The Sox and the A's

One of the nice things about San Francisco, particularly if you like baseball, is that it is a large enough city to host two baseball teams, one in the each of the leagues. We went to a Giants game against the Reds earlier in the spring (which Cincinnati won 10-9), and last Saturday we ventured across the bay to go to an A's game in McAfee Coliseum. To get to Oakland one must cross the bay bridge, and then fight the traffic through Oakland to head south to the stadium. We decided to use the metro system instead of fighting the traffic and then the parking lot at the stadium. So we started with a bus that we could catch about 2 blocks from our house. Once off the bus we descended into the metro rail system to take BART (Bay Area Regional Transportation) across the bay.

All in all, we got there quicker and the cost was a good bit less than bridge tolls, parking costs, and gas not to mention the frustration of fighting traffic. Last year we went to the Boston versus Oakland with Brandy and Will (before we had any idea that we might be living here for a while). It was a celebration trip- to celebrate the safe return of Brandy and Will from Iraq. Brandy bought us Boston hats- and we were all decked out for this game. One big difference though- at this game there were as many Boston fans as there were Oakland fans- we definitely not alone!

The BART station is right next to the stadium, and we had great seats on the 3rd base line to watch the game. The last time we were at the stadium it was between these same two teams. That was last summer and the Boston pitcher, Beckett, came within one out of pitching a no-hitter and except for that one hit and an error, it would have been a perfect game, a very rare event. Beckett was pitching again, but he just didn't have the same stuff and lasted only 6 innings.


Both pitchers did well and Boston only got one hit in the game, so it was nearly an opposite game from last years since the A's won this one.
The first baseman for Boston, Kevin Youkilis, is a hometown boy-A Cincinnati hometown boy! Youkilis graduated from Sycamore High school and then played 4 season at the University of Cincinnati where his batting average was .627. So cheering for Boston- is cheering for the home team.

I bet everyone is pretty impressed that I was able to get such a good picture with my little Sony Digital- from way up high in the stands.

I must say that at both games we noticed that A's fans are a little different than what we have experience in other parks. These fans are noisy and rowdy.

This is a picture from last year when we were with Brandy and Will-

We didn't see fans quite so "colorful" as these two- but we certainly did find fans as noisy!
Sitting next to me was a "lady" with a large voice. Every time an A's player did something (regardless of whether it was an infield pop up, a home run or a strike out) she yelled "way to go baby" in a somewhat shrill voice. And in the event of a home run, she did a rather interesting dance (that I won't try to describe) right there at her seat that I believe was an expression of her joy about the event. Then after the last out and a win by the A's she did it again while we just stood there and waited until we could leave our seats. Nonetheless, it was entertaining, although also a bit annoying. But we were the visitors (we had on our Sox hats) so we were in no position to complain about it. We were certainly not the only Sox fans there. This Red Sox Nation thing is real. I do believe that there were about as many Sox fans in the Stadium as A's fans, and they were just a loud, but just didn't have much to cheer about.

We did enjoy the park,

The food concourse is dark- with a heavy concrete feel- crowded- and dark- But boy do they have the food!

While Don waited in the seats for the first pitch I wandered about looking at the food- and beer- and of course the "official" clothes.


I hope Don is appropriately appreciative of his "Big Hot Dog"- monster of a hot dog- a Saag's Atomic Hot. And it took me over 2 innings to wait in line- don't think there is ever a lull in the food lines at his ballpark.

And of course the hot dogs (Max did attempt to make sure I had another mustard/nose event).


I like the peanuts- where else but a ballgame can you drop the shells at your feet-


and the game before catching BART for a ride back across the bay and onto home.

A great way to spend a Saturday night!

Sailing on the bay

Dick Haiduck is a friend that I met about 15 years ago in the biotech industry when he was with a company called Desmos in San Diego. Over the last 15 years Dick has moved about the industry and is now working independently as what I call a CEO gofor. That is, he reports to the CEO's of a number of biotech companies and does work specifically for the CEO. He usually has 3 in his stable and provides them with resources that CEO's need to satisfy the requirements of their respective boards. Dick now lives down on the peninsula with is wife Barb and the two of them are some of the nicest people you could ever meet. Dick and Barb are what you call a "Miami Merger"- Miami University (that's the university that was a university before Florida was a state) has an incredible number of kids who meet in college and "merge" their lives- Dick and Barb are one much "merger". Barb hails from Hamilton, Ohio- And they spent some early days of their marriage living in Cincinnati so they are really folks from home. They're the sort of folks you just like to be around doing "whatever"- but sailing was a huge treat.

Dick has a sail boat that he docks in the marina just next to AT&T baseball park here in San Francisco and he asked Max and me to go sailing with him and Barb last Sunday. We of course jumped at the opportunity and scheduled to meet them at the marina at 1:00. We both got there at about 1:00, but as it turned out there are two parking lots at the Marina and we were at one and he and Barb were at the other. We were both about to give up on meeting each other when I decided to do some searching and found them sitting on a curb waiting patiently for us to show up.

Once we finally got organized and I was parked in the right parking lot, we prepared his sail boat for some time on the bay.

Now Max has never really sailed and I had only been out once several years before with Dick while at a conference here is SF. I wasn't really "nervous" about the adventure- we see so many boats at in the bay I rather thought had gotten use to the idea. But I must admit my heart did race a bit when Dick asked me if I knew how to swim- well one thing for sure I hadn't planned on swimming- I don't like swimming even in more hospitable water. He then did reassure me we weren't at risk of tipping over- well not much risk but I could wear a life vest if I wished- I bravely said no. We set off out of the marina and sailed under the Bay Bridge heading for Alcatraz Island and beyond. But it was a pretty windy day and the bay west of the Bay Bridge was pretty rough. That's Alcatraz in the background and a large container ship that was steaming into the harbor.

It was "smooth sailing" until we crossed under the Bay bridge on our way to Angel Island, Alcatraz and views of the Golden Gate Bridge- But the minute we crossed out into this part of the Bay the waters got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO rough and the waves SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO big.

So we turn and go back towards the Bay Bridge- and then try again. Now this was the moment of the real racing heart- we dipped and the wave came crashing over - splashing cold water all around- just like those movies of the battle between the angry sea and the fisherman's boat- But before I could get really nervous at all it was over and we were headed back to calmer water.
And below is Barb with the rapidly closing container shop passing us by.

Max's first indication that this was not just a sail in the park was when a wave broke over the bow and sent rather cold water spraying on us all. We tried the waters west of the Bay Bridge for a while and then decided to head back to calmer waters not too far from the baseball park.

Once we got into some decent water with steady but not too heavy winds, Dick felt that it was calm enough for both Max and I to take our turns at the wheel and we sailed on the bay for over two hours. But Dick was always close by making sure we didn't all get wet.

I was just more than a bit nervous about about "driving" this boat- But Dick was determined that I have an opportunity to take the "helm". I thought I was doing absolutely perfect until Don and Dick pointed out the the tail of my driving so visible in the wake of the boat was very, very ripply- to say I was weaving a bit was an understatement- And I hadn't noticed at all!

She was doing great and building confidence until the wind changed a little and we were suddenly moving a bit faster and starting to list over as the wind bit into our sales.

We finally headed back to the marina and with the baseball park in the background, we brought the boat back into the dock. But before we arrived in the dock Dick and Don brought in the sails.



Then it was the drive into the marina.

By now the Giants game was over and the water a softer blue. What a fantastic day! I just love doing things for the very first time- at 59 years old!

It was a great day on the bay, although I got some real sun burns on my face (the only part of me exposed since it was pretty cool out on the water and I just didn't recognize that the UV rays were still burning through my cheeks (on my face).

Brandy Came to Visit!

What a wonderful weekend! Brandy arrived on Friday here in San Fran- and we did have the best time ever. We had plenty of time to just be together- to do nothing together- and to share this beautiful city with our beautiful daughter.

But now to the details.


We started downtown with a walk- and then met Don for lunch at the Ferry Building. We brought Don home with us- even though it was a bit early on a Friday- don't tell the folks back home that he quit early. It's OK folks, I was actually taking a vacation day on Friday, but had to come in for a meeting that I had set up.

And then we took Brandy in to get her hair cut- have to begin with a bit of pampering I think. You know, I go to Ben at the Exchange Barber Shop in the financial center. The haircuts are a bit more expensive here in San Francisco (about twice what I pay at the Valley Barber Shop in Cincinnati), but Ben does a good job cutting my hair and I leave in about 15 minutes. This process of getting a haircut that Max has become accustomed to is a bit different. I was just sitting and waiting in the front and the receptionist decided that I needed some "herbal tea". At least it wasn't bottled water with cucumber in it like the place Max goes to in Cincinnati. Then they had to wash Brandy's hair. That's the hair washing below with her lying down. Max also says they give good head rubs. If Ben started giving me a head rub, I think I might find another barber. Anyway, her haircut took a bit over an hour. And then the tip she gives the beautician is about the same as the cost of my haircut from Ben. I guess you get what you pay for.

And the results were fantastic!
We spent the rest of Friday just talking- and of course if you're visiting me- there is plenty of time for the eating as well. So we walked down to the Marina for dinner at our now favorite restaurant Pacific Catch.

Saturday we began with breakfast at home- we have breakfast at home more often here- no Half Day or Gabby's for weekend brunch- But we will be back! Max does like to fancy up her breakfast. Bacon, eggs and hash brown is about as good as it gets, but here we do go that extra step.



Max often lightly poaches our eggs and then "finishes" them by sauteing them in butter and breadcrumbs. The "finished eggs" are then placed on top of sauteed spinach and accented with sliced tomatoes. Max says she likes to eat food that has lots of color.

It is pretty, but brown hash browns, brown bacon and white eggs are awfully good too.

And then it was off to Berkley and the Botanical Garden at U.C. Berkley.


The day was absolutely gorgeous- And there were glorious flowers all about- we wandered about for hours- in a paradise of flowers.



And we observed wild life-


And even wilder-


This was our third trip to Berkley and the Botanical Garden- But I do believe that this was the first time we went down every path- and looked at every garden. Brandy is thorough!

Then it was off to lunch at Tacubaya- a Mexican taqueria owned by Dona Tomas- the chefs whose inspiration resulted in our Mexican night at home. The picture below is the upscale version of tacos here in San Francisco. This is no Taco Bell.

I was impressed- for fast food- but equally delighted that Don thought our food at home was better. He does know how to keep us cooking!

Now you'd think that would be enough- But no! It was off to another adventure- Brandy just doesn't tire out that quick- So next it was the Japanese Garden (complete with a tea house) at Golden Gate Park. I hadn't been for better than 15 years- and it was a real treat- It is now on the rotation of places to go back for an afternoon.





Brandy crawled up and over a "bridge"-


And suddenly I was feeling braver- and younger- and decided I'd scamper to the top as well-

Well scamper might not be the exact description of my ascent- But I did make the top!


We started Sunday on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were off to the Bonita Lighthouse- perhaps Don's favorite adventure.
But first a stop to look out over our beautiful city away from home- These next two pictures are from the hills just above the Golden Gate Bridge. These locations have historically been military outposts put in place to defend the bay from attack. The first emplacements were 16 bore cannons in the late 1800's. Those were replaced by artillery during WWII, and finally by a Nike missile site during the cold war. Now they are just great places to view the bridge and opening to the bay.


Then we took the curvy ride down the back side of the hills to the lighthouse- by the way- I don't knit on this trip- I'm not usually car sick- but this drive does require a bit of extra vigilance. These narrow roads wind up the hill and then back down the backside again towards the Pacific. But it is sooooo worth the trip. Here Brandy is standing in front of the small suspension bridge that takes you out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on a rock that is a point of land at the entrance to the bay. Over the years, the wind and the waves have eroded the access to the light house so they built this little walking bridge for access. It is a little bouncy, and with the wind blowing as it was at around 40 makes the short walk a little exciting. They only allow two people on the bridge at a time, a rule that makes you wonder just how sturdy this bridge is.We finished the outing at the Cliff House for dinner- watching the kite surfers and wind surfers braving the winds and waves of the Pacific- But I was mostly interested in the food- and we had a dandy of a desert-


Monday was our last day of this most special of Mother's Day weekends. Don had to go off to work- But Brandy and I started (after breakfast- in case you haven't noticed- I don't miss a meal!)- at the Aquarium of the Bay.




I think the most interesting thing- something new- not just sharks with their menacing face- were the "skates in utero"- or rather the the "mermaid's purse"-

There was an exhibit with 6 "mermaid's purse" that had a "window" cut out and covered with plastic so we could actually see the developing skate in this "egg".

The mother skates didn't look too concerned with the attention paid to their developing babies- don't think they were giving it a second thought-

From the aquarium Brandy and I walked downtown to meet Don for lunch after his meeting. We met at the most appropriately named "Fog City Diner"- because this certainly is the foggy city!


But we weren't done yet. Before heading to the airport we walked up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower to one more sweeping view of the city.

But finally it was time to say- THE END!

All About Food- Sometimes cooking- Always eating- (Take 4)

I suppose it is my turn to chime in on this food series primarily because I made a good bit of this meal myself. Our dinner at Mamacita (see food post # 2) posed the question: "Why not make some of these dishes ourselves at home?" What a good idea, we thought, or at least I thought it was a we. As it turned out the plan was made to make our own upscale southwestern meal on Saturday, the weekend that Max had to work. So on Friday evening the menu was developed and a grocery list was drawn up. Now it was my responsibility to shop for all of the ingredients and then get this meal started before Max got home from work. The first objective was to make the sangria so it could mellow all afternoon in the refrigerator.

Next was the ceviche. For those of you who have never had ceviche, it is a cold dish of some kind of raw fish marinated usually in a lime vinaigrette. I remember the very first time I had ceviche- it was with Don (or course)- he was on a business trip to San Diego and I tagged along. We went to this restaurant by the bay on a pier- Wow- I couldn't believe that food that sounded kind of yuck could taste so fantastic. But you don't go back to Cinti and order Ceviche- So all I had were faint memories. But now- now I'm in San Fran- and we've found two restaurants that make great ceviche- And even better- I know that Don can make this for me whenever I get an urge- and I do believe I'm going to be getting some urges! This one was tuna in a lime juice, olive oil, chiles, and garlic marinate to which was added chopped tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and cilantro. We ate it on blue corn chips. It was so good!!!

This last picture was right after Don tasted the first bit of ceviche- he was too quick or I would have gotten the trip of the chip into the mouth- But I'm rather fond of the shot I got- though Don wasn't enthusiastic about including this picture- and insisted that some sort of explanation must be included- so you have it- I rather like the action shot!

Next was a spicy mango salad. The dressing was another lime juice, olive oil, minced shallot vinaigrette. The salad was a mixture of shredded red cabbage, slices of jicama, jalapeno chiles, red onions, cubed mangos and cilantro. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to get the jicama, so while Max finished this dish, I set off to our local grocery to get the jicama.

Finally our main dish (as though we actually needed one) was sauteed shrimp tacos. Max put these together while I was shopping for the jicama. The shrimp were sauteed in with olive oil onion, japapenos, garlic, butter, and parsley. Oh my, were they wonderful.

For those of you who have spent all of your days in the midwest, most of the tacos served here are made with soft corn tortillas that you just wrap around them, pick them up and eat them.

So we just stuffed ourselves on this wonderful feast. Now we know that we can do it ourselves and make it just as good as these great restaurants.

PS: The recipes we used are from the cookbook "Dona Tomas"- written by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky- chefs who own a quite famous restaurant called- you got it- Dona Tomas. over in Oakland. We haven't been to the restaurant yet- I understand there is often a wait- but I now have the book. But I am most excited because we have been unable to find a really good Mexican Restaurant in Cinti - we've tried- But now the search is over- we'll just make it ourselves at home.
PSS: I'm still working on the fish tacos- more on that later.

All About Food- Sometimes cooking- Always eating- (Take 3)

When our good friend Linda Wise was here visiting from Ohio I fixed from scratch biscuits one morning. She rather liked them and asked if I would send the recipe- she thinks Katie- the youngest daughter who is studying theater in NYC- might like to try when she visits this summer. Well here is a stab at recreating a recipe that is still rather fluid.

But first for some background. Up until I married Don and moved to Cinti most of my baking- biscuits or pie crusts came from the refrigerator section of the grocery store.

But then Don's Mom was coming to visit over Thanksgiving- And just in case you don't know already- my mother-in-law makes the BEST pie crust in the whole world! Her pie crusts are so incredibly good if you get too full before you finish you must might scrape off the filling and just eat the crust. Well you don't serve this Mom a "store bought crust"- not when you're still trying to impress- both the husband and the mother-in-law. I'm so over that now- what they see is what they get!
Anyway- it was at that moment I ventured just a bit into the pie crust- and now the biscuit recipes. So I bought books- and read and read- and practiced. Pie crust- and biscuits- are delicate. And if you overwork they get tough- and not flaky. Meanwhile, on a trip to Oklahoma we stayed with our dear, dear friends Kathy and TH- and TH makes the BEST biscuits in the world. Well Kathy gave me the recipe- but since they demanded a day before start I only got around to baking them only once (I'm toooooooo tired at night to tackle something so difficult as biscuits- thats for sure). But I remembered.
And this long winded story gets even more longs winded (by now my kids would really be rolling their eyes- and Don glazed over- with the snore that he denies is a snore)- But in a blog you can just scroll down to the ending. Anyway I move to San Fran and decide I want to bake sour dough bread- and order the starter from Vermont (go figure that) and begin. But I can't bake bread as often as you need to use the starter so I started looking for other alternatives- pizza crusts- and then biscuits. I even took starter to Clint and Marianne's so Reeder and I could make sour dough biscuits- from scratch.
Then when I got back from San Clemente I find a very disgusting sour dough starter and I'm so over sour dough.

But maybe I could adapt- And I learned about Bigas (to the Italian's), Poolish (to the French), and the Sponge (to the English). Well I use the Bigas (a thicker substance). Anyway, a Bigas is a "starter" for bread. Now to the recipe:

BISCUITS:
1. Mix 1/2 cup of water (slightly warm) and 1 tsp of yeast in a container- I use a crock
And then when yeast is dissolved add 1 cup of flour. Mix and cover and let sit on the counter over night (or over day if you're doing biscuits in the evening). The Bigas will gurgle and puff up in a "magic" yeast way.


You don't do anything but let the Bigas (I also use a Bigas to start bread as well- a Poolish or Sponge is "wetter" than a Bigas- so you don't add as much flour as for a Bigas- Maybe I'll try that sometime).

But in the morning when you're ready for the next step you first...
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl- 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp of baking soda.

Notice the BIG FORK- this is what I like to "cut" in the butter/shortening. It works better for me than a pastry blender or food processor- but you could use those tools if you prefer.

3. Cut in 2-3 tablespoons of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of shortening. You don't want to use all butter (the biscuits- or pie crust if that's what you're making) won't be flaky- and you do want to use some butter- because that gives the biscuits (or pie crust) the wonderful buttery taste.
Cut (some people even use their fingers) the butter/shortening in until the butter/shortening are about small pea size.
4. Cut in the Bigas- and here I did use my fingers some to break up the Bigas so it would be well mixed with the flour mixture.

5. Mix in 7/8 cup of buttermilk. The 7/8 is approximate- this is the most difficult part- if you over mix at this point the biscuits will be tough- and not flaky- so you have to be gentle- and just mix the buttermilk in so everything sticks together- if it gets too wet just sprinkle with flour.

Now I have to regress a bit. When we went to Clint and Marianne's I left my perfect size biscuit cutter- So of course I decided this particular day that we just had to have the right size- not the one that was too small or too large- so we walked down to the Marina to my favorite Hardware store and bought new biscuit cutters.

I guess this is my one chance to say something in this "cooking blog". This hardware store is one of the best I have seen. It takes the word "hardware" to a new level. They have just about anything in the way of hardware you could want. The picture below is one of the two aisles that has kitchen stuff. There are another 6 aisles with guy hardware stuff. By the way, Max didn't mention that we still had the whole set biscuit cutters except the one she wanted. So now we have two of everyone and only one of the perfect one.

6. Cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter - 2-2 1/2 inch- don't twist the cutter or it will seal the edges and interfere with the "rise" of the biscuit. Set the biscuits aside and cover with kitchen towel to rise a bit (30-60 minutes). When you're ready to bake preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

By the way- the reason our biscuits have green specks is because I added chives- and also white cheddar cheese that you can't see.

But you can't just have biscuits- so to go with the biscuits we had a sausage, fried beans, and swiss chard skillet.


I found this recipe in the NYTimes- though I had to adapt a bit. First of all it was just the beans- large precooked- Swiss chard- and onions and garlic. Well I'm not sure what Don would say if I ever served JUST beans and greens- but I really didn't want to try- so we used a Cajun chicken sausage.
Don applied the heat...

I couldn't catch the picture as he turned but tossing the sausage in the skillet was impressive...
Then you take out the sausage out and add the beans to the hot skillet that still has the grease from the sausage. you "brown" the beans- you want this crispy- and then you add the onion and garlic- cook til onion is transparent- return the sausage to the skillet and then add the swiss chard till wilted.
7. Bake the biscuits for 7-10 minutes in the 450 degree oven while you're cooking "whatever".

And dinner is served!
But I had to have just one more buttered biscuit!

Yum!

All About Food- Sometimes cooking- Always eating- (Take 2)

Thursday evening was "Friday" for me since I'm off on Friday and then work the weekend. A perfect night to walk down to the Marina for dinner at an upscale (translate- more expensive), trendy (translate- noisy) Mexican (chef run) restaurant. We were the second people at Mamacita last night. If the restaurant is "trendy" we know to get there early or we won't be able to hear anything after the crowds arrives and the noise climbs and climbs and climbs.


The waitress explained that this is a "small plates meant to share" restaurant- and that we'd probably need 3-4 plates. She was cute and friendly as she explained how the menu worked- guess we looked like we needed a little more help than their usual crowd- well below 40, not almost 60!

We began with the ceviche- and it was fantastic- and we did share!



From this small plate we went to two small plates of tacos- fish and then carnitas. And they were terrific. I didn't get any pictures. If you're sharing "small plates" you want to be careful that by the time you're starting there is still something "small" left to eat. And the tacos were great. And did I mention we shared a pitcher of sangria- and I do love the sangria!

Max did look at the dessert menu and was considering it, but although the several choices all looked very good, they were just too much for Max to go ahead and commit to a full dessert. So we passed.

We felt pleasantly satisfied- not stuffed- just satisfied. So we paid the bill and began the walk up the hill. Regardless of where we eat out, the after dinner chore is to walk up a hill. When you live at the top of the hill and all the restaurants are all down the hill, you have to walk back up.

Well about a block later we (Max) weren't completely satisfied so we stumbled into a chocolate cafe... We don't have these little chocolate shops in Cincinnati, but there is one every couple of blocks in the commercial districts here in San Francisco. And these aren't little cheap chocolates. Each of these little delicacies cost about what a small box of decent chocolates costs else where.


And had just a bit of a nibble....



Now Max picked up the lady bug chocolate because it was so cute. She just couldn't bite off the head, so she started at the other end and ate forward. The smiling head was the last to go, but go it did.

As we were strolling down one of the streets I very casually mentioned- "Have you noticed how many really pretty young girls are out and about on these streets?" Well there was no reflective pause- no space to indicate he hadn't ever thought about it, but if I mentioned it he would consider the idea- no- there was no pause- as he explained- "'WELL, YEAH!". I did gently, timidly suggest that he had been just a bit too quick with his response- and then he went on that asking him if he'd noticed the pretty girls in San Fran was rather like asking his if he'd noticed the redwoods when we walk through Muir Woods. Good thing I feel secure in this relationship- what with all these pretty girls about- though I'm not sure that they're noticing my "metrosexual" all man- who maybe needs to trim the eyebrows just a little bit -husband!

And by now "we" were just pretty "finished" for this night on the town- so we caught the bus to the top of the hill! Well, not exactly to the top of the hill, but rather a little ways up the hill. As I said before we are at the top and none of the buses actually go up that high. So regardless of what we eat, we always get some cardiovascular exercise climbing up a couple of pretty good hills before we get home. But I have to say that riding this bus up part of the way is always a gift.

All About Food- Sometimes cooking- Always eating- (Take 1)

I spend hours (broken into very short bursts of minutes) pouring over cooking magazines. Now I've always liked to read cookbooks- particularly the "chatty" ones that talk about the food as well as list ingredients and give instructions. And of course my favorite paper of the week is the NYTimes Wednesday edition with the "Dining In/Dining Out" section. And here in San Francisco I've read even more cooking magazines than ever. Probably potentiated by the fact that there are scores of them always at the grocery checkout (I bought 2 more today) and little bursts of time is all the extra time I have- perfect to flip through a magazine about food.

Now I must admit- I do a lot more reading about food than I do actually cooking food- and gratefully much more than actually eating food- But I do cook from time to time, for Don, to keep him from complaining. Complaining about always eating out- about all of the myriad of kitchen equipment- about all the cookbooks we own.

Max is a collector of cook books and kitchen stuff. She just knew that she wouldn't need her mixer here, so we left it in Cincinnati. It turns out we didn't really need it, but we apparently did need a new bigger one. And we didn't need some of our pots from Cincinnati, but we did need some new rather expensive ones once we got here. How many of you have a red tajine pot or even know what one looks like? We have one and have used it once now.

But I do have to admit that we have had some wonderful meals that came from all of the recipes from the magazines. And I suppose Max couldn't have made some it without the proper equipment. She did use the tagine pot to make a chicken tajine dish once, and it was very good.
And for what ever reason, Max has gotten really involved with breads. But I suspect she will focus on that in a future blog because she has really gotten good at it. There have been a few minor failures, but the successes far out number the failures.

So on a Friday night after a lazy day off we cooked- from scratch- using as many of our tools as we could fit into one meal.

But first the beginning. We are committed enthusiasts for the "eating locally"- that is as long as what we have a yen for is "local". But we were in luck on this day-

We started with the Rosemary...

Don harvested rosemary from a neighbor's shrub- pretty smart huh? And we're not in farm country at all- but in the middle of some of the priciest real estate in San Fran.

It is really amazing to look at the plant life that grows here in San Francisco. These are all just rosemary plants, but here in San Francisco they grow year around and become large bushes and hanging plants. They are just everywhere. There are lots of other small bedding plants that we grow in the Midwest that turn into major landscape plants here in the bay area, but further talk about that is the subject of a future blog.

Because of course we were going to have homemade bread- homemade rosemary bread. But this was to be artisan bread (more about that on a later blog-maybe- but suffice it to say it required the purchase of MORE EQUIPMENT).


To make this bread we used my new larger size KitchenAid counter top mixer (thanks Am for finding a use in Chicago for my old KitchenAid counter top mixer that I was absolutely sure I wouldn't need in San Fran- because after all, I didn't plan on cooking that much!) And then the bread machine for the rise- and then my new heavy dutch oven to create just the right oven conditions for Artisan bread- in order to get the hard crust and soft inside of Italian bread.


And of course there is homemade pasta- also using the KitchenAid counter top mixer- with the pasta attachments- my oh my!


And then Don harvests the Basil from the plant by the bedroom window...


For the tomato, mozzarella ball salad (the olive oil and balsamic vinegar were local- from the Farmer's Market downtown)-

Max is used to my herb garden that we always planted in Cincinnati. It supplied all the basil, mint, chives, thyme, and sage that we needed. Here all we have a a few south windows, so I was encouraged to plant some pots of herbs. All we really have is mint and basil, but as you can see from above, we have plenty of rosemary available.

And then Bay scallops and peas - the peas are from not sure where but I bought them in the freezer section of the local store- for the pasta...


And finally it is DINNER!


Perfect Day! Perfect Meal!