.

The bakery in Claremont has been around for nearly 100 years. It's currently operating as Some Crust Bakery and makes everything by hand with local and organic ingredients.

My breakfast sandwich: turkey, egg, cheeses, garlic aioli, avocado, and red onion on homemade sourdough. Delish!

I want this life.

One of the coolest things was picking fruit from the edible landscape at the Claremont Colleges. It's all organic, and there for the picking if you're a student. Luckily, we had one :)
I don't think I had ever had figs before...now I think I need to plant some!

Olive trees on campus - so pretty!

The allee of oranges. Megan says campus smells amazing when the citrus blossoms are out.

Pitzer College had a really great little student-run garden complete with chickens, bees, and a mini-orchard.

Little pomegranates ripening away.

A good day's work! Plums, lemons, oranges, apples, a pomegranate, a persimmon, avocado, limes, and figs.
Our need to eat out went down drastically after this :)

Megan and I were playing with figs..so cool!
This is fig, prociutto, and chevre pizza with caramelized onions, a balsamic reduction and arugula. So. Good.

Figs wrapped in prosciutto. We tried it roasted and un-roasted, and we both preferred roasting.
We also tried it with some capicola and thinly sliced salami...it was all great!
We also tried a couple internet recipes: sauteed figs in honey butter (good) and figs sauteed in brown sugar butter served with sweetened mascarpone cheese, a balsamic reduction, and honey butter (AMAZING!)