Gifts from the Heart

There are kids all over the world who aren’t privileged enough to have a “Merry” Christmas or a “Happy” holiday…but all over the world, there are also people who are doing things to help make the holidays a brighter place.  On Saturday, December 7, Combat Radio held their 3rd Annual Christmas Event For Homeless Children and The Shelter For Domestic Violence.  A loving seven-year-old, Shawn-Robin Dettenmaier, who just had a dream of helping those in need, first started this event, which was put on by Combat Radio and produced by Lota Hadley and Ethan Dettenmaier.

Dear Friends and Customers,
We’d like take this opportunity to thank all of your loyal customers and the City of Santa Clarita for continuing to support our little boutique and we wish everyone and their families’ prosperity and health for 2014.  Our community gives us the opportunity to still do what we love after 10 years and we truly appreciate it!
Many of you know that during the last year we moved locations to beautiful Old Town Newhall and it is hard to believe that we have nearly been in our new location one whole year! 

What constitutes a product even being called ‘yogurt’? Simple: the words “live and active cultures.” The living organisms Streptococcus Thermophilus and Lactobacillus Bulgaricus usher the pasteurized milk from the ‘milk’ stage to the ‘yogurt’ stage during fermentation. The basic food, milk, is actually transformed into a healthier, more beneficial food. The National Yogurt Association (NYA) has an exemplary program called the “LAC Seal” Program (Live & Active Cultures).

The College of the Canyons Symphonic Band will welcome tuba player William Roper as its artist-in-residence for the 2013-14 academic year.
While not physically residing at the college, Roper’s residency will be of a creative nature, as he will compose new works for the band’s December and May concerts and will work closely with COC band members.

Happy Holidays everyone.  Am I the only one who thinks this year just flew by?  Let me start this off by saying a couple weeks ago I met a prospective partner.  I just had to say partner, because so many women put this on their profiles.  Now, I do not want to offend anyone out there, but if I want a partner, I will open a business.  What ever happened to just looking for a girlfriend, and possibly wife?  Yeah I still live in the past.  Ahh, the good old days…

Many exhausting hours studying and practicing have proved worth it for one local high school senior. West Ranch High School athlete Brandon Oh received a national honor this month from Wendy’s. Oh was selected as the West Ranch High School Winner in the 2013 Wendy’s High School Heisman Competition.

As the year comes to a close, we all reflect on the year past with thoughts of wonder, what ifs, what should have been or what will come. As we go into the month of December thinking of all the wonderful people that have crossed our paths and all of the joy our children and families have brought us or what we have brought to them. We all, yes even the grumpy; get a little smile that crosses our faces with love and joy that fills our hearts!

Sushi is a very popular Japanese cuisine. Rice is the main ingredient and it has five major types.  Maki Sushi and Nigiri Sushi are the most typical types served in a sushi bar.
Maki Sushi is usually rolled into a cylindrical form with the use of a bamboo mat called “makisu.” It is comprised of rice, fish, seafood and seaweed or vegetable arranged in a layer. The log formed is cut into six or eight pieces, equivalent to a single roll order. The most common types of maki Sushi are Futomaki, Hosomaki and Uramaki.

There is a movement to buy American, choose local, eat organic, support small businesses, and to give handmade gifts. Of course, none of these things are new. Our grandparents lived by these standards. There were fewer malls or corporate shopping centers and frequenting “Main Street” was normal. It’s normal again: more and more small privately owned shops are popping up around Santa Clarita, most noticeably in hip Old Town Newhall which, over the last few years, has experienced encouraging growth after the city’s revitalization efforts.

Thank you to Linda Fasan for sending us this delicious holiday treat and for being December’s contest winner!  There is nothing better than enjoying a delicious holiday treat, baked with love, to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.  Here is the letter we received from Linda. 

The basis of Vietnamese meals is usually rice.  Rice is almost always served with a meat dish or vegetable mix.  Traditionally, each person is served with a bowl of rice while the main dish is shared.  Vietnamese and Chinese dishes are similar, but still have many differences.  The primary difference between Vietnamese and Chinese food is the Vietnamese food is much lighter and uses a fish sauce for seasoning.

Piccola Trattoria has been serving the Santa Clarita Valley for the last ten years. Our goal is to provide our guests with great food, warm hospitality, and the finest service. As a family owned and operated establishment we work hard to bring our values and culture to our business—essentially you are our guest for the evening and we look forward to creating the best experience possible for you.

The Friends of Castaic Lake and the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation are sponsoring the Twentieth (20) Annual Winter Magic Festival featuring a Lighted Boat Parade.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. with children’s games, snow to play in, food and snacks. 

We get so many wonderful compliments on our Molcajete, that this article is dedicated to it!

If you’re not familiar with a molcajete, it is a Mexican mortar and pestle. The term molcajete actually refers to the three-legged round bowl, which has been carved out of basalt. The pestle, which is known as the tejolote, has also been carved out of the same volcanic rock.

The story of Henry and Mudge came to life before a crowd full of children at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center on Saturday, October 26.  Fun for the whole family, this charming Theatreworks musical, based on the best selling series of books by Cynthia Rylant entertained the young audience as part of The Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center’s Young at Heart Series. 

Located in Valencia, just minutes away from Six Flags Magic Mountain, Pizza del Sardo is a small family owned restaurant dedicated to serving the finest Italian pizza and pasta to its community. By using only the finest Italian ingredients imported directly from Italy, nothing is ever pre-packaged or pre-made.

Ginger can be traced back to Europe.  During the 11th century explorers came back from the Middle East with the spice “ginger”.  The spice became popular with bakers, and they added sugar to the ginger root to create candy.  Later with the discovery of molasses, the bakers added breadcrumbs and molasses to the sugared ginger to create what we know as gingerbread.