Life Begins at 30

Winter into Spring

One thing about eating with the seasons is that you are excruciatingly aware of the time of year.  I think that I have been eating seasonally for four or five years now, and this year I am proud of myself for having stuck to the seasonal regimen rigorously.

It wasn't difficult, really.  I made friends with kale and cabbage and winter greens, ate lots of radishes, and learned to make seasonal substitutions when necessary.  I used canned or frozen when necessary, and both of those fairly little (except for canned tomatoes, which is fodder for a whole 'nother blog post, believe me).

It's only been in the last week or so that I have really been anxious for the season change.  Winter is the most difficult in my opinion because you have one set of veggies that for the most part stick around for the whole season - compare this with summer where every week brings a different fruit or vegetable which will be gone in the blink of an eye.

(A completely random aside:  If you live in San Francisco, Patricia Unterman's San Francisco Food Lover's Guide has the best guide to seasonal produce that I have ever seen.  It's competely local and very thorough.)

When I received CUESA's newsletter last week announcing the featured produce of the week I almost started doing jumping jacks I was so excited.  The very first glimmer of spring was arriving at the market -- asparagus and green garlic.

Green garlic is, to me, the quintessential sign of spring.  I would highly suggest you try it with it's mild flavor and tenderness.  It is available February through about April, though the further in the season you get, the tougher and more like full garlic cloves it becomes.  I substitute green garlic for garlic in recipes and use it with abundance -- in dishes where regular dried garlic would overwhelm, green garlic adds a subtle undertone.  If you would like more recipes for green garlic, check out Mariquita Farm's recipe archive which has some good recipes.  I think it shines in fritattas and risotto.

So the season has begun to change, though it may initially be in fits and starts -- while the asparagus is in it's glory, I didn't see any new changes between last week and this week.  The artichokes began a couple weeks ago, and will soon be followed by spring peas (hurray!), Chandler strawberries, Pixie mandarins, and baby lettuces.  Keep an eye out for the spring produce that should be coming to a market near you any day now.

Photo credit: Mariquita Farm

Thanks!

Thanks so much to everyone for their supportive comments and emails last week regarding my blog freak-out.  It really touched me that people were moved to make such wonderful comments.  I am slowly getting back on track with blogging regularly.  I think that you will see some changes in the near future to this blog, but for the moment have committed to being a one-blog gal, even if that means that this blog sometimes veers a little off course.

Thanks again ... you all are such a supportive bunch!

Music in my Kitchen

I was tapped by Fatemeh to fill out this quiz, so here goes:

What is the total number of music files on your computer? 368 albums, 16.86 gb.  Plus a bunch of live shows on my laptop.

The last CD you last bought? Tegan and Sara, So Jealous.  I was turned on to them a few years ago,  and love this new album.

The Replacements, All Shook Down.  This was a replacement (no pun intended) CD - one of those that I know that I have, but couldn't find -- so I bought it on an impulse from iTunes.  When I was in college, I lived in Italy for a year and was only able to take a small amount of music with me.  This was one of the tapes that I took and listened to all the time.  It reminds me of running in the mornings near the villa where I lived.

What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Alana Davis, Blame it on Me

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

No Man's Woman, Sinead O'Connor. This is just a defiant, fantastic, song that I used to listen to over and over again.

One Sweet World, Dave Matthews Band. I have always been a big Dave Matthews Band fan, and this song reminds me of a few years ago when Jason and I had just started dating.

Shelter from the Storm, Bob Dylan. A couple of years ago, my great friends Jeff and Molly had a fantastic wedding.  One of the best things about it was the music that they had painstakingly chosen for the reception, the dinner - everything.  This song reminds me of that wedding -- I don't know specifically if this song was on the soundtrack, but this song just reminds me of that time.

You're All I need to Get By, Aretha Franklin.

Grace, U2. Like a lot of people my age, I grew up listening to U2.  Joshua Tree was one of those teenage albums that I was totally addicted to.  I was so excited when a gazillion years into their career they were able to produce an album as great as All That You Can't Leave Behind. 

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

World on a Plate.  Although all of her answers are probably going to have to do with the brand new U2 album.  If you haven't had a chance to check out her blog, do so.  She runs rings around most of us when it has to do with researched, well thought out posts. 

Jeff and Molly at Leknott.  They have taught me so much when it comes to music, so it only seems appropriate that I pass the baton to them.

Brownie Points because I have been enjoying her blog lately - especially the sign she created that says "In case of fries take stairs".

Banana Guards

No comment.

(via Chowhound)

A Ramble about this blog

I am having a bit of a blog crisis.  I realized this when looking at the number of posts I have written in the past few weeks, and how it has dwindled.

Call it the 18-month (!) itch, but I am struggling with the discipline required to keep this blog focused.  In the past few months, I have made a concerted effort to have most of my posts relate to local, sustainable food choices.  But where does that leave the rambles?

For instance, I would love to be able to post the story about how Jason reprogrammed our remote control so that it takes pictures with his D70 instead of making the television work.  Or about how stoked I am that Chris Noth is going to take over half of the Law and Order: Criminal Intent from the ... guy ... withthelong ... pauses .... in .... his speech - Vincent D'Onofrio.  Or about how it is such a sham that Freddy and Kendra won The Amazing Race last night instead of the nicest couple ever - Kris and Jon.  Or about how the window I look out of while working has a view looking east into the San Francisco skyline, and how the color on the buildings changes minute by minute, hour by hour - and how I wish I could just gather all my friends and loved ones here and have them understand exactly how amazing it can be.

But I don't feel like there is room for all that in this blog.  I feel like I have set it up to be a blog with a specific goal in mind, and I feel like readers come here expecting to find something along those lines.  So I am considering a couple options, including spinning this blog off into two -- one that would allow for my randomness, and would help to keep the other blog focused.

I don't know.  So I am asking you to excuse my crisis for a bit longer, and hang in there with me ... I have plenty of blog posts waiting in the wings that just have to be polished up and posted.

love the place you live

I am having a love affair lately ... with San Francisco.  I don't know if it's the weather, or the vibe of the people in town right now, but I just can't get enough of my city (I called it that the other day and Jason said, "Hey, it's my city too!").  The sunrise in the morning has been fantastic, with the downtown buildings surrounded by pink from the dawn. 

This morning, I woke up starving.  I usually don't eat breakfast, but decided to go to Dottie's True Blue Cafe on Jones.  The breakfast was great -- all of their baked goods are made by the restaurant, and I had a particularly good, thick slice of cornbread.

But the thing that was remarkable to me was all the tourists.  Here I was, having rolled out of bed with a mess of hair and no make-up, having a casual breakfast and I was among many tourists who were ready to  have their day in SF.  A couple were reading guide books, one was writing postcards.  It was one of those things that jolted me into remembering how lucky I am to live in this vibrant, destination town. 

I think (I hope) that there are places in all of our hometowns that remind us why we love living there, and why it's such a special, unique place.

If you live in San Francisco, I have some places in mind to help you remember just that. 

Of course, you probably have your own that are special to you, but here's some to get you started: 

Amoeba Records
Lafayette Park
The Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market at 8 am on a Saturday - open and ready for business
Desiree Cafe lunchbox eaten at Crissy Field
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge on your way to run an errand and realizing how many people are on the bridge for whom this is a lifetime experience
The view from Point Bonita
Stella Bakery in North Beach
Chinatown
Brunch on Sundays at Le Petit Robert
Standing in line at Mitchell's Ice Cream
Taco crawling in the Mission
Green Apple Books
A beer on a September afternoon at Pier 23
Pac Bell SBC AT&T (?) Park