Waldorf Salad and Grilled Lamb with Eggplants

Continuing on our adventure in eating fewer carbs...not because we're feeling particularly health-driven, but because I'm running out of white rice.

Waldorf salad. I realized I had half a head of butter lettuce left from Friday as well as some really delicious apples and a few stalks of celery, so I diced everything and tossed in a handful of raisins and walnuts with a little mayonnaise. It's not much, but it's colorful.

We seared up the last $2 lamb steak, and I tried a Chow tip for egg plants. I sliced a small eggplant into pieces a quarter inch thick, dipped the slices in a beaten egg, and coated in pecorino cheese and pepper. Then I put a few slices on a hot waffle iron brushed with olive oil, and cooked them until brown and crispy. I thought they were kind of a nice carb replacement, but J is still anti-eggplant. Oh well, can't win them all.

Vegetable Curry

The sudden change in weather was a call for comfort food.

Easy vegetable curry. I diced up seven different vegetables and sauteed them in a scant tablespoon of olive oil. Then I added enough water to cover all the vegetables, brought the water up to a boil, then turned it down to a simmer until the vegetables were almost cooked through. Then I stirred in two cubes of Golden Curry to create a chunky curry with plenty of sauce. You can get as creative as you want with the vegetables you use, but this time I used: acorn squash, purple bell peppers, carrots, onions, red potatoes, yellow potatoes, and celery.

This time, I added a vegetable that is brand new to me: moringa. It seems to have originated in the Tamil region of India, and is popular throughout South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa. The leaves are small, tender, and almost flavorless. I would say it's most similar to spinach, but really has no taste except perhaps an extremely mild cucumber flavor. It's very high in a variety of nutrients, contains a lot of protein for a tree, and often credited with helping impoverished regions stave off starvation. I think, unless it's seasonal, this is going to be a cheap and versatile leafy addition to our diet.

Passionfruit Margarita

Today, the temperatures dropped by over 20 degrees in San Francisco compared to yesterday. It's a crazy city we live in. Thank goodness we went to Sausalito yesterday! Today we holed up at home, ate comfort food, and sipped cocktails. There's one for all y'all out there:

Passionfruit cocktail (enough for two lowball glasses):

• 1/4 package Goya passionfruit pulp (in the freezer of your local Mexican market)
• juice of one lime
• 2 cups ice
• 2-3 shots 100% agave tequila
• 1 shot agave syrup, simple syrup, or your sweetener of choice
• 1 shot Cointreau (optional, and which can take the place of sweetener)
  

Throw everything into a blender and combine until slushy. If the blender gets stuck, add a little more tequila or water. If you're not too good with blended drinks, leave out half the liquid to start and add it slowly as the blender gets going. In my experience, if you start out with too much liquid in the blender, large chunks of ice will start bouncing around in the liquid and never pulverize. If you start out with not enough liquid, the blender will get stuck but you can turn it off and add a little more liquid without doing any harm to the machine.

Pour into a glass with a salt rim, which is what I forgot to do here. Top with a few dashes of bitters for some color and to take the edge off the sugar. Cheers!

Minamoto Kitchen

These treats are adorable, but unfortunately this is going to be a post about a slight disappointment.

On our way home from Sausalito this afternoon, we passed by the new Minamoto Kitchen shop on Market Street near Kearny (next door to the Ritz Carlton residences building). Minamoto sells Wagashi, Japanese sweets usually serves as part of a formal tea service. I had to try a few, despite the hefty price tag, so we got a yuzu jelly ($2.50) and a loquat jelly ($4.00, seasonal).

Well, the loquat one was tasty, but not $4.00 tasty. Inside the exquisite Japanese packaging is what is a well-made, very tender, light and flavorful jelly with half a loquat in the center. The fruit tastes bright and sweet despite being preserved and encased in jelly. At a dollar or two, I can see people enjoying these as a rare treat. But at $4, I start to balk. We didn't even dare buy the most expensive creation, an $11 white peach jelly that was somehow wrapped up to look exactly like a fresh peach.

But I shouldn't be so harsh on them. A Godiva truffle costs about the same, and these are definitely more delicious than Godiva's flat, waxy creations. Plus each flavor comes in its own colorful, creative package, and Americans are definitely ready for something to give each other besided boxed chocolates and cookies. Go Minamoto!

Olivos

Olivos has quickly become one of our favorite neighborhood spots. The restaurant isn't much to speak of, so we usually order take out, but today we headed back there with a camera to make sure Olivos gets its due.

The #1 thing to order there is the menudo. For about $10 you get more than a quart of rich, spiced (but not spicy), thick, slightly sticky soup with large chunks of tripe floating around in it. J likes to order it without the vegetables to make room for any pork hocks or extra offal the kitchen might feel like sparing. The menudo is served with a few lime wedged, chopped cilantro and onions, and two tortillas that you can either rip up and throw in the soup or use to wrap pieces of tripe. I think even people who don't like offal should try this soup. It's really meaty and delicious.

I always order two pupusas. It's hard to resist this much food for under $5. Today I picked cheese and pork pupusas, which are served with a side of Salvadorean cabbage slaw.

Olivos serves a wide array of Mexican food that you can find at Taquerias, but it bills itself as a Salvadorean restaurant and the pupusas are what people seem to go there for. There are other decent Taquerias in the area, so when we go we always get the menudo, pupusas, and get out for about $15 (sometimes with leftovers!). You can see why it's what we eat when we're feeling too lazy to cook.

Le Garage (Sausalito)

Today was the hottest day of 2009 in San Francisco. Coincidentally, we had planned a boat ride across the bay to Sausalito. We had breakfast at the Ferry building, had brunch in Sausalito, and then shared a prosecco at a waterfront cafe while we waited for the ferry back to SF. It was pretty much a perfect day.

Le Garage was our surprise brunch location. He's usually not very good at keeping secrets, but J decided that I wasn't allowed to know which hidden local gem we were going to today. He did a great job. This place is tucked off the beaten track next to a lovely little marina. We had a great view of the boats as we dined (click on the photo in the last post to see our view).

J had a really fun "assemble your own" type breakfast. There were two soft boiled eggs, Spanish ham, grilled asparagus with cheese, and a tower of brioche strips dipped in cheese and shaved black truffles. Okay, doofus alert. We were both really excited by the eggs because neither of us has ever eaten eggs out of egg cups before. It's fun! I felt like The Little Princess.

The Little Princess would never have done something so unladylike. But yum, brioche and egg yolks is a winning combination.

I had a duck breast, medium rare, in maple sauce with a side of rosemary potatoes. Very tasty and hearty, and not something you see on every brunch menu.

Our salad was less exciting. It was fine, but it was really just watermelon, tomatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, red onions, and goat cheese. Nice, but unexciting compared to everything else. Our total for three dishes and a glass of iced tea was $50. Not cheap, but you can't put a price on finding a secret brunch spot. Go J!

Saturday Surprise

I've been kidnapped!

Fried Chicken Friday!

Thanks for coming over, S and E! Dinner parties are fun. Fried chicken parties? Even more fun.

Here are our tasty plates, all ready to go. You can tell the photo was a rush job; I had hungry people waiting! We had fried chicken, mashed red and yukon potatoes, and heirloom tomatoes on a bed of butter lettuce.

E's plate. He's being healthy and laying off the fried stuff. Actually, I was pretty jealous of his plate because it was so pretty. I might have to make the same thing for myself some time. The chicken breast was marinated in lemon juice, salt, pepper, fresh basil, and dried oregano and sage. Then it was topped with a light salad of chopped parsley and olives in olive oil, and a little good Parmesan. It was really quite lovely.

Lamb Blade Chops

Rachel Ray's got nothing for me. I made this meal in under 15 minutes, and nothing came out of a can or was purchased pre-cut.

First, salt and pepper a lamb blade chop. This is actually one chop that got separated during cooking. It was $2 and enough meat for both of us. That's right, Whole Food haters, $2 for what was essentially a lamb steak. Heat a skillet over high heat, then put the lamb in.

While the lamb is cooking, slice up a large heirloom tomato (or two. This one was the size of a large eggplant). Toss with sliced basil, parsley, a large pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh cracked pepper. At about the four minute mark, flip the lamb and turn the heat down to medium.

Then slice up some mint and toss it with large chunks of cantaloupe and watermelon. Add a very small dash of salt. Check on the lamb after about four minutes on the second side. Remove the lamb, and while it cools crack two eggs into the skillet and cook however you like. Tada! Dinner for two without even breaking a sweat. The key to not having to cook really is to just buy produce and fruit that tastes great un-altered.

Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Now in Liquid Form

I love liquid sustenance: soups, teas, mate, coffee, milk, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, smoothies, milkshakes, slushies...you get the idea. But when it comes to juice, I'm more picky. I barely tolerate citrus juices in paper cartons, and I almost never drink any other kind of packaged juice (Mott's? Ick.)

But I do love fresh fruit juice, whether it's from a market or homemade. I recently started juicing at home, and it's been a nice addition to our meals and as part of snacks. Here's a simple recipe for about two and a half cups of juice (three times what's in the photo):

• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 large cucumber
• 1 small apple
• 1 small beet

Scrub everything very clean and juice everything--skin, seeds, and all. The above is my standard combination: an apple, a carrot, a beet, and something green. It's a nice balance of colors and nutrients, and results in a drink that looks and tastes pleasant. No matter what people tell you, no one likes drinking green or brown sludge.

If you have a hard time wrapping your mind around vegetable juices, use a large apple or add some other fruits. Pears and oranges work nicely, or make your juice and throw it in a blender with a banana to make a smoothie (but please don't put a banana in your juicer).

If, on the other hand, you're feeling adventurous, add more vegetables. I've used celery, broccoli, or a very (VERY) small amount of bittermelon without J detecting it. He's very picky about odd combinations, but if you have a ripe apple it pretty much masks all strange flavors.

Tuesday Night Dinner

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Okay, okay, Michael Pollan, you've got me convinced (for now, at least). Look how many plants I ate tonight:

Watermelon juice with a hint of lime.

Dirty mashed red potatoes with a little butter and plenty of lowfat milk.

A big fat red lettuce salad with cucumbers and red onions.

Oxtail soup with a generous amount of carrots, celery, onions, and tomatoes. Surprisingly, even with a mostly vegetarian meal, it was pretty tough to eat mostly leafy greens. According to Pollan, those of us in industrialized societies all need to work on eating more leaves. I can get on board with that; see you tomorrow, farmers market!

Honey Cardamom Banana Bread

Not to brag, but over the years I've become famous (in the inner circle, at least) for creating a top notch banana bread recipe. What really makes the compliments meaningful to me is that the recipe has been passed on and tried by a lot of people, with huge success. I can fiddle with a lot of things and make them taste good, but being able to pass a recipe to someone and have him/her get great results without my watching? That makes me proud!

Not to be a tease, but after years of success with the old recipe I decided today to mix things up with an easier, more portable, healthier, nuttier and more heavily spiced version of the old favorite. It turned out very light and fluffy, so give it a try!

for 10 large muffins, or 12-14 cupcake sized muffins.

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with liners.

Sift together all the dry ingredients in a medium or large bowl and set aside. In a mixing cup, combine the honey, olive oil, and eggs. To create less of a mess, I use one measuring cup, measure half a cup of honey, then pour in olive oil until the entire mixture measures one cup, and then add the two eggs and whisk it all in the same cup. I know, so smart (eyeroll).

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, then whisk together starting from the center and slowly incorporating the dry ingredients into the mix. Add the bananas and walnuts and mix to combine.

Fill the muffin tins to about half full if you want your muffins to look like mine, and 3/4th full if you want a taller muffin. Bake for 25-40 minutes until the tops are browned and slightly cracked, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. NOTE: my times may be different from yours based on how large your muffin tins are and how much you fill them. Start checking on your muffins every 5 minutes after the 15 minute mark.

Butterfish Soup

Simple, healthy, and delicious. I really love noodle soups.

I've also decided I'll be buying more butterfish in the future. It's also called sablefish or black cod, but let's face it: butterfish is the best name. In addition to being delicious, it's plentiful and reasonably priced. That's right, the Seafood Watch guide says I can eat it. More fish for me!

N's Fantasbulifferous Bridal Shower

Well, we finally pulled off N's bridal shower (and how!) Almost 20 girls descended upon Fort Mason yesterday for a really fun afternoon of eating and chatting.

Blogger stopped cooperating with me just as I was loading the last two photos, so I don't have a shot of the gorgeous venue. N's sister works at a nonprofit in Fort Mason, so we were lucky to have the use of a cotttage with a yard over looking Muni Pier and Ghirardelli Square. The setup was adorable. And here's the food table! Let's see some close ups.

Prosciutto wrapped breadsticks; simple but delicious. Who doesn't like prosciutto?

Endives filled with cherry tomatoes and microgreens, served with some Italian dressing. Tomatoes this time of the year are a great idea. We ate an entire bowl of them, plain, after the shower.

Chicken salad in puff pastry. Maybe I was starved for salty food after baking desserts for two days straight, or maybe this was just that good. I think it was my favorite thing all afternoon.

Cucumber sandwiches and smoked salmon sandwiches. It's hard to tell, but they are cut in the shapes of acorns and squirrels because there's a running joke that N loves squirrels (and scampers about and nibbles on her food like one).

Now, to all the sugar. I fried up Earl Grey doughnuts, which for a first try I have to say turned out pretty darned well. Mmmmm....doughnuts.

Plate of scones, both chocolate chip and currant.

Devil's food cupcakes with marshmallow fluff frosting. The cupcake recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart; the frosting recipe is from Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle, which is one of the better cupcake shops sweeping the nation.

N's younger sister made these tasty apple galettes. It's scary how thin, fruity desserts encased in pie crust tend to just disappear into everyone's stomachs. Yum...pie crust...

Aha, something colorful and healthy--melon balls! There were also two bowls of mixed berries, which mostly ended up in everyone's champagne.

There was also a lovely cheese plate and mini skewers of mozarella, tomatoes, and basil. Everything was delicious, and the presentation was too adorable for words. N's sisters drove themselves half mad making sure all the decorations were set up, inside and out, and scouring second hand stores for shabby chic mixed china. I think everyone was very impressed with the entire soiree.

My plate. I know I cast a photo over it when I took the photo, but I was too hungry to care. Time to eat!

Devil's Food Cupcakes

"White helmets gleaming, the Devil's dark army approached..."

No, that qoute is not V. Woolf; I made it up myself. I'm almost done baking for tomorrow's shower! Here's a tray of about 50 mini devil's food cupcakes, all dressed up in marshmallow frosting.

I was going to put a purple dot on each one, but now I'm kind of liking the peaks. Plus, every purple dot I try to put on a cupcake is potentially a screwed up cupcake if I need to fumble with the tiny thing. I best not mess with a good thing, right?

Flowers, Flowers, and some more Flowers

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

I did feel a little like a proper English lady this morning, flitting about Union Square selecting an armload of flowers for an upcoming tea party.

Never fear though, the flower buying did not lead to Virgina Woolf inspired inner angst and turmoil. T here was little on my mind beyond how beautiful dahlias are in the summer.

The florist said this year has been an exceptional one for dahlias, my favorite flower. I love the rich colors and funky shapes they come in. There's a dahlia out there for everyone!

I also got some mixed bouquets to round out the selection. I love an excuse to have a pot full of flowers in the house.

I love my carbs, and high on the list is fresh bread. When I need a quick fix, I bake half a batch of flakey, fluffy, delicious biscuits. And when I'm baking them for myself, I like them to be misshapen. The reason is simple: the more you work biscuit dough, the tougher your biscuits become. So I don't shape these and cut them into rounds or squares, I just scoop out the dough with a large spoon and let them be whatever shape they want to be, and they always have an especially airy interior.

Biscuits are a treat, so they need to be balanced with a little self control. I present, the green salad. Simple, fresh greens with celery, cucumbers, and red onions.

Dessert was grapes and blueberries. I'm being healthy now in anticipation of Saturday's party, which is going to be a fat fest.

Just kidding. I still had bacon with dinner. How could I resist? Bacon is the perfect topping for salad.

Farmers' Market Goodies

We had plenty of raw components to our dinner tonight, thanks to the Civic Center farmers' market.

These are Barhi dates (pronounced "bar high"), which is the only date I know of which is eaten fresh off the vine. Unlike the various chewy, sugary dried dates which are available year round, these are only available during late summer and early fall. They are crisp and airy, a little on the dry side, and have a slight honey flavor. As they ripen, barhi dates will soften and lose their slight tannic quality (think unripe bananas or those little white strings that cling to a banana after you peel it) and become more sugary. The point at which they are best for eating is purely subjective, just like how some people like green bananas and others like bananas speckled with black dots.

Green figs, very ripe and juicy. Everyone makes a big fuss about purple Mission figs, but I think these are so much better. They have a thinner skin, the skin doesn't taste like grape peel, and it doesn't seem like as many green figs have dry inedible centers. To me, they're just a safer bet.

And finally, heirloom tomatoes! I have been lusting after cheap heirloom tomatoes ever since my trip to Andy's in Sebastopol. Today, I found these for the bargain basement price of $1.50. I had to dig through a large pile to find two that weren't at least partially mushy, but they were well worth it. These were so good, I should have just gotten some mushy ones to make into salsa or tomato sauce. Maybe I'll be equally lucky next week!