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Our Robot Server at Meet Up Chinese Cuisine in Santa Barbara

February 25, 2022
I'm so excited to say that I've been served by an AI robot server at a restaurant in Santa Barbara yesterday at Meet Up Chinese Cuisine Restaurant!


Her name is Shao Tu and she's smart and prompt.

We ordered a small wonton soup, potstickers, beef chow fun and yang chow fried rice!



The restaurant is kind of tucked in so if you missed a turn, it'll take a few minutes to get back around to find it again. However, the place is a true treasure find! We can't wait to come back. Santa Barbara and this restaurant is about an hour and a half from SLO. See the video clip of this same Meet Up Chinese robot to see its movements via my instagram post.

Address of Meet Up Chinese Cuisine: 2251 Las Positas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Posted by San Luis Obispo Mom. Posted In : Santa Barbara 

 

Vegan and Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake

February 6, 2022

This past year brought a lot of changes to our family's diet to improve a health condition. This year, I baked a vegan and gluten-free vanilla cake for my kid's birthday. The cake sunk in a bit in the middle after I took it out of the oven, but it's fully cooked. I think I should have left it in the oven a bit longer. Aesthetic aside, I'm happy with this cake.

I used the recipe I found here: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-gluten-free-cake/ but in case the website is ever down, I'm going to type out the ingredients here as well.

Ingredients for the vanilla cake:
  • 2 cups of almond four
  • 2 cups of all purpose gluten free flour mix
  • 1.75 cups of granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of baking powder (I use a brand that is corn-free due to an allergy)
  • 1 teaspoon on salt
  • 2 cups of almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract
Ingredients for the vanilla icing (optional):
  • 2 tablespoons of soften vegan butter (I use Miyoko's brand that I found at a grocery store)
  • 3 cups of powdered or confectioner's sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of almond milk 
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
Steps:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the pan(s) with vegan butter.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients for the cake in one bowl. Then, whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl. Then, combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. 
  • Bake for 40 minutes if using a single pan for the cake. Time duration may need to be longer, depending on your pan size. If you are baking them as cupcakes or using thinner pans, reduce the bake time by 10 - 15 minutes.
  • (Optional if using icing) Combine all the icing ingredients together and mix with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Add a bit of milk or powdered sugar to adjust consistency, if needed. Then, when the cake has completely cooled, ice the cake with your icing.
After adding the Roblox toppers, it helped masked the sunken part in the middle. I also added some frosted flowers to take the attention away. I liked how my home-made vegan cake turned out.

Posted by San Luis Obispo Mom. Posted In : Vegan 

 

Teen Centers and Suggested Places for Teens Including Skate Parks in San Luis Obispo County

January 23, 2022

Here is a list of Teen Centers and places for teenagers to thrive in San Luis Obispo County, year round:
  1. Colony Park Community Center Teen Center for 6th - 12 graders. Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday from after school - 6PM. $10 yearly membership fee (scholarships available). Each teen will receive a Teen Center Membership Card to be scanned each time he/she enters the Teen Center. Each member must have a signed waiver to participate and must follow all Teen Center Rules. Please bring waivers to the Colony Park Community Center, 5599 Traffic Way to sign-up! Anyone under the age of 12 must be accompanied in the Community Center by a parent or guardian. For more information please call 805-470-3360. More info link: www.atascadero.org/teencenter. Address: 5599 Traffic Way, Atascadero, CA 93422
  2. Paso Robles Teen Center at Centennial Park opened in August 2023 and is a dedicated space for students in grades: 6th through 12th grade. It has a kid game console, places to charge up and tables to play board games. They can also easily walk from the Teen Center to the gym to enjoy basketball and ping pong. It’s open 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Address: 600 Nickerson Dr., Paso Robles, CA 93446
  3. The CLUB at Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County is free for teens of grades 7th - 12th grade where kids can drop in after school. From sports, volunteerism and academic pursuits, The CLUB offers great resources and programs for the kids. A membership application is required (free). Hours and events vary so check with the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County. Address: 1830 19th St., Oceano, CA 93445
  4. Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast is separate from the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo. The Mid Central Coast has 15 different locations although they are not clear on their prices for their many programs. They have programs that include sports, arts and more. You'll need to sign up for a membership which requires a fee. 
  5. San Luis Obispo County Libraries have over a dozen libraries around the county and they usually have weekly or monthly scheduled events teen events at a couple of locations. Some of the the more active ones for teens include: Atascadero Library, Morro Bay Library and San Luis Obispo Library (Downtown SLO). Events are the libraries are almost always free.

    Read about my visit at the San Luis Obispo Library.

Skate Parks:

  1. SLO Skate Park at Santa Rosa Park is located at 1050 Oak St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. The skate park is open from 7AM - 10PM daily. Helmet, elbow and knee pads are required. Free entry. 
  2. Los Osos Skate Park is located at 2180 Palisades Avenue, Los Osos, California. Hours of Operation is 12PM - dusk daily.  Helmet, elbow and knee pads are required. Free entry.
  3. South County Skate Park is located at 1750 Ramona Ave., Grover Beach, CA 93433. Open from dawn to dusk. Helmet, elbow and knee pads are required. Free entry.
  4. ATown Park has an indoor skate park and an outdoor section as well. $5 per session. Hours area: Mon - Fri from 2PM - 6PM, Sat from 12PM - 5PM and Sun from 12PM - 4PM. Address: 5493 Traffic Way, Atascadero, CA 93422
  5. Templeton Skatepark is located at 599 S Main St., Templeton, CA 93465 and is open from 9AM - sunset (or as posted). Helmets, elbow and knee pads, shirts and shoes are required to be worn at all times. Free entry. 

Other Leisurely Things To Do and Resources for Teens:

  • Go to a movie theater to watch a new age-appropriate movie. You can read my reviews for 3 different theaters in San Luis Obispo County:
  • Go shopping at Pismo Beach Outlets Center in Pismo Beach.
  • During the summer time, teens can pick up a fun activity like playing pickle ball, basketball or soccer together.
  • Hang out at the beach in Pismo Beach. Throw a football around or bring a kite. Bring a picnic, in case you get hungry. There are a lot of restaurants and shops to look at.
  • Hang out in Downtown San Luis Obispo and enjoy a walk around the shops and restaurants. Every Thursday, there is a farmer's market in Downtown SLO that is multiple blocks. I usually like to walk through the Bubble Gum Alley while I'm there. Here is a video of one of my walls through the Bubble Gum Alley. It's always free to walk around and look at shops.
  • Teens who are 16 years old and older can get assistance with finding and internship, apprentice and/or employment through WIOA Youth Program. This is for at-risk youth who are out of school. This particular youth program is for ages 16 - 24 years old so college aged kids can apply as well.
See my other blog posts for things to do for kids.

Popular Things To Do with Little Kids in San Luis Obispo County

Posted by San Luis Obispo Mom. Posted In : For Kids 

 

Vegan Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe

January 15, 2022
I'm making a vegan, gluten-free pizza crust for my son this morning and this time, I'm recording my recipe and what steps I took. I'm not using tomato sauce for this recipe to lower the acid for easier digestion for my little guy.

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix the 3 ingredients (see dough ingredients above) for the dough with the 1 teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl.
  3. Mix in the flaxseed meal mix (see the 3 ingredients above for this), olive oil and apple cider vinegar in the same mixing bowl.
  4. Mix in the Fleischmann's RapidRise Instant Yeast Fast-Acting in the same mixing bowl.
  5. Add about 1 cup of water to the dough and mix it. I mix in the water little by little as I'm mixing the dough to gauge the texture.
  6. Knead the dough and shape it into a round 1/2 inch thick size (or to your preference of thickness) and place the dough directly to the stone or pizza pan. I find that this is the best way because the gluten-free dough is very sticky and would stick to any paper like glue. My aunt had gifted me a Pampered Chef stone for baking pizza and so this is my preference when baking a pizza but I'm sure you can use a baking pan or pizza pan too. Find a similar pizza stone: Pizza Stone by Hans Grill Baking Stone For Pizzas use in Oven and Grill / BBQ FREE Wooden Pizza Peel Rectangular Board 15 x 12 " Inches Easy Handle Baking | Bake Grill, For Pies, Pastry Bread, Calzone
  7. When the oven is at 425 degrees and ready, bake in the oven for 20 minutes total. If you are adding toppings, bake for 10 minutes first, then add toppings and finish the last 10 minutes in the oven.
This was a photo of my pizza when I added vegan cheese to the pizza crust over a week ago:


Posted by San Luis Obispo Mom. Posted In : Vegan 

 

Making Boba Balls at Home

January 8, 2022
(More photos to be added soon!)

Surprisingly, you only need 3 ingredients to make and roll your boba balls at home, the three ingredients are:
  • 1/2 cup of tapioca starch/flour
  • Between 1/3 cup but less than 1/2 cup of brown sugar (depending on your preference on sweetness)
  • 1/2 cup of water (divided)
That's it! Lucky for those who can't eat gluten, tapioca starch or flour is gluten-free and you can make sure it stays gluten-free by making it at home. However, it does require some work.

Instructions:
  1. Boil the 1/4 cup water with half of the brown sugar that you plan to use. When it has dissolved, turn off the heat.
  2. Put the 1/2 cup of tapioca flour into the pot and mix throughly together.
  3. When it has cooled down enough to touch, start kneading it on a flat surface. I always just use a sheet of wax paper and put it on my table. Then, work the dough on it. Make the dough nice and and flat and evenly cut into tiny squares so they can be easily rolled into a ball individually.
  4. Now boil a clean pot with water and fill it (how much water depends on how big your pot is). I just fill it enough where it's at least 4 times the amount of boba balls I'm boiling. Boil the water over medium high heat.
  5. Throw the balls into the boiled water over medium heat and cook it for about 10 -15 minutes. I like my boba balls (tapioca balls) to be soft so you may cook for less time if you like it chewy it in the middle. Then, boil it for another 5 minutes in low heat. When the balls are floating, you are definitely sure that they're ready. Drain the boba when it's ready in a colander.
  6. Now, in another pot, boil 1/4 cup of water and put the rest of the brown sugar (the other half that we saved from Step 1) in it and caramelize it into syrup over medium heat. I'd use my eye to judge how long it took but usually under 10 minutes. This may be different depending on the heat of your stove.
  7. After it's in like a caramel sauce consistency, put the drained boba balls in the pot of caramel and mix it until the syrup has coated the boba balls. It's ready to be put in a cup to use with your favorite drink.
You can watch my instagram video to see a short clip of how I made my boba balls.

See other vegan and gluten-free recipes that I've tried.

Not up for creating your own dough and rolling them? Buy some pre-made and all you have to do is boil them. Some of them come in a big bag like: E-FA Black Tapioca Pearl Boba, 2.2 Pound.

If you're a local or travel to SLO, find boba shops in San Luis Obispo County.

Posted by San Luis Obispo Mom. Posted In : Boba 

 
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About Me


San Luis Obispo Mom Originally from San Diego, California, I'm a San Diego State University alumna, veteran's wife and mom of two kids who were born two years apart. After living on the East Coast for 6 years, we now reside in San Luis Obispo County and here, the exploration continues. In between work and momming it, I like to exercise.
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