Sunday, October 9, 2011

california native
































































this weekend the california avocado festival came to town. there are so many of these fruit trees in our valley i guess it's natural that there would be a festival to celebrate it. did you know that california grows about ninety percent of this nation's avocado crop? today my sister and i went. we wandered and looked and admired and ate. i took lindy to see our new quilt ~ knitting shop too, it's my favorite place in town.

i bought a new skirt and a tshirt at the festival to benefit here ( i love the mission statement of my friend who began epmov. i chose indonesia for the memories i have of being there). and lindy bought us each a soy candle that's named christmas eve. it's become a kind of tradition for us, we each have the same candle and when we light it, we think of the other. this year we'll both be smelling christmas eve all through december. that little notebook is mine too. it needed to come home with me when i read the words on the cover...'we are all wanderers on this earth; our hearts are full of wonder and our souls are deep with dreams.'

and for you, a recipe i picked up today:

avocado pasta salad with red pepper & feta cheese
serves 4

6 oz. penne (or other short, tube pasta)
1/3 cup vinaigrette dressing
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
3/4 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tsp. chopped parsley
2 ripe fresh california avocados, peeled, seeded and diced

cook pasta in salted, boiling water until just tender, about 10 minutes; drain well.
while still warm, toss with vinaigrette.
fold in remaining ingredients and serve.

for additional recipe ideas, visit california avocado.com and if you need any avocados, i have plenty to share too. xxx lori

35 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Thank you for taking me to the Avo fest with you today Lori!!
    I will find some avocados, let them ripen for a bout a week (they get there as hard as rocks) and then make this fabulous recipe.

    I miss hearing from you, how are things?? Do you have my new phone number? ;)

    Hugs
    Lola xoxo

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  2. Such colour, such fun! And so much hard work, it's wonderful!

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  3. Hey Lori, it looks fabulous xx

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  4. The festival looks like it was a lot of fun! I love seeing the woman getting the henna tat; it is something I have wanted to do. I think the tradition you have with your sister when lighting your candles is a fantastic idea, I may have to use that with my sister's. I just picked up some avocado's at the market yestesday so your recipe is perfect for one of my dinner's! I hope you have a beautiful start to your week and it just continues into each day! xx

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  5. Yum! I love avocados. Happily, one of my babies does too - she'll eat a whole one with a spoon for lunch! And what a beautiful tradition you have with the candles. Lovely. x

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  6. I adore avocados, I have a few little trees growing here in our garden. What a lovely festival, I can see you had a wonderful time.
    Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Lori, I will make it soon.
    Have a beautiful week:)
    Love
    Linda
    xo

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  7. Beautiful Lori... all of it.
    and what glorious weather you are still having. It's warming up here.

    x Robyn

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  8. Yum! just reread the salad recipe and I'll definetly be making that.
    Thank you x

    PS.. I've been pickling olives... wish I could send you some.

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  9. Your festival looks so "festive". I love the colors and you can feel the energy of the event in your photos :)

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  10. As always, your photos captured the day perfectly! I love that special *candle buring* ceremony...(I do it too with a friend in Germany..)

    Saw so many gorgeous things that many of our "Blogging Family" would love to have! Perhaps one day, we can go shopping together.

    Avocados......hmmmmm...methinks you are going into business as one of Emily Rabbit's Partners!!!

    Love and Strength,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  11. I love it when you take us on these photo tours. Next best thing to being there.

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  12. Wow that looked very festive and fun, sadly as much as I love avocados, I've become allergic, I only have the memories now :)

    Thanks for the tour, xo Ro

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  13. Oh wow! We have nothing on that scale in my area. Looked like a fun day to me. I could spend hours in that shop! xx

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  14. i felt like i just walked down state street and ended up at the art festival, staring at the beautiful pacific ocean.

    thank you for this virtual trip to california today - from your landlocked friend in the midwest ;-)

    xo

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  15. Thank you for that festival, Lori! I am stuck at my SKYPE phone to be HERE when that call will come, but not yet (two days overdue). So this was the only way I could go anyplace, and to such a lovely event! Yes, send me an avocado! Ours are not very tasty. I`ll write soon. Afterwards...

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  16. Wonderful pictures!
    makes me want to be there!
    Wish I could have because I am sure i would have bought the bottles with shells for my "bathroom" :)
    And all the other pictures look so sunny and inviting ! I am sure I am born in a wrong continent......
    It is blowing and grey here.........
    You enjoy this lovely scene dear. This clear blue sky will help you heal I am sure of that.
    ♥M

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  17. we just had a delicious avocado for supper so i guess its happenning here too; thanks for the link! i love your photos! and those henna tatts are really cool - what fun. and christmas decorations already!! yikes; everything looks so clean and bright in your world. oh - no litter..it all looks like new. hope all well?xx

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  18. That was so much fun...thanks for taking us along...that avocado with chips made my mouth water..Yum YUM!!Hugs,Cat

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  19. Stunning photos! Love all the color. I see the sun came out for the event (I'm so touched that you think of me when it rains, btw!! ;-). Thanks for the recipe...sounds delicious!

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  20. yum yum yum! and the yarn store ----yum again

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  21. Wow. Carpinteria has grown up. I remember going there when I was a teen and there was, well, nothing! lol! And avocados are one of my very favorite things in the world. Lovely pics, Lori! Thank you for taking m on vacation again! xoxo

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  22. I need avocados!!

    your friend
    emily rabbit

    ps did you see me? i had to run fast after that corktree place said i was supposed to pay for the wine.

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  23. lori,

    did you smile a hundred smiles when you saw those knitted owls? :^)

    all those fabrics and that turquoise kitchen set: swoon. that's the kind of shopping i like.

    i thought of you on this day and i'm glad to see you shopped and nibbled.

    love
    kj
    p.s. if you hear from emily, please be careful. you don't need legal complications, right? :^)

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  24. Looks like you had fun. People are still wearing shorts and sandles, we had our first snow 2 days ago
    :-). xoxo

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  25. Lori, it looks like so much fun! The colours and textures are fantastic. Thinking of you and sending you love and hugs - always.

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  26. Hi Lori
    I have been away from blogs for a while and thus only found out now about your mother.. while this is a lovely avocado festival post, I can only think about the earlier ones and feel for you and send you some belated love from over here xx

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  27. Avocado is one of my favorite fruits, thank you for the recipe it sounds wonderful. Your festival looks like it was a lot of fun.

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  28. mmmm, yummy! thanks for the recipe, i think i'll make it soon! the festival looks like fun and you got some great mementos. is the new yarn shop where the old one once was? it looks like so much fun with all those colors!

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  29. Oh wow, what a wonderful festival. All that eye candy! and of course the avocados:). And I love that quote, I may have to borrow it sometime :).
    xoxo

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  30. Avocados are just about my favorite thing in this world. The festival you went to looks like paradise. Yum! I love all your photos! Thanks for posting the recipe too...sounds like perfection. I think I'll try it this weekend.

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  31. Avocado lovers here! All 6 of us love them. Thanks for the recipe. I also loved how you captured the essence of the fair in your photos and of course...how it led to a yarn store!

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  32. Beautiful shots, Lori! I'm so jealous... if an Avocado Festival came to LA I would eat my way through it. Then again... maybe I'm grateful it didn't come my way!

    Your recipe looks fantastic, thanks for sharing. Hope you've been well :)

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  33. What a lovely post, dear Lori, I love all these pictures but you know, especially the fabrics store, how amazing it is! thank you for sharing the recipe !
    Tomorrow it´s holiday here and it´s Children´s Day, too!
    Have a wonderful week sweet friend, with much love from your friend. Mina

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  34. <3 that owl hat! i would wear it around the house just for kicks, if i could!

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  35. Oh
    Good
    Grief

    That guacamole is making my mouth water! And look how huge that heap is! YUMMMMMM! Avocado festival? I need to be there! Avocado is one of my favorites!

    Ahh, I love all these vendors. And I love love love that colorful shop. How wonderful that you could go there with your sister!

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xoxo lori