Archive: Aug 2009

Strawberry jam to ease a heat wave

Strawberry jam to ease a heat wave

On my ferry ride into the city Friday night, one of the drivers came on the loudspeaker announcing, “No we do not have air conditioning. No, the city isn’t any cooler. Have a lovely evening.” Yikes. Well, to his credit, we were all a bit grouchy. This…

Read More
Pesto, Built on a Lie

Pesto, Built on a Lie

In the Bay Area, we often have an Indian summer. It descends each year around this time. And each year, I always wonder why it’s heating up as we ease into September. Just when all the fall clothes pop up in store windows, when the…

Read More
Subtle Satisfaction in Ferry Building’s Mijita

Subtle Satisfaction in Ferry Building’s Mijita

The Ferry Building is one of those unique places in San Francisco that locals and tourists happily share. Residents run in for a loaf of bread at Acme or some oysters from Hog Island while tourists scoop up Scharffen Berger bars and snap photos…

Read More
Tokens to Remember

Tokens to Remember

When I worked at Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, CO–a lovely little paper store on West Pearl St.–the owner, Diana Phillips, used to have a bowl of matchbooks on her desk. When I’d sit talking to her about the shop or how business was going, I’d…

Read More
Childhood Ice Cream

Childhood Ice Cream

We all have memories of foods that remind us of Summer. For me, it’s Log Cabin ice cream. My family has been coming to the same little funky cabin in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe for almost thirty years–beginning soon after I was born. When we lived in…

Read More
New (Early) Fall Traditions

New (Early) Fall Traditions

The Sebastopol Gravenstein Fair was this past weekend. I had a few food adventures planned in the city, but Craig, Linnea, and I decided a little jaunt up North might be fun. It’s been strangely cool in the mornings and evenings here; the light is…

Read More
Tuesday Afternoon: Lunch at Home

Tuesday Afternoon: Lunch at Home

[do not print] Everyone is off and running today. Except for me. Things are pretty mellow here. Not many emails or leads on freelance work–the kind of day where you hear the mailman drive up and head out immediately to see if there’s anything of serious import…

Read More
Beets, Blog Headers, and the Future

Beets, Blog Headers, and the Future

I’ve had some unexpected new beginnings during the past month. First and foremost, I roasted beets a few nights ago. I have to admit that I always buy them pre-done at Trader Joe’s although everyone in my family tells me how easy it is to make a little foil…

Read More
Gwenyth Paltrow’s Chicken Salad

Gwenyth Paltrow’s Chicken Salad

I don’t often look to Gwenyth Paltrow for recipe advice–or much, for that matter. But recently as I was looking for a good recipe for a substantial chicken salad that would be nice on hot summer evenings, I ran across this. It’s great because it has arugula…

Read More
Baking for Bocce III: Chocolate Dump-it Cake

Baking for Bocce III: Chocolate Dump-it Cake

Our bocce team is no longer in last place. I think we’re second to last– but still, let’s celebrate the small victories. Chocolate seems to help. We definitely play a little better. I noticed this when I made Katherine Hepburn’s brownies a few weeks back–so…

Read More
Not My Bag

Not My Bag

I’ve always said in an alternate life I’d like to be a baker. And seeing that I’m only 30, I keep telling myself it’s really not too late to make that happen in this life. So when I saw an ad for cooperative bakers at a pizza…

Read More
The Charms of Fair Food

The Charms of Fair Food

I never wanted to go in the first place. The dogs needed to be fed, it was getting late, and we’d had a long day canoeing on the river. I wanted to go home and grill burgers, make a big salad with the tomatoes and wax beans…

Read More
Ode to Amanda Hesser

Ode to Amanda Hesser

You know where to find Grains of Paradise (or even what they are) and smoked paprika. You love beets, fatty fish, and biscotti. You use the word “tangle” to describe salads, judge people for their restaurant choices, and hate doing dishes in the morning. You…

Read More
Beets, Blog Headers, and the Future

Beets, Blog Headers, and the Future

I’ve had some unexpected new beginnings during the past month. First and foremost, I roasted beets a few nights ago. I have to admit that I always buy them pre-done at Trader Joe’s although everyone in my family tells me how easy it is to make a little foil…

Read More
The Charms of Fair Food

The Charms of Fair Food

I never wanted to go in the first place. The dogs needed to be fed, it was getting late, and we’d had a long day canoeing on the river. I wanted to go home and grill burgers, make a big salad with the tomatoes and wax beans from the…

Read More
Pesto, Built on a Lie

Pesto, Built on a Lie

In the Bay Area, we often have an Indian summer. It descends each year around this time. And each year, I always wonder why it’s heating up as we ease into September. Just when all the fall clothes pop up in store windows, when the morning light begins…

Read More
Strawberry jam to ease a heat wave

Strawberry jam to ease a heat wave

On my ferry ride into the city Friday night, one of the drivers came on the loudspeaker announcing, “No we do not have air conditioning. No, the city isn’t any cooler. Have a lovely evening.” Yikes. Well, to his credit, we were all a bit grouchy. This past weekend,…

Read More
Subtle Satisfaction in Ferry Building’s Mijita

Subtle Satisfaction in Ferry Building’s Mijita

The Ferry Building is one of those unique places in San Francisco that locals and tourists happily share. Residents run in for a loaf of bread at Acme or some oysters from Hog Island while tourists scoop up Scharffen Berger bars and snap photos of heaping…

Read More
Baking for Bocce III: Chocolate Dump-it Cake

Baking for Bocce III: Chocolate Dump-it Cake

Our bocce team is no longer in last place. I think we’re second to last– but still, let’s celebrate the small victories. Chocolate seems to help. We definitely play a little better. I noticed this when I made Katherine Hepburn’s brownies a few weeks back–so last week, I…

Read More