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A little over two years ago I discovered Weddingbee, became obsessed and started my own blog in hopes of one day applying to write for Weddingbee myself. I had no idea at the time I would meet so many fantastic, smart, funny and gorgeous women in the process. Even before I became Miss French Bulldog (now Mrs) aka ‘Frenchie’, I’d already made several ‘blog friends’ through comments and discovering other blogging brides.
When I was accepted to blog for Weddingbee, in April of last year, I was thrown into a whole other world of ‘blogging friends’. I count the ladies I’ve met threw the ‘bee like sorority sisters…. only closer. 
And the girls I’ve met through blogging and 'Bee Meet-ups' – ditto! 
Some, okay a lot, of my friends and family don’t get why I would meet up for lunch (or drive out to Las Vegas) with a bunch of women I “don’t know”. But, I do know them and if you’re a blogger you know what I mean.
After our wedding, without a wedding to plan, I began blogging about my other obsessions her on His Birdie’s Nest and I’ve met a couple more ‘blogging friends’.
To all of you, I wish you a very happy Blogging Buddy Appreciation Day!
Some of you maybe thinking, “Ali, what the hack is tempeh?” Well, according to tempeh.info, Tempeh is a fermented food made by the controlled fermentation of cooked soybeans with a Rhizopus mold (tempeh starter). The tempeh fermentation by the Rhizopus mold binds the soybeans into a compact white cake. Sounds appetizing, no? I know it doesn’t, but trust me it is. The first time I ate tempeh (that I know of) was when I went to the Veggie Grill a few weeks ago and since then I’ve been itching to use it in a recipe. I’ve also been itching to make veggie tacos for like forever because I love the ones at Islands. However, their tacos have bell peppers in them and Hubs can’t eat bell peppers so I couldn’t just copy their ingredients.
Where is this going? Early this week, Jen over at My Kitchen Addiction posted a recipe for Grilled Vegetable Tacos. Thank you Jen! Turns out this was the perfect recipe to kick my butt into combining tempeh and veggies into a taco.
It was also the perfect opportunity to highlight the awesome veggies I can get from our location CSA Farm, South Coast Farms. All the vegetables in this recipe are local and organic, purchased from South Coast Farms. Except for the corn *hangs head in shame*, that I got pre-roasted in the freezer section of Trader Joes because I didn’t have time to grill ears of corn last night. Trader Joes is also where I purchased the tortillas and tempeh.
Now for the recipe…
Remember when I told you about Joy, and how she redesigned my blog? Remember how I told you how super talented she is and she has an Etsy shop? Well, Joy is back from her honeymoon and has re-opened her shop!
She is still making her super cute hair accessories… 
But now, she’s also added Bolero’s and sashes… 
Run, don’t walk over to her shop to check them out!
Starting at about twelve years old, I’ve been obsessed with all things turtle. Land or Sea, I’m not too picky. My old AOL screen name was TurtleAli. Need visual proof? Check out these turtle items around Hubs & my apartment.
“Turtle Card” is the card I gave Hubs for our first dating anniversary. Do you know how hard it is to find anniversary cards for someone you’re not married to?
”Teddy” was a Christmas present from Hubs a few years ago.
”VCR Turtle” is a wooden turtle that sits on our TV stand, next to the speakers. He used to sit on our VCR, hence the name “VCR Turtle”.
”Turtle Ring Holder” is a Sea Turtle ring holder my Bestie, Felicia gave me to hold my wedding rings.
And last, but not least, “Larry” is a hand blown Sea Turtle I purchase from the winery where Hubs and I were married.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you may have figured out where this is going… the recent oil spill. I don’t get political or preachy here often, so please bear with me because I’m sad. I’m sad for the Sea Turtles and other helpless sea creatures affected by this spill.
Last Friday, I mentioned Hubs wanted to save the sea turtles affected by the oil spill. He has been all over the internet the last week and a half search for things we can do from all the way over here in CA. We’d like nothing more than to fly over there and help out in person, but unfortunately that isn’t in the cards.
Through his search we found this video below about The Turtle Hospital in Florida.
According to their website…
The Turtle Hospital was opened in 1986 with four main goals: 1) rehab injured sea turtles and return them to the wild, 2) educate the public through outreach programs to local schools, 3) conduct and assist with research which aids the sea turtles (in conjunction with state universities), and 4) work toward environmental legislation which makes the beaches and water safe and clean for sea turtles.Hubs and I were really moved by all the work this Hospital does to save turtles, not just those affected by the oil spill, and we decided to donate money.
For a couple months now, the Hubs and I have agreed that if we eat chicken we will only eat chickens that were Free Range. (The same also goes for eggs).
My mom used to make a rather tasty Weight Watchers Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe when I was in High School. However, I haven’t been able to find it. After Googling and finding several different recipes, I made this up. Meaning, I didn’t come up with this out of thin air, but it’s not a variation on a specific recipe, rather several recipes making a common dish.
How do you make it?
One of my favorite Orange County restaurants is The Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar. My Dad’s business partner lucked into it through American Express about a year ago and took us “office ladies” to lunch. There I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant, second only to the burgers at Park Ave.
The Crow Bar also has a special place in my stomach because they incorporating local, regional and sustainably-grown ingredients. A restaurant with a conscience is something I can get behind!
Okay now for the food. The last time we went there for lunch I finally remembered to take pictures. Truth be told, the photo above of their chargers is from a different lunch where I forgot to take pictures once the food came. D’oh!
We started with the Blue Crab Deviled Eggs… 
Next, I copied my Dad’s business partner and got the clam chowder… 
You can barely see it, but those are clams, in the shell. On nom nom!
Along with the clam chowder we both got Meatball Sliders… 
The other two ladies in my office got the Grilled Hanger Steak Sandwich…
I’m pretty sure I’m going to get that next time, YUM!
If you would like to check out their entire menu, you can find them here. You can also follow The Crow Bar and Kitchen on Twitter to hear about their daily specials.
I know I haven’t done an ‘Easy Peasy’ recipe in a while but I’ve actually attempted to blog about this dip a couple times but the pictures are always so ugly I give up. 
This past Saturday Hubs and I went to an “Uno de Mayo Fiesta”. I’d seen a recipe for Margarita Cupcakes on Confessions of a Foodie Bride and thought this was the perfect opportunity to make them. I mean really, is there a better time for Margarita Cupcakes than a Cinco de Mayo party? I think not.
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