Category: food

My Day!

Did you ever have one of those days where you felt like you couldn’t lose? I had one of those days. Just a great day.

First, when I was walking up to the carpool pick-up, I came across two little pugs running loose. I realized that they weren’t with anyone, and they needed some help. I got the herded together, and saw that they had tags with an address and phone number. I picked them up, and walked them down the street to the address. I was disappointed when no one answered the door, but I pulled out my cell, and called the number from the tags. The woman who answered was shocked and startled. She asked if I could put the two dogs in the backyard, as she had just gotten to work. Of course I put them in the backyard. Right off the bat, I started the day feeling like a hero.

I had an OK day at work. It was uneventful, really, and an uneventful day at work is a good day as far as I’m concerned.

When I got home, I was inspired by the groceries I picked up at Trader Joe’s yesterday, as well as this cookbook I learned about on another blog that has recipes made up entirely of ingredients you can get at TJs. I built a dish around Fresh Harvest Medley, which is a pack of prepared yams, butternut squash, and turnips. I browned some garlic in olive oil, and added a dash of pinot grigio. I sauteed the medley in that and then added a can of white kidney beans and stewed tomatoes. I also added a bit of frozen spinach. I spiced it a little and let it gurgle. I think 98% of those came from Trader Joe’s.

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It was amazing. It was a really lovely stew. I was so proud of it, I called my parents to brag. I don’t really cook a lot, so when I do, and it turns out well, I’m very proud of it. I’m very proud of this stew. I’m already planning to make it again, but this time using more fresh ingredients, possibly in the slow cooker. I’m very jazzed about this. I hope I can maintain the enthusiasm.

Way Too Excited!!!!!

I have to confess, I am overly exuberant about shopping at Trader Joe’s.  They’re just groceries, and it’s just granola.   I don’t get that jazzed about Safeway or Whole Foods; it’s just Trader Joe’s.   I swear it’s not the Hawaiian shirts.  It’s not the stupid bell either.  I just love buying stuff at Trader Joe’s.  I think it’s because it seems healthier and cheaper.  I get physically giddy.  I actually danced a little in the check out line tonight.

There’s also something about walking home from Trader Joe’s that I like.  I like walking up College past all the joggers and dog walkers with my canvas tote full of fresh and frozen grocery goodness.  Just thinking about it makes me want to giggle.

I could probably psycho-analyze myself, but why over think the simple joy of the eggplant wrap and the take and bake pizza.   I shall not deconstruct the Joe’s O’s, which are just like Cheerios, but organic and yet somehow less expensive.

I know.  I know.  What a NERD!

Just sayin’.

Lunch Date

First off, I have to say, I’m not a fan of “gourmet” food. My favorite foods are ones that are most like the things my mom would make. I was a little bit of a skeptic, therefore, when my co-worker offered to take me and another from my department to Spruce. I was a little bit concerned that they wouldn’t have anything that would be veg friendly, so I decided I would just go ahead and ask right off the bat.

So, the co-worker, who had eaten there before, ordered an assortment of cheeses for an appetizer, and also a meat platter. Of course I didn’t have the meat. The cheese was amazing. We had a bleu, goat, and European cheddar. I love cheese. Every time I’ve thought about going vegan, I’ve had second thoughts due to cheese.

For my entree I had a small plate of gnocchi with rapini. I can honestly say that I had never even heard of rapini. The dish was pretty good, with a light kind of watery butter sauce. It wasn’t nearly as heavy as I was afraid it would be. I would have to say that this was my least favorite part of the meal. I also ordered a glass of wine with the meal, but as I just ordered “what he’s having,” I don’t know what it was. It was a white, which I don’t normally drink, and it was from Bishop’s Peak, but I’m not sure what varietal.

I was really looking forward to dessert and coffee. I love having after meal coffee, but can never order it after dinner, since I have enough insomnia problems as it is. For dessert I had a hazelnut cake with coffee ice cream. It was served with a white chocolate cream in little dollops under this candy thing that reminded me of the top of a creme brulee. See, I’m not a foodie, and I have no idea what that’s called. Anyway, it was pretty good, but I have to say that the Ethiopian Sidamo coffee that I had was one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had.

So over all, it was a good lunch experience, but if I had it to do over again, I would have ordered a salad instead of the gnocchi. I would order the cheese, wine, and coffee again in a heartbeat.

I still say that my mama could have made it better.

Just sayin’.

What Do Okie-fied Vegetarian Brits Eat for Lunch

When I was in England this last spring, visiting with family and spending a few days in London, the greatest thing I discovered was their jacket potatoes.   This is popular pub faire.   It’s a baked potato stuffed with something.   The thing that makes it unusual, to American standards, is what they stuff it with.   This isn’t your butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, and chives potato that you would come across at a steakhouse.   In the pubs we visited, they stuffed their spuds with things like beans, coleslaw, and tuna salad (which they just call tuna and mayonnaise and has sweetcorn).    I just loved them.

So, I’ve made a few jacket potatoes since I’ve been back.     The other night, I made one for dinner, and had enough left over to bring for lunch today.   The thing is, I’m trying to take the pesco out of of my pesco-vegetarianism, so I wasn’t down for the tuna and the coleslaw isn’t quite the same here as it is in England.    I decided to try to add something from the other side of my family to this Brit dish.   The other side of my family are Okies from Bakersfield.   There’s this salad that one of the aunties used to make that is essentially like potato salad, only substitute sweet peas for the potatoes.   It’s scrumptious.

So, the Okie-fied Vegetarian Brit is having a Sweet Pea Salad Jacket Potato.

I Find that I *Can* Make it There

This last week’s journey to New York City was a work related trip. I got in on Sunday evening, checked into the hotel, and then headed out with my two co-workers from SF to find some food. We decided to try the West Village, and as we were walking down the street, I spotted an Ethiopian restaurant. Everyone knows I love me some goop on flat bread, so I was down. One of my co-workers had never had it, but he was game to try. I thought it was really good, but I also think I’ve had better in Oakland at either Ensarro or Cafe Colucci.

Once we were done with dinner, we decided to aimlessly wander the streets of New York. We ended up at a pub for a pint, and caught a bit of the ALCS game 7. Then our party diminished by one, and me and the other co-worker decided to check out Times Square.

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Sorry to report, there was no debauchery this time.

After tromping through the theater district, my co-worker decided to call it a night, so I was on my own. I decided I wanted to see some more of that ball game, so I found an Irish pub (there are a million of them) and bellied up to the bar. The funny thing, mambo music was blaring out of the jukebox the entire time. No jigs. No reels. No airs. Just mambo. I thought it was a wee bit funny. Anyway, I was watching the game, enjoying the pint or two, but I was really only one of two paying attention. I felt like there had to be a better place to see it, but at the same time, I didn’t want to wander any more. I eventually went back to my room to watch the last inning. And then I called my mom to tell her how big the room was. I had a suite to myself, and it was bigger than my new apartment. (BTW – still haven’t moved, but I’m packing.)

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Eventually I got to bed around one in the morning east coast time, which would be ten back home, so still pretty early for me.

Monday was the first day of our training and meetings. I have to say the best part of the trip, work wise, was meeting a bunch of people face to face who I had only emailed, IMed, and telephoned before. My co-worker likened it to the first date with someone you met via on-line dating.

After work, we went to dinner as a crew, I think there were probably 30 people at the dinner. We had “Mexican Themed” food. They called it Mexican, but I’m sorry, that was not Mexican. The guacamole was decent. That’s all I have to say about that. I’ve had better margaritas. After the dinner, a smaller contingent of about 15 ventured to a nearby lounge. From that point on, people began to mysteriously disappear, and the party dwindled. Finally it was just me and the crew from Boston. I had no idea what time it was, but they wanted to make their way over to Times Square (again) and were very keen to have me come along.

So I found myself at another Irish pub, with the 4th pint of Guinness on the evening, having a lively discussion with a pair of guys from the Boston office, when I leisurely looked at my cell to find that it was three in the morning!!! I booked it out of there, got a cab back to my hotel, and crashed.

I made it to work on time the next morning, but I’m not sure how. I chugged two cups of hotel room coffee first thing in the morning, and I know that I would have died had I not. That day went without much incident, and that evening, I finally had some time to myself.

I wandered the East Village for hours, trying to make up mind where to eat, before I finally decided on a Himalayan place. I had the best salad there, with avocados and potatoes in a citrus dressing. Then I hopped in a saloon I’d seen that had gotten my attention. It was the Double Down Saloon. There’s a saloon of the same name in Las Vegas that I spent some time in the last time I was there. It turns out that the one in the East Village is owned by the same man as the one in Vegas. I thought it was pretty cool, plus earned me some bragging rights for having had a PBR or two at both locations. Tuesday was a relatively early evening, as I was back in the hotel around 11.

Wednesday was nothing to write home about in the office, but my Himalayan experience the night before had me craving Burmese food. I knew that my co-worker from SF would be down too, and we decided to put the invite out to everyone. Since the company wouldn’t be picking up this check, only our boss was interested in going. The three of us had a good time, though, and I really felt that it gave us a chance to bond with “The Big Guy in New York” who we really don’t know too too well.

After dinner, the boss took off, and we found ourselves in the East Village again. At this point, the warm place in my heart for that neighborhood was well established.  I got in touch with a co-worker, J-lew, from my last job at ZD who is now living in New York, working out of their East Coast office.   It turns out she lives in the East Village, too.   She came down and had a couple of beers, before showing us the greatest food spot in all the world.   It’s called Pommes Frites.  Basically, all they sell are fries, Belgian Fries to be exact.   And they have a bagillion different dipping sauces.   We had pesto mayo, honey mustard, and mango chutney.  It was the best late night snack for us three girls to share.    J also showed us around the corner to a place called Bamn that was like an old school automat, with vending machines full of hot grilled cheese and chicken strips.    Well, my affection for the neighborhood increased to full blown infatuation at this stage.  I vow to make many returns.

The next afternoon, I boarded my plane to return back to San Francisco.  It had been a good trip, but I was ready to return to my life, get on with the packing and moving, and deal in full time reality.  Plus, the food and drink was starting to take its toll.   It turns out that I gained five pounds when I was in New York.

The trip was good, though.  I feel like I had got a lot out of the work experience, and I feel that it boosted my confidence a lot.  I think that if I wanted to, I could totally make it in New York City, and if that’s the case, then Berkeley should be a breeze.

Just sayin’.

Eating Out vs. Eating In

The other day, J4 and I had brunch with a couple he used to live with. One of them is a sous chef, and was telling us about working in the restaurant. J4 used to cook at a few different restaurants and I have years of experience, so this is all something we can relate to, but as I’ve never been in fine dining, I didn’t know what a sous chef did exactly.

J4 explained the hierarchy of a fine dining kitchen.   Apparently there’s a person called an Executive Chef.  She’s the ideas woman.  She dreams up the menus and recipes.    However, she doesn’t really cook anything.    And she’s probably not even in the restaurant when you’re there.    Her name is probably on the website for the restaurant.

Then there’s one or two Sous Chefs.   They’re the grunts who are actually at the restaurant 14 per day.  She’s the one who actually cooks the food that you order.     The Executive Chef may have dreamed up the Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa, but she’s the one who didn’t burn it, and made sure it looked good on the plate.   She’s the unsung hero of the kitchen.   Her name is probably not on the restaurant’s website.

So, as J4 was describing this to me, I realized something.   J4 is my sous chef.   Frequently I think up some idea of something I want for dinner, i.e. poached eggs over tomato on English muffin, and I make J4 cook it for me.   I don’t really like to cook that much, except for when I do.     I would much rather just sit down and have somebody hand me food to eat.  That’s why I like eating out so much.

Having a sous chef is awesome.   If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Just sayin’.

Playlist: Alton Ellis
Be True To Yourself – Anthology 1965-1973 

Butternut Squash Risotto Night

 

A couple of weeks ago, M and I were talking about how we both love fall and winter food, especially butternut squash. I thought to myself, “self, I wonder if I can find a good recipe for butternut squash risotto.” So, I Googled it, and found a recipe I liked on CDKitchen, and I asked M if she wanted to plan a night to get together and make the risotto. We decided to set a date for a few weeks out, and from then on referred to it as “Butternut Squash Risotto Night.”

This last Saturday was the night.I picked up a good sized squash at the Farmers’ Market at Grand Lake. We went together to the grocery store to pick up the remaining ingredients, and then headed back to M’s house. That was when we realized that we were missing an ingredient. This all added to the fun. We got back, and it was time to get to business.

I decided that I wanted to take on the squash. It was a big’un, and it took quite a bit of heft to get it cut in half. I’m sure M thought I was going to lose a limb. Once I had it halved and the seeds removed, I had to figure out how to get the peel off. I tried the big scary butcher’s knife, which just slid across the skin. M tried a cheese slicer, but that was just as ineffective. Finally I was able to get through the tough and slick skin with a serrated steak knife.While I skinned and chopped the squash, M worked on onions, garlic, cheese, and lemon zest. We did quite a bit of talking, so of course it took us a while. I don’t even know what time it was when we started.

Finally, with all the prep work done, we actually began cooking. M got the butter, oil, onions, and garlic going, then we added rice and started adding squash. This is where the, “are we doing this right?”s began. At first we were afraid that the squash wouldn’t cook. That maybe we were supposed to pre-cook the squash or the rice. Though the instructions didn’t say that. It became clear. though, that continual stirring was necessary.

As we began adding in the wine and started adding stock, we weren’t really sure what to expect, I don’t think. I stirred, and M added additional stock. The mixture became thicker and fuller with each half cup. Soon it was beginning to resemble something edible. But yet, the squash still seemed to be under-cooked. I stirred and stirred. We yammered on and on, as we do.

Finally, just as the pot seemed to be getting to small, we both realized that both the rice and the squash seemed to be just done. We added in the cheese and final seasoning. Then we dished it up with chives and basil on top.

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Of course there was enough for M’s husband to have some, too. We all three sat around the Tivo with our bowls of risotto and a glass of wine. M’s kittens were very intrigued by the risotto, too.

It was awesome. It was some yummy, cheesy, and good. We all decided that it was the perfect fall and winter cozy, comfort food. Making it together was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to making the dish again, and I highly recommend the recipe. I also am looking forward to getting together with M or any of my friends to make something new.

Crisper Full of Beer

Last night, J4 and I had some friends over. As is usually the case, we had way too much food for the number of people who came. Of course, everyone who came brought at least a six pack of beer. So now, I have a fridge full of burger fixing and vegan chili and the left over beer. Basically, the only spot for the beer is in the crisper. Right next to some celery.

I’m going to go make myself a vegan chili Boca burger.

3 Meals Later

I don’t want to go into too much detail on the how or the why, but  I ended up with three breakfasts this morning, fat cow that I am.

So, here it is noon, and it’s Friday, which means it’s time for the co-workers and I to go out to lunch.    Well, of course I’m not hungry.   I mean, three breakfasts!

So, we’ll go out, and I’ll have a taco, and then, I’m going to explode.

Just sayin’.