Adventures in the Lone Star State

Once again, so much living has been packed into a week that I hardly know what to tell you about first so I'll just dive right in while the granola is in the oven, soup is on the stove, wine is in the glass, and the Mommyheads are cranked on the stereo downstairs.

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend trip to Austin with my friends and fellow musicians Sue and Suki of She Mob. We were storming the streets of Austin, hanging with our beloved Oakland transplant Camille, and just generally having a great time. We ate Mexican food and Barbeque, the likes of which you can only find in Texas, and boy, did we enjoy every last bite, which we naturally washed down with ice cold beer and margaritas.










Just like the Bay area, Indian summer was in full force and it was hot and balmy and muggy and it seemed to stay light late into the evening, and when the sun went down the sky was noisy with crickets and birds and music.


We saw a great show on Friday night called the Golden Hornet Project that featured a ten-piece horn section w/ bass, drums, guitar and vibraphone, and man, was that just completely smoking. We were sad that we couldn't rally to stick around & catch the Invincible Czars, but our cheap plane fares caused us to rise at 4 am that day to catch a plane that had two layovers and ended up taking the better part of the day to get our butts to the Lone Star State, and well, some of us are old and tired and just can't party like rock stars anymore.

Saturday's highlights included a quick drive-by past the Soup Peddler's Headquarters...








...and a visit to a toy store that reminded me a lot of Berkeley's Mr. Mopps, where I simply could not pass up this fabulous photo opportunity.











As Saturday afternoon turned to evening, Sue, Suki, Camille, Jo (Camille's friend who also happens to be a Meat Purveyor) and I found ourselves in the midst of what turned out to be a little bitty all-girl hootenanny in Jo & Camille's living room, and this was my most favorite part of the trip. Suki played drums with her hands, we all sang and passed the guitar around, and once again I found myself feeling like the luckiest creature in the universe to be in such fine company, with a belly full of fine food and the warm summer air blowing in through the window.

The Second Best Chili You Will Ever Taste

If you read my last post, then you already know that I won second place in a chili cook-off recently (well, TIED for second place in fact, and that's another story!).

I used a recipe I found on the good ol' internet by doing a search for "chili recipe". Although tons of links came up, I simply couldn't pass up a recipe that contains two of my favorite things: beer and strong coffee. And also, with a name like "The Best Chili You Will Ever Taste", it's gotta be good, right??

Of course, I had to make my own modifications; mainly, upping the amount of spice and reducing the amount of sweetness. The version you see below is my adapatation and it's definitely worth checking out the original recipe for the sake of comparison and to see what I added/changed. Prize or no prize, this chili seriously rocks and has a depth of flavor as sublime and potent as the bass line to a Toots & the Maytals song, which is what I was listening to when I made this:


First, let's look at the ingredients:

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 white (not yellow or red, but white!) onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound grass fed ground beef
1 pound grass fed beef sirlion, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 14 1/2 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can Young's Double Chocolate Stout (original recipe calls for 1 can stout plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, but I think omitting the cocoa and using this chocolate stout is key)
1 cup strong black coffee (I use Cole coffee and nothing but!)
2 cans tomato paste (I was skeptical about this part but have faith!)
1 1/2 cups beef stock
3 to 4 tablespoons Pickapeppa hot sauce (accept no substitute!)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons whole coriander pods
1 chile negro (dried)
1 teaspoon cayenne
salt to taste
8 cups cooked (scratch is best!) or 4 cans kidney beans
4 jalapeno peppers, diced fine
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
chipotles in adobo sauce (really, you just need the sauce and I like the Embassa brand)

I like to start by sauteeing the onions in the oil over medium heat in a large cast-iron pot until they start to just turn golden brown. Then I add the garlic, lower the heat and continue to sautee.

While this is happening, I heat my smallest cast iron skillet and first add the cumin seeds and shake the pan constantly for about 30 seconds or until they start to just toast and release their aroma. Toss those into a bowl and do the same thing with the coriander pods and the whole chile negro, and turn off the heat. Next, I grind the spices, one at a time, in my little grinder (I use a coffee grinder that's dedicated to spices). You want to measure out about one teaspoon of the chile negro and you may have a little more or a little less, depending on the size of the chile.

You didn't forget about the onions & garlic did you?? Now it's time to add the meat to the pot and continue stirring over medium heat until the meat starts to brown.

Once the meat is starting to brown, pour the beer into the pot and stir, followed by the tomato sauce, tomato paste, coffee, broth and Pickapeppa sauce. Stir it well and then add the oregano, cumin, coriander, chile negro and cayenne. Now add half the beans and all the peppers. Reduce heat to a low simmer and let the flavors mingle and mature for a good one and a half hours.

Now, add the remaining kidney beans, one tablespoon brown sugar, about two teaspoons of adobo sauce, and a generous teaspoon or two of kosher salt. Simmer for another thirty minutes and then remove from heat. Let it cool completely and then let the flavors mingle even more overnight, and heat it up the next day. Enjoy it preferably in the company of good friends old and new, with great music courtesy of the Shut-ins, Yard Sale and Loretta Lynch (featuring yours truly!). Raise money to help feed the homeless. Drink whiskey, eat pie and dance your ass off until you can't dance no mo'. And be very, very grateful to be able to experience every last perfect moment. I was, and I am. Enough said.

Winning and Losing

There is so bloody much to catch up on, that I scarcely know where to begin.

There was a chili cook off and I won second place out of around twenty entries, which on the one hand makes me glad, and on the other hand makes the little doubting voices chime in to say "...second place! story of your life! Second place = loser!".

And then of course there's a rational voice that chimes in to remind me that second is still a pretty good achievement in the scheme of things, and then, a third voice speaks up to say "...Jesus, why the competition? Why the need to win? Why not just be ok the way you are? Who gives a bloody damn if anybody likes you, or what you do, or what you create? The only thing 'loser' about you is that you're worrying so much about not being the winner...'".

And then there's even a fourth voice that says "...do you know how lucky you are that you even get to do things like play music with your friends and have the money to buy grass-fed sirloin to make chili in the first place?". Cause so many people don't. So many people would kill to be able to do the things that so many of us get to do. And we should never take these things for granted. And yet, somehow, we do...

Alas, I have nothing more profound than this to say tonight, and tomorrow, I shall post the Number Two Winning Chili Recipe for all the world to enjoy.

La Farine, Won't you be my Neighbor?

Oh crap, am I ever going to be in some trouble.

Why? Well, I just discovered that there is a La Farine bakery opening right down the bloody street from my house.

Walking distance, baby.

Nearly spitting distance.

And that is bad, bad news for my waistline (and probably good news for the property values in my little 'hood!).

I'm afraid that with La Farine, my most favorite Bay area bakery, as my neighbor, I'm going to have to do more than Pilates twice a week. I'm going to have to do more than jog down the street every morning and stuff my face with a chocolate croissant, all flaky and buttery and golden and still all warm and oozing chocolate.

I'm going to have to bite more than the pastry.

I'm going to have to bite the bullet and join the bloody gym...

Song Lyric(s) of the Week

Every week I listen to tons of music. Sometimes I listen to the same things over and over again, and find myself thinking "oh god, I love that lyric". Here are a few favorites that I listen to over and over again as the seasons and years pass, and that still get me in my gut every time. But really, I think part of how it all gets to me is to hear the lyric while hearing the music; I'm not sure how it translates when you're just reading some words on a page, but for what it's worth...

Karry Walker, a.k.a. Ultralash, has a brilliant song called "Cabernet":

"If you made a meal of me, I'd taste like brie and cabernet sauvignon.... I'm setting the table for two, I'm making a large plate for you, I'm letting, the dinner grow cold..."

Lhasa, from the song "Anywhere on This Road", from the album La Llorona:

"My heart is breaking, I cannot sleep. I love a man who's afraid of me. He believes if he doesn't stand guard with his life, I'll make him my slave for the rest of his life..."

Oh, there are so many more great lyrics that are escaping me presently, but surely there will be more coming...right now I need to get back to Aretha Franklin singing the blues on the stereo in the next room. Time to crank the volume.

Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

Yeah, I dig the quinoa. Usually I eat it as a side dish with dinner, but recently I made a very tasty breakfast porridge out of it. This meal was one of those "what do I have in the fridge and pantry and what can I make from it?" moments, and although you never know how those endeavors will shape up, this one turned out quite nicely.

As always with quinoa, remember to rinse it very well to remove the saponin or outer coating, which will lend a very bitter flavor if you skip this part!

First, start cooking the quinoa. Put about a cup or so of the rinsed quinoa in a saucepan and add enough liquid to cover it by about an inch. For the liquid, I used a combo of coconut milk and water. You can use just water if you like, but the flavor is truly sublime if you use coconut milk. You could also use juice for the liquid. Bring it to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer and partially cover the pot.

While this is simmering away, dice an apple or a pear and sautee it over medium heat in a small amount of butter or ghee. You can also add a dash of maple syrup or honey at this point if you like your cereal a little sweeter. This will also help to carmelize the fruit. After a few minutes, toss a handful of slivered almonds and a handful of currants into the skillet and continue to cook for a few more minutes, till the almonds start to become golden. Sprinkle a little nutmeg and cinnamon over it and set aside.

The quinoa should take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook. You'll know it's done when it's tender and most all the liquid has evaporated. If you used coconut milk, your kitchen should smell quite nice at this point.

Now, it's time to serve. Spoon the quinoa into bowls, top with the fruit and almonds, and if you happen to have some, top with a little bit of plain yogurt, and enjoy the early morning sunshine.

Purely for the Love

Wow, have I seen some damn fine music lately. There is so much that I haven't reported on musically.

Just last week, I saw my local faves High Diving Horses at the Starry Plough, which, to those not in the know, is a bar that I've played at for about ten years now, and have been the official booking agent of for the last two years (and that tenure is coming to an end, but more about that later).

I cannot begin to tell you about all the amazing shows that I have seen on that stage, or that I have played on that stage! Idiot Flesh, Charming Hostess, Nels Cline, 20 Minute Loop, Black Heart Procession, Joe Rut, Penelope Houston and Eric McFadden, and that's just to name a few!

So there I was just last week with High Diving Horses, with SF songwriter Chris Jones opening the show.

Chris Jones was the bomb and left me wondering, where the hell have I been that I haven't known of him before? This Tenesee native can write a top-notch song and play a mean guitar and tell a story with grace and charm, and man, can he croon. Imagine a voice that sounds something like a blend of Jeff Buckley and Dwight Yoakam and Chris Isaak. I really look forward to hearing more of him, and you might want to, too!

HDH were captivating as always, and when the sound system was misbehaving, were easily enticed to come down to the center of the room and play acoustic and take requests, and we all sang along to one infectuous HDH song after another.

Then on Saturday, it was another great show at the Plough with Japonize Elephants, The Fuxedos and Polkacide. Pinch me; am I dreaming? Could one show possibly feature this much brilliance, cacophony, talent, humor and pure entertainment in one evening? Why yes, I think it can, and did, judging from all the sweaty bodies that remained until the very last note was played!

Am I going to be sad to give up my job as booker? Not really, because I'll always be a person who is obsessed with music, and I know that I will continue to put together really cool and interesting shows as long as I continue to know and discover so many talented musicians and artists, and so far, that hasn't even come close to coming to an end. It will just be so nice to get back to doing it purely for the love of it, though. That is for sure.

Posole Revisited

Due to popular demand, it's time to post my posole recipe again. I've been slowly refining it over the last year or so, and judging from the reaction of all who enjoyed the last batch, it seems I've hit my posole stride.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am wild for all things chipotle. And the chipotle in adobo sauce is just the thing that gives this recipe its kick, its heat, and it's rich, rusty red color that reminds me of the Crayola crayon color Burnt Sienna. Remember that?

Well put your crayons away and grab your apron, cause it's time to make posole.

Cut about 1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder or butt into 1 inch cubes and lightly brown in a splash of olive or canola oil in a cast iron pot that could hold ideally up to 5 quarts.

Cover the pork with water or chicken stock to make about 3 or 4 quarts, and add half an onion studded with 4 cloves, plus two bay leaves and four cloves of crushed garlic. Also add a generous tablespoon of crushed dried oregano, and the same amount of freshly toasted ground cumin seeds.

Take one chipotle in adobo sauce and pound it with a mortar and pestle with about one tablespoon of the sauce, till it's relatively smooth. Stir this into the soup. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for at least an hour and a half, till the pork is tender and surrenders when you entice it with a fork.

Now taste the broth. It'll be spicy, and it may need salt. It it's too spicy for your liking, add some water and continue to adjust the salt/water/spice ratio until it's to your liking.

It is helpful at this point to have James Brown cranked on your stereo, or perhaps some Rick James. Lydia Mendoza works nicely, as does Calexico or Lhasa.

Now, remove the onion chunks and bay leaves, and smash the softened garlic cloves into the side of the pan and stir into the soup.

Next it's time to add two 14-oz cans of hominy, and continue letting the flavors simmer and blend for another 45 minutes to an hour. At this point, it's all about tasting and adjusting. You may need more cumin or salt or oregano. You might like to add a skinny twist or two of fresh ground black pepper as you like. Or not. You should by now have a stock that is rich, lively and spicy, with plentiful morsels of tender pork and corn.

Now it's time to garnish -- a very integral part of your soup so don't even THINK about skipping this!

Top with little bits of the following:

*Thinly sliced radishes
*Finely diced cilantro
*Minced white onion that has been chopped and rinsed in water, then drained
*Crumbled cojija anejo cheese
*Very thinly sliced napa or green cabbage

All of the above will make this half-soup, half-stew both full of flavor and texture and nearly as colorful as a box of Crayola crayons, but much more pleasing to the tastebuds.

If you can serve this with homemade corn tortillas, all the better. But store bought tortillas work just as well. No tortillas required in fact, but do try to enjoy in the company of friends who friends who make your heart sing. In fact, try to enjoy many of your meals that way, because that will make your heart sing even more.

Did Someone say Chili Cook-Off?

Why yes, someone did.

Rumor has it I'm going to be participating in one, so I best get to collecting and testing those chili recipes. Like my Italian cuisine, my chili can be rather hit-or-miss. I've been known to make some pretty good batches, and a few mediocre ones too. But there is no room for mediocrity if you're going to be the grand prize winner of the great Koi Pond Chili Cook-Off! And of course, I want to win the prize. I don't even know what it is, but I hear it's going to be good.

So by all means friends, pass along your tips and point me to your favorite recipes, won't you?

Stay tuned. Later this week I'm going to post an updated posole recipe, and a yummy quinoa breakfast porridge recipe too. But for now, sleep is beckoning me to come to it and let it wrap its comforting, dreamy arms around me, and I am more than happy to comply. Oh yes, I am already half way there...

Don't stop crying, you'll flood the streets...

...we'll take our boats out, just you and me...

These are lyrics to a beautiful song by Noe Venable that I have found myself listening to over and over again recently. One of the things I love about Noe's songwriting is that she has a way of drawing you into another world, making you feel what the characters in this world feel, even if you don't know exactly what it is that is happening there. You just get find yourself lost in this world, and for me, anyway, I am happily lost as I listen to her angelic, striking voice and the way the guitars perfectly support the sentiment of the song.

...it's like the ocean when you rush in....

She sings this line and I feel like I have been carried out to the sea, floating on warm waves, with all my troubles behind me. It's both a comforting feeling and a deeply sad feeling, and I love the contrast, and I love music that can make me feel both of these emotions at once.

This song, called Don't Stop Crying, is from Noe's first album, which is a very lovely debut. She's released two more since then, and with each offering, her songs and voice and the way it's all delivered reach another level, and I find myself having more reasons to appreciate her and her muse, for what a powerful duo they are.

Thanks, Noe, for providing the soundtrack to my Sunday evening. Tonight, your song is the remedy to all the things that have made me feel weary.

It's Unresolved

I will be the first to admit that my moods are all over the place. I live my life on a rollercoaster, and I have never known any other way to be.

Just the other day, I found myself in the kitchen, feeling so content and dreamy, feeling like all is as it should be. I was listening to Toots and the Maytals, and making a perfect batch of poblano rice. The weather was perfect and sunlight was streaming through the curtains in the windows. I thought to myself, I am happy right now, however imperfect much of my life may be. And it felt like such an achievement to be able to have that thought.

And then, within the span of twenty-four hours, I found myself in the midst of what felt like certain relationships unraveling, while other relationships were dangling in the air like question marks hanging from a telephone wire, swaying precariously in the wind. It's wild how some situations can sneak up on you without you having any idea, how the undercurrent of what brings them on seems to remain obscured in your blind spot until it hits you squarely between the eyes, leaving you wondering...

WHAT

the

F*CK

?

?

?

I can't help but think of one of my favorite She Mob songs, wherein the tension is churning and the two voices are shouting back and forth to one another "I want closure!", "you can't have it!", "I want closure!", "you can't have it!", "IT'S UNRESOLVED", and the guitars and drums freak out and everything explodes into beautiful chaos.


Yeah, I'm about ready to crank that song right about now ...

Drunken Pinto Beans

It was blissful weekend, and I spent most of it either cooking or eating with friends; that's the life for me! Most everything I cooked over the weekend was Mexican-inspired, and these beans were a particularly big hit last night (sorry, vegetarians!).


Drunken Pinto Beans

8 oz. dry pinto beans (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup cubed pork shoulder or pork butt (about 2 ounces)
4 slices bacon
1 small white onion, diced
Couple sprigs of epazote***
Hot fresh geen chiles to taste (serrano or jalapeno)
Salt to taste
Couple splashes of tequila
Couple handfuls of diced cilantro


Rinse the beans and put them into a pot, preferably an enamal coated
cast iron. Cover with about 5 cups water, and add the pork shoulder
and the epazote sprigs***. Bring to a boil and simmer gently,
partially covered, until the beans are tender. This should take about
one and a half to two hours. Gently stir the beans occasionally and
add water as needed, keeping the water level about one half inch above
the beans.

Now, it's time to cook the bacon! Do it however you like. I like to
bake it, putting it on a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet,
so the drippings fall down into the baking sheet. When the bacon is
done, set it aside and take some of the drippings and put them into a
skillet and now, it's time to fry the onions and chiles in all this
glorious fat! Once the onions are nice and soft and golden brown, add
them and the chiles to the pot 'o beans. Continue simmering for
another 15 - 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Now it's time to taste
it and add salt to taste. Notice I did not say to add the salt in the
beginning! With beans, you always add the salt AFTER the beans are
cooked.

And now my friends, you will finish the dish. You've simmered the
beans until they're nicely tender, and you've added the porky onions
and chiles. You want the consistency of the pot 'o beans to be
something like a brothy bean soup. Perhaps you may like it thicker;
if that's the case, then puree some of the beans and throw them back
into the pot. However you like it, just be sure to add these final
touches before serving: crumble the bacon into the beans, stir in the
cilantro, and splash that tequila into the pot! Be sure to not get
too drunk DRINKING the tequila that you forget to leave some for the
frijoles! And also, when you're trying to get your guests attention
to direct them to which items are appropriate for vegetarians
(certainly not this one!), make sure to wear oven mits, and
schlurrrrrrrrrrr. It's very effective.


***It is said that in Mexico, no one soaks beans overnight and that in
fact, that doesn't do SHIT to make them easier to digest. It is said
that the only way to make it easier to digest beans is to eat more
beans. It is also said that cooking the beans with epazote helps with digestion,
but the jury is still out on that one.***

This recipe was adapted from the Rick Balyess 's Mexican Kitchen
cookbook. The smartass comments are mine alone, so don't let that Rick
Bayless try to tell you differently.

Dry Farmed Tomatoes are Back....

... and I can't tell you how much this thrills me! My heart leapt out of my chest when I saw these in the Berkeley Bowl yesterday. Call me a geek and a food whore; it's true. Taste these tomatoes and you just might become a geek and a food whore too.

I'm no farmer; in fact I can barely keep my houseplants alive, so I can't really explain how this dry farming business works. It has something to do with minimizing the amount of water used in the growing process, thereby concentrating the flavors. This article explains it.

I'd love to post a recipe about how to best enjoy these tomatoes, and in fact, I will:

JUST EAT THEM!

Yes, they're perfect off the vine, perfectly divine. Slice and eat. Or just eat. Don't drown them in dressing, and no need to even add salt.

JUST.

EAT!

I'm going to do exactly that right now.

Binge Listening: Sun in Mind

Some time ago, my friend Lucio Loud wrote a post about binge listening, and I've been meaning to add my two cents on the topic.

I am a frequent binge listener, surprise surprise. And lately, it's Sonya Hunter's Sun in Mind that I am feasting on. I inhale these sweet sounds into my pores and it's like medicine for my soul. I crank the stereo up loud and let Sonya's gorgeous melodies and choruses of exquisite harmonies wash over me, making me a little drunk.

She sings tales of the reckless abandon and joy and longing and emptiness and exuberance and cynicism that are all a part of the landscape of being human and of loving someone, and each tale resonates in my heart while delighting my ears.

The harmonies in particular, on the song Be My Baby, just flat knock me out. I keep listening to this one over and over again, and every time, these harmonies floor me.

This album has been with me every day lately in my car on my commutes to and from work, and it's been the soundtrack to everything that I've created in my kitchen this week.

Binge listening indeed - I am savoring each note, each finely crafted lyric, each sweeping melody - as much as I am savoring these last long, hot days of summer sun.

Someone's been asleep on the job - Now let's get back to preserved lemons, shall we?

I do believe this is the longest I've ever gone without posting something. I am just now starting to catch my breath after what was a very long string of long days and long nights. Long, long, long I tell you.

I wouldn't even begin to know where to begin to tell you about all the music and food and fun that was packed into said long days and nights. But oh, it has been quite a week. I can hardly believe my good fortune. Friends keep taking me out to nice restaurants and cooking me amazing meals, and who am I to complain?

Heirloom tomatoes are in season, good music and people are all around me, and the weather has been beautiful. The only thing I've been lacking is sleep. Thank goodness we have a cozy couch at work, and that I work for the kind of people who don't seem to mind when they see me laying there snoring in the middle of the day with a blanket over my head. God I love my job!

Anyway, I used the David Lebovitz recipe for preserved lemons. Click on this link to not only read his recipe, but to read comments from others on the topic of preserved lemons and how to use them.

Well now my friends, it's time for me to at least attempt to look alive. I'm in the middle of a very fun project at work right now, which involves putting together a local restaurant guide for folks who come to visit our company. Now if I could just get them to pay me to eat at each and every single place I review, THAT would be delightful!

Until next time...Ciao, and, Chow!

Figs, Preserved Lemons and Beets, Oh My!

I've been meaning to proclaim my love for preserved lemons on this blog for some time now, and I do believe that day has finally come. This might be a topic that requires a couple of entries, so thanks for your patience.

Tonight, I'm going to tell you about two very simple yet very lively tasting salads that feature preserved lemons, and later I'll post the directions as to how to make your own.

Try this recipe in the heart of summer when Black Mission Figs are exquisitely ripe. Take a basket of figs and slice them into quarters, and gently place them in a medium bowl. Cut a couple of ounces of firm feta cheese into bite-sized cubes, and gently place them into the bowl with the figs. Now dice a little bit of the rind of a preserved lemon, say... one quarter of the lemon or so. Sprinkle this over the figs and feta. Drizzle with olive oil, and give it a couple twists of fresh ground pepper. Thinly slice about four to six fresh mint sprigs, and sprinkle over the top. Give it a couple of gentle tosses, and serve immediately.

Here's another very easy and tasty salad. Steam three or four beets until they are just tender, and when they're cool enough to handle, slip them out of their skins. Dice them and place into a small bowl. Dice about one quarter of the rind of a preserved lemon and sprinkle it over the beets. Thinly slice three or four springs of fresh basil or mint, or a combination of the both, and toss this over the beets. Crumble a little bit of feta over the whole mixture, season generously with salt and fresh ground pepper, and enjoy!

In both of these recipes, you could use lemon zest in place of the preserved lemon rind, but if you've never tasted preserved lemon, you really ought to experience the flavor. It's totally vibrant and effervescent, so much more than mere lemon. You don't actually use the lemon's flesh, you only use the rind. The flavor lends itself nicely to Mediterranean and Moroccan cooking. I've been really wanting to experiment with creating a preserved lemon-influenced ice cream flavor. I shall add that to the list of upcoming obsessions.

Next time I'll get more into the nuts and bolts of how to preserve lemons. Until then, beauty sleep is calling...

Mint and Pea Pesto

Well I can't take much credit for this recipe except perhaps for the manner in which I bastardized it, based upon hearing about it from my friend Adam, who got the recipe from Gourmet magazine. I don't know how they did it in Gourmet, but it sure rocked when I made it, and it was so simple. And when it's your turn to make it, do it like this ...

First, put some water on to boil while you're making the sauce.

Roughly chop about three cloves of garlic, and sautee them lightly in a liberal bit of olive oil over low heat for a few minutes. Now, toss a handful of pine nuts into the skillet, turn the heat up a bit and shake the pan every minute or two for a few minutes. Next, add half a bag of frozen peas, cooking and shaking the pan for about another three or four minutes until the peas are just done.

While the mixture is cooling, rinse and thoroughly dry about half a bunch of fresh mint, and remove any big stems. Put the mint into the food processor and now pour the pea mixture into the food processor as well, and add a couple of fat sprinklings of nice parmesan or romano cheese. As you are processing this beautiful green goodness, you'll want to slowly drizzle more olive oil into the mix. You will of course need to set your wine down to do this. Remember, safety first!

By now it's probably time to add the ravioli to the water, so don't forget to do that. You can't survive on just pesto and wine alone.

Now, just keep processing your pesto until it's nicely blended and add enough olive oil so the consistency is right - you want it to be somewhere in between a sauce and a paste. And don't forget the salt and freshly ground pepper, friends.

By this time, your ravioli should be just about done, so of course you'll want to drain them, and spoon some of the pesto over them, and give it all a good toss and maybe one last twist of pepper.

Bon Appetit!

I Feel the Earth Move under my Feet

Tonight's earthquake:

3.2 magnitude, occurring at exactly 12:13 a.m., centered two miles ESE of Oakland.

It was a good reminder that I need to update my earthquake kit which currently contains pants that are too small for my newly acquired ass, plus water, vicadin and arnica, dog food, flashlight, nasty old canned food, and nothing much else.

Dear Lord I hope that when the Big One happens, I'm at work. Because at work, we always have lots of food and booze, plus we have a bazillion flashlights and batteries, and a special emergency stash of chocolate.

Hopefully there will be no more shaking tonight, for the hour is late, and beauty sleep is calling...

Song Lyric of the Day...

... I can't get this out of my head. It's by Joe Rut. It's from a song called Hole in Space that just sears my heart to its very core every time I listen to it, which is often lately. It's so simple, and it's so stunning...

"...I like now
Now is enough
Now is the only time we have to love...".

Probably, it doesn't do real justice for me to just mention is here, but I felt compelled to mention it nonetheless.

I will never forget the moment I first listened to this song, the way the big fat full moon hung over my head at 2:30 in the morning on a cool summertime Bay area night that was soon to ease into morning. I can remember exactly what I was feeling, and exactly what kind of emotions this song awoke in me at that particular time. How I was so lonely and how this song gave me some kind of hope that I would not always feel so desolate.

Oh, that is the beauty and the power of a good song. For me, anyway...

Later, I shall tell tales of ravioli with pesto made from fresh mint and sweet peas, and of pan-seared asparagus with olive oil, garlic, homemade preserved lemon, and feta.

But right now, I want to lose myself in the splendor that is the music of Joe Rut. Cause this song is rocking my world right about now, and a little hope is always a good thing.

Fine eating, Binge listening, and my Ever Shrinking Pants

Once again, my cup runneth over and I hardly know where to begin to report about the last couple of weeks I've had. So I'll just begin here...

I've eaten at some damn fine restaurants lately; so much so, that I'm a little on the broke side lately, and my jeans are feeling rather uh, tight. But oh, it's been so delightful getting this way, with meals at Tamarindo, Kirala, Luca's and Cesar in the last two weeks. Each meal featured not only great food and wine, but also old friends, new friends, or family. Now if I could just get someone to pay me to eat at fine restaurants, and pay for a personal trainer so that my pants won't keep shrinking....anyone??

And then, there has been music.

Lately Miss NoNo and I have been on a PJ Harvey bender. Each of her albums is like a beautiful baby; you just love them all for the unique creation that they are.

The album Dry just never fails to incite a bittersweet enthusiasm in me that makes me want to crank the stereo to epic volumes and recall the sting of the end of my relationship with my First Big Love, about whom I could write volumes regarding the depth of feelings that loving him inspired in me.

Wow, that was a mouthful. And perhaps not even proper sentence structure, but it's late, and I'm tired and don't feel much like self-editing.

I could go on blathering about what I love about each PJ Harvey album, but instead I think I'm going to pop one into the CD player; maybe Stories From The City, Stories from the Sea, and let those sublime, earthy grooves lull me into sweet, sweet sleep.

That sounds like a plan.

Shameless Self-Promotion

Go Cry me a River, won't you?

This is me. I thought you might enjoy seeing my alien eyes. They are what makes the meals I create taste soooo good.

Anyway it's my little brother's birthday and I'm off to enjoy massive amounts of sushi with him. In the meantime, you can watch this. Go on, do it!

Huh?

Hmm... I don't know what happened to the photos posted on my last entry. They seem to have been replaced with little boxes with question marks. Sometimes, that's the way all of life feels. I just wander around with these little boxes with question marks hanging over my head. I find them in my pockets, underneath piles of things on my desk, parading their way through my consciousness. So many question marks! I stagger around with an utterly confused look on my face. One thing I've noticed though, is that the less I care about the answers, the better I feel. Sometimes, apathy is a good friend. That's my rant for today!

Gluttony Loves Company

Goodness, where to begin?!!!

Should I first write about how perfectly delightful it feels to drive up the winding coastline that is Highway 101, with its breathtaking scenery featuring soul-soothing blue ocean waves that seem to have no end?

Or, should I tell about how much fun I've been having exploring the recipes from the Dona Tomas Cookbook? Recipes like Sopa de Lima...









...Corn Pudding, and Enchiladas w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Poblano Peppers?






But wait; as long as we're on the top of Mexican food, I should post the recipe for the salad I made recently that featured sweet cherry tomatoes, buttery ripe avocado slices, queso fresco, lime juice, olive oil and a pinch each of fresh-ground allspice and cumin. Yes, I really should tell you about that. But basically, that IS the recipe. Just toss it all together with love in your heart, trusting in your intuition, and it'll be better than you even imagined it would be. Top it with a little dried oregano, if you wish.






If I don't mention the bottle of 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from Cakebread Cellars that my friend Claire was kind enough to share with me, Laurie, and our Gay Husbands just a mere few nights ago, it could be considered blasphemy, and we wouldn't want that. Suffice it to say that not a drop went unappreciated.







And no, I am most certainly NOT done reveling! Because I have to tell you, that when you find yourself waking up in a beautiful place on the California Coast to be greeted by one of your Gay Husbands bringing you a perfect cup of drip coffee, and then he and your other dear friends create the most delightful breakfast of hash and poached egg for you to enjoy before sliding into the hot tub - you'll feel you surely must be dreaming, or maybe on second thought, that perhaps this is a new habit just waiting for you to adopt it.






Yeah, three cheers for Gluttony! I think I need a nap now.

R & R, Here I come!

I wonder if something's going on with the planets, or if perhaps all my years of trying to figure my shit out is finally paying off. Lately I've been feeling good thanks to the simple realization that when I slow down and relax more, the tension just leaves my body. Duh! Ok I know this is a no-brainer to some, but it took me a long time to figure this one out. So here's to more rest, more fun, more relaxing, less worrying!

That being said, I'm headed out of town to Gualala spend the weekend eating, drinking, hot tubbing, being lazy in the sun, and playing guitar by the fire with my Two Gay Husbands and a couple of other dear friends, plus our gaggle of four-legged beasts. I expect that by the time Sunday rolls around, I will be very relaxed indeed....and then, perhaps I'll get around to writing about my latest experiments cooking recipes from the Dona Tomas cookbook. Perhaps....

Open Foot, Insert Mouth

It was another action-packed and highly eventful weekend in my little world, and it included, among other things, playing three sets of music with my band El Mirage on an organic farm and vineyard in the beautiful town of Healdsburg.

The food was fantastic, all of it locally grown and organic. The wine was lovely, also organic (hey Dad, you'll be getting your bottle soon, don't worry!). It was a gorgeous day and rumor has it that our music was enjoyed by all the merry wine drinkers.

Really, it was all perfect. There was even homemade bread by the owner of the vineyard, who baked it in his wood-fired oven. One of the women who works at the vineyard had earlier in the day told me about this bread, and I was looking forward to enjoying it. In fact, maybe I was just a little too excited, because when I met said baker-of-the-bread-and-owner-of-the-vineyard, I got my words all screwed up and I said to him "I HEAR YOU ARE QUITE THE BED BREAKER!"...to which he replied "Well, I can't guarantee that but I do bake some pretty good bread!"....as my face turned beet red.

Uh, yes, this was before I'd had anything to drink. Fortunately besides baking delicious bread and growing good things to eat and making fine wine and paying the entertainment well, he also has a sense of humor. Ha, and I bet he won't forget me now! And the band thought it was so funny that they've decided to change the name of our project from Val Esway & El Mirage to Val Esway & the Bed Breakers....coming soon to a winery near you!

And the Secret Ingredient is....

Just moments ago, I finished a great book. As a side note, I would add that I finished this great book while sitting at work, drinking a glass of wine. Yes, my job has many great perks! But I digress.

The book, which I read over the course of the last 24 hours, is called Coyote Cowgirl, by Kim Antieau. My friend Sue passed it on to me after I catered a dinner party at her house last weekend (Moroccan food for twelve, and it was sublimely delicious!)

Anyway, this book involves a few of my favorite things - food, and the desert. Without giving too much of the plot away, I can say that I was really struck by the fact that several of the main characters in the book had a sort of spiritual relationship with food. In this book, food is not only something you eat, but it's something that sustains you and nourishes you on a soul level. The cooks in this book put love and spirit into the dishes they created, asking the food to give nourishment to whomever ate it. Yep, the secret ingredient really is love!

It is so satisfying to create and prepare a dish that looks beautiful and tastes amazing, but even more satisfying to share that nourishment. Now I feel inspired to run out and buy beautiful tomatillos, fiery peppers, fragrant herbs and deep dark greens...and maybe call a few friends to enjoy whatever I end up creating with it...and I certainly can't think of a better way to end what has been a very long week.

Sometimes...

... you don't know what you're going to write until you sit down to write it, and the words fly out of your fingertips while you've barely had a chance to think of their meaning or edit yourself.

Sometimes, these are the best kinds of bits, because they come straight from the heart. And sometimes, these are the worst kind of bits, because they reveal parts of you that are perhaps best left inside your cluttered mind, where there is no one to offend or confuse or drive away - except yourself, that is...

But the problem is, you're always stuck with yourself; you can't run away from you! You can confuse yourself, and you could possibly offend yourself. But you can't drive yourself away. But oh, how we keep trying.

Believe me...there have been many times when I would like to find myself 10,000 miles away from myself.

Sometimes, you don't know why you're proclaiming the things that you're proclaiming as if these things were the gospel truth, because you know full well that soon you'll be singing a different tune, possibly even shouting it from the top of some mountaintop. You know this and it pisses you off a little bit to think that you could even be spending this much time pondering this subject. In the time it took you to write what you wrote, life and death and most everything in between circled around hundreds of times, and you sort of missed it.

Sometimes, it's good to remember to crank up your stereo, to be grateful, to keep your heart and mind open and your cup full. And maybe not to think quite so much.

Exhausted...

... thanks to a weekend that included hot sunshine, hot kitchens, hot stages, hot sauces, cool herbs, savory stew, sweet berries, strong coffee, strong beer, spicy wine, sweet friends, saucy music ... and, not nearly enough sleep.

But really, I can't complain. And in fact, I especially can't complain now as I sit here with the Joe Rut song Hole in Space cranked, with it doing to me what it does to me every time I listen to it, which is to just completely hypnotize me and take me to such a perfect place. It is the perfect soundtrack to the stillness of this moment that I have finally arrived at after a non-stop weekend. Thanks, Joe. Your song is a gift that keeps on giving.

Dress up your Greens

And now back to our regularly scheduled progamming...






I'm still enjoying cooking things that are green. Or rather, it keeps working out that I have green things in my fridge that need to be loved, and so I improvise based on little snippets of recipes that I recall from faded cookbooks and magazines of days gone by.

And sometimes, it turns out just right.

The other day I woke up at 7 am and was inspired to steam dinosaur kale, broccoli and zuchinni because I knew I wouldn't be home in the evenings for the rest of the week, and I wanted to make sure that it didn't go to waste. But I didn't have much time before work, so I did this:

Heated a little lemon-infused olive oil in a skillet and added a couple handfuls of pine nuts, several cloves of roughly chopped garlic, and a couple handfuls of currants. Sauteed it all until the garlic was al dente and the pine nuts were golden. Tossed it all over the steamed green goodies, and off to work we went. Although I just used what I had, I bet this would be delightful over basmati rice or pasta. And if you didn't have lemon-infused olive oil, you could use regular olive oil and give a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end. Use what you have, including your imagination!

First Impressions and Too Much Information

I was just thinking about first impressions, and how so many of us strive to put our best face forward. Of course, it's human nature, isn't it?

I mean, we all want to present ourselves as having our shit together, being grounded, being desirable and clever and evolved and just all around perfect, don't we? Yes! I do! I want to be perfect, or at least, I want you to think that I am! Or I want to somehow prove to myself that I am, or could be. But damnit, it takes so much work to keep up that kind of charade. Let's hear if for laziness and apathy!

Sometimes, I want to meet a person and say "HI! I'M FUCKING NEUROTIC AND YEARS OF THERAPY HAVEN'T CHANGED THAT! I'VE GOT BAGGAGE! I'M A MESS! WELCOME TO MY MELTDOWN!".

I want to say this and so much more. I want to talk about the qualities you and I may find charming in one another at first but that we eventually will find grating upon our nerves like sandpaper across a chalk board. I want to meet you and disect you and find out what makes you tick and I want to love you and drive you away simultaneously so that I can sit around feeling sorry for myself and blaming you for my problems. And I want it to happen all in my mind so that I never have to risk anything and so that I never have to feel the coolness of your rejection.

I want to rail in that land of Too Much Information with more than just my own issues as entertainment... I want to hear all about yours neurotic ways, and then I want to sit around and psycho-analyze us all to death, so that I can firmly prove to myself that you are just as screwed up as me and then sit around feeling smug.

Yes, that's uh... what the voices in my head instructed me to write about tonight. Those voices are such cranky, buzzkilling little buggers, eh? But at least, they make us laugh. Or, they make me laugh. And in the end, laughter is what gets me through. So let's hear it for the voices! Woo hoo!

p.s. All the names have been changed to protect the guilty, and any resemblance in this story to any persons living or dead is just really tough shit.

This about sums it up for me today...

...

"i need a man
to cook for me
don't need no fancy cars or diamond rings

the path to my heart
starts with the kitchen sink
so come on little daddy bring me to the brink

i got pots and pans
just waitin' for your hands
come on and show me how you're gonna be my man


i need a man
who's not afraid of heat
so come on little darlin' fix me something to eat

i like sugar now and i like salt
so come on my little daddy
show me what you've got

show me what you've got now

i need a man
who wants to jump in the pot
so come on my darlin
give me all that you've got

i got pots and pans
just waiting for your hands
come on and show me how you're gonna be my man"

.... anonymous...

... and on that note, i sure am hungry. now who's gonna feed me???!!

;)

Reno is Not for Sleeping

Yep, it's good to be back. Yesterday I drove a good 650 miles with my lovely dog as a companion. We listened to whatever tunes we could find over the Idaho and Nevada airwaves, which included such hits from the vault as Brick House by the Commodores, Halfbreed by Cher, and everyone's favorite Dust in the Wind by Kanas, which turned out to be perfectly appropriate when we blew through a massive dust storm near Winnemucca, NV.


I was so damn happy when we finally arrived in Reno, dreaming of a quiet place to rest my head for the evening after more than 9 hours of driving.














But see, the Motel 6 where we stayed was not quite spa-like. Oh no.... it was loud and creepy and the kind of place where you find yourself feeling ESPECIALLY grateful for your canine companion. I certainly was. But I still found the need to take the precautionary measures of blockading the door with a chair, and calling my brother and four of my friends to let them all know exactly where I was, just in case the monsters crawled out from under the bed and swallowed me up in the night.



To comfort myself, I wrote a song about a germ-phobic person (gee, I don't know ANYONE like that) who wants to dip themselves from head to toe in Purell in order to protect themselves from the cooties of the creepy Motel 6 bedspread. It was a great way to both distract myself and laugh at my neurotic ways.


There are more pics to come, and tales of beautiful scenery and good times taking place in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. But right now, I have to make up for the sleep I didn't get last night in Reno...

Greetings from Yellowstone, where the skies are endless blue and the sun is hot and the trees are plentiful, and I can already feel my stress levels decreasing. There will be more to come once I have real internet access, which may not happen until I get back to the bay area.. which I am in no hurry to do.

We have our own private swimming hole!

You can't see power lines or hear cars backfiring or fireworks or gunshots in the distance!

There is so much more to report but it will have to wait. For now, I have a cold beer awaiting me and it's just about time to go to the West Yellowstone Rodeo.

Yee haw!

Summer Green Soup for Superfreaks

Tonight's soup was thrown together based upon what I had on hand, which was mostly green stuff - broccoli, asparagus, frozen peas, and fresh zucchini from my neighbor's garden.

When I got in from running errands this afternoon, Miss NoNo had the stereo cranked with a really cool 70's funk compilation, featuring lots of great music by the likes of the Gap Band, Rick James, and so many more. This was about all I needed to get myself inspired to create something that would make me forget about the fowl mood I had previously been swimming in.

The soup was created by first plopping a couple of spoonfuls of clarified butter into the pot, and then slowly sauteing one diced medium sized onion over medium-low heat until it started to become nice and golden brown.

In the meantime, I peeled two medium russet potatoes and coarsely chopped them. I also coarsely chopped three cloves of garlic, three ribs of celery, two zucchini, one medium sized bunch of broccoli, and a half a bunch of asparagus.

Once the onions were nice & brown, I added the garlic to the pot and stirred for a couple minutes. Next, the celery and potatoes joined the party in the pot and were sauteed for another ten minutes or so until they started to soften. After that, in went the zucchini, asparagus and broccoli, plus a smattering of frozen peas that had been sitting around feeling lonely in the freezer. I added enough water to cover it all, plus a little dollop of tomato paste, and brought the heat up to get it boiling, then turned it down to a simmer and let it all mingle for another ten minutes or so with the lid on the pot, till everything was more or less done.











Next, it was time to practice patience while the soup sat on a cooling rack in the kitchen cooling down. What better way to pass the time but to turn the stereo up louder and take a luxurious shower? Worked for me!

It was now time to puree the soup, pour it back into the pan, and season with a little dried oregano, dill and thyme, add a couple generous splashes of half & half, plus one generous tablespoon of pesto. After all, the soup's theme was green, and I just happened to have the pesto lying around.







Finally, it was time to serve the soup, and I also happened to have sour cream in the fridge, a dollop of which was added to the bowl and then swirled into the green goodness. If I'd had fresh herbs, they would've no doubt made an appearance, but sometimes you've just gotta work with what you've got on hand and if you're lucky, everything works out beautifully.

The Devil & Daniel Johnston...

...I just watched this most incredible film The Devil & Daniel Johnston w/ a few friends, and...WOW.

So beautiful and inspiring and painful and raw. Such an amazing story about a real person who is an artist in the true sense of the word.

It made me laugh, and practically cry, and drop my jaw and say "HOLY SHIT" more than once.

I'd been hearing about Daniel Johnston for years and now I finally get it. I love it when that happens.

Soon to be Yellowstone-bound...

... and boy, I can hardly wait! Deep blue skies, shiny stars, clear air, my dear pal Miss NoNo, our dogs, Miss NoNo's mom Ann, no less than 4 gourmet chefs in the kitchen, copious amounts of wine, sleeping late, hiking, and best of all, exploring one of the most beautiful places these United States have to offer (is that correct grammar??!).

Two words: OH YEAH!

I'll probably drop a line or two before then, since I'm not leaving till next week. But damn, I do believe that my mind has already started vacation.....and that's all I have to report tonight!

Greek Meets Italian equals the Perfect Salad for a Summer Night

It's been real hot lately, causing me to have some fleeting moments of feeling totally uninspired to cook. I hate that! Especially when I just spent more than $100 on groceries!

But alas, last night was one of those nights.

So it's a good thing I happened to have all sorts of half-filled jars and containers of this and that in the fridge, plus a few staples like cucumbers and tomatoes, because before I knew it, I had a beautiful, refreshing, delicious salad that required very little effort to put together.

And here is how it came to be:

First, I chopped a few roma tomatoes and half an armenian cucumber into nice chunky bite-sized bits. Then, I emptied the contents of half a jar of kalamata olives and sliced them, sending them on their merry way to mingle with the cucumbers and tomatoes.

Next, I remembered that some time ago I'd made pickled red onions, which have a very long shelf life, because they're pickled, duh! Into the bowl they went.

I was just about to use the last of some crumbled feta that had been sitting around waiting for me to notice it, when a chunk of fresh mozarella obscured my vision and planted crazy ideas in my mind! So instead of the feta, I cut the mozarella into chunks, and added it to the salad along with slivers of fresh basil and mint...because fresh herbs make most everything better, especially salads!

Fortunately, I had a nice big jar of citrus vinaigrette that I'd just made the night before, so I tossed the salad with a little of that, plus a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. And now, 5 minutes after I began, my work was done. If only all of life were so simple, yielding such tantalizing results....

Let's get Back to the Spinach & Pluot Salad, shall we?

Howdy!

Last week's festivities just kicked my ass. By the time Saturday rolled around, I was blotto. Gone, daddy gone. It was a day of recovery. Sometimes that is simply what a person needs.

And it's a good thing I rested on Saturday, because by the time Sunday arrived, I was fully ready to spend the day shopping, chopping, zesting, squeezing, pureeing, and grilling the day away.

The day's activities included homemade peach ice cream, vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, steamed beets & beet greens with citrus vinaigrette, and grilled tofu & shitake mushrooms with homemade muhammara*. I made sure to make extra citrus vinaigrette to go with this salad I'm going to be eating a lot of this week.

This salad is an adaptation of a recipe from a recent issue of Food & Wine magazine. I've included the exact proportions for the dressing here:



2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
Coarse sea salt, preferably red
Coarsely crushed black pepper

Now here, the recipe called for drizzling this divine dressing over a combination of baby spinach, basil leaves and plum slices. And it is unbelievably good exactly like that.

However, you can easily substitute arugula for the spinach, and fresh mint slivers for the basil. And it's oh-so-nice with a little crumbled feta. And of course, good old plums are perfectly acceptable, but pluots just put it over the top. So go ahead and be creative! Use what you've got! Make up your own combination! Throw in a light sprinkling of toasted walnuts, go right ahead! Have fun. Eat your greens. Just make sure to save room for dessert.

*More about muhammara later!

Sweet Success

Well, I've only been talking about it for a week. And I finally did it: I made my very first batch of the most incredible...deep...dark...intense...velvety....rich...lovely...




homemade chocolate ice cream.


I've heard it said that once you make your own, you can never go back to the store bought kind. And now, I am a believer, thanks in part to the clear-as-a-bell instructions in the awesome book The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz. He talks about this particular recipe being the one that ended his search for the perfect chocolate ice cream, and now that I've tried it, I can see (and taste!) what he means.








One thing I love about following recipes is that usually, if you follow the directions, you get good results. You get what you expect and hope for. Sometimes what you get exceeds your expectations. I find this so incredibly comforting, not unlike chocolate ice cream.


So much of life is uncertain and comes with no recipe or tour guide. I feel like I spend the great majority of my time trying different approaches and bouncing off the walls, as if my life were taking place inside a pinball machine. Sometimes I hit it just right, and other times, I just bounce around randomly. It's certainly never boring, but I feel frequently bewildered. That's why a single moment of culinary perfection is so utterly satisfying. Sweet success indeed.

Homemade Ice Cream, and Pearls of Wisdom from my Dad...

Dad!

This one's for you. Even though we just got off the phone, I can't help but reiterate that I wish you were here tonight to enjoy my very first batch of homemade ice cream. Knowing that it's over 100 degrees in the Phoenix area right now, I can't help but think that this would so hit the spot for you. I went with the deep, dark chocolate flavor for my maiden voyage with the new ice cream maker. It is churning its chocolate-y magic as I write these words.

There are so many reasons why I am thankful for you, Dad - not the least of which is all the ways you've helped to instill in me a deep appreciation of food. People, you need to taste my dad's meatballs and homemade pasta! How lucky am I that I got to grow up eating this stuff??

Dad, I wish I could enjoy a plate of pasta with you right now, and a glass of spicy red wine. And THEN after that, we could eat the homemade chocolate ice cream!

Another thing you taught me is the simple practice of common courtesy. You taught me to always say "hello, goodbye, please and thank you". This simple but essential practice has stayed with me throughout my life and still serves me well to this day.

I still remember so fondly how when I and my siblings were small and had already gone to sleep, you'd wake us up to eat popcorn and watch Johnny Carson. This was important business! You can't sleep when there's fresh popcorn in the house!

And it wasn't that long ago in fact, that I was whining about my love life (or lack thereof), feeling really lonely. It was you who told me that maybe it was just less complicated that way. Well, the jury is still out on that one, but I sure am glad that I can talk to you about such matters, and always appreciative of the wisdom that you share with me. Hell, I'm happy that I am lucky enough to have two parents who love me and have always been there for me. That is never something to take for granted.

So happy Fathers Day, Dad! The ice cream is still churning, just like the wheels in my head. I do look forward to the day that I can make homemade ice cream for you and Mom, and we can eat it out on your patio on a 90 degree summer evening in the desert, under deep blue, star-filled summer skies.

Until then, I am sending my love...

If I were in Charge...

... people like Joe Rut, the High Diving Horses, and Yard Sale would be famous.

Joe Rut would be like one of those people whose songs get covered by the likes of Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello, and whose own shows would swarm with thousands of rabid fans. And I'd still be performing at his special living room concerts, singing harmony on that beautiful stage.

The High Diving Horses would be like as famous as Beck, rocking the festivals and the airwaves, with every last damn person in the crowd singing along. When they played their hometown gigs, I'd be their special guest bass player and we'd sing in 3 part-harmony.

People all across the world would be baking pies to the sweet, soothing, down home 3-part harmonies of Yard Sale. Denise, Mel & Jill would make tons of money just for being amazing songwriters and delightful singers and entertainers.

Also.... if I were in charge, everyone would have minimal aches and pains, and plentiful home cooked meals with the ones they love. And lots of time to nap. Everyone would have a high quality stereo with Joe Rut, the High Diving Horses, and Yard Sale in their record collection. All of this just for starters. And this is just the tip of the iceburg, my friends!

What if you were in charge? What would we eat, drink, and listen to???? Come on... I know you're out there. Comment anonymously if you wish, but make your voices heard, won't you?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

Tamales, Ice Cream, and the Further Destruction of George

...


I'm too exhausted and delirious to write very much. It's been a long and fruitful, sleepless, exciting, draining, inspiring, utterly manic week. I am all too happy to spend Friday night with my butt parked on the couch, reading my newly acquired books: Tamales 101 and The Perfect Scoop,
while Miss Spider happily continues her job of tearing poor old George to bits.

Thanks to Bob & Magali for leaving Spider the gift that keeps on giving!

Summer, Slaw, and a Big Sigh of Relief

My life is like a rollercoaster. When I'm down, I'm WAY down in the bottom of the well. But when I'm up, damnit it's a glorious thing.

Take today for instance. After a long stretch of having lots of physical pain and back issues, I FINALLY woke up feeling good.

And after work, for the first time in weeks, I felt strong enough to take a good, long hike in the redwoods. And suddenly, everything in my world felt right again. This whole day has been like one long sigh of relief.

After my hike, I whipped up a perfect light salad for a summer evening, which I adapted from the most awesome cookbook Super Natural Cooking that I recently picked up (check out the recipe for Crunchy Slaw Salad - I adapted it by using both green and red cabbage, and added a tiny bit of finely diced jalapenos, and a few sprigs of cilantro).

Then, I hauled my sweaty self, along with a bag of food and other treats, over to a friend's house. This friend has been feeling a little under the weather and I wanted deliver a little summertime sunshine (and hell, I gotta do that while I've got it, cause who knows when I'll fall back into the well???).

As I was headed over, the air was warm and blustery, and the sky was pink and grey and blue and intoxicating, and I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be, or anything else I'd rather be doing.

After a short but sweet visit with said Friend (and two other Friends whom I adore and who happen to live there too, one of them being furry and four-legged!), they sent me home with freshly baked brownies. And as I got into my car & drove West, the clock read 9:18 pm, and the sky was just barely turning deep dark blue above me, and ahead of me far in the distance, the sun was just fading away, leaving a beet-red smear on the horizon. I rolled the windows down and let the warm air rush in, and yes, it truly was a glorious thing.

Short Attention Span

As I write this, I've got a strawberry-rhubarb pie in the oven, beets steaming on the stove, Schubert playing on the stereo in the kitchen, and KALX on the radio in the bedroom.

I don't know what to tell you about first - my short but sweet visit over the weekend with Bob Wiseman and his wonderful wife Magalie, or my personal chef gig debacle on Saturday in which I accidentally left the uncooked fava beans that I was using to weight the pastry crust IN the quiche!

And what about that dang recipe for arugula and mint salad with pluots and feta in citrus vinaigrette?

And hell, did anyone even notice this evening that the sky was still light tonight at 9 pm?

God I love summer!

Yesterday I baked apple pie, and tonight it's strawberry-rhubarb. Yesterday's pie was a test...







and couldn't hold a candle to the famous apple pies that Lucio Loud makes, but hell, it wasn't bad either.


Tonight's pie is being baked as an offering to the KALX DJ Meaty Paws, on behalf of Loretta Lynch, who'll be live in his studio tomorrow evening. Tune in around 10 pm California time, and you just might hear some siren sounds.

But, I digress. Pie is tricky stuff, as I am learning. But learning can be so much fun, and so delicious in the process!

Magalie and Bob left me with some lovely parting gifts, one of which was a George W. Bush squeaky toy for my dog Spider to destroy.





Actually, they left it for both Spider and Dean, but Spider was very selfish and simply wouldn't share poor George.









And speaking of short attention spans, I fear the strawberry-rhubarb pie may be burning, and the beets turning to mush, so I better get my ass back into the kitchen.

To be continued...

Reunited and it Feels so Good...

.... oh yeah. That about sums it up. There is much, much more to report. But right now, my coffee awaits me.

Pluots Make me Happy

It's that time again...pluots are in season! Pluots are "a complex cross hybrid of plum and apricot, being 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot in parentage". Or so says Wikipedia.











Juicy and lovely ruby red - the color alone is enough to make me swoon.

I like to eat them alone, but I also love to eat them in salads.

The one I cut up for my salad tonight was so striking that I couldn't stop taking pictures.










And the taste is succulent and sweet as nectar. A simply perfect offering.















Later I will post the recipe for the salad I had tonight, featuring baby arugula, pluot, fresh mint slivers, feta, and a citrus-balsamic vinaigrette. It's the kind of salad that makes me happy to be alive.













I'm a simple kind of gal. Like my dog Spider, feed me and I'll love you more. Never mind that I fed myself tonight. Plenty of love to go around! Stay tuned for the recipe.


Right now, I gotta go see my friend Bob Wiseman play. He's finally in town, and he and his wife Magalie are staying at my house even! I wish they could've been here to enjoy this salad with me. But with any luck, there will be some juicy pluot slices in the fruit salad that I'm making them for breakfast before I rush off to do a personal chef gig where I'll be making brunch for 12. Yikes! I'm being hired to make brunch for 12 tomorrow morning! May the quiche fairies smile upon me.



Wish me luck! And go find a pluot and eat one right now!

When I am 69...

... I want to still be slinging the guitar, like Cordell Jackson.

The singer, songwriter, guitarist, engineer, producer, label owner, and rockabilly pioneer put it perfectly herself when she said...

"If I want to wang dang rock 'n' roll at 69 years old dressed up in an antebellum dress, it ain't nobody's business but mine.".

Enough said.

Life without Coffee

I miss my coffee. It's been 5 days now. Shouldn't I be waking up all bright eyed and bushy tailed? Instead, this is how I feel:





Of course, I used to feel that way every morning anyway. But then, I would stumble into the kitchen, put the water on to boil, pour copious amounts of Cole coffee into my little gold filter, and before too long, I was like a happy little junkie. All was right in the world.



But now, mornings feel all surreal and I feel disoriented. In fact, that feeling carries on into the day. I keep waiting for the day when I'll wake up and just feel good. And if that day doesn't come soon, then those 3 days of caffeine withdrawal headaches will have been for nothing, cause I'm going back on the coffee.

At least now, I've proven to myself that I can stop. Granted, it was hellish. But I did it. I wouldn't want to have to go through that again, so maybe I'll just decide once and for all that I'm never giving up coffee again. Next time I get a bright idea like this, somebody please slap me.

The Last Supper

Ok, it wasn't the last, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it WAS the last completely indulgent meal I'll be having for awhile. No shaky hands today, and although I do have a caffeine withdrawal headache that feels like someone driving nails into my head, I feel otherwise alright.

I'm still a little giddy from the meal I had at Aziza last night with a small posse of my friends from work. The restaurant is beautiful inside, and every single dish was exquisite. Seriously! Moroccan cuisine is so alluring, with an artful way of combining spices and fruits and herbs. It's the kind of food that just thrills and inspires me.

I have long been drawn to this type of cuisine, although I've never really gone out to eat it before! So, you might as well start with the best place in town, and that is exactly what we did.

We tried many different dishes from the menu, with ingredients like saffron broth, green olives, preserved Meyer lemons, cumin-orange glaze, mint sauce, cranberry-cumin couscous....oh just go look at their menu and see for yourself. Or better yet, go eat there!

Our after dinner tea combined fresh lemon verbena and crysanthemum leaves with rose petals, and it practically made me swoon! Dessert was cayenne-chocolate custard. Oh god, I was so full already, but I couldn't help myself.

So yes, I think this just might be my new favorite restaurant. Go eat there and tell me what you think. Or better yet, wait till I finish my detox diet and then take me with you!!