Inspired By San Francisco

The Bay Bridge

On our recent trip to San Francisco and Sausalito we were more than delighted, with not only the food
and the atmosphere, but the culinary creativity that it engendered in us by being there.

I officially christened it as the "trip of the amazing vinaigrette" - a small but welcome detail that put many dishes over the top for both of us (and I'm a hardcore lemon-citrus-acid lover but he is not, so not easy to do).

Sausalito

Its always a bit of a gamble with SF - do I have a big breakfast, skip lunch because we're sightseeing and get to indulge in dinner, or have an amazing lunch and push dinner to the last seating so that we can get it all in?  See, the trick is to eat only what you think will be worth using up the real estate in this ridiculously foodie town.

White Sangria, Shishito Peppers and Peas in Vinaigrette at Bar Bocce 

Some of the highlights that will inform our future and summer menus (as they are about a month ahead if us seasonally) are:

• burrata (cream infused fresh mozzarella) with stone fruit and the most amazing stone fruit-infused vinaigrette on greens and basil from Perbacco
• the mint and tarragon vinaigrette we had on the peas at Bar Bocce
• 'burgundy onions' on the Wellington JJ enjoyed at Millennium, as an addition to our already loaded Shmeat Loaf

Millennium in particular was a treat - all vegan, with a healthy respect for gluten sensitivities.  We had a number of amazing dishes, which diverged only where JJ had to indulge in pastry dough & the like.  This was the menu that we had the hardest time choosing from - with so many options and so many components to the dishes.  Oddly, it was the first time that I had a whole meal where every dish had a fried component! Including crusted king trumpet mushrooms with a spectacular yuzu-citrus-chile dipping sauce, fried green tomatoes with a spicy-cashew harissa 'ranch', and cornmeal & thyme crusted zucchini on mousakka spiced mushrooms.  Of course I'm leaving off a bunch of the accompaniments to these dishes - you'll just have to go try them for yourself!

Perbacco is an all-time favorite, and we both tend to work our way around the menu in different arcs, with only the appies able to share between us.  Luckily, the stone fruit & burrata was likely the highlight of the meal, though the other dishes gave it a run for the money, as expected.  Sadly, no pictures in the low light of this romantic restaurant. But that's a good thing.

In all, we loved getting the small bites from the tapas, which gave us the the room to indulge in delicious, unctuous, inspired dinners. Oh, and there was lemon verbena ice cream on both dessert menus, but none that I was able to sample (one was out, one was a compromise for a girl who never saves room for dessert).

As my own little lemon verbena plant is rocking it out on the back porch because I gave it 'wine' while we were away, so I'll just have to make that myself!

Versatile Veggie Sauté

When the Week 1 basket of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veggies arrived and I spied bok
choi, I immediately started thinking of stir-fry, miso, hoisin, and a host of other Asian cuisine staples. The Husband is not a huge fan of bok choi like I am, so I figured it was my duty to use as much as possible (see more along this line here soon).

For me that largely means 'lunch bowls'. And by chopping and cooking enough veggies all at once, I could quickly whip up different variations on the theme for a few days in a row.  It also gave me an excuse to try out this 'gluten-free ramen' pack that I bought on an impulsive, empty stomach.

Now, I understand that by definition 'gluten-free' cannot not equal 'ramen' - lets just say I was seduced by the marketing - as what you end up with is rice noodles, fancy rice noodles compressed to look like the instant noodles that you had for lunch in junior high, and a far cry from what any purist would even consider to be ramen.

I was further seduced by the purple noodles of the 'forbidden rice' variety, thinking they'd make for an exotic lunchtime treat.  I was equally impressed by the short and pronounceable list of ingredients in the seasoning package that came with. So enough reason to give it a try.

Well, as is often the case, my idea of what something will be like is much more optimistic (and tasty) than what actually appears.  While the noodles were indeed a becoming shade, the resulting broth was not - largely due to all the starch from the noodles being left there to make a bit of a cloudy mess.  The directions did not say to drain before adding the 'flavor' package to the water, but I'd almost consider starting with fresh hot water for the broth, while it would take longer.

Regardless, I was happy that I had already decided to bump up the nutritional value with a mix of sauteed veggies and some baked tofu. Not only did they help to add freshness and crunch, but also color. Gotta remember we eat with our eyes first!

So that just goes to show how a quick and easy assemblage of whatever sturdy veggies you have on hand can be a great addition to dishes of many different stripes - noodles, soup or rice to name a few - whether you meant to add them or not.

Versatile Veggie Sauté

Makes about 2 cups | Infinitely scalable

The key is to slice the veggies in a manner which will be easy to eat and quick to cook, without loosing their texture.  In this case I sliced most things thinly with by knife, but pulled out the mandoline slicer to quickly and uniformly dispatch the carrots. Alternatively, you could cut them into matchsticks, they just might need a little longer to cook.  Vary the order you add the veggies according to the ones you are cooking with - sturdier ones first, delicate last - even if that means treating one vegetable two ways as is the case with the stems and greens of the bok choi.

Special note for the bok choi:

• Separate the greens from the wider, thicker portions of the stems
• Cut the stems on the bias in 1/4'' to 1/2'' chunks
• Chop the greens

Into a medium-hot sauté pan, add:

• A drizzle of good oil (I used sesame)
• 1/2 a sweet onion, diced
• 1 stem green garlic, sliced (can sub a garlic clove)
• 3 large crimini mushrooms, sliced

Sauté until just softened, then and add:

• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 4 bok choi stems, bias cut

Add any seasonings that appeal: salt & pepper, or wheat-free tamari are good choices depending on where you see the veggies landing.

When veggies are all almost done to your liking, add:

• bok choi tops, chopped
• 2 radishes, sliced (alternately, leave off the radish for garnish)

Taste the dish and add any additional seasonings. Keeping it more modest makes the veggies more versatile, but if you are committed to going a certain direction for a couple of dishes, then why not add some gluten-free, vegetarian hoisin or teriyaki sauce (San J is a good brand for this) or alternatively stir in a tablespoon of miso paste.

Use half of the veggies to dress your ramen bowl, top with radish (if using for garnish) and protein of choice.

Use the other half for another 'lunch bowl' delight, such as on rice, with sesame and topped with cashews as pictured below. I guess you could always share too.

Use Veggies for a Rice Bowl Too

CSA Week 2

I've been a little behind lately, but it doesn't mean that we haven't been enjoying fresh veggies from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) adventure!  Here is a glimpse at what we received for week 2, with week 3 and a bunch of recipes soon to follow.

We also were away in beautiful San Francisco for our anniversary recently, and will have to share all kinds of culinary delights and inspirations that were to be found there.  So much, much more to come now that the schedule is (mildly) back on track.

For more on CSAs and the beginning of our adventure, check this post. Or click on the CSA Adventure label at right to follow along as we navigate these seasonal delights.

This week we were happy to see some arugula - one of my favorites that barely made it past day one - along with more succulent radishes and butter lettuce.  The whole bundle included (pictured roughly l-r above, excluding the lettuce):

• 1 large bunch of collard greens
• 1 large bunch of radishes with tops
• 1 bunch of arugula
• 1 stem of green garlic with a large bulb (as green garlic goes)
• 1 smaller bunch of green onions (scallions)
• 1 head of green butter lettuce

CSA Week 1

We have been really happy with our first week of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with Sauvie Island Organic farm (SIO).  Getting to chat with Peter, one of the SIO farmers that staffs the pickup site, getting one heck of a giant head of red butter lettuce, and getting to try out more green garlic recipes have been the highlights so far.  For more on CSAs and the beginning of our adventure, check out the previous post.

Our half share included:

• 1 big, beautiful head of red butter lettuce
• 1 bunch of lacy red ursa kale
• 1 succulent head of bok choi
• 1 baby fennel bulb with lots of delicate fronds
• 1 large bunch of crunchy celesta radishes
• 2 heads of green garlic