koko's corner

I know I'm a little late with the rest of the Vegas trip, but I'm still fighting a cold and have been super busy since I've been home, so here we go...

Shelly and I showed Marit around Vegas on Friday. Not only was it Marit's first Baker to Vegas (B2V) experience, it was her first trip to Vegas, ever.

I think that deserves a toast. 

Marit toasted with water as she abstains from imbibing alcohol. She would have been the perfect designated driver, but we found the joys of an all day monorail pass and got around town in comfort and ease. 

Keep reading, you have to see our lunch, it was f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s

Dang, I can't believe it's been a year already. Last year we had so much fun volunteering to help our team, we had to do it again this year. We drug a couple more friend/co-workers along with us this time. 

Marit and I drove over yesterday. (Shelly, Maria and Jason are flying in later) On the way we stopped in Temecula CA for an eggs Benedict breakfast at Baily's Old Town. 

Want to see our breakfast and our cool digs in Vegas?

One of the pieces of salmon I bought at Catalina Offshore Products is from Mt Cook Alpine New Zeland. 

I bought three pieces of salmon that day, the New Zeland up front, Coho and Scottish. 

All I did was sprinkle it with some lemon pepper and put it on a hot Himalayan salt slab in a 400* oven. Baked for 12-15 minutes until cooked through. 

Come see what I served it with

My first, but not my last, excursion to Specialty Produce netted me some beautiful fruits and veggies. 

Fresh peas, I was so excited to get fresh peas. 

I've always thought that I live a rather dull, mundane life; this was confirmed by the joy and excitement I experienced shopping here and at Catalina Offshore Products. Who'd-a-thunk that shopping in a big, cold, working warehouse would be so much fun. 

Some of the goodies I bought were lemons, blood oranges, and fiddlehead ferns

Strawberries, kumquats, yellow and orange carrots, baby artichokes and pencil asparagus. 

Love the freshness and prices. I was pleasantly surprised by the great customer service. Everyone in the warehouse was so helpful and I didn't feel like I was in any ones way. I did keep my eye out for forklifts though. 

And that's that 

I had so much fun Saturday. I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time, shop at a big fresh food warehouse that supplies restaurants. 

I was able to hit up two, but right now I'm going to tell you about the purveyor of seafood. 

Catalina Offshore Products. 

I bought three different sushi grade pieces of fresh salmon. From front to back, hope I get this right, New Zeland, Coho and Scottish. 

And some Fresh dry Diver Bay Scallops, with no added water or chemicals. They are harvested by divers in an environmentally friendly manner.  

This is outstanding on top of deviled eggs also. 

Inside the warehouse. I came later in the day so the public offering was pretty slim, but I got what I came for so I was happy. 

Next time I'm getting some giant crab claws. Those are oysters in the blue net bags. 

Huge vats of fresh fish. 

 All my questions were answered and I received great help. Tommy, I think that is his name, was a lot of fun and quite a jokester. 

It was really exciting being in the hustle and bustle of a working warehouse, and I got it all at a really great price. 

And that's that