Breakfast is probably the most dismissed meal of the day, so when there is time for a proper breakfast it feels like such a luxury. Sitting down, enjoying a cup of tea, a place setting actually set, with knife and fork. Perhaps to justify the extravagance of sitting idle the morning news from NPR might [...]
Thanks to the recent Edible Institute that took place in Santa Barbara the weekend of March 16-17th, I got to try fresh oysters from Open Ocean Shellfish. They’re referred to as Hope Ranch oysters, as this is the area where they are cultivated, although they are specifically Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas). I have certainly eaten [...]
I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter Sunday. A little rain didn’t do much harm, and our plants certainly needed it. There were brunches a’plenty at restaurants and with friends, but for breakfast I made myself a little easter egg. One fresh egg, from a friend’s chickens. Soft boiled for 3 minutes, top removed, one [...]
Dear Chris, Thank you for stopping by my place with your large sack that contained a lovely wheel of parmesan cheese. And for finally making good use of my 10″ chef’s knife to culinarily cut the cheese, so to speak, and leave me with a generous quantity of it. I’m sad you’re gone, but New [...]
Spring cleaning is in full swing. Outside there are birdboxes to be emptied of last year’s nests, weeds to be pulled, seedlings to be potted up. Inside, it’s fridge clear-out time. In this recent clearing I dealt with farmers market leeks, some cream, the last of some market eggs, and a frozen pie crust. The [...]
This time of year, the unofficial springtime of Santa Barbara (which is really winter), reminds me of my time in the Mediterranean, particularly southern Spain. It’s the time of year when things are in furious bloom, it’s sunny and warm, but not unbearably hot. When I’m out pulling weeds in the garden, I’m reminded of [...]
What do you do with pile of cheese, caviar and charcuterie purchases from the 24th St Cheese Co in Noe Valley? You make a giant meat mandala, that’s what. It’s so Sacrelicious. 24th St. Cheese Co. (Noe Valley) 3893 24th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 http://24thstreetcheese.com
For those city dwellers who only experience cheese coming from a deli fridge case, here is a working dairy not far from the beaten track where you can see the cows, take a tour of the dairy and bakery, and then buy the goods. We bought some cheddar and one of the rindy-musty cheeses. The [...]
Summer’s idyllic moments It’s hard to believe that it is already August. The typical May Gray and June Gloom days didn’t seem as prominent, and August has actually seen some scattered showers. Best of all, there have been no wildfires! Um, yet. Still, the days are long, the evening chorus has changed from frogs to [...]
I’m not going to say where, and I’m not going to say who, but someone I know sat on a small supply of foie gras before it was banned from sale in California. Some bits appeared recently at a home, seared in beef fat, and topped with chopped Japanese style rib eye cabs. I ate [...]
