elkit in wonderland

Food Heaven

Heaven on my lap: a porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti.

I was in San Francisco yesterday, to meet a couple of German friends for German food (Käsespätzle, if you must know), but I started off with a trip to the Food Temple that is the Ferry Building.

First things first: I made sure I had cash in my pocket, then lined up for a porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti. This may very well be my world's best sandwich: I love bread with a good crust. I love pork. I love crispy crunchy pork skin even more. I love caramelized onions. And my favorite salad green is arugula. All of this together in one meal? Unbeatable.

Sustenance provided, I forged on, with stops at several of my favorite places:

• McEvoy Ranch, for some of their delicious body butter. I am supposed to lather it on my skin, but I might just eat it by the spoonful.
• Boccalone for some tasty salted pig parts. I feel bad more often these days for eating meat, but then I fry up some of their pancetta and am convinced I could never be a vegetarian. (Same thing with the above-mentioned/-pictured/-ingested porchetta sandwich.)
• Checked at Far West Fungi for salicornia, but they didn't have any.
• Grabbed a couple of macarons at Miette.
• Happy Girl Kitchen had some more citrus sea salt, just before my supplies ran out. Yayyy!

Mission accomplished.

Thanksgiving Recipes

Some options to try out: 

• Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and cream
• Stuffing baked in muffin cups, like in this Rachael Ray recipe
• and another recipe for stuffing (I feel you can never have enough recipe for stuffing. Or enough stuffing, for that matter.)
• biscuits?
• all of Elise Bauer's collected Thanksgiving recipes, including Brandied Cranberries and Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme. 

... and of course desserts. Martha Stewart has some nice ideas, for example:

• Maple Cheesecake with Roasted Pears
• Coconut Key Lime Pie
• New England Cranberry Duff
• Acorn Squash and Honey Pies

Lunch at The Table

Had lunch at a new restaurant in my neighborhood, The Table.

Heirloom tomato salad dwarfed by the pièce de resistance, a porchetta sandwich and roasted potatoes.

I had planned to come in for dinner, but I'd looked at the menu and saw that this sandwich was on the lunch, but not the dinner menu.

Man oh man, it was REALLY good, and I am not just saying that because I am easily won over by pork. The meat was tender and juicy, the slaw and pickles were crunchy, sweet and tangy, and the bread reminded me why I never want to give up bread in my life, even if carbs are the bane of my existence.

Didn't *really* have room for dessert, but I told the waitress to tell me anyway, and then, wuddaya know, I *MADE ROOM* for the donut holes with the plum compote and an espresso. And I'm not sorry at all.

Eggy

I've been eating egg sandwiches for breakfast all week, and today's version was the best one yet. I started with smitten kitchen's best egg sandwich recipe, using one egg and a pile of shaved gruyère from the block of cheese that needed killing before it turns into spongebob squarepants. And then, instead of another English muffin from my stash, I toasted two slices of the delicious caraway rye from Companion Bake Shop that I got with my CSA delivery.

I predict another go tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll even add a little bacon for a Sunday treat.

And speaking of CSAs, I am switching. I've really enjoyed being part of Live Earth Farms, but even with their smallest box, I still couldn't keep up, since I don't cook dinner every day. The winter season has just ended, and I've signed up for a trial membership with Eating with the Seasons, who have an even smaller share size and will even let me pick just the items I would like from their offerings. They also offer similar add-ons, and use the same convenient online store system (Farmigo). 

Ahead

Possibilities for the week ahead:

Green cabbage
• Sauteed cabbage with apples and walnuts
• creamy baked cabbage with fresh thyme
• pureed cauliflower and cabbage

Chard
• lasagna based on Kalyn's Kale Lasagna recipe

Cauliflower
• as above, pureed cauliflower and cabbage
• roasted cauliflower

Red Cabbage
• almost certainly the Red Cabbage And Chicken Asian Salad Recipe With Tangy Cilantro Dressing, one of my favorites

Sweet Potatoes
• oven baked sweet potato fries
• Duchess potatoes

And what to do with the Japanese turnips?
• pickle them?
• honey-roast them?
• add them to a salad?

Cucumber Smoothie-ish

I bastardized Elise Bauer's recipe for Cucumber Lime Agua Fresca, and mine didn't look anything like this gorgeous photo which is hers, but if I showed you a picture of the pale concoction that I spooned out of a bowl, you would already be on your way to the next blog. Ha! Caught you! Reeled you in and kept you here. Mwahahaahhaaaa!!!

I peeled and seeded the two cucumbers I had, picked and tore a fistful of mint leaves, juiced two lemons (since I have a lemon and not a lime tree), poured a liberal splash of maple syrup on top and blended it all. Did not bother to strain it, and like I said, I just spooned it all out of a bowl. Not really sure if it qualifies as a smoothie or a gazpachoish soup or as anything at all, but do I care? No. It was refreshing and tasty, and definitely the easiest way to dispose of the cukes.

I Can Walk Under Ladders

You know what? I am lucky. Last Saturday I went for a long run with my friend and trainer Carol, to prep for an upcoming race. Came back home afterward, dawdled around the house for a while. Finally took a shower before heading out shopping, and as I splashed water my face and tasted salt from being all sweaty before, I thought again of how lucky I am.

I *like* that salty taste. I *like* working out hard and getting all sweaty. I *enjoy* eating all those vegetables I eat. The things I am doing for staying healthy are work, but they are not hardship and drudgery.

I'm lucky.

Fennel Beef

I bought some stewing beef the other day, intending to make goulash. Had a big onion that needed using up too. But then I got my farmshare newsletter where I learned that I would receive fennel. I still had a small fennel bulb, so I decided to chop it up, fronds and all, and throw it in with the beef cubes and onions. Good move, I gotta say! It was delicious. Holly asked what I served it over, and I replied truthfully, "What do you mean, 'over'? I just ate it."

 

Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake

In the end, I didn't feel like making pie, so I turned to Dorie Greenspan and her friend Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake.

No, no, that's not my photo - it's from her cookbook "Around My French Table" and its listing on amazon.com, where you can find the recipe if you just scroll down.

I doubled up the recipe because all these apples need dealing with, I added some lemon and orange zest to the apple bits, and I left out the rum because I didn't have any.

March 2nd

Mike asked me if I was all excited about March 2nd. Yes! I exclaimed, and proceeded to tell him about how I had rewritten my shopping list to only shop for a couple of days, so I could shop again on the 2nd ... and then it turned out that he had meant the upcoming Apple event, while I am all excited about the fresh & easy grocery store that's about to open just a couple of blocks from where I live.