Sunday, January 15, 2012

Open House Sunday 1:30-4:30 pm 50 W Edith Ave #5 Los Altos, CA

Stop by my Open House at 50 W Edith Ave #5 in Los Altos, CA 94022 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm today

See why the Village of Los Altos is one of my favorite lifestyle neighborhoods.

This 2 bedroom 2 bath home is a great place to entertain friends and enjoy the downtown Los Altos lifestyle. 50 W. Edith boasts a WalkScore of 86 and includes two parking spaces in the garage for your cars to vacation.

Sit on the balcony and watch the world go by.




50 W Edith Ave is just minutes from all the wonderful shops and restaurants in Village of Los Altos.







New to Los Altos?

Let me make some suggestions of a few of my favorite places;

For pampering yourself visit Le Petit Salon on Plaza Central. Owner Nancy Tran has been treating Los Altos to the best manicures and pedicures for about 20 years. Schedule a facial for your next visit, your face will love you for it.

Want to show off that new pedicure? Head to Main Street and go to Crismon Mim for a great new pair of shoes. Check out the great selections of clothes while you are there.

Getting hungry? Draegers is a great place to pick up a custom gourmet sandwich & something special for dinner tonight. Don't miss their amazing wine selection.

Want to go out to dinner? I love the old school experience of eating at Beasejour on State Street. Their coq au vin is outstanding, save room for the chocolate souffle.

AND??

Well some local secrets are meant to be kept, but if you visit my Open House I may be willing to share...

Come see why the Village of Los Altos is one of my favorite lifestyle neighborhoods.

originally posted:
http://siliconvalleyrealestate-blog.com/

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Chili Verde and Spanish Rice

A while back I had a friend out visiting and I had them share their grandma's Chile Verde recipe. I love Chili Verde and I did not have a recipe I loved. They shared Grandma’s recipe and I have been playing with it ever since. I am the kind of person that even if Julia Child had prepared a recipe just for me I would be fiddling with it the minute her back was turned.

Tonight I added roasted tomatoes & red pepper to this recipe. I had already decided that I liked about 75% Anaheim chilies and about 25% Poblano, which were not in Grandma’s recipe either. I also added some chicken broth to this version.

I wanted to have something to eat with the Chili Verde with so I decided I would try making Spanish rice. I like really good Spanish style rice but I have to say not many Mexican places do it very well, even some of my favorites. I again used the roasted tomatoes and red peppers in the rice plus tomato paste and lots of garlic.

I decided I better hurry up and share this on my blog while I could still remember what I did differently!

Chili Verde
2 Tbls olive oil
3/12 lbs of pork butt roast, cubed, remove excess fat
6 Anaheim peppers roasted and chopped
2 Poblano peppers roasted and chopped
1 small red bell pepper roasted and chopped
3 medium tomatoes roasted and chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 med yellow onion chopped
2 C low sodium chicken stock
Salt/Pepper to taste

I roasted the peppers and tomatoes at the same time I sautéed the meat with the onion and garlic. I salted and peppered the meat before adding it to a warm pan with olive oil. I browned the meat in batches and returned to a large soup pot. I then added the chopped peppers and tomatoes to the pot. Simmered for about 15 minutes and then added the chicken stock. Cook the dish for at least 2 hours on low heat with the lid on and then simmer for about an hour with the lid off.

Spanish Rice
1 Tbls olive oil
2 C long grain white rice
1 large tomato roasted and chopped
1 small red bell pepper roasted and chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 Tlb tomato paste
3 C of chicken stock
Salt/Pepper to taste
Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil until clear add the tomato and pepper, cook another 5 to 10 min add the rice, stir to mix. Add the chicken broth. Let the mixture boil on the stove and then reduce to a simmer and cover. The rice will take about 30-40 mins to cook.

Serve with tortilla's, lime wedges, sour cream, avocado and salsa.

A beer or two would not be a bad addition either!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

The transition from client to neighbor

I think even if you do not make official New Year Resolutions many of us reflect on the what happened in the past year and what we want to happen in the year that is about to unfold. One of the things I enjoyed most last year was when clients turned into neighbors.

Last year I decided that I was going to really concentrate selling homes in my own neighborhood. In fact my first blog post as part of the ActiveRain community was about my neighborhood, the Shoreline West neighborhood in Mountain View, CA

http://siliconvalleyrealestate-blog.com/post/1283658/homes-for-sale-in-shoreline-west-mountain-view-ca

One of the greatest things that happened in concentrating on my own neighborhood is that I have clients that have turned into neighbors. I tell everyone that one of the greatest perks of my job is picking out new neighbors. After I say that almost always they lean in and ask me; “What do you do if you have a client you don't like?” Lucky for me I have not had that problem. I have however had wonderful clients that I would have loved to have as neighbors and we were not able to find them the right place in Mountain View. Some other community has gotten lucky and has them as new residents.

So as 2012 starts to unfold I am happy for my new neighbors that moved into the neighborhood in 2011 and I am excited to meet new clients that will be new neighbors in 2012!

Also posted
http://siliconvalleyrealestate-blog.com/local/California/Mountain%20View