Eating Seasonal for the Ordinary Mortal

Today I was reading The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook when something occurred to me. Penne with arugula is so simple, and sounds delicious. Yet that isn't what I am thinking when I go to the market. I'm worried about getting enough vitamins and making sure there's enough potatoes so Sascha doesn't complain.

And therein lies the challenge.

It is difficult to be a broke ass gourmet, to say the least.

To so many people doesn't mean as much since for several generations we have been able to to just go buy food in the store with no regard to seasonality. It can hamper us in many ways, killing off the creativity that comes when you have few options and hungry mouths.

Sometimes I go to the market and I want more, more gorgeous tomatoes, more squash, more fruit. What the hell do I do with all this stuff?

Being reminded that fresh tomatoes taste amazing with white beans, that arugula is wonderful with penne, and that sweet potatoes are magnificent mashed with a hint of butter is what makes it all easier.

It is so easy to forget these sensibilities when unemployed thus faced with stretching both your dollars and your food. And there are so many people who never really knew that in the first place.

It doesn't have to be time consuming or expensive to eat well, because at the market you can find delicious treasures that cost less than the at the grocery store.

For those ordinary mortals who know next to nothing about eating seasonally and making a new & delicious meal every night there is plenty of help. Just remember that if a recipe or idea seems too easy, that just means it requires less work for you and allows more time for relaxing. fun.

The Ferry Building Farmers' Market

East Bay Farmers Markets

Epicurious, 15 years and counting

"In some ways it's trying to be ahead of the curve a little bit and figure out what people want and don't have yet." Tanya Steel on what's next for Epicurious.

Long before I went to culinary school, I loved to cook and bake. Like many people I hunted around for the best recipes to test out my skills on. Epicurious has been a go to me for a long time for many reasons. It is convenient, easy to navigate and always has recipes that translate to 'yum!'

It was also a fantastic resource in school for when you needed something last minute and didn't have time to go through a ton of books to find what was needed.

When I heard that Tanya Steel was going to be in San Francisco and that Bay Area food bloggers were being offered the chance to sit down with her, I jumped at it. Who wouldn't want to sit down with the Editor in Chief of one of the most well recognized online recipe sites in the world?

Epicurious is 15 years old, and for the last five years has been led by Tanya Steel. They've won 62 awards and they are an amazing daily online publication for food and drinks. The growth they have shown since their inception shows that the passion for good food gets stronger everyday.

Tanya herself is warm, friendly and open, so it made me infinitely more comfortable to sit down with her and talk about what's new, what's good and what's next. Also, two days after I met her, I got to see her on Hell's Kitchen which was pretty awesome.

Oh and in case you don't know, Tanya wrote Real Food for Healthy Kids with Tracey Seaman and during our chat expressed a desire try and help tackle childhood obesity and food insecurity. Here are some kid friendly recipes from the book.

So now, what's new and good? Well how about Epicurious being the #1 lifestyle IPAD app? They were one of only 9 apps actually launched with the IPAD, which shows good sense on the part of Apple!

As for what's next, Tanya would love to see new growth with cooking for and with kids, healthy eating and entertaining becoming more a part of the Epicurious community, possibly even a spin off site or two. The great part of Epicurious is that they listen to what their readers want and try to be ahead of the curve in providing it.

Where else can you go global with around the world in 80 dishes, discover classic drinks, learn to make fudge, get seasonal recipes, and travel dining all in one site?!

Tanya would also love to provide more content where people can tackle more difficult and unusual dishes. She recognizes that the readers cooking level is growing and wants to be a part of the newest food revolutions. Having more complicated, technique driven dishes on the site is just one exciting idea we discussed.

I can't wait to see what Epicurious does next and I am glad I had the opportunity to tell the Editor in Chief how much I love the site and hear what excites her about working with Epicurious and helping people to learn more about cooking at home.

"The way for us to do that is to show how easy it is to pull these things together." Tanya Steel on making real food and cooking accessible to everyone.

Savory Cocktails with CUESA and more!

When it comes to cocktails I may not know how to make them but I know what I like. And I like that I won a pair of tickets to the CUESA savory cocktail from the fabulous Drink Me magazine, an event which gave me the opportunity to try drinks from some of the mixologists in San Francisco.


I love events such as this one; you get a chance to try so many varieties of greatness and you don’t have to go far to do it. This was a cocktail crawl of magnificent proportions: all savory and made from the freshest ingredients found at the farmer’s market.

Kate Bolton from Wexler’s had one hell of an amazing cocktail, refreshingly light with fennel, oranges and a spritz of Absinthe. I could easily see this as a welcome addition to any brunch menu with its cool flavors and clean stimulating balance.

Kyle Ford made us a Jaguar Sun, tequila, oranges and the Aztec Elixir (a coffee syrup that would make even the most coffee wary a convert.) He let us try it alone and the thick rich syrup made me want to take it home and make ice cream with it. Or maybe something with mascarpone and fruit.

Michael Callahan of Gitane brought home a winner with a lamb neck sausage infused bourbon based cocktail that blended with Cynar, lavender bitters and a garnish of radish and sausage that made the drink tastier and interactive. I liked the combo of the sausage with the cocktail, but I loved the cocktail with the radish. Since it had a spicy back, the radish was perfect to help balance it out.

Lauren Kino of Plum had an appetizer of pork and peaches, a concoction that was simply lovely. The flavor combination was a total winner. Now I am even more excited about the impending opening of Plum here on my side of the Bay!

This is the second time I have been able to sample the wares of Tacolicious, which I think is worth seeking out. The offering here was a crispy taco with a bean spread, shredded pork and cabbage that was so delicious it makes my mouth water just to think about it!

Comstock Saloon had a pisco sour (with secret green liquid, oooh!) and Carlos Espinas’ take on a hangtown fry: crisp bread with a pickled egg, crispy bacon and oyster vinaigrette. This was inventive and fun, crispy in all the right spots.

Robert Gonzales, the USBG Nor Cal ambassador, was the best showman of the night, presenting a gorgeously composed lime, egg white, cilantro, tequila cocktail with spicy sea salt and bitters made with pepper skins. It was fun watching him slap the cilantro and double shake the cocktails!

The GLBT Proud Mary from Greg Lindgren at Rye went for interactive as well, with lettuce and baconnaise on white bread paired with a lettuce, gin, bacon & tomato cocktail for dipping. I wasn’t crazy about the cocktail alone, but as a dipper, you don’t get much better! And thank you to the delightful Heather as our interactive model!

Far and away my favorites were the blendings by the peeps at 15 Romolo: Katy Borzee rocked with the unexpected but smashing combo of white bean puree with peaches and crispy bacon. Never would I have thought of peaches and white beans together, but tasting my way through the rest of the apps, this one stood out strongly in my mind.

Her bar counterpart, the equally adorable Ethan Terry brought it all home with the Sherman Breakdown, pink peppercorns, fresh sage, nutmeg, Luxardo, cahacha and the piece de résistance: smoked apricots! This cocktail had everything I wanted; it was rich, smoky and elegant.

This cocktail blended all that a savory cocktail should be, and was indeed a shining star in the drink heavens.

This is by far one of the best events I have gotten to attend: amazing drinks, wonderful people, the beauty of San Francisco and my friend Heather, who was nice enough to come with me and enjoy the bounty of the farmer's market based cocktails! Can't wait for the next one!

Rayun Syrah '08 Chile

The bottle says notes of cherry & blackberry w/vanilla & mocha. I spent $8 @ the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant.

My take: It has a light, floral bouquet, a flavor that compliments spicy lentils and a gently jammy mouthfeel. Medium bodied with a sexy purple color & light tannins. A great bargain! This is one I will certainly pick up again.