Wakame Salad for the weary traveler
2007-02-28 18:02:00
Trust in the Food blogging note book. This is one of my cardinal rules as a writer. I always have a camera and I always have a notebook. When one is without the other, I am still able to function, remember and write about an experience. After the S.F. wine competition Melissa, Farley and I hiked a few blocks to Union street where we found a charming,and quiet hole in the wall sushi joint, called ??. I checked my notebook, nothing. I checked Yelp.com, nothing. We paid in cash, so there was no receipt and no record of what the restaurant was called. Ug. At least I have pictures...
The above was the Wakame
salad I ordered. A recent discovery of mine and a welcome change from miso soup as an appetizer.
Serves 2 people
1 Cucumber
1/4 lb. wakame seaweed ( Any Asian market, especially a Japanese market will have this. Or try on line at Asian Food Grocer.
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Soak wakame seaweed in water until soften. Cut cucumber i
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Happy 145th post!
2007-02-27 22:37:33
I never celebrated my 100th post, or my 1 year anniversary of this blog, but this blog wouldn't be much with out the friends and readers I have met over the past year. So in celebration, I am calling to you. You're reading this right? OK, so its time to de-lurk. I'm having a drawing for my readers and the random lucky duck will be sent a Santa Cruz Mountains care package from The Boy & me. You in? So where are you? Do you have a blog? What are your top 5 desert island food and wine picks?
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S.F wine Competition part 2
2007-02-27 18:03:00
Saturday was the S.F. Chronicle Wine Competition at Fort Mason. There were three of us girls, and I'm pleased we managed to survive the experience unscathed. It was awkward trying to figure out how to be prepared for this massive event. You want a list of the wineries you'd like to taste while your palate is still functioning, you want to take pictures, write notes and carry your spit cup around. Its all too much and some things go by the way side. Over all the competition was a vast majority of excellent wines. Not a one left me shuddering, but that isn't to say that I wasn't underwhelmed by a few double gold winners. To each his own right?
VIE winery is newly bonded, and specializes in Rhone varietals as well as Zinfandel. I especially enjoyed their 2005 Granache Blend from Santa Barbara County.
Sol Rouge is a similarly focused winery, with amazing white Rhone blends. Try their 2005 Viognier from the Russian River Valley, the nose is intoxicating; honeysuckle and apricot. T
Open That Bottle Night
2007-02-26 18:43:27
We joined Farley of The Wine Outlook in Open That Bottle Night
. Saturday after a full day of tasting (and spiting) at the S.F. Chronicle wine competition, we were invited to Farley's house with intentions to share our best bottles. The Boy offered up his end all, be all wine. A 2000 Brochelle Zinfandel from Paso Robles. Raspberry notes, bright tart flavors, with tannic , velvet finish. This was one that we should have let decant a bit to mellow out the acidity, but still, amazingly yummy.
What I love about OTBN is the excuse to gather good friends around to crack open a bottle that you've been hanging on to, for perhaps a little too long. Make no mistake, this is a gamble, often times you open a bottle you've stored for 6 years and its past it peak and terribly flat tasting. Other times, in the case of Bryon, who brought a Keller Estate 2002 Pinot Noir, the bottle was corked! In Farley's case, we were fortunate enough that her 1984 Thomas Fogarty Cab was still in fine shape. Smo
Humboldt Fog
2007-02-26 03:59:41
Becca and Ahren came to tea on Friday afternoon. Both skipped lunch so a more substantial snack was offered, instead of the usual scones and cookies. Bec help me pick a few cheeses but the one that was most pleasing was Humboldt Fog; in the photo above it is the cheese with the gray streak down the center. That gray streak is actually vegetable ash that separates two layers of ripen goats milk cheese. The cheese ripens form the outside, giving you a very pungent and runny cheese on the outside and a crumby tart cheese in the center. Good with tea, but better with a Chardonnay or White Rhone blend.
Space Ho's 4 ever
2007-02-24 00:57:51
Bec is visiting and will show up at my office any minute now. I can't wait!! I get to feed her my infamous Yellow Chicken and try out a new Jamie Oliver recipe tonight. My mom just emailed and says she is going to a Belly Dance Party tonight... @_@
Space
Ho's refers to the tag team kung fu video game we used to play, and more battles we won the more points we racked up which you could use to unlock secret hidden outfits for your characters... And oh my, the outfits looked like slutty space cadets. Ick.
99 Ranch
2007-02-23 18:57:44
99 Ranch
, in Cupertino, is an Asian mega super store. Bryon has one right near his house in Pacifica and he has given The Boy and I pantry envy. My best friend, Bec, emailed from Eugene, Oregon and wished me well before our drive.
To: Sara
From: Becca
2/22/07 4:32pm
Oooh, you're going to the authentic Asian market, sweet. You probably have to force your way forward in line to get meat from the butcher, huh? Mom says that she would go into this one Asian market up near San Francisco and she'd just watch the way all these Asian mommas would shove and push to get everywhere first and just be amazed by all the energy that went into it. It's apparently characteristic of Chinese culture, for one thing. They don't do the "stand in line thing" traditionally. I wonder if they could make a Celebrity Deathmatch along those lines. Hee hee.
We drove through heavy rain to 99 Ranch, arriving by 6pm and found rock star parking in the front o
Mon Dieu! Cafe du Monde!
2007-02-21 18:25:53
Cafe Du Monde is a famous cafe in New Orleans that opened in 1862. Locatd in the French Market, locals and tourist alike could depend on the cafe being open 24 hours a day and only closing on Christmas. Over the years 6 other locations opened up and began serving the Cafe du Monde specialty of the house, Cafe Au lait with Chicory coffee. Despite Hurricane Katrina hitting, the main location on Decatur street in New Orleans is the only location still serving up its legendary java.
We can thank the French for bringing chicory to our coffee. During the Civil war, French Soldiers would add body and flavor to their coffee with roasted and ground chicory root. Coffee rations were short, so the soldiers adapted this custom from the Acadians of Nova Scotia, who brought this idea to Louisiana. Chicory is actually a part of the endive/lettuce family, and when you roast and grind the root of the plant it softens the bitterness in most roasted coffee. (The Boy is convinced it makes the coffee tas
2007 S.F. Chronicle Wine Competition
2007-02-20 22:04:08
Happy Fat Tuesday! I made Cajun Tomato soup and planned to post about it, but when I inserted my memory card into my card reader- all I got a was a folder of motor parts. The Boy had borrowed my camera to photograph his disassembly of some mechanic thing and took a photo for each step he took, like .jpg's instead of bread crumbs. Hurrumph. So the above image will need to satisfy you till I can find my other memory card with my soup on it.
Farley and I are going to the S.F. Wine Competition this Saturday. I'm looking forward to tasting Vignoier from Zaca Mesa Winery and Vineyards who won a double gold for their 2005 Santa Ynez Valley Estate bottling, and Bray Vineyards 2004 Barbera from the Shenandoah Valley, and Double Gold winner Zig Zag Zin, 2004 of Mendocino County. Just to name a few!
Read more: Chronicle
Cauliflower Sisters
2007-02-20 03:24:14
Bryon and I were shopping for camp food on Saturday morning at the new Safeway in Carmel. He came across these 4 little darlings, no bigger then a childs fist. We invited these tiny beauties to tag along.
So let me introduce you, from left to right we have Orange Bouquet, aka Cheddar, who has 25 times more vitamin A then her sister to the left. Snow Grace is quite a beauty all the same and Romanesco is third from the left. Roamensco recenty starred as a puree in my consume cup with foi gras. It was Romanesco that made the foi gras edible. Last but not least is Purple Cauliflower
, so admittedly, her name is not so fantastic as her sisters, she's still got the most antioxidents and flavonoids of all the others. Hang out with her and she'll protect your body from horrid things like cancer and boost your immune system.
I'm thinking of chopping them up, coating them in extra Virgin olive oil, Cajun spice and roasting them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Read more: Sisters
Sofia's Blanc de Blanc
2007-03-02 18:00:51
The 31st Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted by Box Wines, with a theme of- you guessed it- non conventional wine packaging. (I'm on a bit of a Sofia
Coppola kick after watching her eye candy film, Marie Antoinette.)
In down town Palo Alto on University Avenue is a wine bar called Cafe Coppola, or newly re-named Rosso & Bianco. CrispySoft, Jeff and The Boy took me there one evening after sushi. We wedged ourselves into the crowd bar and perched at a table next to the Enomatic. Yeah, that's a vending machine. Flash your ID at the bartender and hand him a twenty to load up a Rosso & Bianco credit card. Slide the card in the slot and you, my friend, are on your way to a flight or a glass any wine you like.
"Custom handcrafted and direct from Italy, our Enomatic wine system enhances your wine tasting experience with innovative technology and sleek Italian design. This new technology allows you to experience a range of carefully selected super premium wines that are oft
Abalone Meuniere
2007-03-02 00:15:47
SFgate writer Olivia Wu has written a great story about Abalone
farming. Including the recipe David Kinch uses to prepare his Abalone, Meuniere Style at Manresa. The same dish I had only a month ago. After a ban 10 years ago from commercially harvesting Abalone off the coast of California, local farmers are beginning to grow their product and businesses. You can hunt for Abalone your self, if scuba diving, but strict rules, regulations apply to the season for doing so. I asked my brother to get me one 3 years ago and I'm still waiting. Instead, look for Abalone at your local seafood market or Asian Markets around holidays. Careful though- these guys are upwards of 20 dollars a pound.
Meuniere is a French term used for a method of cooking fish; prepared by lightly flouring the fish and frying it gently in butter and serving it with a small portion of butter, lemon juice and parsley.
Snow Patrol
2007-03-01 18:15:00
This morning, The Boy's Trooper decided that its fan belt (or did he say timing belt?) thingy was going to break. But, see thats just The Boy's luck. The Trooper chugs along until The Boy is near his favorite mechanic shop, conveniently located next to his favorite coffee shop. Where the owner, who loves us, hugs him, is happy to see him and feeds him Hot Cocoa and a dough-nut while he sits in at a cozy table and waits for me to rescue him. Blah.
20 minutes after his initial call, he is sliding into the Mini with dough-nut crumbs on his jacket and a small cup of my favorite coffee. As he buckles in, he explains that his car has been dropped of at the mechanics and that since he's late for work we will need to take the secret way to work. The "Break glass here, only pull in case of emergency", back way up the mountain. Arn't I glad I have a full cup of Hot Coffee to hold onto while I power up four miles of twisted unpaved road.
There are 3 ways to get to the wi
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, Snow Patrol
Doughnuts for Grandma
2007-03-03 21:41:04
Mimi's got a bit of a sweet tooth, and has been hinting that she'd been craving for a good doughnut lately. I happily can take that hint. Krispy Kreme is a bit out of my grandparents usual territory, and I couldn't imagine them navigating their 20 year old Audi through the drive through. Grandma
Mimi loves chocolate and apples, and Grandpa Larry loves maple... or was that The Boy who liked Maple...oh shoot it was. Well, I orded an old faashioned chocolate glazed that Mimi and Larry can arm wrestle for. A glazed raised Maple, an apple fritter filled and a whole wheat doughnut that a certain someone maybe have had a nibble of. It was for research! I say- if your gonna have a dough nut, have a dough nut. The glazed whole wheat is like having a piece of wheat toast with 3 table spoons of maple sugar poured over it. Where is the fun in that? Anyway, I wrote a love note and left the dough nuts on their doorstep since they were out grocery shopping.
Went out and about on this fine Spring
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Thomas Fogarty Pinot Gris
2007-03-04 19:32:36
Last night we started with the bottle first then built a meal around it! Thomas
Fogarty Winery has released a Pinot
Gris this year. We have been eagerly awaiting this since it was bottled this past harvest. We drove over to our favorite open air market and loaded up our basket with fresh ingredients. This 2006 screw cap wine has very crisp flavors, acidic, light pale yellow color; pear and melon across the palate. We paired it with a spicy shrimp jambalaya served in lettuce cups.
Cheese Girl
2007-03-05 18:13:33
Illustration by Marie Perron
Tomorrow is our third wine and cheese tasting over at Grandpa Jack's house. Eight of us will gather again for our once a month blind tasting. When Becca and Ahren were over for tea last week I served three cheeses, The Humboldt Fog, a marmalade cheddar and a St. Georges goat cheese. Becca and Ahren devoured this mild, delicate cheese and I have been toying with the idea of purchasing that as my contribution for tomorrow's tasting of Rhone Blends. I also had delusions of making cheese tarts, but when the tasting is at your own house and you are in charge of tidying, set up and clean up- I think I'll save myself some time by simply buying a cheese and not whipping up a side dish. You'll forgive me right? ST. GEORGE from British Columbia, is a semi-firm disk of mould-ripened goats milk cheese with a rich smooth flavor. Pairs well with:
-light fruity reds-chardonnay-Alsatian whites-Chenin blanc
I know my Rhone blends are not fruity, but rather f
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Hardy's Australian single serve wine
2007-03-06 18:38:20
Hardy
's Winery in South Australia has marketed two new single
serve
wines for Cirque de Soleil and theater goers. 187 ml per "shuttle", Hardy's Chardonnay and Shiraz have a twist off cap that turns into a glass. At roughly 4 dollars a shuttle, this acyclic bottle has a shelf life of 12 months, and is aimed toward picnic and large out door events. Think races, and other places where a glass container would not be allowed outdoors. Part of the key feature to this patented bottling method is that Hardy's literally poured thousands of dollars into the research for a cap that would not leak thus preventing oxidation. Though not available to US or Europe yet, you can be sure that the Constellation corporation who owns Hardy (as well as Mondavi in the U.S.), is going to jump at the opportunity to use their Shuttle technology towards these markets.
Read more: Australian
Auditioning Pork Fat
2007-03-07 20:16:51
16 days till Spain. As we fell asleep last night, The Boy murmured "Sun, Sand, Wine and Tapas." Hmm, 3 out of 4 isn't too bad. Having researched the three local wineries on Mallorca, I made reservations for tours. I am auditioning self tanner in preparation for island weather, I even bought new flip flops but it is only now that I am now reading my Tapas cookbooks.
These cocktail hour (8pm-10pm for Spaniards) appetizers are wickedly simple and devilishly fun. Whether a fried meat and vegetable croquette or simply marinated olives and a slice of manchego cheese, they can be a meal or a tease before the main attraction at 11pm that night.
For me, tapas are a fascination much like Dim Sum from a Chinese restaurant. Tiny little plates of lovely morsels you shouldn't have a great deal of. (Dim Sum by the way is Cantonese for "touch the heart" in an effort for one to order until their heart's content. *eyes fill with tears of joy*)
There are many reasons
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Blissful Blanc Blends
2007-03-08 20:26:38
Tuesday night was our Cote du Rhone Blanc Blends tasting at Grandpa Jack's house. Eight of us arrived to the house bearing our bottles, cheese and pens. I raced around the house to find socks, since we were out of the usual paper bags we use to cover the bottles. You would think that a house with as much traffic as Jacks, full of teenage mutant ninja cousins and their friends, that a girl could find her self some socks. A boy lives there, he wears socks, I've seen them. No socks. Not in the guest room, not in the laundry baskets, not in the dryer and god help me because I went in there while he wasn't home- not in his closet.
We ended up using my grandmother's old patterned socks, which dressed the table up with Chickens, Vegas dice and bees. We take this club quite seriously as you can see. The tasting produced two bad bottles out of 8. Which was actually a good thing for a few of the guests, giving them an opportunity to sniff, see and taste a corked bottle that had be
Better then Monkeys Lasagna
2007-03-09 18:39:23
Watched Amelie last night, I enjoyed her delight in the simple pleasures of life.
Tonight, Bryon (who loves mushroom almost as much as monkeys) and The Boy will filter the Sauvignon Blanc, and I always feel compelled to cook something hearty for them. Working outside in the cold, for long hours, after a long day at work, surely deserves a wonderful treat to look forward to for dinner.
Portobello Lasagna
by Ina Garten
Kosher salt Good olive oil 3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles 4 cups whole milk 12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms 1 cup freshly ground Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set as
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Life is Good
2007-03-11 02:58:56
Running around in Carmel this weekend. Shopping for vacation clothes, antiquing for linen hankies and enjoying the fine weather. More to report tomorrow, hope all is well with you out there!
Manchego Tarts
2007-03-12 17:39:08
The afternoon sun was brilliant yesterday. I went around the house snapping shots of home made baked goods, and stalks of my delphiniums in their black Gothic urns. Uploaded them to my computer and erased my memory card, uploaded the shots to flickr.com and CRASH. Nothing was left, the Mac rebooted, and all I had left were last weeks photos on the desktop.
*grumble* This weekend I spent time with my family discussing our travels plans, and antiquing through Old Salinas and bargain hunting in Carmel. After a late lunch of iced tea, roasted red peppers, fresh bread, Cesar salad and thin crust mushroom pizza on a roof top patio we decided to call it a day. We drove home with several vintage hankies, a new navy blue military jacket, a brown and white polka dot bikini, 2 skirts from Anthropologie, 4 tank tops, 2 t-shirts and a partridge in a pear tree.
Tonight we are going to a California Red Blend tasting. I'm letting The Boy choose the wine this time while I take car
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A Day for Tea
2007-03-14 17:17:43
I am not a collector. I delight in purging my closets of things I don't use. My best friend on the other hand, is 6 days older and completely opposite. And while I can not see the forest for the trees, Becca has this delightful habit of walking into a cluttered room and seeing the needle in the hay stack. On her last visit to California, she walked into my living room and pointed out a plate that I had displayed on a high shelf. A charming, hand painted little thing that was gifted to me from a very old friend. "Is that a Paragon?" She asked. A what? A who? I had no clue what she was talking about, and couldn't have cared, arms deep in bagged groceries. My brother lent his height to Becca's query, and having brought it down from its hiding place, he flipped it over. "Yup, its a Paragon." He confirmed, like he knew what she was talking about. Becca clucked with glee and examined the plate.
Paragon China originally began in 1897 as "Star China", co
Happy like Toast
2007-03-13 23:32:50
(photo from mypapercrane.com)
I was a little bit on my soap box today, I can tone it down. How about a happier post? Two nice things happened to me. During a sunny walk at lunch, somewhere between there and here, I dropped my credit card. Not so much dropped as I suspect my card liberated its self from the tiny, abnormally small, "suggestion of a pocket", in my khaki pants. While I sipped, sat and typed away in my dungeon office, free of known sunlight, a nice man ran in and presented it to me. "I believe you dropped this." And out the door he went!
Thank you nice man!
Earlier I got a nice email from a student in my Department, who was full of praise, kind words, and news of a baby. Best email I ever got. Who doesn't like babies and being thanked? *grin*
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, Toast
Diet Coke Girl, No More
2007-03-13 22:08:10
So apparently, sodas are bad for you. Something to do with icky chemicals. Furthering my self diagnosed, and completely invented, allergy to chemically made products, I am giving up Diet Coke
. Cold Turkey.
(It's horrible so far, especially now that its 75 degrees out and I want to stroll across campus on errands with a chilled beverage. My aunt may stop speaking to me, and I could quite possibly become unhinged from deprivation of my one true vice. OK, I have lots others, but you can't cure impatience with the cold turkey method.)
I'm trying to adopt the French Paradox method of eating. Only eat things that had a mother, grew from a seed, or man-made from products that I can pronounce. This has to be a better way of life. Processed foods have chemicals in them that help sustain shelf life. Chemically altered food, like cereals that have been puffed and baked into odd shapes, do not have real grains that are beneficial to your diet. Michael Pollan of the New York times wrote a
This time I really mean it.
2007-03-15 17:44:20
Nanny McPhee we need you!
Things have gone all pear shaped, upside down and sideways. Travel plans, family health problems... Situations going from bad to worse. Anyone have any good tips on where to stay in the country between Barcelona and Madrid, on the cheap?
Red Napa Blends
2007-03-16 18:41:29
Monday night we attended our Red Napa Blend tasting. Probably we should have opened these bottles up and decanted them for at least an hour before drinking. As usual we kept out bottles secret and covered, and created a new ranking system to determine the over all best and least favorite.
Here are our top 3 favorites!
Clayhouse Adobe Red, 2004 Paso Robles. 50% Zin, 32% Petite Syrah and 13% Syrah, $14.00 The nose was plums, and deep over ripe fruit with a bit of oak. The taste was hot, acidic and reminded me of a spicy pear chutney. A totally great value and would pair well with a Cesar salad with cubes of steak.
Aquinas Vineyard Napa Merlot. (yeah, not a blend, my brother goofed, but this was our TOP pick of the night.) Price? Get this, 10 bucks! Nose is blackberry, pebbles and almonds. The taste is herbal, fiery jam, leathery, complex, masculine. Like Humphrey Bogart in a glass.
Folie a' Duex, Menage a Trois, St. Helena, 50% Merlot and 50% Cab. Smell was spicy, hint
Pasta Party
2007-03-20 01:41:45
Saturday may have been retched, but it ended smoothly with fresh pasta on the patio with two good friends joining us for dinner. The Boy likes to make semolina pasta from scratch on days when he has the time to fuss and the knead to keep his mind off things. His pasta machine is the kind you crank your self and feed through the adjustable metal opening, you could even swap out the slicer for angel hair pasta or linguine.
Semolina Pasta
2 cups semolina flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Mix the two flours together and make a mound on top of a clean surface. Make a well in the center of the mound. In a large bowl, beat the
eggs and mix in the olive oil, salt and one cup cold water. Pour this into the flour well. With a fork, mix the flours and liquids
together and then with your hands, knead until you have a ball of dough. Add up to another
½ cup of water to h
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The Art of Vacationing Well
2007-03-21 20:21:38
Read more: Vacationing
Comfort Foods that begin with C
2007-03-20 16:22:17
Calamari Steaks with Panko, capers and lemon. A cool glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay from Washington State, a boiled Artichoke with chive dipping sauce and a stormy Monday is smoothed away.
Pacific Ocean Calamari Steaks are cut and prepared in Chile from Giant Squid or cuttlefish. These steaks have been tenderized, using a rotating wheel with spikes; the meat if perforated to ensure that it will lay flat when cooking, and not curl. Tenderizing the steaks make them flavorful, tender, and consistent in both size and taste. Typically, they’re sold in 1 lb. units, consisting of 4 individually wrapped pieces, 3 to 4 ounces each.
I dipped mine in egg, then dusted them with Japanese Panko bread crumbs which were seasoned with garlic gray salt and a generous helping of crushed white pepper. The steaks were sauteed in butter and olive oil for 5 minutes on a side on medium heat. That was probably a bit too much... The Boy's were thicker and a perfectly tender texture,
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