On Monday morning, I woke up picturing the Ramona landscape and wanting to take a hike in the area. Using the San Diego Reader website, I was intrigued by their picture of Cobbleback Peak, better known as Mount Woodson. You can read Jerry Schad’s description of the area in the San Diego Reader column, Roam-O-Rama. The lower half of this steep 1.5-mile hike was more picturesque. The landscape was more interesting from that vantage point, not just because the top was home to many communication towers. An old co-worker lived in this area. I can’t wait to learn of his favorite hikes.
On Wednesday, Joy, the owner of All Vegan store, surprised me with a trip to Stephanie’s Bakery for lunch. She has added pizza to the menu and it is outstanding! We each ordered a pizza to try both the red sauce and the pesto topping. For the red sauce, Joy chose veggie sausage and artichoke hearts. For the pesto, I chose sundried tomatoes and mushrooms.
The real surprise came when the pizzas arrived. There was melted vegan cheese on top! I make pizza at home and drizzle it with olive oil. The Follow-your-heart vegan cheese was melted (the secret is a hot oven) and so flavorful. Both pizzas were delicious; with twelve or so toppings to choose from, I have so many combinations to try in the future.
No, the real surprise came when Maria walked out with an inscribed chocolate birthday cake. They even lit a candle and had me make a wish. The chocolate cake was so moist and rich. Combine that with a nice raspberry sauce between layers and any wish will come true.
We’re having a Santa Ana winter which means many warm, dry days. Near the ocean, it was 10 degrees cooler, a very pleasant 75 degrees. So today we chose to eat in the back patio area. Snuggled in a corner was a sweet little neighborhood cat. He was very friendly and welcomed us, but then did what all cats do best, found a nice sun spot for a cat nap.
