Road Trip/Surf Trip/Food Trip To Pet-Friendly Carpinteria.

This past weekend we headed north to Carpinteria with some friends and the beagles for what's become an annual getaway. This highly anticipated trip involves a lot of beaching, a lot of surfing (for me) and a lot of good eating. I've talked about Carpinteria but it bears repeating -- it's the best low-key little beach town around, if you ask me. Carp can still be a little scruffy around the edges, and it hasn't gotten all glitzy like nearby Santa Barbara, but that's what we all like about it. We always head to a little strip of beach off Santa Claus Lane. You park (for free!),  and cross the railroad tracks (just make sure the Surfliner isn't chugging by). One of the reasons we love this beach so much is that it's an old-school, anything-goes kind of beach that might remind you of a California of the past. There are no lifeguards and no amenities at all (if you need a bathroom there are some porta-potties, but also if you walk down the street a bit there are a bunch of cool restaurants and shops where you can find a restroom). So, no lifeguards, you can barbecue on this beach, you can even discreetly drink and some people even smoke (and not just tobacco I suspect). Surfers, boogie boarders and swimmers mix together, and it's a very varied and interesting crowd. Oh, and dogs are cool here too. Of course the other great thing about Carpinteria for a surfer like me is that often the waves are super mellow and gentle and, usually, not very big or intimidating. So I just paddle out easily, and I can spend endless amounts of time catching and even getting up on these little waves, and it's so much fun. Also, it's one of these rare times when I can surf multiple times a day, days in a row.

This trip is also good for eats. Usually there are two nights involved, so two dinners, but a tradition has arisen of having cocktails and a picnic on the beach at sunset. Like this one you see here--

Beauty, huh? I never get enough of this beach when most of the people have left, and the sun is going down. Here's the dinner we had--

There's a vegetarian in our group but we often like to go meatless too, so on the menu was a chilled cream of zucchini soup, couscous with summer vegetables, and a baguette with various cheeses from Say Cheese in Silver Lake. There was a brie, a hard goat cheese, and a really amazing cheddar/blue combination. For dessert we had soft ice cream from Foster's Freeze in town because it's summer and you're at the beach and you have to have a soft ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. If you want to know how to make the soup, there's a recipe in the 7/28/14 post of this blog. The Couscous salad recipe is below.

A couple of more dog-friendly suggestions. For accommodations in Carpinteria, the Holiday Inn Express is dog-friendly.  Here's beagle Derric, resting on his bed!

Let them know beforehand because you need to have a first floor room. There's nothing fancy about this hotel (and it's not all that cheap -- this is the Santa Barbara area, remember!) but the beds are super-comfortable, there's flat-screens, free Wifi, and even a free breakfast if you want it. But if you have the dogs you can (and should) also have breakfast in town at Esau's on Linden Avenue. This place has awesome breakfasts and lunches and dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables. They have excellent omelets, egg dishes of all kinds, and even biscuits and gravy. For a dog-friendly dinner in Carpinteria we tried a new place this year, Delgados, on Carpinteria Avenue. If you're into old-school Mexican and strong margaritas (and who isn't?) hit up Delgados. The Taco-Enchilada-Chile relleno combo was perfect, as was the on-the-rocks Margarita. If you have pups, reserve a table on the small patio.

So that was the trip. If you've never been to Carpinteria, go. If you have dogs, bring them!

Couscous with Summer Vegetables

(recipe adapted from Ina Garten's "Make It Ahead")

Serves 4-6

*note: I made a number of changes to this recipe. A couple of ingredients I didn't have on hand, but also Ina calls for raw zucchini and I'm not a big fan of it raw in salads, so I sautéed it in olive oil and garlic, along with a yellow squash from the garden.

1 1/2 cups couscous (regular or whole wheat but not Israeli)

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup golden, or regular, raisins

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cumin

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, then cut in 1/4 inch slices

1 large yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4 inch slices

1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

3-4  ripe tomatoes, diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup white beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley

1/4 cup Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

2 tbsps. red wine vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

1. In a medium saucepan, place water, 2 tbsps. olive oil, the ginger, cinnamon and cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper, and the raisins. Bring to a boil. Off the heat, stir in couscous. Cover and set aside for about ten minutes. Then fluff couscous with a fork. Meanwhile, place sliced red onion in a bowl of ice water. Set aside for ten minutes. Drain, then dice onions finely.
2. In a medium skillet heat 1/4 cup olive oil until hot. Toss in zucchini and yellow squash. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan and sauté about ten minutes, until squashes are soft and beginning to brown. Uncover, toss in garlic. Stir for a minute, then remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl combine sautéed zucchini, carrots, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, chopped parsley and white beans. Again fluff couscous with fork and add it to the vegetables.
4. Whisk together the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil. Pour it over the couscous. Stir everything together. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. The flavors will continue to blend the longer it sits and it will be even better.

More Carpinteria info can be found here:

Holiday Inn Express: www.carpinteriaexpress.com
Esau's Restaurant:  www.esauscafe.com
Delgado's Mexican Restaurant: www.delgadoscarp.com