spicetart

Red Onion

So I promised more from my sister and more have arrived. Today is Red Onion.  I love this painting because it captures the real color of the onion but also, in a way, the scent and pungency of the onion.  It's alive and voluptuous.

P.S. I know I have been absent from blogging  lately, I guess I am taking a break.  I have many posts started and lots of things I want to write about and pictures I have taken...

P.P.S.  If anyone has any interest in contacting my sister, Katie, please let me know and I'll forward her contact info.  I know she has some prints and would be happy to talk about what you might want.

New Wave Food Bloggin

If you haven't already heard of the cool new publication by some famous (and infamous) food bloggers, you got to check it out.

Order a copy or 4 and support that blog thing we do.

Here's the scoop:

"Digital Dish contains the freshest, most original food writing of the year from ordinary people writing regularly online in food blogs. It is an honest and alternative look at the world of food and cooking from over 20 different contributors around the world. Digital Dish's authors have been written up in publications like Goumet Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, Le Monde, The Guardian and The New York Times. They are part of the new wave of food writing and cooking."

New wave???  Now that's fancy and IMPOSSIBLE to pass up, people!!  And you can get it signed and meet some of the authors THIS WEEKEND!

May 21st from 11:30 at the Berkeley Farmer's Market - author reading and book signing.

May 22nd from 4:00 at the Lafayette Bookstore, 3795 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in downtown Lafayette

Go. Go now. Run. Be a part of this popular, sweeping, new wave trend!

My Sister, the Genius

Have you seen a more beautiful painting of beets?  I doubt it.  And AND I am related by blood to the artist.  Do you think that I got any of that creative genius DNA?  No. No I didn't.  But I can write about it.  Gorgeous watercolors and the woman can bake a pie like nobody's business.  And here's the thing...there are more where this came from.  Stunning tomatoes, incredible artichokes, sexy onions and slightly scary peppers.  Do you see them here?  Are they in my inbox?  This is to call out my Sister the Genius.  Send pics now so I can show the world more of your beautiful art.  Or the beets get it. 

Suckling at the TypePad Teat

I was fortunate enough to be selected by TypePad as a Featured Weblog for the  past month.  This is a result of a long lost friend showing up in my email one day...anyway, I digress, that's a story for another day and a lot of wine.  So, anyway, if you went to the TypePad homepage, you'd see a picture of my little blog there.  My little blog!  On the TypePad home page!  Me! Mine!

It was great to see the hits flooding in, as people took a glimpse of my little food nerd life here in the SF Bay Area, it really was pretty exciting.  And we all know that good things must end, even if it happens kicking and screaming "No, TypePad, feature me some more, pleeeeease!  I neeeed those hits, NEED THEM DAMN YOU!"  Alas, as the hits dwindle and the viewers forget my URL and fade off into Internets anonymity, I have but only the sweet traces of the hit average slowly decreasing to remember them by.  Goodbye TypePad Featured Weblog hits, I really will miss you and all your varied and unique visitors with comments such as this from the ever provocative Rankin' Rob:

That is the stone cold sexiest picture of radicchio I've ever seen on the net. Just found this site through TypePad's front page. I may come back and unload the Southern-Sweet Tea-Banana Pudding p.o.v. on your exotic vegi NoCo self. Now excuse me while I visit the obscene dessert item below.

Oh my.  And here I thought food blogging was good, clean fun.  Thanks Rob!  Go check out Rob's site for an unabashed viewpoint on current events and Nascar.

On another blogging note, it's time for the first ever:

You'll Never Guess How People Found My Site This Month

Yes, ladies and gents, this is the first post in this series, where I get to share the beautiful search referrers that bring the abundantly creative public to my site.  If anyone can explain how "naked midgets" pointed someone to my site, please feel free to comment.  Other fine search referrers were:

• will dry mustard make you vomit (if you have to ask, you really should try it and see what happens)
• Molly naked (I imagine they were disappointed at the results: beets!)
• why am I doing it (Aw, hun, I just don't even know)
• I don't have a rolling pin what else can I use (great question, answer: wine bottle)
• Asian meat porn (yummmmm...)
• sexy hunting magazines (note to self: take down sexy hunting pictures from hidden blog)
• fancy name for meatloaf (Loaf a la Meat?)
• dork pork (the other nerdy meat)
• Chinese hells (ah yes, this is The Hell of Blurry Photos of Beets)
• girls pissing (I don't think they were searching for this post)

Calamari on a Beautiful Day

Is it possible that there is a more beautiful place to live? Well, probably, yes, however, it's hard to beat the California coast on a sunny spring Sunday. We arrived at the coastal access to Big Basin Redwoods State Park around 10:00 after a leisurely drive down Highway 1. It was perfect out, clear and cool and windy, perfect. After some confusing moments trying to find the trail, we trekked up from the coastal marshes, through the redwood forest, forded a stream and meandered back along a developed equestrian pathway. Rancho del Oso is a hidden gem, do yourself a favor and check it out. And if that's not enough, across the highway sits Waddell Beach where kite surfing and windsurfing is the sport of choice. Nothing quite like watching wet-suit clad folks battling the wind and sea just to get in the water.

So what's the most obvious snack after a great day like that? Why, fried calamari and a beer of course. On my way down to the coast, we passed a fish market advertising fresh, cheap salmon. I often hear that fish on the coast is fresher and cheaper than what you get in the Big City, so I figured this was a great chance to see if that was true. The minute I walked into the fish market, I turned right around because I had forgotten my camera in the car. I needed it 'cause there were fish everywhere!

Everything fishy a girl could want, catfish, salmon in every shape possible, whole octopii, whole halibut, bay and sea scallops, squid, clams, oysters, fillet-o-this, fillet-o-that, it was awesome!! I finally decided on a beautiful fillet of salmon and a pound of scallops. Stay tuned for what I do with those tasty sea creatures...

Of course, right next door is a little place called the Flying Fish Grill, with local and national write-ups featured on their door, and a sign claiming "Best Fish Tacos" ever or in the world or something. I figured it was worth a shot. Alas, I decided to skip the tacos after asking if the "secret sauce" had mayonnaise in it and getting the answer "it's ranch dressing" (I guess the secret's out), and I went straight for the fried calamari. I am sucker for good calamari (har har), even if it is hard to find, it's always worth a taste test.

Boy, did I order right. So lightly battered that you could see through the rings and see almost no breading (a rarity, actually) and so lightly cooked that the calamari broke at the first chew. It still had that nice bite that tells you, yep, it's squid, but it was tender without a touch of rubberiness. Happiness! My only complaint: not enough squigglies (tentacles) which is my favorite part. Maybe next time, I order the tacos, hold the ranch dressing, maybe their claim is correct. Although I will have to get a side of calamari, with extra squigglies.

Flying Fish Grill
99 San Mateo Rd. Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 (650) 712-1125

Half Moon Bay Fish Market
99 San Mateo Rd Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 (650) 726-2561

Yummy Broccoli

Broccoli is my stand-by veggie, I either eat it or salad just about every night.  I love it, love it, love it, love it.  The usual way to make good broccoli better is to add a couple tablespoons of butter and some salt.  Oh yeah, now that glistening, hot broccoli beckons you.  Right?

So in the spirit of eating vegetables new and different ways, and in the spirit of avoiding dairy, I did something completely different.  I didn't make enough, I could have eaten all of it for dinner.  Chris made me share.

Easy Yummy Broccoli
Broccoli, as much as you want, trimmed into medium-sized florets
5 or so anchovy fillets in oil* or salt, minced (if in salt, rinse and dry)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
good Olive oil

Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for NO MORE THAN 2 minutes, just to make a tad tender.  Drain.  Saute garlic and anchovy in 2 or so tablespoons olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant and starting to brown.  Add drained broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally.  Test broccoli for how done you want it, about 6 minutes for still a bit crispy.  Add salt and pepper to your taste.  Eats!

*note: I use Talatta Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil from Whole Foods that I keep refrigerated and just use a few fillets at a time.  This has worked well, so I don't have to use a whole thing of anchovies or throw them away.  These are also better quality than most of the ones in tins sold at grocery stores.  I have yet to use anchovy paste but I think that I may try some if I can find some really good stuff.

Woah

For those of you who are not regular visitors to Pim's blog, you should really take a look at her slideshow of her dinner at El Bulli in Spain.

El Bulli is arguably (and people do argue) the best, if not most innovative restaurant in the world, run by the infamous molecular gastronomist, Ferran Adria.  Regardless of what you think of these cutting-edge restaurants, you can't deny the utter oh-my-god-ness of those pictures.  I have never seen anything like it, absolutely the most beautiful presentation I have ever seen.  I am again amazed at the limitless nature of food and of people's imaginations.  Check it out.

For Vanessa

Yesterday I found out that a girl I knew suddenly died of a heart attack.  She was 27 years old.  We were not close, we were acquaintances in a small online community in Los Angeles, but it's strange how chatting with someone online, and writing them via email, allows you to get to know them in a way that you might not in person.  It's easier to be intimate sometimes with someone who you may never meet.  And while I never met Vanessa, some of my friends did, and they are mourning the loss of a special person in their lives.

Vanessa spent her time helping other people. She worked with mentally disabled children.  She was a mentor and a Big Buddy.  She was nice to everyone, no matter how awful they were.  She was kind when she didn't have to be. She was the type of person that no one would ever have anything bad to say about.  She was funny with a somewhat twisted sense of humor and could at times be quite vulgar.  She exhausted herself to make other people's lives better.  She was a rare person on this Earth.

I know this post is not food related, but I felt Vanessa deserved to be honored, especially in the medium in which I knew her.  Her death is another reminder that this could happen to you or me at any moment.  These are some things that we should try to remember.  Remember to kiss your mom and dad and siblings and tell them you love them.  Remember to hold your partner, children, husband, wife close and share those things that are really important.  Remember to volunteer some time to do something for someone else.  Remember to say you're sorry and to not hold a grudge. Remember to appreciate a beautiful flower, a wonderful meal, the smell of raspberries.  Remember to laugh at the ridiculous.  Remember to eat your vegetables.  Don't waste time. Do it now. Don't wait. I will try to too.

Vanessa, you will be missed.

Tired of Beets Yet?

Never!  So I decided to pickle them.  Conclusion? Not so much.  I am not a pickled beet hater, I am a lover, just not of my very own pickled beets. 

I boiled the beets skin on, for about 45 minutes.  They were a little overcooked and I think they could even be undercooked so that they are just a tad crunchy when pickled.  Rub them a bit, and they take their skins right off (sexy!).  After they got naked, they were sliced, and added to a mixture of water, vinegar, sugar, salt, clove and allspice berry mixture (brought to a boil then cooled). The beets were joined by some sliced onions.  Three of those ingredients were ALL wrong.  Can you guess? Yep, the sugar, clove and allspice gave them that Christmasy almost fruit-cake flavor, too sweet and spicey.  Not for me, thanks.  Next time, I'm going with straight pickling spices and we'll see what happens.  There is no denying, however, that they are beautiful...And Chris ate them anyway.

Holstein Beans - Updated!

  vs.   

Tell me that you don't see the uncanny similarity...If a cow were a bean, this is what they would look like.  I dub thee...Holstein Beans!  Ok, ok, these beans already have a name, and the name is actually a damn good one.  They are called Black Calypso, also known as European Soldier, Soldier and Johnson beans, none of which can even compete with the way better name of Holstein Beans. But Steve Sando at Rancho Gordo is the Bean Man, so what he says goes when it comes to beans.  I got these lovelies at the Ferry Building, of course, but he sells them all over the place if you know where to find him.  He also sells corn masa and tortillas, chile peppers and herbs, grains and greens.  I love this stuff!

Update 5/6/05: Ok so a bit of a correction about the Black Calypso's other names, they are also known as Orca beans and Yin/Yang, but European Soldier is a different bean altogether.  My bad, I must have been cross-eyed when I made that up, I mean, when I read that.  This comes straight from the man himself so I guess I'll believe him.

Also, Steve Sando's advice on how to cook these beauties:

Good heirlooms don't need much! One piece of bacon, onion and garlic and
call it a day. Maybe some sage at the end.

Thanks Steve!

Recommend a Cookbook

Along with my decision to eat new and different vegetables in new and different ways this summer, I am looking to branch out in terms of the kind of foods I cook.  I cook very new Californian-American-Mediterranean food generally, and every now and then will stray into Mexican or Vietnamese.  But now I want to stray even further.  So, I am looking for the best cookbook that you can recommend that delves into Asian cooking, particularly Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese. So let me hear it!