cookiesinheaven

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Cruising into Santa Barbara

With the Swine Flu frenzy afloat, several cruiseships have decided to stop off at Catalina Island and Santa Barbara instead of their intended itinerary, Mexico. Imagine passengers surprise to find that instead of cheap T-Shirts, trinkets and tequilla they were expecting, they were met with overly inflated prices for everything. Well...guess it's good for tourist biz dollars.

Approximately 5,000 passengers will be spilling from the two ships over the course of the weekend, some from the Sapphire Princess on today, May 2, and the rest from the Star Princess on Sunday, May 3. A third ship will be stopping in Santa Barbara on May 10, as part of its regularly scheduled itinerary.
...Downtown business is also preparing itself for this windfall, as the cruise industry estimates that the average visiting couple from a vacation ship spends approximately $200 in one port of call. While this is expected to provide a welcome economic boost, Chamber of Commerce President Steve Cushman reminds pointed out that the extra tourists wouldn’t necessarily mean an uncomfortably crowded downtown: The average weekend in Santa Barbara during tourist season sees roughly 40,000 visitors. - SB Indy

Labels: Flu, Santa Barbara, The Santa Barbara Independent, tourist

1:57 PM | Permalink |

Monday, January 28, 2008

Kristin over at Dine and Dish had a great idea

to pare up "old and moldy" food bloggers like me with "fresh out of the oven" food bloggers.

Meet my delicious paring...Amanda who cooks up some delicious entries at "Slow Like Honey" She adds some terrific photos to her posts, too! (I don't think she really needs my help....she's doing great!)

I've been blogging for several years now. I have a couple of blogs....one for politics, one for environmental things...and this one for food issues and sharing recipes. (Although, sometimes they do collide!)...so some thoughts/hints on "blogging"......

I've admired many food bloggers who put up some awesome recipes with blog by blow details for their adventures in the kitchen. Sometimes I wish that I could be one of those, but, right now I live with a roommate who is extremely territorial. She's "pissed" out her territory in the household and she's made it known that she doesn't really want me in the kitchen. (How can you really deal with someone who gets so drunk pretty much every night they eat your food and toss food all over the floor at 2:00 a.m.) So...blogging about making dinner at home is out for me.

Sometimes I find that "foodie" blogs tend to be really snotty. You know, the "Oh, what do you mean you don't cook bone marrow every other weekend" types. It's fun reading them for a bit, but I feel more comfortable with someone who blogs about down to earth things and not necessarily all about food. Life isn't just about food...but there are delicious servings of many things. Fashion. Travel. Family. Etc. I think well read blogs tend to touch upon many subjects. However, not necessarily in a single post.

I hate having to register to make a comment. Call me silly, but I have so many passwords to remember as it is.....I don't need one just to put in a "hello...great recipe....or some little comment."

Sometimes your blogging opens up other opportunites....here's a little blurb/recipes that I shared with our local "indy" weekly, "The Santa Barbara Independent"

The Non Partisan Pistachio
In this presidential election year, keep in mind that the person you vote for may be responsible for creating a new national food holiday. True, other levels of government such as state legislatures, governors, and mayors can proclaim special observance days, but you know you’ve hit the big time when the president makes it so.

Sometimes, however, bipartisan agreement can’t decide which day will be the “official” gustatory celebration. Perhaps that is what happened with National Pistachio Day. Is it January 26 or February 26? Many sources name both days. Perhaps they just broke it down along party lines and the “red” dyed pistachios are honored one day and the “au naturel” beige pistachio honored the other.

In my mind, everyday is Pistachio Day, especially Farmers Market days when I can run down and pick up a couple bags from the Santa Barbara Pistachio Company. The Zannon family developed a unique process for roasting and flavoring their incredibly high-quality nuts. But you don’t have to have flavored pistachios to enjoy their exotic little bits of nutty goodness; you can include them in your healthy cooking lifestyle, too.

Pistachio, Cranberry & Rice Pilaf

(Serves 2)

¼ c. finely chopped Vidalia onion
¼ tsp. turmeric
⅛ tsp. ground cardamom
1½ Tbs. unsalted butter
⅓ c. basmati rice
⅔ c. chicken broth
2 Tbs. pistachio nuts, lightly toasted, cooled, and chopped
2 Tbs. dried cranberries
2 Tbs. thinly sliced scallions

In a small heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, cook onion with turmeric and cardamom in one tablespoon of the butter, stirring until the onion is softened. Add rice and cook, stirring until it is coated with the butter. Add the broth, bring the liquid to a boil, and cover and simmer the mixture for 17 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Stir in the pistachios, cranberries, and scallions and the remaining half tablespoon of butter, and salt and pepper to taste.