Catalina Vacation-Days 1 thru 4

Day 1:
We left Ventura Harbor on Thursday morning at 6:30am headed to Catalina Island for a couple of weeks. Frankie & Carrie were right behind us aboard Testa Dura. We had a beautiful crossing, the seas were calm and flat as glass. Thousands of dolphins followed our boats for hours. Our plan was to stay in Avalon for a couple of days but it was already packed, the upcoming weekend was the Labor Day holiday, so we headed back up the island about four miles and anchored off of Hen Rock- one of our favorite spots on Catalina.

Testa Dura at anchor:

For dinner we barbecued chicken breasts and eggplant:The eggplant were stacked on the chicken, topped with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce and heated until the cheese melted.

Day 2:
On Friday we took our dinghies into Avalon. We had a delicious seafood lunch at Steve’s Restaurant. Walked around town to do a little shopping then headed back to the boats for a swim. The air temperature was 89 degrees and the water temperature 76 degrees!!

On the barbecue tonight was a pork tri-tip served with a cucumber and tomato salad:

Day 3:

Saturday afternoon John took the dinghy back into Avalon to pick up Sarah, Jeff and Marco. They had flown into Long Beach Airport and then took the express across to the island.

First on Jeff’s vacation agenda was to impress Marco with his diving skills:
Marco getting ready to take a nap with Papa:
Then his first dinghy lesson:

Tonight’s dinner was bbqd ribs, small red potatoes on skewers and Asian Coleslaw. For the salad make a dressing of rice vinegar, vegetable oil, fresh minced ginger, sesame oil and a little sugar. Combine the dressing with thinly sliced Napa cabbage and green onions.

Day 4:

Marco calling Papa, Marco calling Papa, come in Papa:

Frank, Carrie, Justin, Carla, Leo, Ben, Darrin, Dina & Lia came over for a barbecue:
On the menu –
Tri-Tip in a Chimichurri Marinade
To make the marinade: In a food processor, mince garlic, parsley, cilantro and basil until finely chopped. With the processor running, slowly add extra virgin olive oil. Add rice vinegar, salt, freshly ground pepper and Tabasco sauce. Place the roast and the marinade in a large Ziploc. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before grilling.

Grilled corn on the cob

Potato Salad
I like to make my potato salad with russet potatoes. Boil the potatoes making sure you don’t overcook them or they will split and get soggy. Take them out of the water and drain on paper towels. Peel, cut into large cubes and put them in a large bowl. As each potato is added to the bowl, pour a little red wine vinegar on top of the potato. Chop hard boil eggs and celery – I like fairly big pieces. Add to the bowl along with thinly sliced red onion. Stir in mayonnaise and a little mustard and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least a few hours so the potatoes have a chance to soak up the seasonings. You probably will have to stir in a little more mayo before serving.


Farro Salad
The day before we left Ventura, Frankie, Carrie & I went to Westlake Village to do our provisioning. We had lunch at a great Italian restaurant and tried their Farro Salad. We loved it and thought it would be a great dish to make when we were at Catalina. Problem was I couldn’t find any farro. I sent a message to Sarah & Jeff asking if they could find any in Oakland. When they arrived they had two bags of farro – one regular and one quick-cooking. Hard to stump those guys when it comes to finding Italian ingredients. I decided to use the regular farro which requires soaking in water for 8 to 24 hours before cooking. After the farro has soaked, rinse in cold water, then boil in water for about 20 minutes. After it has cooled, add diced cucumber, diced red onion, diced tomato diced cucumber, chopped basil and capers. Dress with sherry vinegar and a little olive oil. Finish by stirring in some crumbled goat cheese.
Thank goodness someone (Dina?) thought to take a picture before it was completely polished off.

The Kimbles:Sarah & Jeff Frankie & Marco:John turned on the underwater lights and Leo caught a beautiful flying fish. Not to worry, we released him back to the sea:
Carrie reading bedtime stories: