Buzziness #11 John Klein's Famous Fish Casserole

Even if you are anti-fish, trust me, you will love this casserole!  My friend John is an expert on fish as he has been a fisherman his whole life and captain of the Qualifier 105.... I say he is "qualified" in preparing fish. This is a simple, delicious crowd pleaser.

John Klein's Fish Casserole

1 large white or yellow onion

Any white fish (tuna, sole, halibut...)

1 cup or so, mayonnaise

Parmesan- lots

1 T dill

Slice onion and put in the bottom of a 9x13" pan.  Cut the fish in chunks and put on top of onions.  Mix the mayo, parmesan, and dill together. Cover the fish completely with the mixture.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is light brown and bubbly. Serve with a yummy salad~ delicioso!

Buzziness #10 Reindeer Wine Cork Ornament

Wonder what to do with all those leftover wine corks?  I have seen some great ideas over the years.  Here is a simple one.

Reindeer "Wine Cork" Ornament

All you need is:

2 wiggly eyes

1 brown pipe cleaner

1 red pompom nose

small amount of brown felt for ears and tail

small ribbon

gold elastic string or something to use as a hanger

5 wine corks... out of the bottle

And of course, the infamous hot glue gun!

Stand two wine corks upright (reindeer legs!).  Glue a third cork horizontally on top of the two  legs- now you have a body.  Cut a fourth cork diagonally, to use as a neck.  Glue the flat end of the fourth cork on top of the body.  Fifth cork is the head.  Glue it to the diagonal side of the neck. (Just look at the picture!)  Add antlers, eyes, nose, ears, and tail.  Tie a cute ribbon around the neck and hot glue some type of hanger.  I chose gold elastic string.  There you have it, a great gift and good use of those leftover wine corks!

Buzziness #9 Succulent, Herb or Strawberry pots!

 My friend, Caroline, turned me onto succulents.  You can snap them off as the get big and just push them into the ground and they root!  You can also put them in a clear glass vase with water in a warm environment and they root quickly. A nice grouping of herbs works well, or strawberry's. I like to find unique containers to use, along with an old wooden spoons to add names, or garden titles.  Smooth soap stones or shells are a nice added adornment. I bought some butterflies, and made some by folding money! Be creative.  *Succulents do tend to go dormant in cold weather, so don't fret if you don't see growth for a few months, they're just sleeping.

Buzziness #8 Healthy Pea Pesto

One of my oldest friends and sorority sister~ Annie P., also a triathlete, I might add, brought this recipe to one of our reunions.  It was healthy, surprisingly yummy and a super quick appetizer to make.   Now, I always keep a package of sweet frozen peas in my freezer.

Pea Pesto 

1 pkg. frozen peas, thawed

1 clove garlic or more!

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1t salt or more!

1/4t fresh pepper

1/3c olive oil

Pulse together in a food processor the peas, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  With the machine running slowly add the olive oil. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you want to. That's it~simple simon.

I have used pumpernickel pretzels, from Trader Joe's to scoop~ yum.  You can also toast some sliced baguettes, spread pea pesto on, and then add a shaving of parmesan on top and broil~delicioso!

Buzziness #7 A Cool "Coaster" Idea

As I was walking through Old Town, I ran across a great Mexican Pottery place, Miranda's Courtyard on Congress Street, San Diego.  Totally packed with different varieties of pottery, from fountains to wind chimes!  I picked up some unique Mexican tiles, and boy did they have a lot, and hot glued some felt to the back.  They make great coasters.  I chose 4 different tiles to make the set interesting.  When gluing down the felt, glue down one side at a time as the glue hardens quickly. Stack them, tie them with a ribbon... wahla!

Buzziness #6 How to Brine a turkey????

Here we sit trying to figure the exact amount to "brine" a turkey, in other words what stuff/crap do we put in ~ 2 cups of salt to 2 gallons of water!  Then, find a clean garbage bag and put turkey and brine (add in rosemary, thyme, whatever you want), put in large ice chest and cover with ice! Once it is in an ice chest, submerge in ice for 24 hours at the most... Let it sit--- pull it when ready to cook.  Then cook...trust us, the juiciest and moistest turkey EVER.   We have used "The Big Easy" found at Lowes for $88.00.  It cuts cooking time waaaay down, without oil,... like over half the time. Totally the best ever!!  Just takes time to convince everyone that this is the best way! Enjoy.

Buzziness #5 Driving to San Francisco!

I always looking forward to going to Northern California in the fall!  We are headed to San Francisco and then to beautiful Napa for Thanksgiving.  Every time we go into the "city" we add cool restaurants/bars/spots to a list.  Below is our most recent finds.

San Francisco Restaurants & other fun stuff

Epic Roast House on Embarcadero: right under the Bay Bridge, Outstanding view, food and service.

Water Bar- Embarcadero Izzyʼs Steakhouse in Marina District

Cliff House: historic, right on the ocean, yummy,lower restaurant is a bit fancier. We had lunch and watched the surfers.

Betelnut on 3020 Union St. Asian food, great fun atmosphere, anywhere from dim sum, Korean, Penang, Thai, Sri Lanka, Mongolian... delicious

Sodiniʼs 510 Green St.- bubbly atmosphere, cheap, lots of character, North Beach

Green & Grant Bar- music in back, didnʼt go but it was recommended

Amorenʼs bar- good martini, bossa nova music!, Green St. right down from Cafe Sport

I Fratelli- 1896 Hyde, we did not go here, Italian recommended by the Saxonʼs

Starlight Lounge- above the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, totally fun, live music dancing, great view

Ferry Building- marketplace

Rasselaʼs- great blues and jazz, 1534 Filmore St. (between Geary & OʼFarrell St)

Nob Hill Cafe- didnʼt go , but really want to.. hole in the wall , Italian food, recommended by Mom & Dad, and Powells

Perryʼs- Steuart St. did not go, heard good break, lunch , dinner

Tadich Grill- California St. old school, wooden bar with old servers, seafood, in heart of the financial district, my grandfather took my mom here... way back!

Cafe Sport- Green St., tons of stuff hanging, family style, can sit with strangers! fun.

Buena Vista- best Irish coffee, drinks, & food.  Fabulous view of bay and Alcatraz

Buzziness #4 Tea Towels

I have always loved a bit of the old fashioned 50's homemaker touches.  As a quick gift, embroider something personal and simple on a tea towel.  I bought mine at IKEA, four for something like $3.00! Always wash before sewing due to possible shrinkage. I usually browse the internet for cute ideas, pencil them on the towel and begin.   Here are a couple:

Buzziness #3 "Pumpkin" Patch Soup

Totally a rainy day... close to Thanksgiving... mmmm only "Pumpkin" Patch soup sounds good.

....but, secret is... there is NO pumpkin in the recipe, shhhh.  I tweaked a recipe I received from

our elementary school Halloween Carnival. So quick and simple to make.  Everyone loves it. Give it a taste.

"Pumpkin" Patch Soup  

Ingredients:

3 Large yams, peeled and cut into large chunks or canned (easier!)

1 Onion toughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 T curry powder

3 T butter or margarine

1 large can chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste               

1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in large pan.  Saute onion and garlic until soft (about 5 minutes). 

Add curry powder ande stir.  Add yams and stir to coat with curry mixture.

 Add chicken broth.  Stir to assure all yams pieces are submerged (add

water if you need to).  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low until

yams are soft (about 30 min.). Remove from heat.

Puree yams/soup mixture in a blender in small batches. Add salt and

pepper to taste.  You can store soup in fridge at this point if you want to.

 Before serving, reheat soup and add cream just before serving!   Yum-yum!

*Did you notice... no pumpkin was really used! HA!

Buzziness #2 Why Buzzy Bee?

Thinking of a blog title was easy.  It is an endearing bond I have with my dad. Ever since I was a little girl he would wake me up in the morning as the buzzy bee. He or as I call him Vatsi (since a 7th grade German class!), would making a buzzing noise and pretend his fingers were a bee and tickle me awake. We now find "bee" items, big or small and give them to each other as endearing gifts.

He recently turned 70 and I couldn't think of what to give him?? He has everything!  A friend suggested writing a poem. I did.  Here it is:

 My Vatsi is 70 Today

Upwelling of feelings
I have today
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 today

The special tie to a Dotsi
and a Vatsi
An admiration and pride
A sentimental emotion
that neither can hide
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 Today

The buzzy bee
The letting me free
The unspoken love
A tear, a subtlety of
a surprise little note left
in the garage
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 Today

Finding a perfect pin or gift
Taking me to school
Cautiously letting go
Meeting my Anthony with
fatherly uncertainty
Understanding I am a woman
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 today


Being a grampa
Holding Kelsey and Sean up HIGH
Relaxing, relating, giving it a go
Not pretending or putting on a show
Teaching, advising, but not intruding
Watching my Vatsi, grow inside
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 today

Accomplishments abound
A loving example of husband and dad
A provider, a passionate learner
A will to continually better yourself
All is noticed
Can’t quite explain it

My Vatsi is 70 today

70 years of a person who is admired
70 years of modeling
70 years of loving and being loved

Can’t explain it....
except that
your MY Vatsi and I love you

Happy Birthday DAD!

Love your buzzy bee,
Dotsi and daughter, Pam

Buzziness #1 Setting up a blog!

Well, here I am!  I have wanted to share ideas that I either make up, steal and adapt, or swipe from friends for quite sometime!  I wanted a place to honor family and friends...  A place to document silly stories.  A simple blog of simple things. I am a band wagoner.. I admit it!  My focus and attention to certain crafts, ideas or diets doesn't always last long... so perhaps by blogging I can hold onto an idea or two.  My daughter said, "Why don't you just have a blog, mom?" So after googling how to make one, here I am!