Zito was pitching against my Pirates… not many people at the game. [Box Score]

It was COLD at the game… not used to the bay area weather…

Waiting to touch the sting rays… Focus!

Toni is graduating soon, so this is her final episode of Cooking 101. In this episode she is doing some fun summer cooking, including fruit salad and chicken kabobs. Check out the recipes after the jump and go make some great food.

Fruit Salad

Serves 4
1 apple
1 banana
1 small package of blueberries
1 orange (membrane removed), cut into wedges
15 strawberries (sliced lengthwise)
zest of half an orange
1 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 sprigs of mint
1/2 lemon, juiced, to stop oxidation of banana & apple

Combine all fruit in a large bowl. Mix yogurt and orange zest in a separate bowl. Add yogurt to fruit, mixing until yogurt just covers all pieces of fruit.

Chicken & Veggie Kabobs

Serves 4
3 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 orange bell pepper
1/2 red onion
20 button mushrooms, stems removed
1 bottle light balsamic vinaigrette
salt/pepper to taste
1 package wooden skewers

Soak the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes prior to barbecuing to prevent catching them on fire.

Chop chicken, bell peppers, and onions into large pieces. Add vegetables to skewers as desired. Place assembled kabobs into a plastic bag and add the vinaigrette. Marinate in the refrigerator for approximately 2 hours.

Remove kabobs from marinade and place on barbecue. Add salt and pepper if needed. Cook until chicken is tender but not pink inside.

I got to go down to San Luis Obispo for a day during my “weekend” off and I took the camera with me. Most of the pictures are from Pirates Cove near Avila Beach. I was the only person on the beach at the time and it was nice to just be out there in the quietness. Hope you enjoy the pics.

My first attempt at a tilt shift photo - Pismo Beach Pier

So I am getting a little excited that baseball season is starting this Sunday. Opening day is a such a great time and even though football is taking over as the national past time, baseball still has a special place in my heart. It was the game that I played first as a kid, and it always feels like summer is beginning when the season starts. Personally, I cannot think of many things better than sitting in the sun, watching a game, with a cold beer.

Last weekend we had our annual fantasy draft and I was the 12th pick in a 14 team league. This is the first year we have had 14 teams and it really made a difference in how people drafted. This year the teams are just not as strong as they have been in the past. Of course, I am still feeling good about my team and think I put together a solid one. (ed. note: It’s not like anyone actually cares about my fantasy baseball team, but if you want to check out my team you can see it after the jump.)

Just glad baseball is starting!

C    Ryan Doumit (Pit – C)
1B    Lance Berkman (Hou – 1B)
2B    Brandon Phillips (Cin – 2B)
3B    Chris Davis (Tex – 1B,3B)
SS    Jhonny Peralta (Cle – SS)
LF    Jacoby Ellsbury (Bos – LF,CF,RF)
CF    Josh Hamilton (Tex – CF,RF)
RF    Jayson Werth (Phi – LF,CF,RF)
Util    Xavier Nady (NYY – LF,RF)
SP    Cole Hamels (Phi – SP)
SP    Francisco Liriano (Min – SP)
RP    Joel Hanrahan (Was – RP)
RP    Brad Ziegler (Oak – RP)
P    Matt Garza (TB – SP)
P    Scott Baker (Min – SP)
P    Aaron Harang (Cin – SP)
P    Paul Maholm (Pit – SP)
BN    Plácido Polanco (Det – 2B)
BN    Kelly Shoppach (Cle – C)
BN    Adam LaRoche (Pit – 1B)
BN    Mike Cameron (Mil – CF)
BN    Anthony Reyes (Cle – SP,RP)
BN    Armando Galarraga (Det – SP)

Toni is back with a St Patty’s Day Cooking 101. Like usual I got to try these out and they are great. Of course, I am not getting these up prior to the holiday, but you could use these recipes all year long. Happy cooking. [Collegian]

Pots of Gold

(Recipe by Quinn Zweigle)
Prep Time: 45 min
Level: Easy- Intermediate
Serving: 3 pot stickers
Yield: 18 servings (36 pot stickers)

Ingredients
For the Pots of Gold
• 1 pack of pot sticker wraps (usually contains up to 50 wraps)
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• ½ head Napa cabbage, chiffonade
• ½ small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs. pickled ginger, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of green onion, sliced lengthwise into thin strips
• 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbs. water
For the dipping sauce
• 10 oz. low sodium soy sauce
• 5 oz. water
• ½ tsp. fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. chili garlic sauce

For the Pots of Gold
Sweat the onions on medium heat with the olive oil until they become translucent.

Add the cabbage with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the cabbage reduces to half its original size. In the last minute, add the garlic.

Remove the mixture from the heat and place in a metal bowl or pan. Place the container in the refrigerator or freezer until room temperature or colder.

When cool, remove the container from the refrigerator and mix in the turkey, pickled ginger, and the remaining salt and pepper. Hand mix until fully incorporated.

Create an egg wash to use on the pasta by whisking the egg and 1 Tbs. water in a bowl.

Place and individual pasta wrap on a flat surface. With a spoon or your fingers, spread a thin film of egg wash in a half-moon shape on both ends of the wrap. Fold the wrap on both ends towards the middle and pinch. Take both of the folded ends and fold them again in opposite directions from each other, forming a bowl shape or little pot.

Fill about 1 Tbs. of the meat and cabbage mixture into the wraps and tie a green onion around the little pots. To secure the bowl shape while cooking, stick a toothpick through the green onion tie, piercing it on both sides of the wrap.

Place the little pots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 350º F for 17-20 minutes, or until the meat is brown and the wraps are golden.

While waiting for the cabbage mixture to cool, place the soy sauce in a saucepan over high heat. Once the sauce comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer.

Add the fresh ginger and chili garlic sauce and continue simmering for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the water.

Strain the sauce and serve in dipping bowls.

Lime Sherbet Punch

(Recipe by Paula Dean from Paula’s Home Cooking. Source: www.foodnetwork.com)
Prep Time:5 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 18 to 20 servings

Ingredients
• 2 quarts lime sherbet
• 2 liters ginger ale
• 1 (46-ounce) can pineapple juice
• Lemon slices
• Lime slices
• Maraschino cherries

In a punch bowl, add 2 quarts of lime sherbet. Then add ginger ale and pineapple juice. Decorate with lemon and lime slices and some maraschino cherries.

The big news yesterday in the world of tech was the Apple iPhone 3.0 Media Event. What Apple did was show off some of the new features they are planning in the next development of the iPhone and allow developers to begin to develop those features in their apps. Mac Rumors has a rundown of the highlights.

- In-App Purchasing: Allows developers to sell additional content from within applications. Highlighted uses include magazine subscriptions, eBooks, additional levels and items for games.
- Peer-to-Peer Connectivity: Find other devices running the app via Bonjour over Wi-Fi of Bluetooth. Good for gaming, but also other applications for sharing data.
- Third-Party Accessory Apps: Allowing accessory manufacturers to create applications to interface with their hardware accessories.
- Push Notification: Rather than using background processes that hamper battery life, utilize third-party server to push badge, text, and audio alerts from applications.
- Turn by Turn: Apple will allow developers to use CoreLocation for turn-by-turn GPS directions.
- Cut, Copy and Paste: Available across all apps. Shake to undo or redo.
- Landscape keyboard: Available in all key applications, including Mail.
- MMS: Picture messaging now available.
- Voice Memos: Record notes, lectures, interviews, etc.
- Spotlight Search: Available across all applications. Systemwide search available from main home screen by flicking to the left.
- A2DP Bluetooth: Support for stereo bluetooth headsets.

I think it’s funny that it took Apple till version 3.0 to get copy & paste in there, but it looks like we are finally going to get it. Another nice feature is the landscape keyboard in many apps. That will really help people with big fingers trying to type out emails. Finally, MMS gets into the phone, but you need the 3G version to make it work. It will not work in the original iPhone due to hardware limitations.

Gizmodo has a write up on why In-App Purchasing might not be good for the consumer. Basically, now developers can microcharge to add details and items to their apps. This is nice if you complete a game and they release more levels to continue playing, but the problem is some developers could make trialware of the software and charge extra for each item to make more money. Hopefully it does not turn into this type of market, but we will just have to wait and see.

If you are an Apple fanboy like me, you probably already knew all of this news. If not head over to Apple and watch the whole event in QuickTime.

Streeter and Amir are back. They are the collegehumor.com guys who you might remember from when Amir pranked Streeter at a Yankee game proposing to his girlfriend. Well, Streeter is back for revenge… just watch.

I understand where they are coming from. California is in dire need of some assistance and guidance. Our local, state, and national economies are in turmoil right now and we have a government in place that cannot seem to make any decisions. Many people are just choosing to pack up and leave the state. Governator, we have a problem.

My issue is that many of the things that I like about California would be taking away. The beauty of California is its diversity. We have diverse landscapes from the coast to the mountains, and everywhere in between. We have diverse people living throughout the state with many different cultures and ideas. We are also a powerful economy that produces positive products for the world including technology, entertainment, agriculture, and wine. All of these are benefits for California, and make the state a great place to live, work, and play.

Personally, I think the concept should not be to divide the state, but to unify it. Give us a positive direction that can bring the state together. Stop wasting money and time to divide our forces, but find ways to use the power of California to make the state stronger. The problem with the Downsize California Proposal is that they are trying to protect the agriculture needs of the state and a quote on their website sums it up.

“We cannot allow agriculturally uneducated city dwellers to dictate farm policies.”

The issue is that those areas they are trying to protect include diverse and thriving cities and city dwellers that need attention too. They are not solving the problem, but just moving it somewhere else. There are many issues that California needs to tackle right now including the economy, energy, education, environmental, and immigration. I am not saying I have an answer to any of these ongoing issues, but dividing California is not moving in the right direction.

Let’s hear what you think in the comments below.