The Wild Donkey Cafe

Years

ago,

way before

Petit Soleil

John and I

thought

to

move to

Oregon,

buy some land

with a

barn

and

turn it into

a

Bed and Breakfast

The loft

of the barn

would

be

our

home

( floor of the barn would house a large kitchen and dining tables)

and

surrounding the barn

would

be

little

barn-like cottages

...

we would

have

goats

and

chickens

and

a donkey

(and dogs and a cat)

...the goats for cheese,

the chickens for eggs

and

the donkey

because they are so darn cute

(can't live without dogs and a cat to keep all the critters at bay)

we woke up from

that

dream

(and

along

came

Petit Soleil)..

anyway,

Donkeys

are

not only so cute,

but

they

are strong,

hard working

long living

and have

quite a history

with

that

said,

I met

my

homie

Barbara

(as in SF Marathon Barbara)

for

lunch

at

THE WILD DONKEY CAFE

the delightful

restaurant

is NEW

...

c o L o r F u L

friendly

and

it has

beautiful

donkey

art

everywhere

fabulous

brick walls

and an

inviting

back patio

the

restaurant's

flavors

are

Greek

and

Mexican

...

yeah, interesting, I know!

and

the

menu

is

fun,

fresh

and

adventurous,

with

a great

beer and wine list

(and a little history of the donkey)

You know by now,

I am always on

the hunt

for the best

fish taco...

but

at

THE WILD DONKEY

no fish tacos

(sad but true)

but

the

waitress

offered us

Salmon Fajitas

with

rice, black beans

and corn tortillas!

ok, fish tacos!!

I went

with

a

Mythos

(Greek beer)

and

SO

enjoyed the "tacos"

the

house salsa

was

spicy hot

and

delish

Really yummy!

They have

summer-fresh

Greek Salad

and

gyros

souvlaki

fajitas with lamb or beef

"fish tacos"

dolmades

and

all sorts of

Mexican-Greek specialties!

After lunch in the Patio

and

back

inside,

we met the owner

and the artist

behind

all the

donkey

art

and

she

is

the collector

of

great old LPS

(which make such great decor)

I

can't wait

to

go back!

visit the website, too

The Wild Donkey

Broad Street

between

Higuera and Marsh!

Hold tight to a last bit o'summer

S.U.M.M.E.R

it came

and

it went

....

for some of you

across the

country

it was

rainy,

for some it

was

HOT.

Some peeps

felt the earth shake

and some peeps

are still

singing

"GoodNight Irene".

In

SLO

this summer

the

weather

has been mild

..the

tomatoes

are just

starting to turn

red

I

grabbed

a few

of those

tomatoes

a lemon

a couple very fresh peaches

a handful

of

basil leaves

a

ball

of wonderful

soft

mozzarella

a glug of really good olive oil

sea salt

and fresh ground black pepper

the

best

and

most delicious

salute

to

SUMMER

If you're going to San Francisco.....

San Francisco.

love it!

need it!

crossing off

another

"to do"

from

my

bucket list

run or walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

evidently

a few of

my

besties

had

the

same

"to do"

so

we

all

signed up

for the

San Francisco Half Marathon

and

the weekend

of

July 30

WE

WERE

THERE!

John and I

got to

our

hotel

and

marveled

at

the view

Bay Bridge & Treasure Island

and

the

regal

Ferry Building

in all its glory

Saturday

Farmer's Market

(see the umbrellas to the left)

glorious produce

from all

around the Bay Area

herbs

fragrant basil, carrots and leeks

onions, garlic, tomatoes

and chiles

ripe for

salsa

Summer sunflowers

and summer squashes

Eatwell Farm

Food for the Body and Soul

and

hundreds

of

piquillo peppers

LOVE THEM!

We hooked up

with our

first

Homies

and

said

"YES, Fish Tacos, please!!!"

Taylor's Refreshers

had

fresh

Mahi-Mahi tacos

OH, so so so good!!!!!!

perfect

for

pre-run dinner!!!

4:45am

wake up call

and we're ready

the

theme for

the

run

was

WORTH

THE

HURT

yup,

worth it!

Post run

celebration

at

Market Bar

with

my

besties

and

that

night

more

FABULOUS

fish

tacos

at

Tres

Perfect..

really

PERFECT

fish tacos!

TRES

one

of

my

all time

favorite

(authentic)

Mexican Restaurants

ever

complete

with

giggles

and laughs
with more besties!!!!

I

have

been

so

lucky

to be

crossing

so many

"to do's"

off

my bucket list

...

but

there are

always

M O R E

to

come

Paris Half Marathon

2015

...and not so healthy, but so delicious

Petit Chilaquiles

way back when..

in

like 1973

I fell

in

love

with

chilaquiles!

Denny's

in Guadalajara

- I forgot where exactly Denny's was

as

it was

many many

moons ago

maybe,

in

Plaza del Sol

(is that still around?)

Anyway...

my

memory

needed

to be fed

so

Petit Chilaquiles

was born

oozy

cheesy

chippy

slightly spicy

goodness

you start

with really

good

tortilla chips

(these are made in SLO)

this

recipe

or

"how to"

is

for a crowd

(12-15 depending on their appetites)

or a

very hungry

family

9"x13" pan

...

tear up

6-7

corn tortillas

and line the

bottom

of the pan

with

them

grab

a large can

(or 4 small cans)

of diced green chiles


and

drop

them in large

spoonfuls

on top of

the tortillas

a thin

layer

of

shredded

Monterey Jack

cheese

next

(you can use pepper Jack for more heat)

crunch up

handfulls

of Taco Works chips

and layer them on top of the jack cheese

more

spoonfuls

of chiles

another

layer of

Jack cheese

(or Mexican Cotija cheese would be more authentic)

and

top

it off

with

a few more handfuls of

crunched chips

Now,

grab 10 eggs

2 c. heavy cream

salt, pepper, cumin (to taste)

and whisk

them together

and pour the custard over the

top

cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate

until

the next day

Bake at 350 degrees

for 45-50 minutes

Serve with

sour cream

salsa

guacamole

cilantro

-

whatever

you like!

It is

hands down

the favorite

breakfast

of the

Petit Soleil employees

except

Meagan

..... I think Meagan likes the Greek Strata the best

Bon APpeTit!

or

!Buen provecho)

a healthy treat for you!

it

is

always

fun

to put together a

recipe

that

will

satisfy

that

NAUGHTY

and

sometimes annoting

sweet

tooth

and

not

put on

10 lbs.

I suppose it could put 10 lbs if you ate the whole thing

these

bad boys

are

gluten free

sugar free

all natural

(sounds pretty yucky, but these bars are really delish!)

Granola Bars

oats (gluten free, if you cannot eat any gluten)

unsweetened coconut


pecans


ground flax seed


Medjoul dates


process in food processor


nut butter (your fave - not Jif or Skippy) I used almond butter


mix with real maple syrup


bake

eat!

The actual recipe

for

Granola Bars

2. c oats

1/2 c. unsweetened coconut

1.c pecans (or walnuts)

1/4 c. ground flax seed

1/2 tsp salt

Process in food processor

using 6-7 pulses

Drop above in

mixer

or in a large bowl

(I used my mixer and the paddle)

Combine the nut butter and the syrup.

Pour over the oat/nut mixture

and mix until combined.

Turn into

a 9"x13" pan

and pat down.

bake at 350 degrees

for 30 minutes

p.s.

I certainly don't

think

dark chocolate chips

would ruin the recipe......