Yummy...

Our first morning and our first meal in Talloires...Okay, these could seriously be the most amazing desserts ever! SOOOO GOOD!!! And the most charming town too!

View from our balcony...

Exhausted, sipping tea, while enjoying our view…

And finally Talloires...

We have arrived bleary-eyed and exhausted. Gabriella picked us up in Geneva and we drove around Annecy and then to our temporary home in Talloires. Sunny. Beautiful. Quaint. Magical. The green. The mountains spectacular. The lake’s colors aqua to green. Cows. Goats. Cafes. Went to an amazing pastry shop for a baguette with cheese, tomato and ham for lunch. So simple. So delicious. Just like how we like to cook. The town and 11th Century Monastery are charming. We can’t wait to explore tomorrow.

Starbucks!!!...

When we exited customs in Frankfort, Germany, the first thing we saw was a Starbucks. Serious. So we had to have our Coffee Frapps there.

Our Life in Malibu..."Bikini Baking" Video!

Bikini Baking from ROBUST on Vimeo.


Our dear friend Eric Locko brought over his camera one Sunday and filmed Tai and Marissa  doing what they do every week in the kitchen...sharing the fun...

Malibu Salad
1 head Red Leaf Lettuce
1/2 pint Strawberries, sliced
1 package Goat Cheese, crumpled
1/2 cup Walnuts
1 Avocado

Dressing (Tai's dear friends Cindy's recipe)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Honey
1 tablespoon Orange Juice
Dash Pepper
Dash Sea Salt

We don't use measurements on the dressing. Just stir till it looks right. Toss dressing lightly on salad and serve. Soooo good!!!!

LAX!!!!

Goodbye LA for June!

Angels seem to always be taking care of us -- and id continues on our travels. We boarded our flight at LAX and were given the best seats on the plane. Seriously, it was like we had a little cubicle for our seats. We made friends with Mike and Mel – two awesome flight attendants for US Airways who kept wine and food flowing. Thanks guys!!! Marissa’s plane reading is Inside the Cripts so she can get a better understanding of gang life in LA. In waiting is Bringing Home the Birkin. So Marissa – looking cute while helping kids in the hood. Go girls!

Will visit Greg’s nephew Zach at Cern in Geneva, Switzerland. He’s a particle physicist – yes a genius. Will get to tour the “underground town” they call home for their research.

Going to see my dear friend Gabriella at the Tufts University Center in Talloires (pronounced Tal-wor), France. So excited!!!

All Packed & Ready To Go...

...kinda...5 hours to departure...1:30 a.m and we forgot to eat dinner...

While we sun and pack...Saadiq...

...while we sun and pack...

...Sweet Saadiq works to finish his English paper. AHHH!!! We will send him postcards from Europe as he finishes his last weeks of school.

Last Day in Malibu...

...beautiful...


And our toes are ready for vacation too...

Home Is Not So Bad...(and delicious too!)

While eagerly anticipating our amazing journey ahead, we enjoyed a day lounging in the sun in Malibu and doing our usual baking. Today we made yummy popovers with raspberry butter to savor alongside our white bean and rosemary soup. Both so easy and so incredibly delicious.



White Bean Soup With Rosemary for 12
Ingredients
2 pounds dried northern or cannellini beans
7 cups chopped onions (about 5)
1/2 cup olive oil
4 gloves garlic
3 springs fresh rosemary
4 quarts chicken stock
2 Bay Leaves
4 teaspoons sea salt (or kosher salt)

Cover beans in water and soak in the refrigerator over night. In a large soup pot, saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook another few minutes. Drain the beans and add to pot along with chicken stock, bay leaf, and rosemary. Simmer for one hour and a half. Using an emersion blender or a regular blender, puree half of the soup and return to pot. Remove bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste.



Popovers for 12
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups milk

Heat over to 450°. Grease popover tins or muffin tins. In a large bowl,mix flour and salt. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoon melted butter. Pour into flour mixture and fold until blended slightly. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and bake until browned. About 20 minutes in pop over tins and 10 minutes in muffin tins. Serve immediatley.

Last feast before our adventure...

With two days to go, we have already been out on the ocean with 27 children from A Chance for Children's Etiquette Class at Tom Bradley Elementary School! As part of the graduation from the class, the children got all dressed up to go on a boat lunch cruise around Marina Del Rey on the Hornblower...we're gonna miss our Wednesday class!!! But we promised to send post cards and post all of our journey. Two more days...

Two Days Till Talloires!!!

With only days to go before I depart, I was just interviewed by a reporter in Virginia on my life. He asked how much of my life had turned out as I had planned. Wow. Does anyone’s life turn out as planned. That is the greatest adventure in life – not to plan too much but being open to going where we are led. I guess my upcoming vacation is just another semblance of trusting and being open to all life’s wonderful adventures. In a few days I depart with only destinations in mind…no set place, time, reservations…simply go where I am led as I experience each place and the people I meet. A friend asked me today if I was worried I would miss really “seeing” a place without having a set plan of what I want to see. I know each place I have experienced, I go and spend extended time and get to know the place and the people and see more of the “real” in each place – and really know it. That is how I live my life and how I vacation. Talloires in two days...stay tuned...

18 Days and counting...Marissa shares...

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be spending a month in Europe after graduation from Pepperdine I’m not sure I would have believed them. And then there’s the cooking part. Had never cooked. In fact I was intimidated. And the night before last I made popovers for my roommates. And I have become an expert at chocolate chip cookies. You never know where life will lead you if you’re open. I thought I wanted to be a buyer for a big department store for the rest of my life. Being open has led me to working with inner city kids and the fun of creating in the kitchen. I learning to be open to what life brings – it’s turning out to be better than I ever imagined for myself…

Marissa's Best Chocolate Chips Cookies in the World
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
¾ cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1 ½ t. vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten
12 ounces (or more!!!) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like the jumbo size)
¾ bag coconut flakes
1 cup walnuts or pecans

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. With a large wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugars on low speed until it is smooth. Add the vanilla and egg and beat on low speed about15 seconds or until incorporated. Do not overbeat. Scrape the side of the bowl as you go so it’s all mixed together. Add the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts and mix until they are just incorporated -- I add extra chocolate chips & coconut until it barely stirs. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350°. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven. Spoon the dough onto baking sheet (I line with aluminum foil or parchment paper) about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

June 1 is our departure date. First stop Talloires, France. Stay tuned...

Life...Cooking...Beach...Bikini's...Travel...sharing...

TAI: For as long as I can remember, I have loved to be in the kitchen – helping my mom or my “Nannie” cook. And with it came reading cookbooks and recipes. I would find things that looked and sounded delicious and experiment with them. I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to entertain. And I love to do it all outdoors – in my garden or by the beach. Funny how we attract what we are comfortable with. I live by the ocean in Malibu and entertain weekly, sometimes several times a week. Every Sunday, friends gather, we sun, giggle and move to the kitchen where we either cook together or eat something I have whipped up. Vacations and cooking classes have also started to merge in my life. So now…my journey for this year is Switzerland, France and Italy – sun, beaches, friends, great food, wine, and of course a few cooking classes!!!

So Marissa and I have decided to take on Europe for the month of June. Our goal is 30 Days of Eating, Drinking, & Cooking Our Way Through Europe While Staying in Bikini Shape. This will be fun!!! Stay tuned..

PS And when I return -- fun will begin preparing for a cooking show with Brant Pindivic/3 Ball Productions!!!