Friday:
Tomato soup for breakfast.

I had dinner at Winterland with Casey:
Strawberry-basil mojitos ($9! and I spilled my first one after drinking only 1/4 of it--they gave me a new one for free)
Togarishi popcorn (=furikake with chili flakes)
Fried little green peppers--some spicy, most sweet--and fried battered baby artichokes (some very fibrous leaves indeed) with saffron aioli
An amazing dish of macaroni and cheese topped with very rich breadcrumbs--brioche? croissant?--with a pear salad on the side.

We saw a Brussels Griffon in a handbag and I fed it some lamb's ear.

and then we took the 1 downtown and ordered tea (green tea w/jasmine--good; chrysanthemum tea w/mint--bad) and "Jade and Ebony" and steamed rice at Shanghai 1930 while we watched her old jazz teacher Suzanne. Jade and Ebony was bok choi and shiitake mushrooms. The bok choi (about 4 total, cut in half lengthwise) was fine, kind of boring. The mushrooms (about 5 total) were good--I think they were cooked with sugar, soy, rice wine.

Saturday:
Lentils and tomato soup for breakfast.

Dad and Patty made me a nice lunch. A Moosewood Collective phyllo dough roll stuffed with sauteed peppers, onions, squash, toasted breadcrumbs, and parmesan, and topped with poppyseeds; an orange and cabbage slaw salad; tofu cubes with sesame; bread and butter; pound cake with an orange glaze. I tasted a very expensive (due to the Ghiradelli and Scharffen Berger chocolate) prune puree cake that tasted like Semifreddi's gingerbread.

Sunday:
Mike stayed for dinner after dropping off our pitchfork. How Amish.
Salad with orange pieces from Mike, lettuce from the Box, and a dressing of toasted hazelnut oil, toasted sesame oil, Dijon mustard, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and lemon juice from Mom's lemons.

Herb roasted potatoes: blue, red, and yellow new potatoes from TJ's and banana fingerling potatoes from the Box; all peeled and sliced in fry shapes, tossed with olive oil and garlic, and sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano from the garden; roasted at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirred, cooked another 15 minutes (which was too long--they came out burned) and tossed with salt and pepper.

Quinoa cooked with minced garlic.

Caramelized Minit-Meat Beaf: cooked slices of Beaf, sliced Box carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic in a mixture of butter and olive oil, then poured in a can of ginger ale mixed with soy sauce and sesame oil. Cooked this whole thing dry, until the ginger ale sugar and soy caramelized on the Beaf and veggies.

Dark Scharffen Berger chocolate-covered candied grapefruit peels.

Whipped cream (very thick and luscious cream from Straus Family Creamery) with vanilla and sugar, on some sliced, sugared Box strawberries.

I didn't even get a chance to serve tomato soup and lentils!

I did a lot of cooking last night; I left work a half hour early and had plenty of time to make food before watching ANTM. This morning my new organic box came, with lettuce, strawberries, zucchini, yellow fingerling potatoes, carrots, English shelling peas, and Fuji apples.

Tomato soup: This is from a gift, a little plastic-packaged mix of white navy beans and seasonings. I soaked the beans overnight and when Rahul got home he put them to boil with 8 cups of water for 1 1/2 hrs, then turned it off when he went to meditation. When I got home (just about at 6:30) I just had to drain the beans, put them back in the pot, add 8 cups cold water, the seasoning mix, and 1/2 can of tomato sauce, stir well, and simmer for maybe 15 minutes.

Salad: Picked oakleaf lettuce and arugula from the garden. Made dressing from fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, blood orange olive oil, crushed garlic clove, salt, pepper, and Grey Poupon mustard. Ate with some chunks of a good-quality Roquefort from Cheese Board and croutons.

Carrots: Peeled and coin-sliced the (now soft) carrots from the last box and sauteed them in butter over medium heat with a few sliced cloves of garlic until they started to get brown. Added a generous glug of ginger ale and a few leaves of Vietnamese coriander and let it all cook down with an occasional stir until brown and slightly crisp and caramelized.

Drink: Mixed the rest of the ginger ale with some vanilla vodka and chilled it in the freezer till dinnertime.

Lentils: Sliced two medium yellow onions in half-moons 1/4" thick and nearly deep-fried them over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until dark brown, with much more oil and time than I normally would have used, per the instructions in the big Deborah Madison book I got out from the library. In the meantime, I put 1 1/4 cups of black lentils on high with 4 cups (1 quart) cold water and a teaspoon of salt, then lowered the temperature and simmered about 15 minutes. I added 3/4 cup of basmati rice and lots of ground black pepper, stirred, covered, and let it simmer for another 15 minutes. I did have to add a little more water. At the end, I stirred in the onions and oil. It was very tasty, and much more minimalist than a dish I would have invented. I had to restrain myself from adding carrots, celery, bay leaf, thyme, etc.

Carrot cake: Had a slice of the birthday carrot cake while watching Strange Days on PBS. So good, with the cream cheese frosting and raisins.

I have leftover lentils, carrots, and salad, raw peas, and a Fuji apple for lunch today. This morning I had a soy cafe au lait and a little bit of cranberry-orange bread from Peet's.

On Sunday, Rahul took me to the Oakland Zoo--the gibbons were quiet, so the highlights were the close-up adorable meerkats and the giant fruit bats (flying foxes) hanging like Gothic umbrellas or H.R. Giger chrysalises from their mesh, opening their four-foot wings every now and then. At 4:30 we went to Le Theatre and had a lovely meal:

Prosciutto amuse-bouches (which we didn't eat)

Bread and butter (they brought us several baskets of bread, sensing our poverty and gauche manners before we even asked)

"Salade composee" with a creamy, buttery, pungent Roquefort, red-freckled lettuce, a savory garlic-mustard vinaigrette, beet cubes, and honey walnuts

Roasted asparagus salad (Rahul had this--I don't remember the details)

Pommes frites with aioli

Polenta napoleons with roasted eggplant, onions, peppers, and tomatoes stacked on top of the crispy polenta rectangles

Honey mousse (not very light/mousse-like, but very tasty nonetheless; more like a thick cream with ground almonds in it)

On my actual birthday, Monday 4/18, I went home, ate some vegetable ramen (non-fried) with swiss chard, bleached a shirt with a bleach pen, and painted watercolors of nasturtiums.

I had a great dinner at Chez Nous last night with Jennifer, Shara, Bryan, and Marianne. Hiromi and Cindy were stuck at work till 10:30ish and couldn't come. Shara gave me some wonderful blood orange olive oil and yuzu rice vinegar from O Olive Oil and recommended some sea salt caramel chocolates from the Pasta Shop on Fourth Street. She also brought me my Mercenaries PS2 and Xbox copies and beanie and t-shirt. Marianne gave me a lovely necklace in the most adorable bag ever--a hamster blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Everyone treated me to dinner--thanks guys!--and we had:

Strawberry sangria

Very hard and disappointing bread with salt but no butter or oil on the table (Shara hinted about me opening the olive oil sooner but I didn't catch the hint, and didn't open it until it was too late)

Asparagus soup with truffle oil--powerful-tasting and pungent; I didn't realize the taste was truffle oil till I got near the bottom of the bowl

Pommes frites with harissa (nice crisp fries, not very spicy harissa)

Spinach with lemon and garlic

Gnocchi with fava beans and garlic cream sauce (tender and wonderful)

Chicken kebabs with orzo (didn't try this)

Salmon cakes? (didn't try this)

Kobe beef with truffle butter and hen of the woods mushrooms (didn't try this)

Chocolate pot de creme covered in whipped cream, with a thin crunchy cookie. SO AMAZING

Chocolate caramel pyramid (dense chocolate cake in a beautiful marbled pool of caramel and chocolate sauce)

Cannele de Bordeaux? "Like a portable creme brulee" I think is how Jennifer described it--it's a pastry with a crunchy, dark, caramelized outside and spongy inside, all drenched in a sweet pale sauce like condensed milk. They forgot to put a candle in my pot de creme so they brought this out later, on the house.

Bergamot Earl Grey served in a funny little corked, dark-glazed ceramic pot like a moonshine jug

I feel like I'm forgetting something still... anyway, the good company overshadowed the food. It was a very nice evening, and so good to see everyone again. I found out Peter's second son was born the day before (he shares my birthday)!

I made stuffed zucchini the other night, partly with zucchini from Trader Joe's and partly with zucchini from The Box. I was debating a zucchini carbonara or zucchini lasagna instead, but the stuffed zucchini won out.

I trimmed the zucchini, sliced it in half lengthwise, turned it face down on an oiled baking sheet and baked at 400 degrees until browned on the bottom (maybe 15-20 minutes?) In the meantime, I fried up a mixture of chopped yellow onion, chopped garlic, leftover cooked barley cakes (bound with egg, seasoned with thyme, cutting celery, and sage, and fried till brown), chopped sprouted whole-grain bread from TJ's, golden sage, cutting celery, salt, and pepper. Once the zucchini was done and had cooled off a bit, I scooped out the centers with a teaspoon, mixed the pulp into the stuffing mixture, filled each zucchini with a heaping serving of stuffing, put a slice of lactose-free yogurt cheese on top, and baked in the 400-degree oven for another 20 minutes or so, until browned on top. It was very good.

The rest of my food weekend:
Saturday morning, I accompanied Rahul to West Berkeley and had a cup of delicious, hot, sweet soy masala chai at Peet's while he met with Nathaji about the Sacred Space website. We walked a one-eyed white dog--a pitbull, maybe, but she was small and narrow-headed--named Snowball (her ear had been torn, and she was very excited about going out, trying to escape behind my leg and jump on me while I tried to put the collar on her). She was a nice dog. Squirrel, the dark brown resident cat at the shelter, was looking fat, sleek, and happy. I petted him for a bit while he lay on the warm CRT monitor at the front desk and purred. I went over to the tag area to put away my tag and say hello to a rat with lice, and Squirrel came over to me and very self-assuredly jumped up onto the counter, and then straight onto my shoulders, where he settled like a fur stole, purring like a maniac and looking very comfortable. He pushed his head against my face with affection and draped himself around my neck. He didn't use his claws at all--he was very soft all over. Of course, I had allergies for hours afterwards, but it was totally worth it.

I also tried the Best Chocolate Ever at the fancy food store on 4th Street. It was Michel Cluizel's Plantation Grand Cru "Concepcion" and my God, did it taste good.

Rahul and I went to Vik's after the animal shelter, where I had another chai and my Lactaid pill, fried mashed potato cakes with peas in them, covered in a chickpea tamarind sauce (aloo tikki cholle) and Rahul had samosa cholle (samosas covered in the same kind of sauce). We saw Daryll and Melanie there.

I played Diner Dash a lot on Saturday night. It's a step up, gameplay-wise, from Restaurant Empire, at least in terms of the actual flow of a restaurant floor.

On Sunday we finished coloring some posters for the Zachary's contest. Rahul and I drew a toothy green frog-like monster hanging upside-down from a branch, with flying pizzas surrounding it. I don't know what the deal is but it made me laugh whenever I looked at it. Kenny drew a fat man in a blue jogging suit being attacked in the middle of the forest by a remote-controlled robotic unicorn controlled by a small, evil guinea pig. It said "ZACHARY'S [ELEVATION]" on the bottom. We bought some Zachary's spinach and mushroom with lowfat mozzarella and whole wheat crust, and ate it in the children's vegetable garden at Thousand Oaks School. The sun was shining and a small child was laughing hysterically at a green balloon mounted with a noisemaker nozzle: his father would blow up the balloon, let it go, and let it whiz around the schoolyard making a loud whistling noise.

On Sunday night I went down to Mom's for dinner, and met her former student Sarah. We had blue potato Terra chips, green English peas with chopped tofu (smoked?) and water chestnuts, red and black steamed rice, a tomato omelet (sweetened, with green onions, and the eggs wet and creamy--it makes my mouth water just thinking about it), Chinese broccoli, and quail eggs. I also had a brownie that Sarah made.

I forgot to update about last Thursday, when Rahul and I had dinner at Roy's for Aleks and Shane's farewell party. I had an apple martini, a French cosmopolitan (orange vodka and Cointreau were the distinguishing factors), black truffle and asparagus risotto, fresh spring rolls stuffed with avocado, with chili pepper dipping sauce, a fresh cabbage salad with ginger-sesame oil dressing, and grilled tofu with sprouts and ponzu, served on rice. Dessert included a strawberry stuffed with whipped cream, a real tiny cream puff, and a fudgey dark truffle square. It was a nice evening, but I woke up at about 4 AM with a terrible sick, painful feeling. i thought I might have food poisoning but it was not so.

I made a good dinner the other night:
Grilled asparagus spears
Sauce maltaise (hollandaise made with blood orange juice instead of lemon juice)
Quinoa with garlic
Roasted Carnival squash
I also roasted beets, but I haven't eaten them yet.

I was proud of myself: everything, including the broth I used to cook the quinoa, was made from scratch. The asparagus, blood oranges, and garlic were from the Box, as were the carrots and leek ends I used for the broth (though not the mushrooms or celery). The Box = Farm Fresh to You from Capay Farms.

The night before, I made some cheddar pie crust from scratch and used it to make two lattice-top Pink Lady apple pies, which I had a la mode with Robert, Sarah, Mike, Kenny, and Rahul, while watching Pee-Wee's Playhouse episodes. The apples were also from The Box.

Recipes:
Asparagus:
Heat a grill pan to high, oil the asparagus, and throw it on there, turning it around after it gets some grill marks on it. Keep a window open--this gets smoky!

Sauce Maltaise:
I don't remember all the exact quantities, but you need to whisk together three egg yolks in a simmering double boiler with 1 1/2 Tbsp. of cold water. Once the yolks are thick and foamy, whisk in some warm (not hot) melted butter--I think it was 1 stick. Also whisk in salt and pepper and some blood orange juice. (The blood orange juice should be a cooled reduction of about 1/4 cup blood orange juice--2 small oranges--with two big strips of zest and a little bit of sugar simmered for about 4 minutes.)

Quinoa: Wash the quinoa thoroughly to remove the bitter saponin coating. Saute a clove of minced garlic in oil, then toast the quinoa in the pan with the garlic until it's golden. Add twice the volume of the quinoa in liquid, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover until all the liquid is absorbed. (Like making rice pilaf).

Squash: Stab a few times and bake on a foil-covered pan in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes.

Beets: Scrub well, and bake in a covered baking pan with 1/2 cup water in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes.

This morning I made a corn and potato semi-souffle from the Whole Foods cookbook: beat three egg whites till foamy (I did it by hand!), slice 2 potatoes (from the Box) and roast at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, mix some flour, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and a can of corn into the egg whites, and make a casserole in a greased square pan by layering potatoes with the corn mixture. Bake for about 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees, until the potatoes are tender and the top is golden. It was a little too bland.

I also had an amazing (and very expensive) truffle and an outstanding square of mint chocolate from the Scharffen Berger factory. I think I would like to move in there forever.

I made an excellent vegetarian ragu the other day:
Chop and saute a yellow onion and a few stalks of celery for a while in some olive oil. (I probably would have used carrots, too, if I'd had them). Add some chopped garlic, too, maybe 3 cloves.

Empty a package of soy "ground beef" into the pan.

Pour in a bunch of soy milk--maybe 1.5 or 2 cups and stir. Let it simmer over medium-low heat while you watch America's Next Top Model. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper, a big squeeze of ketchup (to even out the acidity), a bay leaf, and a small can of chopped tomatoes (1 or 2 chopped tomatoes, or tomato paste, or sauce are all OK too). Stir during commercial breaks. Add some chopped fresh basil right at the end. I think some thyme or oregano wouldn't be bad in there, either.

I served it with tagliatelle (pastasciutta from Trader Joe's) and it was really good. People kept remarking on how good it smelled or looked when I heated it up in the office for lunch.

Good ANTM drinking games:
* Take a shot every time someone says "fierce."
* Take a shot every time the girls squeal.
* Take a shot every time someone screams and covers her mouth with her hands because she's just SOOOO excited.

Also, I got my first organic box delivery, from Farm Fresh To You. More on that later--I want to do a price comparison at Mollie Stone's.

Also, Barbara at work brought in some Trader Joe's chocolate chip meringues and I LOVE them.

I used to LOVE a kind of breakfast yogurt--Yoplait, I think--that was available back in the 80's and early 90's; it had chewy whole grains mixed in with the fruit and yogurt. Not mushy muesli flakes, but real whole grains with a chewy texture. They stopped making it. I was so excited when I found a similar yogurt in Italy--Danone (Dannon) con cereali--but that, too, was a seasonal yogurt, and after the winter I couldn't find it anymore, either.

I got some soft pastry wheatberries at Whole Foods this weekend. I soaked 1 cup of berries in 3 1/2 cups of cold water overnight, then cooked them like rice the next day (heat to a boil, bring down to a simmer for about 50 minutes, until the water is absorbed). This morning I stirred them into a cup of strawberry Dannon Light 'n' Fit and it was perfect, absolutely perfect.

I made this watercress soup recipe today, substituting nasturtium leaves (without stems, about 4 loosely packed cups) for the watercress. The cookbook (Chez Panisse Vegetables) also suggests using spinach. I had it with some croutons on top, and gave up on the sieve because none of the vegetable was ending up in the soup itself. I have to remember to puree this in the blender, not with the hand blender, because it's too fibrous for the hand blender to handle.

Watercress Soup
2 bunches watercress (~1 lb)
1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable) or water
A few parsley leaves
A few tarragon leaves
Salt and pepper
Creme fraiche (I didn't use this)

Pick through the watercress and discard any thick stems.
Peel and slice the onion and garlic thin and stew them in the olive oil, covered, until soft and translucent. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the parsley. Have ready a large bowl half filled with ice and a smaller, stainless steel bowl that will nest inside it and rest on the ice.

Remove the soup from the heat, add the watercress and tarragon, and allow the soup to stand for 5 minutes, no longer. Immediately puree the soup in a blender and pour it through a medium-fine sieve into the bowl on ice. Stir the soup until it is at room temperature, then remove it from the ice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reheat the soup to a simmer just before serving; do not boil. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish lightly with lines of lightly salted creme fraiche streaked on the surface.

I'm making this today:
LEMON, PEPPER, AND THYME POPOVERS
2 large eggs3/4 cup milk1/4 cup water1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously grease six 2/3-cup popover tins or nine 1/2-cup muffin tins.
In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and water and add butter in a stream whisking zest, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme into batter. Add flour and salt and whisk mixture until combined well but still slightly lumpy. Divide batter among tins, sprinkle remaining teaspoon thyme over popovers and bake in lower third of oven 45 minutes. Cut a slit about 1/2 inch long on top of each popover with a small sharp knife and bake 10 minutes more.Makes 6 large or 9 medium popovers.
Gourmet

I also made a baked acorn squash (halved, face down, in water in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, then face up with butter, cinnamon, and sugar in the cavity, for another 25). I plan to season with salt and pepper and eat it along with some of Semifreddi's amazing dark gingerbread.

I made a risotto this weekend:
I sauteed two kinds of wild mushrooms separately in a pan--one was large and yellow and, according to Rahul, had "the consistency of chicken fat," and the other, which I had more of and which was cheaper, was chewier and more flavorful.

I started with a base of 1/2 onion and 1 carrot and a little handful of chopped cutting celery leaves from the garden. I sauteed these in butter and olive oil, then added about 3 cups? of Arborio rice. I rehydrated dried porcini mushrooms in hot water, then added the soaking liquid, the chopped dried porcinis, and a glass of chardonnay from my Target wine cube. I added about 6 or 8 cups of vegetable broth and generous amounts of Parmesan and butter at the end, along with plenty of salt and pepper (no, the broth wasn't enough for the salt). I chopped the sauteed mushrooms and stirred them in.

The less appetizing-looking side dish that came along with that was the remainder of my purple broccoli, which apparently turns a wan translucent violet-gray with purple undertones, like the skin of a salamander, and oozes a magenta liquid like beet juice, when cooked with an acid. I braised the broccoli with garlic, water, and red chili flakes, then added some lemon zest and lemon juice and salt and pepper. It tasted better than it looked.

Also, I got ripped off by buying "grapple" apples from Safeway. They're pronounced "grape-L," apparently. "Looks like an apple, tastes like a grape!" ran the tagline on the box. It cost a whopping $5 for 4 apples, but gosh darn it, it smelled just like grape-flavored bubble gum, and wow, apple breeding technology has come a long way! I was so excited after my discovery this year of my new favorite apple, Pink Lady, which smells and tastes vaguely floral and very sweet and fragrant.

When I got home, Rahul asked about the grapples, and I said they were apples that had been bred to taste and smell like grapes (my impression from the packaging). He pointed out the fine print that said "Ingredients: Apples, artificial grape flavoring." Fuckers. What kind of a name is "grapple" anyway? At least broccoflower has a nice ring to it. What's next? The Blape? The Grorange? Plus, the verb "grapple" doesn't have especially positive connotations.

HOLIDAY BISCOTTI WITH CRANBERRIES AND PISTACHIOSThe pleasingly chewy biscotti are coated on one end with white chocolate. In our test kitchen, imported white chocolate, such as Perugina or Lindt, yielded the best results. click photo to enlarge
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature3/4 cup sugar2 large eggs1 tablespoon grated lemon peel1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 teaspoon whole aniseed1 cup dried sweetened cranberries3/4 cup shelled natural unsalted pistachios
6 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lemon peel, vanilla, and aniseed. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide). Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.
Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 28 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Carefully transfer logs still on parchment to cutting board. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 9 minutes per side. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.
Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water just until smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 end of each cookie into melted chocolate, tilting pan if necessary; shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies on prepared sheet. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.
Bon Appétit
December 2003

Candied Grapefruit Peels
Greens "The Savory Way" Cookbook

3 grapefruits (preferably organic)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
Additional superfine sugar for coating

Juice or eat the grapefruits. Cover the peels in cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 25 minutes. Cool. Scrape out the pith with a teaspoon and cut the peels into strips.

Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a 2-quart non-corroding saucepan and bring to a boil. When the syrup is clear, add the peels, lower the heat, and cook till they are translucent, about an hour.

Set a cake rack over a baking sheet. Remove the peels, a few at a time, and spread them out on the rack. If you're using them for cooking, allow them to stand until dry and then put them in a covered container and refrigerate.

If they will be used for candy, put the superfine sugar in a dish, let the peels drain for a minute on the rack, then lightly toss them in the sugar (chopsticks work well for this). Set them on a clean rack. If you're reusing the sugar, sieve it between batches to remove the lumps from the syrup.

Allow the sugared peels to sit for an hour or so, until somewhat dry, then put them in a covered container and store on a shelf (several weeks) or in the fridge (several months).

For orange or lemon peel, use 5 or 6 thick-skinned oranges or 6 large lemons and treat them as above--they make take less time than the grapefruit.

For chocolate-covered fruit peels, let the rinds drain till fairly dry and not too sticky, then dip in melted bittersweet or semisweet chocolate instead of sugar. For 2 cups candied peels:
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
2 tsp unsalted butter

Put the chocolate and butter together in a heavy saucepan or double boiler and gradually melt over low heat. Stir to combine. Dip stuff in it.

http://www.frissonsf.com/

I'd like to try this place.

DISASTROUS PESTO

Last time I tried to make it, I spent half an hour trying to scrape the whole leaves away from the sides of the blender with a wooden spoon, so this time I decided to take the trouble to get the food processor set up.

First I discovered I had no more Parmesan cheese (after picking 4 cups of basil from the plants in the front and carefully separating leaf from stem). Oh well, it can be added later.

I put the leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of the food processor and press "pulse." Because of the dumb-ass design of the food processor, leaves start shooting out of the chute at the top (I lost the extra piece you need to block shit from flying out of the container. Too many extraneous pieces on the food processor to keep track of...)

I have some kind of flat plastic thing that fits on top of the blade stem. I figured that might work to keep things from flying out. I put it on, and then discovered that the food processor bowl no longer wanted to lock in place, no matter how hard I pushed on it. Rahul helped me get it locked.

Chewed-up bits of leaves started spewing out of the food processor again; on top of that, I couldn't pour olive oil down the feed tube anymore because there was a flat plastic thing blocking the feed tube.

I opened it again, removed the plastic piece, and got Rahul to help me lock it back in place.

Finally I was able to get the olive oil into the pesto. It turned into a lovely, smooth, creamy green sauce in seconds.

I patted the sauce into an ice cube tray and headed to the freezer.

When I opened the freezer door, a gallon bottle of water that had been precariously balanced on top of the fridge immediately fell down and burst open, pouring water all over the floor and my feet.

The mop was sitting on the bare dirt outside in the side yard, so I ended up soaking up the water with a towel rather than washing the mop as a preliminary to cleaning up the kitchen.

What a way to spend 10:00 on a Sunday night. I'll feel good about it later when I'm enjoying the nice summery pesto, I guess.

4 cups basil leaves
2/3 cup almonds and pine nuts
2 cloves elephant garlic
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt

After Rahul and I went for a bike ride to the Peralta Community Garden and back,

I cooked up some polenta:
3 cups water
1 cup polenta
1/2 tsp salt
1 chicken bouillon cube (I figure it's OK as long as I'm just using it up)

I spread it on waxed paper in a baking dish and let it cool in the fridge. In the meantime, I turned my tomato soup into sauce:

Sliced up a couple handfuls of fresh button mushrooms.
Browned them in olive oil.
Threw them into the soup with a handful of dried oregano.
Added a handful of fresh basil leaves, minced with the mezzaluna.

Then I sliced the polenta into squares and fried it in butter and oil, poured sauce over the top, added some sprinkles of vegan mozzarella, and melted the "cheese" in the microwave.

I ate some delicious black seedless grapes for dessert.

USA Today takes Marcella Hazan to Olive Garden
http://www.usatoday.com/money/mds048.htm

YUMMY heirloom tomato soup:
3 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Saute the onion in a saucepan till soft.
Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 25 minutes.
Puree.
Add salt and pepper.
Eat.

I also made pesto, which I haven't tried yet:
2 cups basil leaves (I added stems and flowers... trimming the basil plants back)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend.

I stirred in a bit of lemon juice--it doesn't seem to have helped; the pesto seems brown today. No salt yet.

my pimp name is "Master Fly Chye Loco" according to http://playerappreciate.com/pimphandle.asp

Fried portobellini (coated in egg and breadcrumbs) with garlic salt and pepper, with ketchup. More soup.

I bought Red Shell miso salad dressing and Rahul says it's the same as the restaurant kind. I haven't tried it yet.

Fava bean puree again with garlic pita chips.

Soup: browned onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, added rainbow chard stems from the garden, then added 8 cups water, all my remaining lentils, some dried peas I accidentally made from fresh shelling peas, 2 peeled, diced potatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and then the chopped-up chard leaves towards the end.

Bookclub food:
Fava bean puree crostini: fava beans from the garden, thyme from the garden, mint from the neighbors' garden, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, a little dab of minced garlic, some extra virgin olive oil, a small splash of seasoned rice vinegar, all blended together with the stick blender and eaten on slices of bread.

Asparagus risotto with lemon zest and lemon juice and thyme and basil from the yard and butter and Parmesan, with an onion and celery base.

Carrots and celery that ended up on the floor and were washed and eaten with hummus.

Dulce de leche mousse cake.

Baked potato chips and Doritos and Chips Ahoy.

Lots of Shiraz.

From our company Intranet site. I LOVE the Ranch cookies--big and soft and chewy and full of chocolate chips...

Such Things as Dreams are Made Of:
Macaroons & Chocolate Chip Cookies
May 26, 2004

By Stephen Simmons



Photo by Tina Mills
(click on image for an enlarged photo.)
It seems that everyone loves the Ranch cookies. And lately we’ve had a lot of great comments on two cookie recipes in particular, the coconut macaroons and the chocolate chip cookies. Here we’ll provide instructions to make them in smaller batches than we normally would for all of the Cookie Monsters at Big Rock and Skywalker Ranch. The size of the individual cookies depends on you. But please try to remember to bake the cookies before you eat them…as difficult as that may be. Each recipe makes about 18–24 cookies.


Coconut Macaroons

5 cups flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1-½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
½ cup currants (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the coconut, milk and the extracts.
Add the currants at this point if you like.

Spoon out consistent portions onto a greased baking sheet. You may use a teaspoon or tablespoon or small ice cream scoop for portioning.

Bake the cookies 8–10 minutes or until they are just browning on the edges.
Remove them and let them sit for a while before eating.



Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup granulated sugar
2 cups light brown sugar
1 ½ cups butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2-tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
16 ounces chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In a mixer, cream the butter and both kinds of sugar together. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Next add the flour mixture and chips.

Remove from the mixer and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour. Scoop out the dough with a small scoop or spoon and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies 9–11 minutes. For chewier cookies bake 7–9 minutes. For crunchier cookies bake 10–12 minutes.

As a side note: After the dough has been chilled, you can roll it into a log approximately 1 ½–2 inches thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer. Remove from the freezer, let it sit out for about 10 minutes, and then cut it as thick as you want…or just eat it raw if you simply can’t help yourself.

Enjoy!

Friday night, before going to Troy and watching Brad Pitt jump around in a tunic, I made this:
Eggplant Parmesan-type stuff:
fried eggplant and Yukon Gold potato slices layered with vegan mozzarella in between layers, tomato sauce made with canned tomatoes and a fresh red Anaheim pepper and basil and Italian parsley from the garden, and sprinkled with capers and toasted pine nuts.

Sunday I went to a barbecue at my parents' (Mom and stepdad's) house.
Mom made 2 kinds of cherry pie: a baked pie with cherries suspended in a custard filling, and a no-bake pie with sour cream/cream cheese filling and cherry topping, both in graham cracker crusts. She also made miso-crusted wild king salmon and described a lovely dish with fresh peas, chopped water chestnuts, chopped shiitake mushrooms, and omelet pieces.
I made portobello mushroom caps marinated in lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cooked on the grill; the lemon and rosemary were from the yard.
Also brochettes of summer squash, zucchini, onion, and shrimp, marinated in a mixture of fresh orange juice and lemon juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper.
CHT made his famous chicken wings: a vinegar and soy marinade brushed with maple syrup at the last minute.
And we grilled corn and ate that as well, and had some fresh Acme sweet rolls and ciabatta. It was very nice.

Friday:
Hung out with Molly, who was in town for her grandma's 90th birthday, and had latkes at Saul's with her parents.

Saturday:
Saw _The Day After Tomorrow_. Shaved the piggies. Dad and Patty came by. Went to Red Lobster and ordered coconut fried shrimp; Rahul had the Admiral's Feast. A very friendly Midwestern waitress who kept calling us "my friend." GW couldn't make it cause his roommate's cat got out.

Sunday:
Rahul and I went to Carnaval but missed Sarah. Bought a coat in the Mission for $5--Banana Republic microfiber trench. Went to the Ferry Building and couldn't find Christy. Ate an egg and red pepper sandwich with harissa at Lulu Petite, along with homemade rosemary potato chips. Baker came over and played Viewtiful Joe with Kyle. I made corn chowder from John Thorne's recipe (4 ears white corn, simmer scraped cobs in 3 cups salted water for 20 minutes, saute an onion, fish out the cobs and add the onion and corn kernels and 2 cups milk and simmer for 5 minutes, season with red pepper and black pepper and salt); Rahul thickened it with cornstarch.

Monday:
I made rosemary onion home fries for breakfast, and had some coffee. We had a BBQ for Kyle's birthday. Sarah, Jeni, Christy, Baker, and Christy's friend Mike all came over. We had carrots and celery, hummus, tortilla chips with bean dip, Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime with lettuce and tomatoes and mustard and mayonnaise and ketchup and grilled red onions, beer, "beer brats" (Tofurky sausages), zucchini, corn, cheesecake, and tea.

This has nothing to do with food, but I'm still repeatedly suddenly sad about Thom Gunn passing away.

Tartine: baguettes and butter and strawberry jam.

Watermelon salad: cubes of watermelon with feta, mint from Ernestina's garden, and cilantro.

Quiche: Rosemary pie crust made with minced rosemary from the neighbor's garden, sauteed onions, beet greens and arugula with thyme, salt, and pepper, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup milk and smoked gouda cubes tossed in with it. Brought this to Erin's BBQ party--a bit too much veggie in proportion to the custard, but still good.

Quiche scraps: rosemary pie dough scraps sprinkled with Parmesan and baked till brown and crunchy

ended up being:
Herb salad mix w/Newman's Italian dressing, sunflower seeds, and 1/2 avocado, diced
1 can Black Beluga lentils with tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, curry, cumin, chopped Swiss chard from the garden
Whole wheat couscous
Roasted beet, carrot, onion, and fennel salad with thyme, dressed with blood orange juice and olive oil
Strawberry-rhubarb sauce with blood orange zest and sugar (ate this later with vanilla frozen yogurt)

Lentil salad (or soup?) with tomatoes, carrots, celery, beet greens or chard, thyme, orzo?

Roasted beet, pine nut, and feta salad, dressed with blood orange juice

Green salad with seared marinated tuna (lemon and garlic) and avocado

Cooked rhubarb and strawberry with Meyer lemon and blood orange zest, with yogurt

After I got back from Italy, I went to the garden--now overflowing with fava beans--and picked a large metal mixing bowl full of them. Shelled them, blanched them, peeled off the tough outer skin of the beans; sauteed them with thyme, Italian parsley, and a red spring onion from the garden.

At Molly's house in LA we had a few meals of the following:
Black bean chili
Avocados
Raw corn, grated carrot, and sweet onion salad with lime juice and cilantro
Pico de gallo (tomatoes, onions, cilantro)
Plain yogurt
Tortilla chips

We ate at Rivoli last night.

It was warm out; I wore my olive green sueded button-down shirt over the black lycra-blend skirt, black microfiber knee socks and my black sneakers, the rose quartz dangly earrings, and my black leather jacket.

Rahul, after a lot of silly deliberation with his navy and brown sport coats over blue jeans, ended up just wearing a nice light blue dress shirt tucked into his jeans with the braided brown leather belt, and the black leather jacket over it.

Seated with a not-quite-satisfying view of the garden--I could see (well-lit) ferns and camellias and white African violets that made me think of Jen's Secretary's Day flower arrangement from Uncle George, curved around the rounded stone patio, with some big tree--fig maybe--arching overhead. Cats wandered around--Rahul saw a black one, but I could only see a long-haired tortoiseshell cat cleaning itself in the middle of the patio. The table next to us had a birthday; the waiter sprinkled metallic "Happy Birthday" confetti over the table, and I kept sneaking glances at her big bouquet of candy-striped tulips laid on the chair--white with thick pink stripes, probably two dozen of them.

The bread was OK--the crust was too chewy and thick for my taste, although the inside was nice and wheaty--the whole served with a little dish of butter and a little dish of kosher or sea salt.

We started with some really delicious portabella mushroom fritters--meaty and juicy and thick inside (just big slices of the cap) covered in a crunchy, salty batter, with capers and shaved parmesan scattered on top, on a little bed of dressed arugula, and lemon aioli to dip it in.

Rahul had mushroom, ricotta and chard cannelloni with roast pepper vinaigrette, fonduta, roast shiitake mushrooms and fried sage. I tried a bite--wasn't that impressed; the texture of the filling was dissatisfying to me, too chunky, with too strong & wild a vegetable taste from the chard. It was pale, almost flabby-looking, with a white sauce (the fonduta) on top and the red pepper puree underneath. The shiitakes just sat on top of the cannelloni.

I had grilled Gulf shrimp with white corn pudding, oven roast tomato, snap pea and cucumber ragout , shrimp butter and basil aïoli. It was really good. The ragout was a little weird--didn't quite seem to go with the rest; the whole thing was served together, which I hadn't expected--a sea of shrimp butter and aioli (pale yellow with green commas and pools here and there) with a few saggy cherry tomatoes scattered around with tiny discs of cucumber and little julienned pieces of peapod, the corn pudding on top in a big molded mound, and the grilled shrimp scattered on top and around it--a little smaller and drier than I would have liked, but delicious nonetheless. The corn pudding was amazingly good (Rahul didn't like it that much, though, although he loved the sauce)--yellowy and browned from the oven around the top edges, but creamy and rich and light and eggy inside, with a strong sweet corn taste and kernels (but no distracting kernel husks) well-mixed into the pudding.

I wanted the buttermilk and Meyer lemon panna cotta with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert, but they were out of it, so we went without and just went home, where we had a harrowing evening clipping guinea pig nails.

Other leftover dishes:
Veggie omelet
Veggie pizza
(both of which were made with some combination of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, purple potatoes, green, yellow, and orange bell peppers, mushrooms, green and yellow summer squash, olives, and broccoli)
Pasta with tuna, summer squash, olives, broccoli

Last night's dinner: pasta with cauliflower, almonds, summer squash, sardines, tomatoes, garlic, currants, fresh basil and italian parsley, red pepper, freshly ground black pepper. Also, oddly, some enoki mushrooms I bought for the party but didn't open.

Yesterday for lunch at Big Rock: A phyllo triangle stuffed with walnuts, caramelized onions, brie, and pears. Side of braised red Swiss chard. A grilled polenta square.

http://www.evite.com/huanhuachye@yahoo.com/playwithyourfood

attendees:
me
rahul
kyle
atsushi
debra
pei
jameel
jeni
sarah
alan
debbie
jason
dawn
jennifer
andrew
mike
bryan
christy
chris
billy
hiromi
john
mari
rick
fernando

Yum, yum, yum--simple risotto:
Soffritto (1 onion, 4 smallish carrots, 2 sticks celery), a generous teaspoonful or two of chopped garlic, Arborio, veggie stock, 1 container halved yellow cherry tomatoes, ~1 cup frozen peas, dried basil, salt, pepper, and ~3/4 cup shredded mozzarella stirred in at the end.

Upside Down Tomatoes

Greens/Deborah Madison's black bean chili < fritolay > 03/01 13:08:43

Part one:

2 c black turtle beans, soaked overnight
1 bay leaf
4 tsp cumin seeds
4 tsp dried oregano leaves
4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chili negro or ancho chili, for chili powder, or 2 to 3 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp corn or peanut oil
3 medium yellow onions, diced into 1/4 inch squares
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs rip or canned tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped; juice reserved
1 to 2 tsp chopped chilpotle chili
about 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

sort through the beans and remove any small stones. Rinse them well, cover them genrously with water, and let them soak overnight. Next day, drain the beans cover them with fresh water by a couple of inches, and bring them to a boil with the bay leaf. Lower the heat and let the beans simmer while you prepaere the rest of the ingredients.

heat a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and when they begin to color, add the oregano leaves, shaking the pan frequently so the herbs don't scorch. As soon as the fragrance is strong and robust, remove the pan from the heat and add the paprika and the cayenne. Give everything a quick stir; then remove from the pan--the paprika and the cayenne only need a few seconds to toast. Grind in a mortar or a spice mill to make a coarse powder.

Preheat the oven to 375. To make the chili powder, put the dried chili in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes to dry it out. Cool it briefly; then remove th stem, seeds, and veins. Tear the pod into small pieces and grind it into a powder in a blender or spice mill.(con't next)
Heat the oil in a large skillet, and saute the onions over medium heat until they soften. Add the garlic, salt and the ground herbs and chili powder, and cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, their juice, and about 1 tsp of the chilpotle chili. simmer everything together for 15 minutes; then add this mixture to the beans, and if necessary, enough water so the beans are covered by at least 1 inch. Continue cooking te beans slowly until they are soft, an hour or longer, or pressure cook them for 30 minutes at 15 pounds' pressure. Keep an eye on the water level and add more, if needed, to keep the beans amply covered.

When the beans are cooked, tastethem, and add more chilpotle chili if desired. Season to taste with the vinegar, additional salt if needed, and the chopped cilantro.

Prepare the garnishes [I like just jack cheese myself]:

1/2 to 3/4 cup muenster cheese, grated

green chilies: 2 poblano or Anaheim, roasted, peeled and diced, or 2 oz canned green chilies, rensed well and diced

1/2 c creme fraiche or sour cream

6 sprigs of cilantro

If using fresh green chilies, roast them over a flame until they are evenly charred. Let them steam 10 minutes in a bowl covered with a dish; then scrape off the skins, discard the seeds, and dice.

Serve the chili ladled over a large spoonful of grated cheese, and garnish it with the creme fraiche or sour creen, the green chilies, and asprig of fresh cilantro.
----------------

Here's one I adapted from The Whole Chile Pepper < data_snoop > 03/01 12:05:12

Book by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach.

Once I served this at a party, and people had to be told it was veggie chile.

Casi-Style Chili

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients
4 Jalepeno chilies stems & deveined, halved
4 tb Chili powder
1 tb Paprika
2 lb Beef chuck [substitute 2 pkgs Yves Veggie Ground Round]
1 md Onion, chopped
2 tb Kidney suet; chopped [substitute vegetable oil ]
8 oz Tomato sauce
12 oz Beer [essential!! use a decent dark beer like Negra Modelo]
2 c Beef stock [substitute veggie bullion or mild-flavored veggie stock]
3 ts Cumin, ground
2 ts Garlic powder [substitute 3-4 cloves minced fresh garlic]
1 ts Pepper, black
1/4 c Masa harina (finely ground maize flour) [can be omitted w/o a problem]


Instructions 1. Brown the veggie ground round and onions in oil or fat.

2. Add the tomato sauce, beer, stock, chilies, cumin, garlic, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the Chili Powder. Simmer the chili over a low heat for 2 hours until the meat is tender.

3. To thicken, make a thin paste of the masa and water. Quickly stir this into the chili -- if done too slowly it will lump.

4. Add the remaining Chili Powder and Paprika. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the Jalepenos and serve.

I have also made this subbing a mix of NM/Anaheim chile paste (from the Santa Cruz Chili [sic] & Spice Company] and chipotle puree for the chile powder.
-----
This one is a favorite of mine < disco45 > 03/01 13:59:13

It is from epicurious.com - Their recipe uses whole cumin seeds - I changed it to 1 TB ground cumin for time saver and I always use sweet maui onions. The ingredients don't sound too impressive but this chili has received rave reviews from friends and family - and some can't even believe it's veggie.

Serve chopped green onion, sour cream and grated cheddar on top.

BLACK BEAN, YELLOW PEPPER, AND CUMIN CHILI

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 12-ounce onion, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies
3 15-ounce cans black beans, well drained
2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
2 cups vegetable broth

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and cumin; sauté until onion is soft and golden, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add chipotle chilies and stir 30 seconds. Add black beans, diced tomatoes with juices, and vegetable broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Transfer 2 cups chili to processor. Blend to coarse paste; return to pot. Simmer chili to thicken, if desired. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over medium-low heat before serving.)

Makes 6 servings.

http://forums.craigslist.org/?ID=12195716
http://www.dafiore.com
http://forums.craigslist.org/?ID=12623885

I think this comes pretty close. < Maithx > 01/29 13:19:34

3/4 cup red miso
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons water, hot
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Combine the miso and sugar first, then whisk in the other ingredients

http://www.fatduck.co.uk/menu.html

Really bizarre stuff, just like El Bulli:
Designed to maximise the Fat Duck dining experience. This menu - consisting of a series of small courses
(plus a few hidden extras) - is intended to be taken by the whole table

NITRO-GREEN TEA AND LIME MOUSSE
OYSTER AND PASSION FRUIT JELLY, LAVENDER POMMERY GRAIN MUSTARD ICE CREAM, RED CABBAGE GASPACHO
QUAIL JELLY, PEA PUREE, CREAM OF LANGOUSTINE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNAIL PORRIDGE
Jabugo ham

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROAST FOIE GRAS
Almond, cherry, chamomile

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SARDINE ON TOAST SORBET
Ballotine of mackerel

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SALMON POACHED WITH LIQUORICE
Chicory, "Manni" olive oil

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SWEETBREAD COOKED IN A SALT CRUST WITH HAY Crusted with pollen, cockles a la plancha
and parsnip purée

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MRS MARSHALL'S MARGARET CORNET

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANGO AND D0UGLAS FIR PUREE
Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet, Blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM
Tomato jam, tea jelly

Wine tasting and tour at Rudd Winery (Oakville).

2000 RUDD RUSSIAN RIVER CHARDONNAY
"BACIGALUPI VINEYARD"

The Bacigalupi Vineyard is located on benchland along Westside Road within the fog belt of the Russian River Valley. The 2000 vintage of this vineyard designate Chardonnay Rudd's second release made from blocks 1,3, and 5 planted on the Wente clone in 1966. These same vines were the source of the legendary 1973 Chateau Montelena that won the Paris Tasting in 1976. The vines are low yielding, producing fruit of intensely focused yet elegant flavors.

Harvest 2000 began on September 9 and was completed over a 4-day period. This vintage exhibits fruit forward aromatics and a wonderful minerality, balanced with a long, elegant mid-palate with a persistent savoriness in the finish that only mature vines can produce. Once harvested, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, then gravity-fed to French oak barrels in Rudd's underground caves. Native yeasts were allowed to induce both the primary and malolactic fermentations. Weekly stirring of the lees occurred until the secondary fermentation was complete, then the wine was stirred monthly for the remainder of time in barrel. After 22 months of barrel aging, the wine was racked to tank, settled and minimally fined before being bottled unfiltered in early June 2002.
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appellation: Russian River Valley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fermentation: Native yeast and natural malolactic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aging: 22 months in French oak; 70% new
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cases produced: 970
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested retail price: $50

2001 RUDD NAPA VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC

The 2001 Sauvignon Blanc, produced from vineyard sources in Oakville, Rutherford, and Calistoga exhibits the richness and classic varietal flavor that has become the hallmark of Rudd's approach to Sauvignon Blanc. The blending of these three fruit sources resulted in a complex integration of subtle tropical fruits with herbal undertones framed by crisp, refreshing citrus nuances.

Harvest 2001 began on August 23 and was completed over a seven-day period, beginning with the Rutherford fruit, followed by Oakville and ending with the Calistoga vineyard on August 30. Once harvested, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, then gravity-fed to French oak barrels in Rudd's underground caves. Native yeasts were allowed to induce fermentation. This primary fermentation was completed in a combination of fourth-use French oak and stainless steel barrels with no subsequent malolactic fermentation. The wine was stirred and topped monthly for eight months, then racked, fined and bottled without filtration in June 2002.
Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appellation: Napa Valley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fermentation: Native yeast / no malolactic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aging: 8 months in a combination of neutral French oak and stainless steel barrels
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cases produced: 2700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested retail price: $28

2000 RUDD OAKVILLE ESTATE PROPRIETARY RED

The 2000 Rudd Oakville Estate is the first vintage from our newly replanted vineyard at the corner of Oakville Crossroad and Silverado Trail. Our vineyard is planted on rocky, red volcanic soils at the foot of the Vaca Mountains. We planted the vineyard to 4 X 4 spacing using low vigor rootstock to encourage the vines to produce smaller, highly concentrated fruit. The 2000 was made primarily from Clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, a highly regarded Bordeaux clone that successfully expressed this unique Oakville terroir.

Harvest 2000 followed ideally mild summer temperatures, allowing for extended hang time that produced mature tannins in all three varietals. As a result, the wine exhibits powerful ripe tannins balanced by a seamless mid-palate, concentrated dark fruit flavors and complex aromatics. After eighteen months of barrel aging, the wine was bottled without fining or filtration in early June 2002.
Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appellation: Oakville
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fermentation: Native yeast and natural malolactic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aging: 18 months in French oak; 83% new
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cases produced: 1200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Date: Fall 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggested retail price: $100

and a Petit Syrah/Zinfandel blend, but I couldn't find the wine on their website.

We ate 8 dishes:
1) Cold cuts (smoked fish, jellyfish, pork, vegetarian goose, etc.)
2) Fried chicken
3) Steamed fish with preserved vegetables--full of tiny bones
4) Pig knuckles with tofu skins and hair vegetables
5) Sweet and sour beef with onions
6) Soy sauce braised pork (with fat)
7) Chinese greens with mushrooms and abalone
8) Stuffed tofu skins with veggies

White rice,
Chicken soup with vegetables,

and for dessert,
Aunt Peggy's walnut soup with tapioca balls:
Shell and blanch walnuts, then peel off the papery skins.
Deep-fry the walnut meats.
Puree in a blender with some skim milk and raw rice, for about 30 minutes.
Heat on stove.

Produces a thick, creamy, nutty, sweet, light tan-colored soup.

In my experience instant mixes < amateur_pro > 01/22 07:18:02

do not work very well. It is a long process, but the dough keeps in tne refrigerator for about a week. Here is a recipe that works for me. It is ok to halve the recipe.

Long grain rice - 3.5 cup
Uncle Ben's rice - .5 cup
Urad dal - 1 cup

Soak rice and dal separately for 3-4 hours (even overnight). Blend smoothly (I use an osterizer blender). The blended dough should have the consistency of sour cream. Blend urad dal (available in Indian grocery stores) the same way. Mix blended rice and dal together well, and keep in a warm place overnight. I usually keep it in the oven with the light turned on. The dough has to slightly ferment.

Potato masala:
Boil fingerling potatoes and mash coarsely (leave some big chunks). Heat oil, fry mustard seeds and saute sliced onions, green chiles and ginger. Add turmeric and potatoes. Add curry leaves (optional). Add mashed potatoes and mix well. Heat well and add chopped coriander leaves.

Make dosa on a hot griddle. Pour 1/2 cup of dough and using a ladle make a thin crepe. A little tricky, but practise makes perfect! Add a tsp. of oil or ghee. when it looks cooked turn over. Keep the potato mixture on to one side of the dosa and fold over. Serve with coconut chutney.

If you want to try instant mix, MTR products are better than most.

Ate at Foreign Cinema last night for the SF Dine About Town program. It's in the Mission. We ate inside, by the fireplace and a group of Japanese Mafia types instead of outside under the plastic tent and the huge projected movie playing on the back wall.

Wheat and white bread (the white was better). Not as crusty and delicious as at Buckeye's, but still very good.

Appetizers:
Fromage d'Affinois with potatoes, roasted garlic puree, and bay leaf--a delicious heap of melted cheese (with a rind, somewhat Brie-like) with a few potatoes and about a teaspoon of roasted garlic. It was good, but I wished there was a bit more balance between cheese and potatoes.
Grilled squid with harissa, cilantro, and toasted almonds--a tiny portion. The squid was grilled to just the right meaty consistency, not tough at all. The combination of flavors was nice and interesting, although the harissa seemed more like a romesco, not the fiery paste Patty remembered from Libya.
Chicory salad with apples, walnuts, and blue cheese dressing--unexceptional, but good. A mixture of somewhat large pieces of purple endive and icebergy, flat chicory.


Entrees:
Curried chicken with bacon vinaigrette--by far the most generous portion, almost too much meat. It was moist and tender, but didn't taste much like curry. It was served with what looked like tiny wilted bits of romaine lettuce and a thin bed of mashed potatoes.
Roasted duck breast--rich little slices of moist duck meat rimmed in fat and intense, herb-crusted skin. Served on a bed of polenta. The sauce had unidentifiable little brown bits in it--looked like raisins but crumbled more like those brown bits inside a roasted chicken. Served with a little bruschetta toast with something brown on it (liver?) It was in some kind of wine sauce, I think.
Salmon with butternut squash puree--the salmon was cooked to the perfect degree, but unexceptional. The squash was delicious, probably from large amounts of butter. The salmon was dressed with a green sauce on one side--looked like pureed peas with little bits of onion in it, but I don't know what it really was.

Desserts:
Grapefruit and blood orange granitas--Dad couldn't have much of the grapefruit because it reacts with his medications, but the grapefruit granita was the better of the two, very intense and clean-tasting. The granita kept hitting my crown and making me jump from the cold. Ours had the grapefruit piled on top of the blood orange in a martini glass, but a much prettier one at another table had them side by side, so you could see the contrast between the deep red and the pale orange.
Ginger cake with orange and caramel sauce--Good, though I was very full by this time and couldn't eat much. Reminded me of Sarah's lebkuchen.
Cannoli--disappointing. The cannoli was tiny and bland--the ricotta was like wallpaper paste, the candied fruits were colorless and flavorless instead of sparkling and sharp and sweet.

We also had a glass of nice red wine--Cabernet-Syrah blend or something.

Patty recommended a Searidge Merlot to me from the Chron's top 100 wines list--$3, she said. I'll have to try it.

Raise the Red Lantern was playing on the screen outside, in washed-out colors.

Black beans and corn

Mince 1 white onion and saute in olive oil till translucent. Mix in a teaspoon of minced garlic or 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic in the pan, saute.

Cut up and add one fresh tomato.

Add one can of corn and one can of black beans (organic).

Season with paprika, cumin, oregano, salt.

Mince one green chile pepper and add it. Add the zest of one orange and the juice of one lemon.

Add one or two tablespoons minced cilantro at the end of the cooking time.

I ate a ladleful of this this on a whole-grain sprouted tortilla (Ezekiel 4:9 tortillas from Trader Joe's) with some mozzarella melted on top, 1/2 avocado, diced, and some TJ's Brown Rice Medley (cooked with chicken-flavored ghee from my Chicken in Milk--contains brown rice, daikon seeds, and black barley).

Yum!

Mango curry salad

2 ripe mangoes, diced
1 avocado, diced, minus one slice
3 green onions
1/2 fresh jalapeno, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup slivered almonds

Curry vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 slice avocado, mashed
2 tsp curry powder

Mix the salad ingredients. Mash the garlic with the salt and then whisk in the citrus juice, olive oil, and avocado (for a creamy texture) and the curry powder. Dress the salad ingredients with the vinaigrette.

turkey empanadas
> I used the basic pie crust recipe from the Joy of
> Cooking. I don't remember everything from the
> filling, but an approximate recipe would be:
> - Chopped cooked turkey meat
> - A handful of currants, soaked in hot water till soft
> and drained
> - Chili pepper
> - Unsweetened cocoa powder
> - Cinnamon
> - Oregano
> - Salt and pepper

Stuff tofu with peanut sauce and deep-fry!

We cooked the 23-pound turkey a few days ago. We brined it. Rahul said it looked like Rush Limbaugh sitting in the bathtub. Dad and Patty came over and we ate cranberry sauce and stuffing in addition to the turkey with its nice browned skin. Then we had chocolate. Yum! Then Rahul decided he was going to stop eating poultry, so now the burden to finish the meat is on me and Kyle.

At Cafe de la Paz:
A stringy, overpriced smoothie.

Llapingachos (Ecuadorian potato cakes)--browned mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese, served with fried plantains and chile cream drizzled on.
Corn pancakes with chile cream and an almost puddinglike consistency.
Caramelized fried plantains with chile cream.
Grilled zucchini, red bell pepper, and onion.

From Britt-Marie's:
Spinach salad with marinated red onions and feta.

Chicken breasts with a cream sauce, stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and hazelnuts and served with rice and veggies.

Lemon mousse with whipped cream.

But the pork chops, oh, the pork chops...!
Pork chops with stewed apples, goat cheese, and walnuts, on garlic mashed potatoes, with lemony, crisp-tender carrots and broccoli.

Yum.

I made turkey stock after cutting off bits of turkey for sandwiches:
Cover turkey carcass in stockpot with cold water.
Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer, skim off foam and "impurities."
Add a quartered, peeled white onion, one stick of celery cut into one-inch pieces, one carrot cut into one-inch pieces, and a bouquet garni (a spoonful of dried thyme, a bay leaf, and 8 or 10 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley tied together in a piece of cheesecloth). Simmer for 3 hours. I watched "The Core" on DVD while this was simmering. It has congealed into a gelatinous but tasty stock. I peeled the poached turkey meat (which still has some flavor) off the bones and then the next day made a turkey stew with them (canned Italian-style tomatoes, currants, cilantro, spices, a carrot and a potato and a bit of stock) which I served with a saffron-turmeric-cinnamon pilaf.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk

1 chicken
1 pint of milk
1 stick (4oz) of butter
olive oil
Zest of 2 lemons
good handful of fresh sage leaves - picked
ten cloves of garlic skin on
Salt and pepper

Find a pot that will fit snugly around the chicken (I used a stockpot with the plastic handles removed so it would be oven safe)
Melt the butter in a dash of the olive oil in the pot. Season the chicken generously with s and p. Fry the chicken in the pot until all sides are golden brown. Discard or find another use for the oil and butter (I poured it over veg that had yet to be roasted carrots+parsnips in cumin)bearing in mind that it will need to be cooked thoroughly since it was used for an uncooked chicken. Do not scrape the bottom of the pot - there will be bits of brown goodness that you want for flavor. Put the chicken back in the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. What happens is the lemon and heat split the milk causing clumps of it to caramelize. Roast in the pot for about 11/2 hrs at 375. Pour over the juices and bits of caramelized milk and garlic when serving - yum!

http://forums.craigslist.org/?ID=10658557

I had a small dinner party last night--last-minute as usual; I'd planned Sunday, but Marianne was the first person I called and she could only make it Saturday, so I planned it for then and then called a bunch of people.

Eventually the guests were, in addition to me and Kyle (Rahul is in Missouri):
Marianne
Steve
Sarah
Paul
Mike
Jason

The food was:
* Dip contributed by Kyle (refried beans, hand-made guacamole, salsa, olives) with chips
* Baguettes
* Romesco sauce (1/4 c. hazelnuts, 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted; 2 roasted red bell peppers; 1 ancho chile, softened in hot water then diced; 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded; salt; 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar--this was too much; a few Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; 2 slices wheat bread, toasted)
* 2 eggplants, about 5 small white potatoes, 1 onion, a bundle of asparagus spears, 2 zucchini, all cut into spears or wedges and roasted with olive oil, oregano, and salt, and eaten with the bread and romesco
* Mixed green salad with an olive oil-mustard-lemon juice dressing, reduced-fat feta cheese, some delicious grapes (which we also had on the table for munching), and candied walnuts
* Pasta with a tomato sauce (Paul Newman marinara, Tofurkey Italian sausage of a strange and spongy consistency, and a can of diced peeled tomatoes)
* Bahlsen Contessa Lebkuchen cakes contributed by Sarah--spiced and fragrant gingerbread-like round cakey cookies, with bittersweet chocolate on the bottom and a light glaze on top
* Vanilla fudge Haagen-Dazs, also contributed by Sarah
* Reese's Peanut Butter Bells contributed by Jason
* McManis Pinot Grigio 2002 contributed by Marianne and Steve
* Heron Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 and another Cabernet bottle that I can't find, contributed by Jason and Marianne and Steve
* Some kind of fruity Clearly Canadian-type soda--don't remember who brought this. It smelled strongly of strawberry yogurt.

We all chatted for a while, played with piggies, eventually after I took Sarah home played some Secret Weapons Over Normandy (I lent Steve the PC version) and Soul Calibur II.

Kyle and Fernando and I went to Cesar last night and had tapas.

I drank a sour apple drink made with Calvados but I didn't like it (and it was $8.25!)

Something I did like was the food, even though they ran out of the fried herb potatoes. The whole menu is pasted below.

We had:
Fried shrimp and squid (very yummy!)
Canape de boquerones (which was not that great weirdly fruity from the orange zest they added--Kyle initially thought it was cranberry, which I guess shows how cranberry relish-esque the zest made it)
Roasted eggplant and new potatoes with romesco (very good, came with bread as well)
Salt cod and potato cazuela (the waitress described this as "like a baccala" though she meant "like a baccala mantecato"--also yummy)
Bread pudding (orange overkill--the caramel sauce was too tangy, not rich and velvety enough for my liking)

tapa del dia: rabbit & wild mushroom stew with leeks & fried garlic, $10.25
roasted marcona almonds, $2.75
a plate of jamón serrano, chorizo soria & lomo embuchada, $7.75
hearts of romaine with red wine vinaigrette & valdeon, $6.75
fried shrimp & squid with mojo picón, $8.75
canapé de boquerones (pickled anchovies) with black olive relish, $6.75
membrillo & aged manchego, $5.75
roasted eggplant & new potatoes with romesco, $6.75
endive & watercress salad with smoked trout & persimmon, $7.25
*fried potatoes with herbs & sea salt, $5.25
datiles y tocino (roasted bacon-wrapped dates), $6.25
salt cod & potato cazuela, $3.75
spanish cheeses: murcia al vino, urgèlía & iberico, $6.75

bocadillos

*lomo de cerdo (roast pork loin), $7.25
spicy tuna & egg, $6.75
manchego & greens, $6.00

sweets

rice pudding with burnt sugar, $4.75
mel i mató with dried cherries & almonds, $4.75
bread pudding with orange-caramel sauce, $4.75
crema de chocolate, $4.25

Made interesting oat cakes (kissing cousins to supplí):

Made one recipe steel-cut oats oatmeal (1 cup of steel-cut oats into 4 cups boiling salted water, simmer 1/2 hour or till thick) and ate one bowl.

That night, with the leftover oatmeal, I mixed 2 beaten eggs, about 4 sprigs chopped fresh Italian parsley, salt and pepper, a handful of shredded Parmesan, dried oregano, and dried basil. I formed little patties on the palm of my hand with the mixture, dropped a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top, then another dab of oat mixture, and fried till golden and crunchy on both sides. The cheese was melty and gooey inside. It would have been better with some chopped nuts, but the oats were nice and chewy and savory.

I also ate some guava and didn't like it much, although the piggies did.

Before dinner, I had an apple pear. Then I cooked a crab: froze him for 15 minutes, then dropped him headfirst into boiling water, simmered for 20 minutes. Ran him under cold water and scrubbed him. Pulled off his legs and cracked them with a nutcracker. Pried off the top of his body, then pulled off the fleshy gill things, broke the stiff little body separators with a knife and pulled out the meat with my fingers. Dipped the meat into Chinese red vinegar. Ate strawberry ice cream for dessert.

At Britt-Marie's yesterday: Goat cheese crusted on the outside with something--breadcrumbs maybe--and baked till crisp on the outside, soft and warm on the inside, served on a greens with vinaigrette salad with plump, red, seeded grapes, halved grape tomatoes, and caramelized pecans.

A latte.

Soft focaccia-type bread flecked with pumpernickel, with butter and salt.

This has nothing to do with food, but I like it.

On Googlism, I have one description so far:
http://www.googlism.com/index.htm?ism=huan-hua+chye&type=1

"huan-hua chye is a self"

Yes!

Oh, and yesterday's meal:
Fresh green salad, dressed with a vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, stone-ground mustard, salt, and pepper.

A Magnani's lemon-rosemary roasted chicken.

Slices of potato-rosemary bread from Grace Bakery.

I woke up and showed Rahul the progress of the compost heap this morning. He left for Sunnyvale to see his brother. I was by then in a cheerful and energetic mood and had a banana for breakfast, then convinced Kyle to go for a bike ride.

Daylight savings time was awesome--I thought I was up so late, but it was still early because we had fallen back. I had a cup of bad coffee and worked in the garden--planted white and pale pink nemesia cascading with tiny flowers in a cloud of vanilla fragrance, like heliotrope, mixed with the cinnamon-scented soft ruffled spikes of stocks--cream, pink, lavender--and purple pansies, a mixture of bright and dark purples, like Roman robes.

We rode our bikes down to the animal shelter on Second Street and took a skinny, brindled pit bull for a walk down by Aquatic Park. There was another pit bull there named Kyle--she was a girl dog, and had a chest a mile wide with those funny bow legs you see in so many massively strong little bulldogs. There were guinea pigs, a brown and white one and a baby TSW hiding under newspaper, and a black and white-spotted, incredibly soft rabbit. We didn't pet any cats except for Squirrel, although we saw a little black cat make a run for it from the ferals room in the cat room. She was nabbed and brought back by the scruff of her neck yowling and complaining.

Then we rode over to Vik's Chaat House and had aloo tikki cholle, mango lassi, and masala dosa, which took forever.

The aloo tikki cholle were little fried mashed potato cakes drowned in a spicy watery sauce with garbanzo beans, tasting of tamarind and chile and cilantro. The savory flavor of the fried surfaces of the cakes stood out well against the spicy sauce. We ate them all while waiting for the masala dosa, which took ages to prepare. A small girl kept trying to get more water from the fountain. I was trying to let her fill up my cup and her parents came over and said it was her third cup of water and that she kept going back to the fountain.

When the dosa was done, we took it outside and tore into the two-foot-long lentil-flour crepe with its glassy, crisp, golden surface and slightly spongy white insides, scooping out the spiced potato filling, and dipping it into one of the two provided sauces--one a watery yellow color, laced with potato chunks and spiced deliciously with little black mustard seeds, and the other a spicier, thicker yellow pool the color and texture of a gritty ballpark mustard. I bought a 10-pound bag of basmati rice in an enchanting cloth bag with an elephant on it.

Next time I want what I think is the bhatura puri--a huge puffed fried dough ball, bubbly on the surface like fried won ton, the size of someone's head.

We ate caramel-laced brownies in the afternoon--far too many.

Then for dinner, late at night, I sauteed nameless Chinese greens (chopped) in a spoonful of garlic paste and red pepper flakes and olive oil, salted and peppered them, then stirred them into spaghetti along with a handful of chopped Italian parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The spice was uneven--it clung to the greens--but all in all it wasn't half bad.

Rice and beans from John Thorne
Pick over and soak 1 cup raw beans (I used pinto) overnight
Simmer in 8 cups unsalted water for about an hour, then while leaving on heat,
Add 2 cups coconut milk
2 cups raw rice (I used jasmine)
2 chopped tomatoes
Sauteed mixture of minced onion and 6 pieces fake bacon
Salt and pepper
Simmer till tender

Later I added a soffritto (minced saute) of Chinese celery, shallots, carrot, and green bell pepper.

Butternut Squash Soup:
Microwaved the squash with holes poked in it and covered in Saran wrap for 14 minutes.

Cut up 5 medium golden beets and half a red onion and roasted at 400 degrees in EVOO till tender.

Added oil to a soup pan, toasted coriander, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and paprika, then added the cubed, peeled squash and beet mixture. Barely covered with water and then simmered till tender and pureed, salted and peppered.

Good stuff!

As sides I made pan-fried curried potatoes (oversalted) and a little dish of cut-up red pear, crumbled blue cheese, and toasted walnuts.

Last night was yet another roasted chicken night.

This time I didn't brine it as long (maybe an hour total?) and roasted it on a seltzer can instead of a beer can. It didn't come out as crispy and delicious. I think I also cooked it a little less time as well.

I pried out the pieces of fat from under the skin and made a Green Pea Pie with those and the giblets:
Diced the fat and the liver, heart, pieces of neck, etc. and fried everything up in a pan (they exploded everywhere in the hot oil, scary!) till crispy, then scraped out the bites and sauteed one shallot and half a red onion, minced, in the chicken fat. Stirred this in with 3 cups (one package from Trader Joe's) frozen (unthawed) green peas and should have added salt and pepper and parsley, but didn't, because I forgot... then poured the lot into a homemade pie crust (Joy of Cooking basic recipe with 2 sticks butter instead of 1 butter and 1 shortening), rolled out a second crust on top and crimped it to the bottom crust and cut slits for steam. Baked at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Delicious, buttery, savory, chickeny! The recipe was from John Thorne's Serious Pig.

I also made corn chowder adapted from this book: simmered wedge-cut potatoes (I cut myself while chopping them) in salted boiling water, then sauteed one yellow onion and bits of about 3 strips of fake bacon and dumped them into the pot with milk and frozen corn. The potatoes should have been russets--these held together too well so the broth was thin and there was too much solid material (corn and potatoes). It tasted pretty good even though I accidentally boiled it instead of simmering.

Roasted a beer can chicken last night. Delicious! Crunchy, savory skin--just don't take it down off the beer can or the skin gets soggy.

Brined chicken for a few hours (1/4 cup salt to 4 cups water and a few spoonfuls sugar)

Rubbed with orange zest, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes in cavity and on and unders skin.

Roasted on half-empty Sapporo beer can in 400 degree oven for about 1 hr 20 mins.

Ate with:
Fig jam (onions and Mission figs and shallots diced and sauteed for a long time, added water, balsamic, orange zest, thyme, salt, pepper, orange juice)
Blanched garden green beans with melted butter.
Sauteed mushrooms (button and wild)
Basmati rice.

Sauteed chicken breast pieces in olive oil with minced red onion and jalapeno, crushed garlic, cilantro, and salt and pepper, all till brown and caramelized. Deglazed with dark beer (OK--not great).

Served with salsa made of Roma tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, avocado, and (for Kyle and I) a firm-fleshed plum.

Also served with corn. The mottled red and white from Monterey Market wasn't very good.

Gemelli with tomato sauce:
6 red ripe Early Girl tomatoes, $2/lb at the farmer's market, seeded and diced.
1 can diced Italian-style tomatoes (ran short)
1 yellow onion, minced
5? cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
A splash or two of Cabernet (Forestville, which we drank with dinner)
Vegetarian meatballs (disintegrated, not so good)
2 small cans sliced black olives
1 large spoonful capers
1 small handful pine nuts
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Dried oregano
Around 1 cup chopped fresh basil
Butter and EVOO base to fry in.
Freshly grated parmesan to sprinkle.

Cranky mood turned good with strange Mad Libs and substances.

I ate raw food this weekend at a cooking class.

Dinner:
Nori rolls with dill, nut hummus, carrot, bell pepper, celery, and raisins
Dehydrated flaxseed crackers with guacamole and tasteless "almond mayonnaise"
Carrot soup with red bell pepper
Spicy mango curry salad (mmm) with cilantro
Salad with orange pieces, avocado, almonds, radishes
Dehydrated strawberry and raspberry pies on almond-date crust

Brunch:
Sesame milk
Almond milk
Hazelnut milk with vanilla
Raw oatmeal with cinnamon (like paste)
Fruit salad
Carob pie (tahini, honey, carob, OJ in an almond-date crust)

Pasta Salad

Treat this as 3 separate items which are combined just before serving.

1) 1 package small-sized pasta (ca. 16 oz.). Boil until just done in unsalted, unoiled water. Drain immediately in colander and run lots of cold water over pasta. You may do this step up to 24 hrs. before serving pasta salad. After draining, put in closed container in refrigerator.

2) Ingredients to add to pasta. Choose from among the following, but make certain to have at least one ingredient that's crunchy (like celery or onion). Approximately ½ cup of each for a total of about 2 to 2 ½ cups ingredients

Chopped celery; Chopped Bermuda (red) onion; Roasted red bell pepper; Sliced
cooked or canned mushroom; sliced black olive; sliced salami (small pieces);
chopped parsley

You can do this step 24 hrs. in advance and keep ingredients together in sealed container in refrigerator

3) Dressing. You will want about 1 ½ to 2 cups dressing. Try pouring most of it over mixed ingredients and see it it's enough. If not, add the rest. You can use the remaining dressing for a regular salad.
Approx. 3 or 4 heaping tablespoons best food real mayonnaise
Add some apple cider vinegar to the mayo and shake. Mixture should move around in jar but not be very runny
Pour in a bunch of olive oil to make a little under 2 cups.
Add minced garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, 1 teaspoon oregano.
Check out the taste. It should be a bit salty because it needs to flavor the unsalted pasta

At the end:

Empty pasta in large bowl. Dump ingredients over it and mix with big spoon. Pour over most of the dressing, if you need more, pour some more on until it's moistened to suit you. Empty container of 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Roma cheese. Mix together and serve.

Refrigerate any remaining. It will need more dressing since the pasta absorbs the dressing.

The egg sampler at Drunken Fish, $14.95:
Rice mixed with sesame seed-seaweed furikake and topped with a quarter each of salmon roe, flying fish roe (sparkly and crunchy and orange), smelt roe (dull and crunchy and orange) and mackerel (I think) roe--tripe-like, pale and thin and spongy-crunchy and cut into little tiny squares and mixed with green onions. In the middle was a raw quail egg.

Asparagus with Egg Relish

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add 2 eggs and boil for about 12 minutes. Add washed, broken asparagus and boil for another 4 minutes or so. Drain and shock with cold water.

While this is going on,
Fry a spoonful of capers in olive oil in a medium pan until they open up into little flowers. Drain on paper towels and put in a bowl.

Toast a handful of pine nuts in a toaster oven set to medium darkness, one cycle, or until the nuts are brown. Remove the nuts and chop and add to the capers.

Gather about 4-5 heads of basil flowers and shred them into the bowl.

Grind black pepper in and add kosher salt.

Chop one clove garlic and cook briefly in olive oil, till fragrant but not brown. Add to the bowl.

Peel and coarsely chop the hard-boiled eggs and add them to the bowl. Add about a tablespoonful of olive oil and stir everything together. It should be somewhat moist.

Eat the asparagus with spoonfuls of the relish.

I also ate fried plantains and fried sliced Yukon Gold potatoes with this.

Some days echo with bliss: food and sun and laziness.

I woke late this morning, around 11, just missing the new Car Talk; I called Sarah and then I called Molly and we decided (it being too late to catch high tea in Pleasanton) to go to Toutatis in downtown Oakland (719 Washington at 7th St) for crepes. "Oakland is so depressing sometimes," I said, and Molly agreed, saying, "I wonder if it was always this way? I mean, I remember as a kid thinking, 'Oh, so that's what a prostitute looks like' but not feeling depressed by it." We drove on past the empty dead sunny streets, the high-rise apartment buildings like the outskirts of Barcelona drained of all the people, the clean square grass yards, and she said "Maybe I just wouldn't be depressed by it as a kid, but I'm depressed by it now." Seventh and Washington was similarly empty, as downtown Oakland inevitably is on weekends. Toutatis inhabits the ground floor of a Victorian, just beside the Oakland Library bookstore (which was closed); when Molly and I walked in, we were the only two customers, although an older lady and her husband came in a little later and sat down. We were seated in the table by the front window. Maps of Brittany (St. Lo, Mont St. Michel, Cherbourg, Manche) and postcards of fishing village harbors and windswept stone cottages were pressed under the glass tabletop, and magazines were arranged on the bay window's countertop--San Francisco Magazine's Cheap Eats issue and Us Weekly and CFO and many others.

I got a Galette Provencale with cheese--tomato coulis (thick chunks of tomato, not the thin jam I was expecting from the coulis served in Thailand), onion, Kalamata olives (pitted, which Molly pointed out is extremely inauthentic), and rosemary-fragrant, crunchy dried herbes de Provence strewn over the top. The thin, lacy, buckwheat crepe was folded into a triangle whose crispy edges pointed off the edges of the plate, and cheese was melted between the layers, bumping the price up to $8 instead of $6.25 for the vegan version. In the center of the crepe the coulis and cheese melted the crepe into a mush and I understood why their menu specified that they would not package their crepes to go. I had an Orangina as well. Molly had a cafe au lait served in a big bowl with a marshmallowy cloud of white foam dolloped on top, and a dessert crepe with caramelized apples and whipped cream.

Although the staff was hurrying us along a bit, I decided to get a dessert crepe as well--mine was topped with whipped cream and napped with a homemade caramel sauce--thick, luscious, sweet and voluptuous, making my pitiful hazelnut brittle hang its head in shame. The crepe had considerably less presence than the savory galette (it basically served as a soft thin sponge for caramel sauce).

Afterwards, we walked around the empty streets of downtown Oakland, past an art gallery with birds and a big brown boxer-type dog lying amidst the sculptures, and discussed LA and whether Molly would go crazy from moving there, and the relative merits of conferences versus those of business trips. Chinatown was much more populated and we looked at the beautiful blue-glazed dishes and cheap woks and packages of almond jello and tins of curry sauce in the big store on the corner, and frozen durians and longans in boxes on the street.

We went to Elephant Pharmacy and I got a Chimp Mint to benefit the Jane Goodall foundation. It contained a trading card of a low-ranking but ambitious chimp named Mike, who would display using four empty kerosene cans when other chimps only had one.

We went to Molly's and I ate walnuts and feta wrapped in mint leaves.

I came home and saw the Satsuki Arts festival at the Buddhist temple on Channing. Nothing of interest--fish prints with rubber fish were cool.

Made the following:
Line-caught wild salmon (2 fillets, $10.65, fillets costing $8.50 a pound): flesh so deeply colored it was still almost red when it was cooked, instead of anemic pink. I marinated it in white miso paste with a little soy sauce, sliced garlic, ginger powder, mirin, and bergamot juice. Scraped off the marinade and cooked the thick, wedge-shaped fillets skin-side down in the handleless nonstick frying pan at 500 degrees for about 20 minutes. The skin was blackened but tasty.

Purple asparagus (1 bunch) and 1 zucchini and 3 yellow sunburst squash. I cooked one white onion and 2 cloves garlic till soft, almost caramelized, then added a handful of pine nuts to toast in the pan and stirred in 2 spoonfuls of blackberry jam and a pat of butter to melt together. I added a little soy sauce and mirin. I added the veggies and stirred them to coat in the glaze and then cooked till crisp-tender and added salt and pepper.

Wild rice/brown rice mix. 2 cups rice, 4 cups water. Chewy but still a little too soft.

Meal greatly appreciated by all.

Bergamot pots de creme with hazelnut brittle topping:

4 egg yolks
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of one bergamot

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Simmer the cream with the bergamot zest and vanilla bean (scrape the seeds into the cream). Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together with the sugar. Remove the vanilla bean, add the vanilla extract, and pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk together and pour into 4 ramekins. Bake in a water bath, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Brittle = bad (too bitter and hard as a rock), but if you want to make it:
Toast 1/2 cup hazelnuts and rub off the skins while still warm. Chop coarsely and divide over the tops of the custard cups.

Mix 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water and boil until the sugar caramelizes. Pour over the nuts. Chill till caramel hardens.

Hit caramel with hammer until it breaks and try to suck the custard off the rock-hard pieces of nut brittle.

lemon cream pasta:

chop garlic, saute in butter, add heavy cream, add lemon zest, simmer and reduce, add mint leaves, nutmeg, thyme, lemon juice, salt, pepper.

boil fresh fettucine with asparagus and peas.

mmm

CHEZ PANISSE CAFÉ LUNCH MENU

Friday, May 2, 2003 A Menu For Peace

Ruby grapefruit and wild fennel salad, $8.25
Star Route Farm Little Gems with beets and green goddess dressing, $8.50
Willey Farm cucumbers with spring onions, anchovies, and olives, $7.75
Full Belly Farm asparagus with pickled artichokes, rosemary, and egg, $8.75
Half Moon Bay sand dab baked in the wood oven with sweet onions,
pine nuts, raisins, and bay, $11.00
Pizzetta with tomato sauce, Monterey Bay squid, and aïoli, $14.00
Garden lettuce salad, $6.75
Baked Sonoma goat cheese with Viki's lettuces $8.75
Spring onion and green garlic soup with farro and herbs, $6.75





Fedellini pasta with morel mushrooms, peas, crème fraîche, and mint, $17.00
Local king salmon with spinach, sorrel, Bintje potatoes, and rosé butter, $18.00
Grilled Niman Ranch pork loin with snap peas, little turnips, orange zest, and sage, $18.50
Pan-fried Hoffman Farm chicken breast with caper salsa and celery root-rocket salad, $17.00
Pizza with wild nettles and pecorino, $17.00
Crostata di Perrella with goat cheese, mozzarella, prosciutto, garlic, and herbs, $17.00

Side orders: a plate of olives, anchovies, Parmesan, or Tuscan olive oil, $3.50 each


DESSERTS

Artisan cheese selection:Pleasant Ridge Reserve, St. Pat, and Ouray, $8.50

Rhubarb galette with muscat ice cream, $8.75
Bittersweet chocolate-almond torte with Cognac cream, $8.50
Cardamom coffee caramel custard with chocolate wafers, $6.25
Strawberry-orange sherbet with gingersnaps, $6.00
Candied Meyer lemon ice cream with ossi dei morti, $6.25
Jim Churchill's Pixie tangerines and Black Sphinx dates, $6.50




Service charge: 15 percent Sales tax: 8 1/4 percent
Corkage: $20 per bottle, limit two (750 ml.) per table.


Most of our produce and meat comes from farms and ranches that practice ecologically sound agriculture.
The Café now accepts advance reservations one month ahead to the calendar date.
Please refrain from cellular phone use within the café and restaurant.

Also a very fruity glass of a 2002 Sauvignon Blanc from Cheverny in the Loire Valley (Domaine du Salvard?), and French roast coffee.