Pickled Eggs

Have you ever tried pickled eggs?  I haven't.

I've heard they are really good.  I like eggs and I like pickles.  We have a good supply of eggs and sometimes I am looking for ways to use up the excess.  So . . . I made some pickled beet eggs.  They look beautiful in the jar.  The picture doesn't do it justice.


How did they taste?  I'll let you know in a few days when I bite into one.  They are suppose to sit in the pickling juice for at least 3 days, but the longer they are there, the better they are suppose to taste.

Sweet Valley Cookie Co.

Tacos and cookies, my 2 favorites.  Hence, the next food stop was to Sweet Valley Cookie Company in Eagle, Idaho.

Erica was along with me for this adventure.  We walked in the door to the wonderful smell of baking cookies.  The cookies, I believe were just under $2 each or you could get a half dozen for $10.  The service was nice and each kind of cookie was tempting.

Erica picked a classic kids favorite, a frosted sugar cookie.  I picked one of their best sellers, the Brookie, a brownie on the bottom and a chocolate chip cookie on the top.  Um, yes.  It was delicious and big.

Would I go there again?  There is a lot of baking that already goes on at our house and it was a little bit of a drive out to Eagle.  But if I were in the neighborhood and had a sweet craving, I would definitely stop in and grab one . . . or two.


Sweet Valley Cookie Co.
360 E. State Road
Eagle, Idaho

Boise Hawks Baseball

We took the family to a Boise Hawks baseball game, minus Erica who was at a family reunion and Thomas.

 The evening began with classic baseball food, hamburgers and hot dogs, by the field.

 Marie and Niko got their faces painted.

 Then we enjoyed the game.

Lorena's Mexican Grill

My second food adventure proved much more satisfying.  I stopped with the girls at Lorena's Mexican Grill.  It's a little taco shack, literally attached to the side of Mister Car Wash near the NW corner of Fairview and Curtis in Boise.

Lorena, the owner, was so friendly.  By the time she had finished grilling our tacos, we were sharing stories about our grandkids.

The tacos were $1.50 each, a real bargain.  And delicious!  We ordered steak and pork tacos.  The meat was placed on a double layer of corn tortillas and then topped with onions and cilantro.  Although I love hot food, I topped my tacos with Lorena's medium sauce, instead of the hot, so I could really taste the tacos.  I squeezed the lime on top.

I could say I would definitely go back soon, but the truth is . . . I have already been back, twice.  And I am sure I will return many times.  I took Thomas there when he was home for the weekend.  He has always been my food buddy, willing to try anything with me.  After he had a couple of tacos, he tried a fish tostada, which he said was delicious.  We had a few of the younger kids with us too.  The next week I took Todd and his sister, Angela.  Every time I am out running errands with the kids, they ask if we can stop and get a taco.  I am tempted everytime, but I don't want Lorena to think we are stalking her.


Did I mention that my 2 favorite foods are cookies and tacos?  Yep.  True.  And as far as Tacos go, these at Lorena's Mexican Grill may just be the best I have ever had.  But I am willing to try a few more places out, just to be sure.

Stan's Hot Dogs

My first stop at a local food joint was Stan's Hot Dogs.  It was not at the top of my list to try, but I was in the neighborhood and was intrigued by the story of Stan Linkowski and his bronco sauce of which he purchased the recipe for $50,000.  You can read about it here.


First I must say,  I hope to bring my camera along for future adventures.


How was the food?  I loved the hot dog with the bronco sauce, but I did not like the price.  If it was a $2 hot dog, I would stop in anytime I was in the neighborhood.  But the hot dog was $4.50.  I also had an order of onion rings.  They were delicious at just $3 an order.  They tasted like an awesome blossom that we get at the fair, but they were in onion slices, much easier to eat than the blossom.  Another kicker . . . I had to pay an extra  .50 for the fry sauce.  I'm not much of a soda drinker, so I just ordered water.  But if I had ordered a drink, the meal would have been over $10 for just me.  The meal was good, but raising a large family, it's hard to pay $10 for an order of a hot dog and onion rings.


Stan's Charbroiled Hot Dogs
818 South Vista Avenue
Boise, Idaho

Food

I have done 2 rounds of the HCG diet this year.  During each round, when I felt deprived of something good to eat, I would watch the Food Network and the Cooking Channel.  I would even venture to say I became a little addicted, using the DVR to record my favorite shows and watch them into the late hours after the kids were in bed.  I have always loved cooking, just not the cleaning up associated with it.  But now I just want a little bit more.  I have enjoyed making some fun meals for my family.  But I have also embarked on a new venture . . . going out to eat.  It is kind of a stretch for me, being a bit of a tightwad and all.

So why this post?  So when I post about new places we’ve eaten at, you wont be thinking, “Where did that come from?”

I’ve made a list of places I want to eat and try out the food.  I hope to take along a family member or friend with me because, well, it’s just no fun to eat a good meal unless you share it with good company.


One more thing . . . I wont be checking out national franchises.  I already have a lot of those favorites.  I'll be checking out local places, supporting the community.

Cherry Picking

I love the years when the Aiello's have a good cherry crop.  They always share their harvest.

Twin Falls

During High School I had the privilege of being surrounded and supported by an amazing group of friends.

 I went to Twin Falls with Marie for a mini reunion. I had a great 3 days visiting and catching up.  It seemed like we just picked up where we left off.  This is just the handful that made it to our reunion.  Hopefully we can do it again soon with everyone.

4th of July Breakfast

Another successful 4th of July Breakfast spent with family and friends . . . 

Happy Birthday, Thomas

Thomas came home from camp for his birthday.  We took the whole family to dinner which included Todd and I, Brothers, sisters, grandpa, a great aunt and great uncle, aunt and uncle, and cousins.  Although Thomas  would have rather been spending time with his friends, he resigned to the fact that he was going to spend his birthday with family.

Then . . . to Thomas' surprise . . .

 a bunch of his friends were at Red Robbin waiting for him!

After dinner we returned home for some cake.

I changed the chalkboard to celebrate the occasion. 

Visitors

My sister, Jenn, came to visit with her family, her husband, Steve, and her kids, Tanner, Jon, and Lyndsee.  I didn't pull out my camera quite enough while they were here.

The boys went shooting.

We went out to eat at Red Robin which I'll explain in my next post.  Niko became quite fond of and attached to his cousins.

But the best part of their visit was sitting around visiting, which we did a lot of.  It was a great visit.  Thanks for coming!

Family Fun Run

We joined our ward for a Family Fun Run.

Yes, that is my child in the long jeans and jacket while everyone else is wearing t-shirts and shorts.

There goes Niko.  He ran the whole way and felt so sick at the end he could hardly eat breakfast.

Here comes Erica.

After the run we enjoyed a yummy breakfast.