tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81412942008-10-10T10:20:37.584-07:00MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-73092340195101760772008-08-26T19:29:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.045-07:00

Wildlife interlude. So after settling in to our cottage at Fern Grove Cottages in Guerneville, (definitely "quaint," meaning "small" but quite nice), we realized we had a bit of time before dinner, so we took a leisurely drive out towards Jenner and crossed over to Goat Rock Beach in hopes of spotting some seals. Unfortunately, although there are signs advising us not to harass the seals, and

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-20712829895431276822008-08-26T19:28:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.046-07:00

We had a few wineries on the list and we hit our first one on the way up Highway 116 to Guerneville. On the search for Chardonnays of redeeming crispness, my Omnivore turned up the name of Dutton. No, no, we were told, that's the Dutton Estates up the road. Same family, different kids. But while we were there, why not sample...? Why not indeed? Balletto, the winery that shares the tasting

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-74941470674051920162008-08-26T19:24:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.047-07:00

Oh. Oh. OHHH. One of our favorite cheeses. The Matos Family's St. Jorge or St. George cheese. It's a pungent, cheddary Portuguese style cheese that hint back at the Azores, where the Matos family grew up. We've been fans of this local cheese for a long time, so it was one of our most anticipated stops of the whole trip. If we played it right, I theorized, we'd have cheese for the rest of

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-61977759871366895252008-08-26T19:21:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.048-07:00

What a hilarious place. I don't know what I expected when we drove off the beaten path to head for Penngrove and Bud's Custom Meats. It was a little like driving around Tuscany when we discovered that the roads marked in white on the Italian Touring Club maps are basically dirt roads. "Turn right here," I say, torquing around my map and peering intently at the crisscross of rail lines with-- I

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-13614417285468924882008-08-26T19:18:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.049-07:00

Vacation! Really? Honest? Yay! We kicked off our trip up to the gorgeous Russian River with a quick pass by a place I found online a few weeks ago after paroxysms of frustration unleashed by the great Petits Fours Debacle. The Petaluma-based Divine Delights makes Petits Fours... and they'll ship them to you. But are they any good? Their Petit Four Outlet is apparently "Now Open" and easily

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-71911814339954581472008-08-22T11:03:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:04:19.051-07:00

Sonoma Vacation places we visited and stuff we did! And we're off! My Omnivore headed out last weekend (to beat the Labor Day crush) in search of a bout of much-needed R & R along with foraging for wine and food. And wine. And food. We visited so many places that if I put them all in one post it would be probably be as many miles long as we drove last weekend, so I've parsed our itinerary

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-53388927123173057542008-08-21T21:30:00.001-07:002008-08-22T00:08:54.151-07:00

Okay, so yeah, we're spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, but this was in fact a super-easy dinner to make, and it was FANTASTIC. We picked up a half a dozen scallops from Swan's, salt and pepper, smoked them in the stovetop smoker with a tablespoon of mixed maple and oak chips for 15 minutes, and then seared them for a couple of minutes on each side to finish. For a lovely effect, serve them with

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-36705414812673636892008-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:002008-08-11T22:01:36.355-07:00

A yummy time was had by all at Cav, the Market street wine bar and restaurant that sits next to Zuni Cafe. In fact, it's so close that for many years, I'm sorry to say, I've sailed past it on my usual mission to get a margarita and shoestring fries at Zuni's copper bar. You have to respect a place though, that can thrive right next to one of San Francisco's most beloved eateries. My Omnivore and

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-16006529692692503212008-08-07T19:08:00.000-07:002008-08-07T19:58:02.056-07:00

Apparently, I am destined never to make petits fours. It is written in the stars. Back at college-- an old-school, East Coast, Seven Sisters type of place-- we used to have elegant teas. Yes, tea, as in teatime. Don't knock it till you've tried it! And at certain special teas and garden parties, we would get these delectable, adorable, addictive little cakes, not unlike the ones you see here

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-84546171939534457302008-07-29T10:00:00.000-07:002008-07-29T10:55:08.762-07:00

I've got a problem. I suffer from CBE--Compost Bin Envy. Let me explain. We've been dutifully, diligently, doggedly separating out of compostables for almost a month now, and let me tell you, it's taking an effort to dispose of our little biobags responsibly. For a while we took them to Whole Foods, but the dock where the compost bins sit is often closed and locked. We've made note of where

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-63026969331327579562008-07-26T15:30:00.000-07:002008-07-26T15:40:43.927-07:00

I tend to avoid using my Osterizer blender, which I've had since graduating from college. It's old, it's hard to clean, and there is just no counter space for such a thing, so it lives in the far reaches of a high cabinet. In fact, I almost got rid of the behemoth when my Omnivore bought me my fab Braun stick blender, which mounts quietly on the wall and is simplicity itself to clean and use.

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-46339190012924966822008-07-06T15:17:00.000-07:002008-07-06T15:33:42.231-07:00

Moving around New York. An uncharacteristically empty avenue. One of my favorite open secrets in New York, the view from Roosevelt Island is, in my opinion, one of the best in the city. And the aerial tram ride over is still fun, after all these years. Admittedly, New York can, however, be less than helpful for the tourist.

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-48708348164029455952008-07-06T14:21:00.000-07:002008-07-06T15:32:07.316-07:00

So after the initial panic had subsided and I realized that the doctors at New York-Presbyterian probably knew what they were about (they were after all rated as the 6th best hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, and Dad's doctor is apparently a bona fide superstar in the thoracic surgery realm), I calmed down a little. The nursing staff gently pried me away from the bedside as

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-17400681360529981442008-07-05T13:03:00.000-07:002008-07-06T15:43:42.231-07:00

So I'm back in the Bay Area after a busy week in New York. Although I'd planned it as a vacation trip, for my Dad's birthday, it turned into a bit more of an emergency trip when Dad had to go in for surgery. I spent most of the day in the hospital, but when they kicked me out after visiting hours ended, I just didn't feel like moping around the apartment. Whatever else you may say about New

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-9511059982570666192008-06-23T13:16:00.000-07:002008-06-23T15:27:57.174-07:00

As an inveterate apartment dweller for all of my life, the idea of a compost heap sounds as magical as a tomato garden, as wondrous as home-cured salumi and as elusive as the wild mushroom of immortality. Okay, so I'm getting carried away. Composting is probably easier than finding lingzhis, but never having lived in a house with a compost capability, it has always sounded thoroughly exotic

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-86456485876848758922008-06-22T11:27:00.000-07:002008-06-22T16:30:06.191-07:00

It really was hot here. Here. I mean in San Francisco. No, really, stop laughing at me... It's not funny. I got an actual real-honest-to-goodness sunburn. 'Course it's not hot right now. Overnight it dropped forty degrees and the fog rolled in. Now I'm wearing the socks and a woolly sweater that would have seemed unthinkable yesterday. Welcome to Summer Solstice in San Francisco. But I do

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-2992316184164874672008-06-16T20:12:00.001-07:002008-06-22T16:29:26.763-07:00

Martha Stewart. She does know her food, I'll say that. She must have meticulous recipe testers too, because if you follow her instructions carefully, you get results, believe me, you get results. Flush with my recent successes in Bread-Land, I decided to try a more flavorful Multigrain Boule, which Martha had in a recent issue of Living. Results blew the top off, so to speak... I used the

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-44660733654262450522008-06-11T00:38:00.000-07:002008-06-16T20:40:14.851-07:00

They're having pasta strikes in Italy, tortilla riots in Mexico -- in case you haven't noticed the world's cupboards are starting to look bare... Here at home, my eyebrows go continually higher every time I buy a loaf of bread. How can it be $3... no, $4.... wait, $5 a loaf? They should just put a digital plaque instead of a sticker on each of the packages. Then the price can change as fluidly

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-78908497758172349192008-05-19T19:37:00.000-07:002008-06-16T20:40:14.852-07:00

So the Pajama Queen is forced, this summer, to spend three months slaving away in Rome. Yes, Rome. It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it. The only question is, why couldn't that someone be me? But seriously, folks. She has an apartment and the all important kitchen, so we thought it only fitting to make a meal that uses all the things she might find there, knowing that in a vacation

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-20708026368278653482008-05-18T22:14:00.001-07:002008-05-18T22:55:16.095-07:00

Recognize this? Yep, it's a Camembert. We live a deprived existence here in the States. Having tasted the forbidden fruit of raw milk cheese in France, we are forever doomed to drown in a sea of bad camembert-like substances back home. But my Omnivore spotted this little round at the Potrero Hill Whole Foods and snatched it up. It is, after all, affined by Herve Mons and it is, in fact, the

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-20297403435361767972008-05-06T19:22:00.000-07:002008-05-06T19:43:57.393-07:00

She's the Devil, that Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove. Making those tempting little goat cheeses that ooze their way into our hearts-- that flirt with a dry witty heart, whilst offering a fulsome, silky soft tease over the tongue. My Omnivore recently brought home a goodly-sized chunk of her Bermuda Triangle, a tangy example of the soft-ripened goat cheeses that Cypress Grove does so well. It's

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-41053620562477847782008-04-28T12:30:00.000-07:002008-06-16T20:40:14.852-07:00

Couch potato day. It's gorgeous outside, but I'm feeling under the weather again, so since I've done my portion of work for the day, I'm giving myself a break and sitting on a couch watching "America's Next Top Model" and eating "America's Ugliest, Fattiest Croissants." Not that I normally watch this show, I must hasten to add. I'm just curious after hearing so much talk about the Latina model

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-18999402454665014352008-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:002008-04-25T14:45:30.599-07:00

So the other day I went to check on those cute pigeons? When I opened the door to the stairwell... There was only a tiny wing left. The trials of life. Sigh.

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-60919807877897121572008-04-15T23:25:00.000-07:002008-04-15T23:52:58.718-07:00

So outside of the door to the fire escape at the studio where I take class, we have a pigeon who's daringly established her nest in an old disused plant bucket. I'm utterly fascinated by the look of the little hatchlings because in all my life, I've never seen a baby pigeon before. In fact I remember that once, when I used to work at the Exploratorium, someone asked why one never sees little

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8141294.post-43324727341620918102008-04-14T17:11:00.001-07:002008-04-14T20:20:06.381-07:00

There's something about those extravagant pink blossoms bursting out in springtime that makes me incredibly happy. It was quite unseasonably spring-like and warm for the weekend here in SF (fear not, things were back to the normal 40s as the fog swept in Sunday night), and for once, there were actual cherry blossoms out simultaneously with the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. So on Sunday

MEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00996661220808218136noreply@blogger.com