Naturally Delicious

Fab Uplift Detox

2012-01-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

I am currently participating in a healthy detox which incorporates lots of superfoods. I never thought I would do any type of cleanse as I always eat very clean. However, I had a medical scare (it was a false alarm) and in the hysteria I signed up for this program. So far I am coffee and sugar free since monday, dairy free since tuesday, gluten free since wednesday , and soy, nightshade and peanut free today. Amazingly I have survived. I have been able to have good strong workouts, with only a veg smoothie in me, and I have to say I feel great! The picture above is what I ate for lunch today. It's zucchini avocado hummus with veggie dippers with homemade kale chips. The best treat on this undiet are these raw superfood power balls. They taste great and will supercharge you with energy, This cleanse removes a new food everyday for the next three days, tomorrow I lose beans and legumes. I have been worried about being lightheaded or weak, but just the opposite has been the case. Time will tell how I perform with only fruits and vegetables on my plate for two whole days, Monday and Tuesday specifically. Wednesday we begin re-introducing the foods we've given up.

Yay for the cheese plate when I'm done.

Photo Essay

2011-11-23T15:49:00.001-08:00

Chocolate-Persimmon Muffins

Hubby made breakfast.

Dehydrated Peppers

2011-10-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Still working hard in the kitchen. I have been drying red padron peppers along with my remaining tomatoes, and making my weekly batch of yogurt. I had two guest chefs from across the Atlantic. They prepared a wonderful lasagna.

One more thing. Don't we all love fall? I know I love the lovely fall foliage and the change in weather leading to getting out my fun fall clothes. The crispy chill in the air is so refreshing. Here is a great natural food giveaway. Check it out!

Roasting Tomatoes

2011-10-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Too busy to talk or write. Tomatoes have been keeping me busy along with planning someone's French themed anniversary party. I can't post the menu until after the party, cause someone might peek.

Caramelized Onion and Radicchio Quiche

2011-10-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

This wonderful recipe from In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite helped me make use of the beautiful head of radicchio which arrived as part of my CSA share. It was delicious even though I used a frozen spelt crust.

Busy, Busy Me

2011-09-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Trust the Zuni Cafe Cookbook

2011-09-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

We ate almost all of the Fagioli All'Uccelletto from the Zuni Cafe cookbook before I took a picture. This recipe belied its fabulous flavor. This recipe explains why I always trust Judy Rodgers implicitly. No matter how simple her recipes look in the book I can count on the flavor being exquisite. This recipe made use of food I had in the house, so I chose it for the ease of staying home. It looks like a simple bean recipe but every bite was succulent and flavorful. Another of my favorites from this cookbook is the Artichokes Baked with Onions, Lemons, Black Olives and Mint. If you love great food buy, or borrow this cookbook and get cooking.

Tomato Time

2011-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Tomato season is upon me. I've been busy in the kitchen as evidenced by these photos. I've been oven roasting (advice: don't get involved in other projects while oven roasting at 400°. I ate the crispy ones, the very dark crispy ones.), dehydrating and saucing. I am on the dreaded candida diet so I am making muffins and bread that are yeast and refined flour free. The muffin and bread recipes I baked come from 101cookbooks. Here are the results.

Faux Risotto with Favas

2011-05-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my long absence from this blog. It is difficult to blog without a space-bar. It seems to be even more difficult to get the correct part and competent help from my computer's manufacturer. Finally my husband's computer tech found a work-around and so here I am.

I have a puzzle for all you readers. I accidentally found a way to make a quick rice dish that is similar to risotto both in taste and creamy satisfaction. I know you purists out there will insist that risotto can only be made in the traditional, time consuming, hand stirring, broth adding way. And I agree with you. However, this is a great discovery for me. It allows me to use leftover brown rice and any vegetables from my CSA box that are lurking in my fridge. What I want you readers to do is guess what the mystery ingredient is that makes the magic.

I will reward the first person to post the correct ingredient with a copy of Simple French Food by Richard Olney. I will reveal the full recipe next week when I return from Yosemite. It feels so good to be back.

More dandelion greens

2011-04-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

I share my CSA box with a friend. She was telling me how she needed to cut the bitterness in the dandelion greens from this week's box. I told her that I used yogurt on top of my dandelion stuffed crepe to cut the bitterness, as well as, a bit of cider vinegar in the greens recipe. She made me think, though, of all the ways I could cut bitterness, or make it more a part of the recipe itself. Bitterness can be mitigated by anything smooth and creamy, like cream cheese, cream, milk or even potatoes. This got me thinking about how to fix my last bunch of bitter dandelion greens. My friend said she used pine nuts and lots of butter in her recipe, but I went a different route. I sautéed cubed pancetta in oilive oil and butter, threw in diced calcot onions, added the chopped greens and 1/2 c vegetable broth, covered the pot on a low flame for 15 minutes. Then when I removed the lid I added 1 cup of boiled, diced creamer potatoes. I peeled some and left the skin on others. (strictly out of laziness, I peeled the ones whose skin came off easily) I stirred it all around for 4 minutes, added 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and served it alongside Dorie's carrot salad from Around my French Table. The whole preparation was fast and the dinner was comforting and no more bitter than was pleasing to my palate.
Point to remember: potatoes mitigate bitterness.

Dandelion Greens

2011-04-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

I have been cooking these last few weeks even though I have been absent from this blog. Important activities have kept me away. I have been to the Sunday farmer's market at Fort Mason, as evidenced by the lovely bouquet of sustainably grown ranunculus pictured above. I have cooked Heidi Swanson's multigrain pancakes from her new and wildly popular Super Natural Everyday. The batter seemed very runny, but I trusted Heidi, and the pancakes were very tasty. I like to make a batch of pancakes in the morning and eat them throughout the day. For lunch I'll heat a couple with cream cheese on top. I love cream cheese, my current favorite is Nancy's cultured cream cheese.

Some of my culinary creations have been simpler though. I made one of my quick and tasty comfort foods, English muffin pizzas. These I made with Rudi's spelt English muffins, with Annie's organic ketchup, a friend's bruschetta topping and manchego cheese. The result made me very happy. I tried the English muffins toasted but they were mushy and plain, so they became the base for these pizzas. Under the broiler they came out crunchy and satisfying.

Last night I went into the kitchen intending to cook a bunch of dandelion greens simply, maybe just sauteed in olive oil. Before I knew it I was tossing in soaked dried shitakes and porcinis, pancetta, cider vinegar, calcot onions and cubed mango. I stuffed the greens into amaranth-cornmeal crepes from Heidi's previous cookbook. My husband was pleasantly surprised with what I placed on the table before him. He said "I thought you were tired". But I explained that one thing led to another and the recipe just put itself together.

Dandelion Green Stuffed Crepes
For the crepe batter use the quinoa and corn flour crepe batter recipe in Super Natural Cooking or any other crepe recipe you can find. I substituted amaranth flour for the quinoa because I had it on hand and did not have any quinoa flour.
Recipe
1 bunch dandelion greens, washed and cut in 1 inch lenghts.
1/2 cup diced pancetta
1 -2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dried mushrooms of any kind soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes and diced
1-2 calcot onions or green onions, sliced into small pieces
1 cup vegetable broth or water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup mango, diced small
12 slices manchego cheese, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
Greek yogurt to top crepes

Heat olive oil in frying pan. Toss in pancetta and cook until crisp. Add mushrooms and onions and cook for 5 minutes, but don't let the mushrooms burn. Add greens and broth or water, and vinegar, season with salt and pepper bring to a simmer. Lower heat to med low, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes checking every five minutes to be sure there is liquid remaining. Remove lid and cook until liquid evaporates.
Turn off heat and add mango.
Heat another frying pan and grease with butter. Pour in 1/4 cup crepe batter ,swirl to coat pan with batter. Pan should be over medium heat. When batter no longer looks moist, flip crepe over in pan with spatula. Add 1/3 cup greens mixture to cover half of the crepe, top with 3-4 slices cheese and flip over the other side of crepe. It will look like a half circle.
Let heat for 30 seconds. Remove to an oven safe platter and keep warm in very low oven until all crepes are cooked.
Top plated crepes with 1 tablespoon yogurt.

Tomorrow I plan on baking Nigella Lawson's Lemon Polenta Cake. And work on my cookbook pile.

Tasty Meal for One

2011-03-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Some of my tastiest kitchen concoctions have been created for a solitary meal for myself. When preparing food foe me alone I feel free to mix in a little of this and that without fear of failure. The result is often a simple but new and successful combination of flavors. Tonight I baked a sweet potato and topped it with roasted walnut oil, ground, dried kelp and bucheron cheese. Three simple toppings created a winner. It is difficult to find roasted walnut oil in this country. There is a new vendor at the Ferry Building's Saturday farmers market that produces a walnut oil that rivals the French walnut oils. The producer is Glasshoff Farms, a third generation local farmer, located in Suisun Valley. Here is their website. I recommend their roasted walnut oil as well as their jams. Do read their story and look for their stand.

I also made myself a wilted frisee salad with pine nuts and fresh garlic based on a recipe in this month's vegetarian times magazine.

Warm Frisee Springtime Salad

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 stalks of fresh garlic, sliced on diagonal

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon butter

2 organic navel oranges

1 lb. frisee, washed and torn

1T tablespoon balsamic

1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano grated with vegetable peeler

1. Place nuts, galic, olive oil and butter in small skillet. Cook over low heat for ten minutes or until pine nuts and garlic are golden.

2. Meanwhile, remove zest from orange and reserve for another use. (You can mince the zest, dry it for a couple of days and add to salads, hot cereals. Store in a small jar when thoroughly dry.) Stand orange upright on cutting board and remove remaining peel and pith with knife, following curve of fruit from top to bottom. Repeat with the other orange and set aside.

3. Place frisee in a large bowl. Pour hot oil with garlic and pine nuts over greens. Cut sections of orange along membranes while holding over the bowl to catch the juices, as if slicing out a wedge and release wedges one by one. Repeat with second orange. Toss. Add balsamic, toss again. Add cheese and divide among 2-4 plates.

Based on Wilted Dandelion Salad with Pine Nuts and Crispy Garlic Vegetarian Times, April/May 2011. Pg 64.

I am so thrilled to be able to get my orchids to re-bloom here in this wonderful city filled with moist air, I had to show it off.

Cold Comforting Broccoli Salad

2011-03-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here is my favorite flower presentation from last week's Bouquets to Art at the DeYoung art museum. This kimono was created entirely from plant material. The arrangement transported me to a place deep within a dark forest. I could well have slipped of the shoes the artist created and placed to the left of the kimono, just above the calming pond. I want to gaze into that pond alone in quietude of the forest. There I would find the peace that has been so elusive to me of late. Here are a few more pictures from the exhibit.

I must confess that I included these flower pictures to distract from the awful pictures I shot of my broccoli salad. I was so hungry and wet and cold when I made the salad and I was so pleased with the way the flavors came together that I rushed the photography. I did not check the photos until the salad had been eaten. The salad was delicious. I now feel comforted despite the wind and the rain which refuse to go away.

I used cold broccoli left from yesterday's lunch mixed with protein contributing seeds, (I have been tracking my calories and it turns out I get only 18% protein at best. I have been told this is not enough) I mixed olive oil mayo thinned with greek yogurt, miso and naturally fermented soy sauce for flavor and beneficial bacteria. I added meyer lemon juice for kick. I ate my salad along with a warm cup of jasmine green tea. The following recipe will revive one tired, damp soul satisfyingly.

Broccoli Salad

1 cup cooked broccoli, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 generous teaspoon raw sunflower seeds

1 generous teaspoon sesame seeds

Dressing

2 teaspoons olive oil mayo

2 teaspoons nonfat greek yogurt

1 teaspoon white miso

1 teaspoon tahini

juice of half a meyer lemon

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Whisk dressing ingredients together in serving bowl.

Add broccoli and seeds.

Sit down, eat and enjoy the warmth inside.

Turnips on a Grey Day

2011-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Lately one the only activities I enjoy is cooking. I am grateful to find high quality ingredients in my pantry when I work up the energy to walk into the kitchen to create. I don't have to leave the house to feed my senses and clear my head of the greyness. Just seeing the beautiful colors of these turnips is a healing. I cut them into crescent shaped quarters, sprinkled salt, kelp and olive oil over them, stirred them and dumped them onto a baking sheet and baked at 425. The flavor was surprisingly good. There are a few fancier recipes for turnips to be found on the web, but this simple preparation satisfied me. I also cooked up some Espresso Chip Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar from the folks who brought us Veginomicon.

The cookies have a deep flavor that only coffee can bring, as I usually do I used only whole wheat pastry flour and I added dried grated orange peel. There was no discernible difference in the cookies from using flax seeds in place of egg. I am not vegan nor even vegetarian, neither do I have dietary restrictions. That being said these cookies were fast to put together and the absence of raw egg meant I could safely lick the spoon.

It's so hard to keep cheery with the gloom both outside my window and out in the world in general. But cooking brings the sunshine back into my thoughts for a while.

Finally! Fluffy Wholegrain Scones

2011-03-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have been participating in Heidi Swanson's cookbook library network. It is a place to learn and comment about cookbooks and their particular recipes. This month's cookbook is Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: the Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery. This lovely green colored tome has enabled me to create the first batch of scones that were not stand-ins for hockey pucks. The recipe is called Cheddar Cornmeal Scones. I'm not sure what made the difference. Could it be the addition of eggs? I know the important thing with scones is to knead or handle the dough as little as possible. Maybe the moistness of the eggs allowed me to form the dough with less handling than usual. I'm not sure of the science. But I am sure of the result. If anyone is sticking to whole grains, as I am and wants a true soft, flaky, savory scone, this is your recipe. I don't have permission to post the recipe, but get your hands on this book, and bake these scones.

I had the privilege of attending the DeYoung Museum's Bouquets to Art member night last night. It was very crowded but I snapped a few photos of the beautiful flowers. I will return tomorrow during the day. My favorite arrangement was of a kimono made of flowers, ferns and moss. It was beautiful , serene and quite creative. There were too many people to get a picture but I will try to post one after my next visit.

The Calm Unbeknown to the Storm

2011-03-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

As I sit here on the marina facing the San Francisco bay it hardly seems as though today is different from any other day. Tourists bicycle by, a mother pushes her toddler in a stroller. The only sign that anything is amiss is the yellow tape and park ranger car parked at the entrance to the marina. Could it really be that devastation has taken place not so far from here? The news footage would have me believe so. I fear, tough that decades of disaster movies have desensitized me to the reality of the earthquake and tsunami. Having lived through the flood of 1986 in Butte county I would think I could feel something while watching water moving over homes, fires burning. But it seems unreal, although I feel for and worry about the victims. Many of us get caught up in our own personal, insulated, well-scheduled world and leave little room for the outside. My heart goes out to the victims of this latest tragedy.

Savory Cheese and Chive Bread

2011-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is my very late entry for the French Fridays with Dorie cooking group. My apologies to all. This is a very tasty and satisfying bread. I will pack this in my husband's and my lunches this week. I chose to make a few adjustments to the recipe. I used whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour to up protein and fiber. I used a goats and cows milk blend cheese, added dandelion greens for the chives and threw in diced pancetta. I am happy with the result, however next time I will increase the greens to a full cup and use the full teaspoon of salt. The walnuts did not seem to match up with the extras I chose. I think pecans will do better next time.

One of the reasons I am so late with this entry is the fact that I am overwhelmed with cookbook reading. This is inspirational, but when to many recipes swim around in my head at once I have a hard time getting into the kitchen. This morning I managed to bake not only this cheese bread, another tin of Heidi's millet muffins (adding garbanzo bean flour and additional lemon zest and olive oil was a nice alternative) and chocolate buttermilk doughnuts. Phew!
Part of the reason I'm reading so many cookbooks is my discovery of Heidi's cookbook library site. I am trying new recipes with the intent of adding my comments to the site. Check out her site.

Heidi's Millet Muffins

2011-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

I baked up a batch of Heidi Swanson's millet muffins. They are so good I must confess to eating three of them the day I made them. I tweaked the recipe a little. I cut both the butter and honey in half without any loss of flavor. Here is the recipe link. I was able to enjoy the butter I left out of the recipe by spreading it over the two halves of my toasted muffin and topped that with Happy Girl's organic strawberry lavender jam. I like to toast my muffins because when I was growing up in NYC I used to get toasted corn muffins in the snack bars found in the subway stations through which I traveled. Prepared in this way I get both nostalgia and enhanced eating pleasure.

I have found my new favorite kitchen gadget, it cost me $1.09 and I found it at Ichiban Kan in Japantown. It's a small handheld grater and I was able to use it to create the most beautiful grated carrots.

I spent less than five minutes on this large bowlful. I prepared david tanis' carrot and coriander salad with these lovely, not flat but rounded, fluffy, airy carrot threads. The salad was tasty the day I made it but so much better in quesadillas the following day. I grilled a sprouted wheat tortilla added the carrots, cayenne and manchego cheese. It made a tasty evening snack.

I have big plans for tomorrow's kitchen activity. I am planning on another batch of millet muffins (fast and easy)along with espresso chip oatmeal cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. And I am hoping to create my own sourdough starter which I will name as soon as I know it will live and that I can be committed to its care. I kept my last starter alive for several years. I would like to make whole wheat english muffins as soon as the starter is mature. I would also like to bake Dorrie Greenspan's savory cheese and chive bread, I am a bit behind on my French Fridays with Dorie.

Flax Crackers & Homemade Almond Butter

2011-03-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have had guests for the past couple of days. When friends visit me here, in San Francisco, I like to join them in their vacation activities and feel like I'm on vacation too. My friend S. and I cooked dinner together the night of their arrival. We prepared bionaturae whole wheat spaghetti with swiss chard, onion, garlic, butter and romano cheese. The bionaturae pasta is the best whole grain pasta I've tasted. It is smooth with no grainy texture. It's a bit more pricey than the trader joe's whole wheat pasta but I'll take taste over bargain any day. I served some chimichuri with oven-toasted bread. I have been in love with chimichurri since I prepared it for an Argentinian themed dinner last weekend. The flavor of chimichurri is much more than the sum of its parts, which are parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. My guests have been putting the leftover sauce on everything.
My guests brought along their own juicer and we had fresh veggie juice every morning of their visit. This morning i decided to put the vegetable pulp to good use along with an excess of flax seeds I discovered in my freezer. I used this recipe from Choosing Raw. The pulp looked so pretty in the dehydrator, the beets contributing the most color. I will report on their flavor after the crackers are completely dry.

I had left my food processor out after using it to prepare the chimichurri, so I turned my frozen almonds into lovely, creamy almond butter. After processing the almonds for a few minutes they looked a bit dry, so I added hazelnut oil to the mix. Have I created something new? Maybe so. I'm thinking of adding sesame seeds to my next batch. Has anyone ever heard of almond sesame butter? If not, you will soon.

I had the privilege of being taken to dinner by my guests last night. They took me to Be My Guest Thai bistro, on Clement and 11th. With a name like that I wasn't sure what to expect, but the food was spectacular. My guests are vegetarians so we stayed away from anything with meat, eggs or even a hint of fish sauce.We had samosas, summer rolls with tamarind sauce, a trio sampler of green, yellow and red curry.

The red curry was my favorite, with a nice level of spiciness. It was creamy but not overly rich from coconut milk. We also ate a pumpkin curry, which ended up being our least favorite.

The pad thai was topped with cooked snap peas and green beans and the glass noodles were not at all mushy. They were cooked to a perfect firm consistency.I have never had Thai food that radiated freshness before. Our waitress accommodated our every dietary restriction with a smile. I will definitely be returning.

Random Thoughts of Sunshine

2011-02-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

It's so nice to see the sunshine again, both outside and within. I have been fighting to keep my head above water on many fronts lately. Today feels like a better day. Cooking has taken a backseat to my emotions. However, I'm still loving grated dried orange peel. I put some in my steelcut oats this morning, I kept it simple. Oats, butter and orange peel. Very soothing. I also have been cooking very simply, mostly because I have no mental energy and doing it at all because I need to eat. Yesterday morning I roasted cauliflower with olive oil and curry powder and made a flageolet salad. I learned flageolets do not take as long to cook as other dried beans, making early morning cooking possible. I have been cooking on autopilot. I will be preparing vegetarian Argentinian food for a send-off gathering for a friend moving to Argentina. Argentinian cuisine is very meat based, so I have had to search far and wide for inspiration. I will attempt chimichurri, polenta and burned carrots with goat cheese, from epicurious. I am hoping for more sunshine.

Frustrations of Having a Cold

2011-02-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Andy Warhol-like art project

Being forced to rest for more than a day presents me with a dilemma. Plenty of time to blog, no time to cook, no energy to photograph. For the first day of my chest cold I read all day. I enjoyed being able to sit still long enough to read 280 pages of London The second day I needed to watch reruns of Bones on netflix and Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Theater. The third day I decided a trip to the Conservatory of Flowers' steamy aquatic plants room would clear my lungs.The beauty and humidity I found there made me feel much cured, peaceful and a little too enthused. With temps in the 70's I was tempted to walk too far taking in Golden Gate Park's beauty around me.

So, today, day four, I am trying to show a bit of modesty and repentance by resting on the couch.The beautiful weather outside is calling to me, but I want to get over this bug once and for all. I will be firm with myself, no cooking projects (which come with their own follow-up cleaning jobs), no fitness activities, like climbing the Lyon street steps. My only activity will be dreaming and planning what I will cook in the upcoming week.

One of the pleasures of living in San Francisco is the availability, through the public library, of all the newly released cookbooks. I currently have My Calabria and Tartine Bread checked out. I was able to note some great recipes from In The Kitchen. Before succumbing to this cold I prepared Carmelized Onion and Radicchio Quiche. I substituted endive for the racdicchio, because that's what my CSA delivered. The result was luscious. The recipe did not seem labor intensive and I am considering whether cooking it today would be too much work or would interfere with my resting. I also made Braised Cabbage with Pancetta and Black Pepper from My Calabria.(I love this cookbook and have half the recipes flagged) I served this as a side dish for Lamb Tagine from Around my French Table. My husband was well-pleased. The cabbage was a succulent delight.

My cooking and eating dreams for this coming week include Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad with Manchego and Toasted Walnuts from In the Kitchen, Stuffed Pizza with Chard from My Calabria and Orange Almond Tart for the FFwD cooking group, among others.

BTW regarding the ginger tea I made yesterday, WOW strong tasting stuff. I hope it does its work with this bug so I can get back out in the sunshine.

Also, I could not post without a photograph, which is why I have included an assignment from an old art class above.

Healing Foods

2011-02-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

After being stuck in bed for two days with a chest cold I am in need of tasty healing foods. For the last two days I've been drinking gallons of green tea and eating whatever could be thrown together easily. Today I felt well enough to prepare foods that will please my eye and my palate. My last persimmon of the season called out to me. I spread a portion of it over buttered toast and mixed the remaining persimmon with greek yogurt, pomegranate perils, and ground flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I am eating this meal along with a cup of Earl Grey White tea from The Tao of Tea.
In order to send this cold packing for good I also concocted a ginger tea for colds. Here is the recipe, I hope this tea will heal my lingering cough.

Ginger Tea for Colds
Simmer peeled and grated ginger from a 1 inch piece in 2 cups water for five minutes.
add 1/2 t cayenne and simmer 1 minute
add 2T lemon juice, 1-2 cloves garlic, mashed
Cool and strain and add honey to taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

2011-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Butternut squash soup improves with standing time. Even an hour or two improves its flavor. I made my soup with oven roasted squash a few shitakes and seasoned it with fried sage leaves and cardamom. a sprinkling of grated pecorino romano and cayenne added the final notes. I served the soup with baked radicchio from a recipe found at the Mariquita Farms recipe page. The only photo of the soup was shot after I started eating it. It looked so good I couldn't wait. Sorry.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 small butternut squash
2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
5 shitake mushrooms finely diced
1/2 t cardamom removed from seed case and ground with mortar and pestle
8 sage leaves
1T butter
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
salt and cayenne
1/4 c grated pecorino romano

Slice squash in half lengthwise, clean out seeds, place face down on a baking sheet. Cook at 375 for 35 minutes or until tender.
Heat oil in soup pot over med heat, saute oinion, shallot and mushrooms until tender but not brown. Scoop squash flesh from skin and add to pot along with broth, cardamom and season with salt and cayenne to taste. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
During this time fry sage leaves in butter in separate pan until crisp. Crumble into cooking soup.
Blend with immersion blender.
Ladle into bowls and top with pecorino and a dusting of cayenne.
Serves 4

Baked Radicchio adapted from Lidia's Italy Lidia Bastianich
submitted by Shari C.
The best variety for baking is the long thin radicchio trevisano or spadone, but the small round heads most often found in the supermarket or the kind with long but wide leaves (resembling purple romaine lettuce) are also delicious baked this way. Serve as an antipasto or a vegetable course, over soft or baked polenta.
* 1½ pounds round or long radicchio, 2 or 3 firm heads
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 medium-large onion, peeled and sliced in ¼-inch-thick half-moons (2 cups)
* 3 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
* 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* Freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions
Trim the radicchio heads, discarding wilted or bruised outer leaves and slicing off the very bottom if tough and discolored (don’t remove the core). Slice the heads in quarters or sixths, into wedges about 3 inches wide. Cut through the core, so the leaves are held together. Arrange a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 375°F.
Put the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the skillet, and set over moderate heat. When the butter is melted and foaming, stir in the onion and garlic and cook for a minute, then lay in all the radicchio wedges in one layer. Sprinkle on the salt, cover the pan, and cook slowly, turning the wedges over and stirring the onion every couple of minutes.
After 10 minutes or so, when the radicchio is softened slightly but still firmly holding its shape, stir the vinegar with ½ cup water and pour into the pan. Raise the heat a bit and bring the liquid to the boil, turning the wedges and stirring. Cook for a couple more minutes, until the pan juices are reduced and syrupy and the wedges are lightly caramelized.
Remove the skillet from the heat, and arrange the radicchio wedges in the baking dish in one layer. Spoon the onion all around, and pour the skillet liquid over. Drizzle on the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkle the grated cheese in an even layer, covering the radicchio.
Tent the dish with aluminum foil, pressing it against the sides. Bake covered for about 20 minutes, remove the foil, and bake another 5 minutes or more, until the radicchio wedges are tender and moist and glazed golden on top.

Why can't these be health food?

2011-01-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Cocoa Sables

Cocoa sables. How can I explain what goes on in my mouth when I eat one? Explosion of taste is not a enough of an explanation. Buttery, chocolaty, sandy (sable means sand in French) crumbly, not too sweet. I hope your imagination will impel you to bake up some of these cookies. The recipe I used is from Around my French Table, but there are many recipes to be found online. My google search turned up 262,000 results. These cookies are simple to make, but require a three hour resting period. I'm enjoying mine in place of lunch with a cup of home brewed Blue Bottle espresso. As a consolation for eating cookies for lunch I can still feel productive because have Daniel Rose's chicken broth bubbling away on my stove, in preparation for a butternut squash soup. I will serve the soup alongside Elizabeth's beans with salsa verde. I received a lovely head of radicchio in my mystery box last week. Below is the recipe I will be using. I hope all these veggies make up for the cookies I ate for lunch.

Baked Radicchio adapted from Lidia's Italy Lidia Bastianich
submitted by Shari C.
The best variety for baking is the long thin radicchio trevisano or spadone, but the small round heads most often found in the supermarket or the kind with long but wide leaves (resembling purple romaine lettuce) are also delicious baked this way. Serve as an antipasto or a vegetable course, over soft or baked polenta.
* 1½ pounds round or long radicchio, 2 or 3 firm heads
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 medium-large onion, peeled and sliced in ¼-inch-thick half-moons (2 cups)
* 3 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
* 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* Freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions
Trim the radicchio heads, discarding wilted or bruised outer leaves and slicing off the very bottom if tough and discolored (don’t remove the core). Slice the heads in quarters or sixths, into wedges about 3 inches wide. Cut through the core, so the leaves are held together. Arrange a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 375°F.
Put the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the skillet, and set over moderate heat. When the butter is melted and foaming, stir in the onion and garlic and cook for a minute, then lay in all the radicchio wedges in one layer. Sprinkle on the salt, cover the pan, and cook slowly, turning the wedges over and stirring the onion every couple of minutes.
After 10 minutes or so, when the radicchio is softened slightly but still firmly holding its shape, stir the vinegar with ½ cup water and pour into the pan. Raise the heat a bit and bring the liquid to the boil, turning the wedges and stirring. Cook for a couple more minutes, until the pan juices are reduced and syrupy and the wedges are lightly caramelized.
Remove the skillet from the heat, and arrange the radicchio wedges in the baking dish in one layer. Spoon the onion all around, and pour the skillet liquid over. Drizzle on the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkle the grated cheese in an even layer, covering the radicchio.
Tent the dish with aluminum foil, pressing it against the sides. Bake covered for about 20 minutes, remove the foil, and bake another 5 minutes or more, until the radicchio wedges are tender and moist and glazed golden on top.

Cauliflower Leaves.....who knew

2011-01-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight, for the first time I prepared and ate sauteed cauliflower leaves with pancetta and garlic. I received two lovely heads of green cauliflower in my CSA box. I turned the cauliflower into Dorrie's cauliflower gratin and I just couldn't bear to toss the huge, undamaged leaves that had nestled the heads of cauliflower. I sliced them with stems included and sauteed with garlic and pancetta, adding a bit of chicken broth to tenderize. The leaves were tasty, even though the central ribs were a bit fibrous. I will definitely serve these again. I presented them alongside the gratin and Dorrie's Socca to which I added sage instead of rosemary. Next time I prepare the socca (which was a hit when I prepared it last night with rosemary) I will add green onion tops or garlic chives.A simple mix of grabanzo bean flour, olive oil and water turn into a flavorful, crispy treat.

Socca & Greens

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

2011-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Having friends invite me over along with a request for a prepared dish is a blessing for me. Since my favorite way to show love and/or affection is to feed people, and feed then well my creativity is awakened. This afternoon I am attending a game day. That is NOT a day to watch a game being played by notable teams, viewed on television. This game day is one where all the attendees are participants. We have a variety of games to choose from and after working up an appetite in active play we will all eat the salads, casseroles, meats and desserts that we prepared for the event. I had a GIGANTIC spaghetti squash from my winter CSA that had been staring at me for a while. This squash was way too big for my husband and I to consume on our own. In the back of my mind I knew I'd read about a spaghetti squash gratin. After searching around a bit online I found the recipe can be found on one of my favorite blogs chocolateandzucchini. Please use that link to get the full recipe. Clotilde prepares the spaghetti squash in a tasty way that could not be easier. I used pecans instead of walnuts, smoked gouda replaced the mozzerella which I grated, put in between the two layers of cooked squash, as well as on top, and I topped the gratin with sage leaves fried in butter (my new favorite taste sensation, discovered while cooking for a sick friend). I'm off to the game day now. I'm sure this gratin will get rave reviews from the hungry players.

Quick pumpkin Gnocchi with Chantrelles in Sage Butter

2010-12-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

I picked up some pumpkin gnocchi at the Ferry Building's Farmer's Market yesterday to bring to a sick friend. Sometimes it really pays one back to care for the needs of others. I boiled them for no more that 3 minutes, at a low boil, as instructed. Then I popped them carefully, into a frying pan where I had sauteed chantrelles and sage leaves (originally from Traders, 3 weeks ago) in butter. I threw in a handful of arugula and I let the gnocchi brown a bit to crisp the edges. (this happened by accident when I took my eyes off the pan for a moment. What a happy accident) WOW! WOW! I did not remove the sage leaves and they contributed a nice crispy element. WOW!

I also made another version of Marie Helene's Apple cake from Around my French Table. This is the second one I've baked in two days! The last one just disappeared, very mysteriously. This time I added the zest of half an orange, 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds, a full teaspoon of vanilla and a shot of turmeric. I reduced the butter to 2/3 of a stick and the sugar to 3/8 cup.


Cake with turmeric and Flax


Friday's cake without turmeric and flax

Is the "plain version" is a lot more attractive? Maybe, but yellowed cake still tastes wonderful. I'm toppping my pieceof this slightly jaundiced-looking cake with a dollop of nonfat Oikos plain yogurt and having a cup of jasmine green tea spiked with a small piece of candied bergamot peel.

Leek and Potato Soup

2010-12-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

This leek and potato soup. for French Fridays with Dorie,was quick and easy to prepare. My husband loved it. I chose to use my immersion blender to achieve a silky smooth creamy consistency. The soup tasted as good as one with loads of added cream but this recipe called only for milk. I was surprised that the vegetables boiled in the milk. I thought the milk might "break" and become separated and ugly, but Dorie knew what she was doing. I thought the picture was a bit bland at first so I added a dried celery leaf for color. The remaining soup was gobbled up as part of my husband's lunch. Another winner!

Soup Prep

Milk and veggies happily cooking together

Wednesday dinner--Soup and Cake

2010-12-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am planning on making a soup with the Jerusalem artichokes I received in my produce box. Here is the recipe . I will be adding a few sautéed chantrelles to top the soup, as they were too beautiful to pass up at Saturday's farmers market. I will also be baking Dorrie's Marie-Helene's Apple cake with wonderful Tennessee Jack apples. I may also prepare sautéed collard greens with Boccalone's lardons or guanciale. Taking freezer inventory is like treasure hunting (that's where I found the guanciale) I am also drooling over my library's copy of The Essential New York Times Cookbook.. I will probably put it back in my cart at Amazon, I may even check out today too.

Quick, Early, Update on Dorie's Go to Beef Daube

2010-12-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

As I am the type of person who likes to procrastinate or so far ahead of time that I feel stress-free. Today I am making the Beef Daube for French Fridays with Dorie today. The weather is perfect making a stew, having the oven on steaming up the kitchen is such a comfort. I do not use alcohol in cooking so I combed the internet to find a replacement for the red wine in this recipe. One source said a daube's not a daube without wine, but I used pork broth (leftover from boiling my baby backs), mixed with 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar and 4 roasted tomato halves. The sauce has the look of red wine and smells amazing. My husband will be the final judge. I prepared Dorie's Celery root purée as a side dish, and I will make an escarole salad with a homemade ceasar dressing. See you Friday with the ratings.

Veg Prep

The sauté

Celery Root Purée

BBQ Pork Spareribs San Francisco Style

2010-12-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for some visitors from France. I love French food, but I did not want to compete with what they eat back home. Therefore, I decided to cook a completely American meal, but one that I could enjoy. My BBQ baby back ribs are succulent, fall-off-the-bone delicious, and easy to make as well. I decided to buy pork from a non-factory farm, as I believe in putting my money where my mouth is concerning supporting unhealthy farming practices. One of the wonderful advantages of living in San Francisco is the widespread availability of sustainably produced food. I purchased 3lbs of Duroc baby backs. Three pounds of sustainably produced ribs cost me as much as three racks from Costco, but as I said.... money where mouth is. One of the issues I have had in the past with BBQ sauces has been my inability to find a sauce without HFCS. I went into Marina market and I was surprised and pleased to find no less than five brands of BBQ sauce with no HFCS. How wonderful! I have made my own sauce in the past,but that is an all-day-affair. I chose 1849 BBQ sauce and Bulls-Eye, mixed them and poured the mixture over my two hour boiled ribs. The result was succulent and lip-smacking good. It is my understanding that the French like to eat with knife and fork. My French friend picked up his ribs and lifted them to his lips. I guess he enjoyed his American meal.. I did have to fess up to my guests that I did not make the sauce myself. They were surprised to find an American who cooked at all, but I still felt a bit lacking. I served the ribs with homemade coleslaw and baked potatoes with full fat real sour cream. It has been a long time since I've had real sour cream in the house and I must say clover non-organic sour cream was delicious.
I have already made Dorie's potato leek soup and I will post about it later in the week. Suffice it to say it has all been eaten by now. It's surprising how a few simple ingredients can have such good flavor.
Renée

Spiced Butter Glazed Carrots

2010-12-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

Let me begin by saying that anything, I mean anything, glazed with butter tastes like heaven. This post is my first for French Fridays with Dorie, an online cooking group dedicated to preparing one recipe a week from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. The following was what I jotted down immediately following eating Spiced Butter Glazed Carrots, Wednesday night. Oh and, by the way, the carrots were so good I forgot to photograph them. I apologize. Next time I will hold back from inhaling the food as soon as it hits the table.

I just finished licking the pan from the glazed carrots! Yum. After consuming a double portion, my confirmed cooked-carrot-hating husband asked me to pack what was left of the carrots for his lunch. He loved them. I used leftover turkey broth and served the carrots with Japanese brown rice and turkey vindaloo. The glaze was shiny and unctuous from the Irish butter. Fabulous. This is going to be fun.
Renee

My new cooking plan: French Fridays with Dorie

2010-11-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

I've just joined the Fridays with Dorie cooking group. So I will give serious blogging another go. This (hopefully) will force me to cook on schedule and write about my results on schedule. My CSA box is on hiatus until March so it's off to the farmer's market for me rain or shine every Saturday. Today I made turkey vindaloo and Clothilde's carrot rosemary mini scones. But.... I forgot to add the rosemary...oops. How could they be bad though, with a quarter pound of irish butter, pecorino romano cheese and sweet organic carrots? After tasting the scones I have to say I love the taste and their smaller size is just right. An extra layer of texture is wonderfully contributed by the carrots.

Two Small Farms CSA forces me to blog

2010-07-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you why I love my Two Small Farms CSA share. I am supplied weekly with fresh, high quality organic vegetables and I never have to decide what to buy. You have probably heard all this before but I must join my voice to the many who never want to go back to picking out their own produce. Since the beginning of this season I have eaten more green things and tried vegetables I had never heard of such as agretti. I have had to get back into the habit of cooking creatively. I live under the pressure of the next weeks box coming to fill my already bursting refrigerator. This might sound like a bad thing, but I am so happy. Thank you Two Small Farms.

I will attempt to post my culinary adventures with my CSA share here as often as possible.

Tonight I made chard raviolis (from Rainbow, it's coupon month) with homemade pesto. I used the basil from my share and combined it with garlic, salt, pistachios, Parmesan, pumkin seeds, olive oil and a bit of walnut oil. I incorporated the dark green pumpkin seeds close to the end of the pounding of my mortar, so many were whole or just broken. This looked loved and added a nice crunch. I served this with roasted orange cauliflower from last weeks box and balsamic roasted onions.

A Tasty, Fast and Nourishing Breakfast Idea

2008-05-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Chico summers bring temps in the 100's. Global warming has changed all that. Now we have spring weather in the 100 degree range. I've come up with a refreshing breakfast for hot, busy days. It provides protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants and will keep me satisfied until lunchtime. The recipe contains raw oats, a great source for soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as, beta-glucan for blood sugar control. Read more about oat's benefits here. Eating enough protein is reputed to help with weight loss by creating a sustained sense of fullness. Cottage cheese is an easy, meatless way to up protein intake. I enjoy eating Nancy's organic cultured cottage cheese. The texture is creamy, but firm. My recipe's optional, furikake, is for the seaweed lovers out there. It's a Japanese rice topping I use on many foods to add a burst of flavor along with seaweed's many valuable nutrients. Many brands have sugar and msg. The Urashima brand is sugar and msg free. Most health food stores carry it. Try this surprisingly quick, tasty and satisfying recipe. And stay cool.

Complex Cottage Cheese
1/2 c cottage cheese (see note above)
1/4 c rolled oats
1-2 T ground flax seeds
1T pepitas or sunflower seeds
2T diced dried apricots
1/2 c frozen wild blueberries
a few shakes of toasted sesame & nori Furikake (optional)

Mix all ingredients except furikake. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and the moisture in the cheese and blueberries will soften the oats. Sprinkle with furikake if desired.
Accompany with a cooled cup of jasmine green tea.

Heidi's Grain'ola

2008-05-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

I began last Saturday in my favorite way. After my morning coffee I headed off to the Chico Farmer's Market. I stopped by a plant stall where I picked up basil, melon and three varieties of hot peppers. I purchased 3 bunches of beets which I will roast and combine with walnut oil and feta cheese. The beet greens will go into my morning smoothies along with a banana, frozen acai puree, 1/4 cup oats, 1 cup of keifer and 1& 1/2 cups of water. I bought a dozen fresh eggs, a 10 lb bag of navel oranges (the last of the season), cabbage, chard. I was glad to see butter lettuce back from it's winter hiatus. Farmer's market butter lettuce is the type that's too delicate to ship. Its creaminess is complemented by a tangy blue cheese dressing and offset by sweet pear slices and candied walnuts or pecans.
When I got home I made a variation of Heidi Swanson's Grain-ola from her Super Natural Cooking. I love this recipe because it's fast to put together and has very little fat. This orange flavored granola is refreshing and satisfying. I added sesame seeds, pepitas and ground flax. For dried fruit I chose marionberries, papaya and goji berries, which I mixed in after baking the granola.
After ballet class I picked up my soil amendments and a few more vegetable starts. I'm picturing a row of shiny purple Japanese eggplants in among my sage and white alyssum. The melons will cascade down the hill, beside the stone steps leading to our lake. Garden dreams are beautiful.

San Francisco and Frozen Yogurt

2008-05-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine who lives in SF took me to her favorite "froyo" spot. I had to be forced to go in the place, as I'm not a fan of froyo. She dropped me off at the door of Jubili, in Hayes Valley with instructions to get her a "my original". I walked into Jubili with a confused look on my face and placed her order. It turns out 'my' is the size and 'original' is the flavor, a plain, tart yogurt. While I was waiting for her yogurt I spied some colorful and healthy looking toppings in the case. Previous to this occasion the only way I'd eat frozen yogurt was topped with plenty of chocolate caramel cups or any other chocolaty distraction from the yogurt taste. What really intrigued me at Jubili were the white chunks of mochi offered along with kiwi, mango, pineapple and other brightly colored fresh fruits. I ordered a peach mi (small) yogurt topped with mochi, pineapple and mango. Despite my original misgivings the yogurt was delicious! I found myself wanting to go back the next day. I had previously read Amy's post about tuttimelon in the Marina, and I was staying in the Marina so I decided to compare. Before I headed off to tuttimelon I checked out yelp and chow to see what people were saying about these two places. It turns out my choice of mango and mochi is one of the most popular combinations. Go figure. One suggestion I found on yelp was to add gasp! Captain Crunch cereal to said combination. Yes, the Captain Crunch that my mother refused to let me eat because it had BHT, yes, the Captain Crunch which has no part in a healthy diet. I threw caution to the wind and tried the green tea yogurt with mango, mochi and Captain Crunch at tuttimelon on Chestnut st. Oh my word!!!! The Captain Crunch added just the right amount of salty crunchy texture to the mix. It's the best.

My restaurant choices on this trip were limited by budgetary constraints. Of course, we ate at Yuzu's (a treat from my brother-in-law),where we had the fusion roll, (my favorite), great sashimi and a few other rolls which weren't tasty enough for me to remember this time. We also dined at Pasta Pomodoro (not fancy but very tasty and priced right) our faves are the cappelini pomodoro, the pumpkin ravioli with sage butter, fried sage leaves and amaretti. We also shared a verdure which has brussel sprouts and other veggies in olive oil and garlic. Isa was our one splurge and all the food was impecable. I love the Spicy Tuna Tartare and the scallops. We order them every time. Their creme brulee is the best I've had anywhere. We dined on Greens take-out which was nothing to write home about, although we ate on a bench facing the water. The setting was gorgeous. Of course after eating I had to peruse the Fort Mason Center Book Bay bookstore, which supports the Friends of the Library. It was my second visit in two days and I did not leave empty handed.We never made it to Golden Gate Park or do the Dipsea trail this time around. We'll be back in July and I hope to do that beautiful hike from Mill Valley to Stinsen Beach then. I'm in training for it now.

Two nights ago I made this very simple recipe of stuffed zucchini, made with feta, shitakes, organic ketchup and bread crumbs. It was delicious. I used ketchup because I didn't want to open a can of tomato sauce and not use it all up.

2 zucchini sliced lengthwise
4 fresh shitakes diced
3 tablespoons organic ketchup
1/2 cup water or broth
1/2 crumbled feta
1/2 cup bread crumbs
olive oil
Scoop out insides of zucchini with a melon baller, being careful not to make a hole in the bottom.
Place the scooped out zucchini in a saute pan with olive oil, water or broth, ketchup and shitakes.
Saute until zucchini flesh is tender.
Mash zucchini down with a fork or potato masher, add bread crumbs and feta.
Fill hollowed out zucchinis with the mixture.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

Asparagus, Sugar Snap and Chicken Yellow Curry with Mushrooms

2008-04-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

I made a wonderfully tasty and easy curry dish last night. Last week I was dragged to costco by my daughter. So while I was killing time there I stumbled upon a large plastic container labeled Gourmet Mushroom Blend. This looked intriguing because the label shows morels, porcini, shitakes, oysters as well as the expected portabellas and shitakes. There are various health claims and a "ready in minutes" blurb to further entice me. I plunked down my $15.99 and started thinking of ways to use these yummy-looking mushrooms. I bought organic asparagus and a big bag of sugar peas at the Chico farmer's market a few days ago. I rinsed the mushrooms in hot water, as directed and put them to soak in hot water for about 5 minutes. As they soaked, I put 5 chicken thighs on a grill pan in the oven at 400° for 20 minutes. While they cooked I sautéed a sliced onion, 1"sliced sugar snap peas and the soaked and drained( reserving the liquid) mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes. I then added 1" slices of asparagus, some soaking liquid, the cooked chicken , which I had diced and a bottle of Trader Joe's Yellow Curry sauce. I left this on a medium heat for 5 minutes. I served this with brown jasmine rice. My husband loved it. It had just the right amount of spice and crunch. Simply delicious .
I will be heading to San Francisco tomorrow. Look for reports on my eating and book buying adventures from the city during the next week.

Click Photo Entry

2008-03-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here's my Metal click entry.

Beautiful weather and finishing a painting for a friend who's leaving town prevent me from writing much now. I'll be snacking on Lindt intense pear dark chocolate while I work. If you try some you'll be hooked too.
While I paint, red, yellow and chioggia beets will be roasting in my oven to be combined with Hare Hollow organic olive oil, feta cheese and some crunchy, tasty, nutrient adding, Alea Sea Salt.

Renée

Back to Chico from SF

2008-03-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

I have much to report on from my culinary journeys this past two weeks. Restaurant choices included Yuzu, Slanted Door, Pacific Catch, Tartine, Bi-Rite Ice Cream, Isa, Betel Nut, Dragon Well, Petit Robert.

I replenished my supply of Supreme Jasmin Pearls from Aroma Tea Shop on 6th & Clement after I spent an hour or more in Green Apple books. I found two books on Chinese Brush painting to inspire my artistic endeavors. I can't wait to start painting. Of course I found my supplies at Ichiban Kan in Japantown. I got brushes, ink stone and ink bar along with calligraphy paper.

I was privileged to see two performances of the Sf Ballet. I have no words that can describe the intensity of the experience. I will say that orchestra seats ARE worth the price. Treat yourself and try it one time, you'll be hooked. My favorite piece was the pas de deux from After the Rain. The music was as moving as the choreography.

Our weather was typical SF, windy, clear and beautiful. We walked until our legs ached at night. On our last day I saw the fog over the bay from high atop Filmore street and didn't want to go home.

Our best meal was at Yuzu. The star of the show were the tempura lobster tails. Oh my! What an experience. There little explosions of flavor with each bite, succulent and with a seafood flavor only lobster can deliver. The fusion roll is a personal favorite and the sashimi was very flavorful and fresh. I'm pleased to say they are now offering an oolong tea in addition to the genmaicha. Dessert followed at Tartine in the Mission. I shared the last piece of lemon meringue cake three ways, I wanted more. I went back the day we left and got a piece to eat on the way home.

I'm adjusting back to a slower pace here in Chico, and I plan to eat mostly fruits and vegetables for a few days. Included in my cleansing diet will be the three pomelos that I carried around the Farmer's market and back to the Marina, along with the dinosaur kale and dandelion greens I found at Marin Sun Farms booth. I will probably candy the pomelo peels too. I found a recipe at Figs with Bri to try.

I'm enjoying the wisteria show here and dreaming of what this springtime will show me. When seasonal activities permit, I will continue to post reviews of my eating choices on this trip.

Renée

My First Post and Green Smoothies

2008-03-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hello blogging world!

I've spent so much time reading my favorite blogs, that I've decided to actively join the community. I will share my love of cooking, books, San Francisco, traveling, health and how they work together for me. I hope I can be an inspiration to others in the same way Amy Sherman, Heidi Swanson, Pim, Clotilde Dusoulier, Tea, Denise and many others have been to me. Every morning I look forward to seeing what's been cooked for dinner last night, what going to be made tonight and what's in the planning stage. My fellow food loving bloggers inspire my cooking creativity. I cook because of them. This community is a living breathing entity unlike the food related magazines I used to spend so much time reading. These journals have their place too, but somehow I feel connected to the lives and kitchens of food bloggers. I hope I will be welcomed into the fold.

I have a few friends who are raw foodists, they've been trying to win me over with their tales of weight loss and high energy. So far I've resisted. Green smoothies have been a way I can conveniently add more raw vegetables into my diet without making a life commitment. My inspiration came from the book Green for Life. My local (Chico) farmer's market supplies me with a wide variety of greens. Late winter is the season for dinosaur kale, spinach, red russian kale, beet greens, chard, bok choy, endive, radicchio to mention a few. I pop these into my, non-vitamix blender, along with 2 cups water and chunks of whatever fruit I have in my kitchen. I've used kiwi, pineapple, banana or apples. I add a bit of frozen acai pulp for some omega-3's, blend and that's my breakfast. My husband has developed a fondness for the green smoothies in place of a large dinner. The green drinks have calmed his cravings for sweets in the evening. He's very pleased. I have found myself searching my cheese drawer less frequently too. I sleep better at night knowing I've eaten my veggies along with their enzymes. I have, however, not turned into supergirl yet.

Recipe

1 handful of raw washed greens
such as dinosaur kale, spinach, red russian kale,
beets greens, chard, bok choy, endive, radicchio.

1 cup chunked fresh pineapple, apple, kiwi,
banana or whatever is in season.

1/2 bar of frozen acai

Add 2 cups of water to blender along with greens, blend until smooth.
Add fruit and acai. Blend again.

Enjoy!

Serves 1 or 2

Renée