We took a small vacation to San Deigo and LA. With my little one settled down well, my routine is fairly predictable now. It was a great escape from the monotonous daily routine. The best part of San Deigo is its beautiful weather, year around with an average of 70 F. Days are warm, evenings are little chilly. There is no snow during winter …thats a WOW factor!

We visited the Zoo, Sea World, Downtown and Seaport Village.Of all the places, Seaport Village was my favorite place to hang out. It was not only a perfect place for dining and shopping, it was great for taking a stroll too. It was a fun outing with a great view! My next favorite was the Sea World, I loved the Sea Lion live show, the famous Shamu and the Dolphin show. I felt the Sea Lion show was very well planned and executed, there was a lot of interaction between the trainers and the Sea Lions. The most popular Shamu show had a great backdrop, lovely fountains in a 3 million gallon pool.There is just one show for a day and it last only for 25 mins.People were waiting in the queue atleast 45mins before time.The show began with a salute to armed forces and veterans in the audience. I was astounded to see the close relationship the trainers shared with the whale and the way they took care of them.The whales splashed water,circled the tank and soaked the crowd by flicking their tails at them. We sat on the soak zone and managed to emerge a little dry. Nowadays for safety reasons the trainers don’t get into the water anymore. A must stop at SEA WORLD!

We also visited the DISNEYLAND in Los Angeles. The park is divided into eight different themes or distinct lands of entertainment. Starting from Mainland street which is the pathway to the castle,has a lot of shopping places too. One of my favorite one was Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique a beautiful salon where little girls were decked up and transformed into little princesses. I so wanted little A to get dressed but was dissappointed to know that the minimum age was 3 years. Mickey’s Toontown is one of the best Disney has to offer.This is where you get to meet Mickey,Minnie and Goofy and also get to go inside their beautiful house. We had to stand in line for about 15 minutes to meet Minnie:). The next best would be Fantasy Land. If you like Disney’s classics like Snow White,Little Mermaid, Cindrella etc…you’ll love this place. The other themes include Frontier land, Tomorrowland,Critter Country,Adventure Land and New Orleans Square.The place also has great rides, attractions for all age groups to enjoy. We also took the mono rail and went to Downtown Disney, again a lovely place to chill out. Lots of restaurants with great food and desserts.

Talking about desserts, today’s recipe – RHUBARB SOUFFLE was truly inspired by Simone’s post.

Ever since I saw her Rhubarb Souffle, I was blown away. The color of the Souffle is what made me crave for some. I immediately picked a few Rhubarbs and baked these yummy souffles….aww what can I say they tasted delicious…truly sinful!. I had lot of Pistachios at home so decided to give the topping a slight twist:)

RHUBARB SOUFFLE WITH PISTACHIO CRUMB TOPPING
Serves : 7-8

Ingredients:

3 cups Rhubarb ( chopped into cubes)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup blackberries
a tablespoon cornflour
a teaspoon orange zest
4 egg whites
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoon sugar

Cook the Rhubarb with little splash of water and 3/4 cup+ 2 tablespoon sugar, cover the pan and simmer on low heat. Once it softens,add the blackberries ( I also added a few blueberries). Mix cornflour with little water,add this to the fruit mixture and cook until it thickens. Add the orange zest. Transfer to a bowl and cool till you whisk the eggs.

Butter the ramekins and put in the refrigerator for about 5 mins, butter again and put a teaspoon of sugar and turn around so that the sugar coats all sides evenly. Tap out extra sugar.

In a stand mixer, take the egg whites and a tablespoon of sugar, beat until soft and glossy. Add the remaining sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. Do not over whisk. Now take the fruit mixture and fold in the egg whites slowly until fully incorporated. With a spoon pointing downwards fill all the ramekins up till the rim. Smooth the top and run a knife along the sides of the ramekin thus ensuring nothing sticks on the sides as that will prevent from rising. Bake for about 8 minutes, take them out ( it must have risen by half an inch), sprinkle some crumble topping gently ( do not add too much as it will weigh it down). Bake for another 3 minutes until done.

Pistachio Crumble

4 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoon butter softened
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon Pistachios(chopped)

Mix the first three ingredients using your fingers till it resembles a rough crumble. Spread it in a baking tray and bake for 3 minutes, remove and sprinkle the pistachios. Bake for another 2 minutes or so. You will end up with light brown colored crumble. Set it aside.

Rhubarbs are very tart, sour and refreshing. When sugar is added it taste a lot better. I always have had a soft spot for tart and tangy food,now these have become me latest obsession:). You’ll see more recipes with Rhubarb’s from now on….so watch out for this place. Bite anyone?

Note : The above recipe was adapted and modified from Simone’s Blog – Jungle Frog Cooking. Thanks Simone for this wonderful recipe:)

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