California Living....

So we're here, in sunny California! I do realize that this means we do have to change the name of the blog, but alas, I haven't had any strokes of genius to come up with a name. Bad Chrissy. At any rate, life here in California is pretty nice. We are living in a fully furnished apartment in Oxnard, California right near the beach. We plan on staying here until our furniture and boxes arrive from Okinawa.

That said, we live about a 5 minute drive from Kevin's office at Port Hueneme, Naval Base Ventura County. I hope he doesn't get used to it, because I don't think we'll be in Oxnard forever.

I'm still looking for a job and have an interview with an independent production company scheduled for this Friday. In the meantime, I've celebrated becoming another year older, went to Las Vegas, bought a new car, and have become a bit more familiar with my neighborhood. Being so close to the beach, there are great places to go for a walk and run. I love it.

As I'm currently a woman of leisure, I've been able to spend more time cooking and experimenting with recipes. While I don't have my own backyard garden for herbs, I've been able to get some fresh produce and veggies. This area of California is full of farms growing everything from kale to strawberries.

Just last night, I made a pesto pasta salad. It was delish.

Grab some basil and make your own pesto and go to town.

In the meantime, if any of you have any suggestions for names for the blog, let me know.

Pesto Salad Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

8 oz box of penne pasta

1 cup of homemade pesto or store bought.

1/3 cup of mayonnaise

1.5 cups of frozen sweet peas

1 cup of artichoke hearts, quartered

*Optional: 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

In a small bowl mix pesto sauce and mayonnaise together and set aside.

Prepare penne pasta according to package instructions to al dente. Drain pasta well and toss in a large bowl. Add frozen peas to pasta and toss with pesto dressing until everything is well mixed and coated.


Gently fold in artichoke hearts and allow the salad to cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese prior to serving. Enjoy!

~Chrissy