My husband decided not to do our annual trip north to his hometown, Redding, this year. So for the first time since Jake was a baby, we were in town for the best 4th of July celebrations. In the morning, we had the annual Boy Scout breakfast fundraiser--my Dad does his famous sourdough waffles every year. Let me mention that he has had the starter culture for these waffles since my parents took their honeymoon in San Francisco in 1969. I don't know how he did it, but he persuaded a famous chef to give him a bit of his start--and he taught my Dad how to maintain it--which he has for going on 40 years! I read an interesting articles in the Journal of Food Science (yes there is one!) that sourdough cultures have 100s of organisms that make them up. They have a unique blend of yeasts and bacteria that give them their distinct flavors. There is a specific lactobacillis (sanfranciscan) that is unique to cultures in the San Francisco area. I'm sure that several other organisms have been added over the years and the several places my parents have lived, and now my Dad's start culture is completely unique. It makes waffles exactly the way I like them--sourdough tart, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. They are more substantial than other waffles--I'm raxing whapsodic. . .
After breakfast was done (I was stuffed to the gills) we hurried to a birthday party for a friend's son. My friend Martha is from Mexico City, and she is a fantastic cook. She had a friend from Japan come make California rolls for the party in addition to the Mexican food Martha made. I love having such international friends--good eats from everywhere! Martha's homemade beans are some of the best I've ever tasted! The kids had a blast at the party--they played so hard they were sweating buckets. From there it was off to pick up my sister and her best friend and her best friend's hubby and to the pool in my complex. We swam for a few hours, then, back over to my mom's for dinner with family and friends. Dinner was a 2 fully-loaded table potluck feast.
When the sun went do
wn, we walked down to the OB pier to watch the fireworks. It was the 30th anniversary this year. I remember when they first started doing 4th of July fireworks in OB, they were very small. Somewhere between that first year, and more recent history, a very interesting tradition sprung up. The famous, OB Marshmallow Melee! Now, generally people wait until the fireworks are over before unleashing, but this year, I was getting pelted almost from the start (it really sucks being a wide target!). Once the fireworks were over, it was ON! I haven't giggled so hard in a really long time. I was getting pelted left and right, but I was also pelting complete strangers. This is such lighthearted harmless fun--so OB in so many ways, I couldn't help but thinking that I absolutely love my neighborhood. Next year, we will join the Surfriders Foundation for the cleanup--there were marshmallows EVERYWHERE.
Some Evil Genius found these marshmallows that were fist size--and I must say, they actually sting a little when you get hit with them, but, not too bad. My sister and I definitely appreciated the thought put into these, and we'd really like to know where to get some for next year! Notice how marked up her shirt is in the picture--that's not a design, that's marshmallow dust!
My son Porter kept finding the most gorgeous 20 somethings to play with. At first he started targeting a pretty girl with marshmallows and she laughingly was playing along. Then her very cute boyfriend got involved. It was so funny because they were taking it so easy on him, but, he'd wind up and throw the marshmallow at them with all he had. What he lacked in accuracy, he made up for in ferocity! They tossed marshmallows and wrestled for about 20 minutes. Next, he picked one of the cutest surfers on the beach. My sister definitely wanted in on the wrestling match!
The pictures don't do justice. It was such a fun night. Porter was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the tub as I was washing his hair. It was a little awkward pulling him out, he's getting so big now. But we got him all tucked in. I don't know if we'll be doing the Redding trip over the 4th anymore. . .
On a separate note, Jake, Porter and I are reading The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. Jake likes it a lot so far--and he's even reading ahead of us--which is unusual for Jake. I struggle getting him to read--he really liked the Tales of Drippingfang Forest, but we haven't found anything that has really captured his imagination enough to read completely on his own. He's also liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid--he likes that blend of text and pictures. They definitely need more of these.
