Santa Rosa Plateau hiking and waffles

Sunday was the perfect day in Southern California for hiking. My family and I are lucky to live near the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve.
It is located near city of Murrieta at the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains in southwest Riverside County.
The Reserve has 9000 acres and has been set aside to protect unique and are ecosystems : Engelmann oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, bunchgrass prairie.
In winter/ Spring seasons there is 2 vernal pools with more than 200 species of native birds and 49 endangered, threatened or rare animal and plant species, including mule deer, mountain lions, badgers, bobcats, western pond turtles. You can find also one specie of fairy shrimp that live there and nowhere else on Earth.
I discovered the Vernal trail 2 years ago when hiking with my yoga group and since I love this unique scenery. The only thing is that you can’t really go on your own for a Zen walk because of the coyotes, mountains lions and bobcats it is always better to go with someone else. You never know which animal is going to cross your way.

A myriad of activities are possible there : mountain biking, horseback riding and Hiking. So last we went for a great hiking and picnic. At the end of the trail you can see the two oldest standing structures in Riverside County that once served as bunkhouses for cowboys dating back to 1846 called the Moreno and Machado Adobes. You can have picnic under the 400-yearold tree

Before leaving home I made a quick homemade soup with Parma tortellini, Organic foursome vegetable mix, free range chicken broth, celery and seaweed ( roasted seaweed snack pack), all from Trader Joe’s. I pour the soup in wide mouth for each of us. On the side I pack some baguette, Rosemary ham, mandarin, soft peanut brittle, power berries ( all from Trader Joe’s).
Actually the backpack was much lighter when we came back.My kids devoured the soup, the ham sandwich, the fruits and snacks!

The hiking was a pure delight, surrounded by various different landscape, one moment you think you are in Tuscany, Italy, another time you are in France, another time in Africa, in Mexico.. You see different species of trees, of berries, of bush.

If one day you are driving or visiting this area, I invite you to stop and enjoy this fantastic place.

All information Santa rosa plateau
After our day out, we needed something sweet and warm. I wanted some hot chocolate.

Back home I made multigrain pancakes ( Trader Joe’s multigrain mix).

Oranges Marmalade

1 pound Organic Navel or Valencia oranges
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water

Brush and wash well each orange under cold water. Dry them out.
With a large sharp knife peel each orange. Keep about 1 ½ orange peel. Set aside. Discard the rest of the peels. Cut orange flesh into small pieces keep the juice.
Place the orange, peels,sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to boili over medium heat. Stirring often. Once boiling reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 -25 minutes.
Ladle the marmalade into jars. You can keep it in the jar for a week or two.

Spanish hot chocolate

Makes 2 cups

1 1/2 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon cornstarch or Maizenna
3 oz Trader Joe’s Belgium 72% dark chocolate, shredded
pinch of cinnamon optional

In a glass mix cornstarch with a little water to have a thick consticency.
In a small saucepan, whisk together the milk and the cream when warm add the cornstarch and mix well with a wisk. Add cinnamon (if used)

Over low heat bring a simmer stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and serve

We all devored this wonderful late snack while the kids were decorated our Christmas tree!

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