Eat Here-Walnut Avenue Cafe

If you find yourself in Santa Cruz on a weekday morning, you will notice, as I did, that the city does not quite wake up until about 11 a.m. I am attributing this to the fact that the city really and truly wakes up only on the weekends because of the boardwalk. But, if you are there, or anywhere near, and you are hungry for breakfast, there is a place you definately should try.

I am a breakfast person, if you hadn't noticed, and I find there is no better way to start a vacation day than with a good breakfast. I mean eggs benedict, biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon...etc. We found this great little place; good food, good coffee (an absolute must) and not too pricey. I feasted on eggs benedict florentine, and my husband got another version. Potatoes come on the side, and the food was just delicious. The cosey cafe has a family atmosphere with an updated twist. Perfect.

Walnut Avenue Cafe

106 Walnut Avenue

Santa Cruz, CA 95060-3913

(831) 457-2307

Warm Thoughts

I keep notebooks. What I mean is, I write things down; things that I plan to do, things I make, recipes, ideas, short stories and math problems. I make lists and lists and lists. I make lists of what I should do each day, what I am going to make for meals for the next two weeks, what I should buy from the store, what we should have on Thanksgiving and what I am going to buy people for Christmas. If I lost my notebook, I don't know what I would do.
Once, when I was catering a banquet, one of the servers got my book wet. I almost lost it. I started freaking out. Everything is in that book. Notes on food, amounts, time lines, and measurements. I know, I sound a bit obsessive, but we have to have some measure of stability in this ever-changing world, and my stability is my notebook.
So, as I was flipping through my notebook today, I found this recipe for soup. I like soup. Especially on a cool day, or when I don't want to fuss too much with something. I like to just throw everything into a big pot and let it simmer away. It's comforting, it's quick and usually it's easy.
That is the case with this soup. I had a jar of homemade beef and barley soup on hand that I needed to use up, we had already had beef and barley soup a few times (this is what happens when you don't can something properly-you have a limited amount of time to consume 5 quarts of beef and barley soup) anywhoo...
I was tired of the beef and barley soup, so I decided to gussy it up a bit, and make a Mexican soup. I chopped away and threw everything into the pot. It was really good. It's a fairly light dish. It was easy. It was fast.
Did I mention it was really good?
I think chicken and rice soup would be a better base, so that is what I am going to call for in this recipe. This soup is really good. I can't say that enough. I really like it. A little spicy, just the way I like it. As a matter of fact, I think I will have some now...

Fast and Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 32 oz Can condensed chicken and rice soup
+ 1 can water
1 Green bell pepper, chopped
1 Large tomato, chopped
3 Small corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon Mexican hot sauce, like Tapatio
1 Lime, cut into 6 wedges
Additional hot sauce

For garnish (optional, but I would recommend it):
Sour cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Cilantro

Combine soup and water, bell pepper, tomato, corn tortillas, cumin and hot sauce in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Ladle soup into bowls and squeeze one lime wedge over each bowl, and drop in a few extra drops of hot sauce. Add sour cream, cheddar cheese and cilantro if desired.

Serves 4

Comfort Food

Biscuits and gravy has been one of my favorite breakfast foods for as long as I can remember. It was part of the thrill of eating out for breakfast. It was not, however, something we had at home. I had them at a little restaurant in Chino, California, known as Flo's Diner, served atop a mountain of hash browns with eggs and coffee on the side. I took my husband there and he was not impressed. He said the food tasted like cigarettes. I think it was all in his head.
I have had gravy made with bacon, sausage and even ground beef. Of course there is white gravy with no meat, but that doesn't even count. I have to say the worst by far was the ground beef version. We had that at a diner in Washington, when I was up there for my brother's wedding. I was perusing the menu with my husband and I said, "I wonder what SOS is..." He whispers to me, "You don't want to know." And proceeded to explain it was something his dad had told him about, consisting of ground beef gravy on toast. Now, perhaps you have had that and it was good, but I think it pretty much lives up to its name....
I am pretty particular about my gravy, I like thick, white gravy with big flecks of black pepper. I like it a little spicy, over some pretty tender biscuits. My children and husband love it too, and my sister FINALLY decided to try some a few months back, and now, she cleans up all the leftovers....without being asked. I will wander back into the kitchen some hours later and find her reheating a biscuit for her second breakfast.

So, after some trial and error, and picking up some tips from grandmas I know, I have a process similar to this: brown some spicy bulk sausage. Use a slotted spoon and scoop out the cooked sausage, leaving as much of the drippings in the pan as possible. Add butter and flour then whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper and you're done! It's amazingly delicious, and you could experiment with other types of sausage, like sage, but I have actually never ventured from the hot. It is just our favorite.


Prepare biscuits

For the Gravy
1/2 lb hot sausage, homemade or purchased
3 cups milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the sausage and set it aside. Add butter to drippings and melt. Sprinkle flour over the drippings, and whisk, cooking over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Drizzle in the warm milk and continue whisking and cooking until the mixture becomes smooth. Add salt and pepper. Return to medium high heat and cook for about one minute. Taste the sauce. There should be no trace of flour. Whisk in sausage, and taste. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve over fresh biscuits.