charlotteann

Mmmm, take-out. Convenience is tasty, especially if you pick the right place. I have a few standbys here in San Francisco’s Tenderloin/Tendernob neighborhood I inhabit, including Milan Pizza and Chutney. Admittedly, I haven’t explored too much: I’m cheap. Sue me. But because it’s Tuesday (the day of the week best suited to go with the words “take out”) and I am avoiding groceries in light of my upcoming trip to the East coast in a week I walked a block up to Eden’s Mediterranean Turkish and Greek Restaurant for a chicken gyro.
I have to say it was absolutely delicious. Ready in 3 minutes and only $6.00. Convenient? Check. Cheap? Check. Lots of yummy dressing but not enough to make the lavash fall apart, crunchy veggies (normally there are raw tomatoes, but I hate those stupid things), and fabulously marinated, moist chicken. Two noms up!

It may be apparent from my search for the best galette jambon fromage, but I’ll tell you again: I love ham and cheese. I like them separately and I like them together. Today I made a sandwich, using emmenthal swiss, Black Forest ham, sprouted sour dough bread, and dijon mustard. Mustard used to make me cringe but it turns out to be a fine addition to any sandwich. Well, maybe not a meatball sub but I don’t eat such things.

I feel compelled to blog a bit about Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” I just finished the first section, which is basically about corn, in a couple days. Such speed and interest mean a lot to me because I normally suck at reading books. Sure, I can read quickly because I’m smart like that, but I can’t seem to finish them (if I can even start one). It’s a good book - I’m hooked on it like America is hooked on high fructose corn syrup - and plan on reading Pollan’s other books as soon as I (hopefully) finish this one. I also plan on avoiding corn-fed beef because the chapter about the sick cows in their poopy factories had me in tears. Not enough tears to become a vegetarian, but enough to always eat the joyfully rumenating cows, like this one!

Hey everyone! I have been a tad lazy with the food photos lately, partially because I have been lazy with cooking and eating too much ramen. Although, I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as “too much ramen.” Today I potted my herbs sitting out on my balcony/the fire escape. I had only three pots, so the catnip I bought will just have to stick it out in the plastic container for just a little longer. Ellie doesn’t even like it, so whatever.

Scallops are really yummy. Although oysters are my favorite mollusk, the scallop is a very close second. I picked up three medium-sized sea scallops from the UN Plaza farmers’ market last week ($2.40) and had them for lunch, prepared according to a recipe from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything. There’s a variation that calls for Thai basil with a few substitutions and additions (fish sauce for the salt, pinch of sugar, chili) that turns into a very pretty, very fragrant green paste. I cut my scallops and stuffed them while my little oven approached broiling temperature. I decided to cook some somen noodles at this point, but in retrospect they weren’t a great choice. In fact, I really can’t think of a good starch for scallops. Rice? Pasta? Biscotti?

Everything was going great. I placed the scallops in my small cast iron skillet and popped them into the oven with gusto. Really. I was stoked about these scallops. The first time I made scallops they turned out like, hella good. I amazed myself at how well I seared them. And let’s just take a moment and appreciate the fact that my food photography has seriously improved since then.

Anyway, back to this tragic meal. I let them cook for about 4 minutes before flipping them, drained my noodles, and had everything on the plate 3 minutes later. I drizzled a little chili oil on the whole thing to add some heat and color (you know, for the photograph). Then I took a bite and was sorely disappointed to find that it tasted like a scallop with Thai basil paste. Ok, that wasn’t disappointing, just obvious. And absolutely boring. It looked so good on paper but in my mouth it was a disappointment. I have no idea if it was my fault or the recipe’s, which I followed closely.

I was supposed to take the party cat to the vet this morning but had to cancel when I awoke at 7:00 AM and realized my driver’s license is still missing. Dilemma: risk it and go back to sleep or wake up, cancel your ZipCar reservation, call the vet’s office, and have to deal with breakfast. I imagined myself getting pulled over on the highway, sobbing as the officer asks for my license and registration while I blurt out some story that my poor kitten ingested a cup of rat poison and needed immediate medical attention. Of course that wouldn’t work because people without driver’s licenses get around just fine in such situations in taxis, a fact I’m sure this potential highway patrol man would have pointed out before cuffing me and ruining my impeccable driving record. Ok, I admit, this is a little dramatic. And I think I have a speeding ticket on my record anyway. Point is, my imagination runs wild in the morning and I decided to cancel the appointment.

After getting off the phone with the vet’s office, I felt hungry. I also felt relieved because the assistant told me Ellie doesn’t need her shots until August, something we both appreciate I’m sure. A few days ago I bought two baguettes from Lee’s Sandwiches on Larkin and Eddy. I wanted just one, but it was two for $1.50! What a steal. So, there I was, hungry and stuck with one and half very dry baguettes. The obvious solution: French toast! The French call it pain perdu which literally means “lost bread.” To be perfectly honest, those baguettes were pretty lost to begin with. I love Vietnamese sandwiches, but the bread on its own doesn’t really hold up. At least not the Lee’s baguettes. A quick trip to the corner store for some milk and about 30 minutes later I had my breakfast.

I made this according to a loose interpretation of how my mother and her mother have made French toast for me in the past. Being young, lazy, and not much of a sugar fiend I didn’t include any of the powdered stuff that makes a nice addition. You might also look into adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I totally did after taking the picture.

French Toast
• some kind of aging bread
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 egg
• cinnamon (to taste)
• 1 peach
• maple syrup
• real butter (unsalted and lots of it)

First, cut the bread into slices if someone has not already done so for you. Then whisk together the milk, egg, and cinnamon in a bowl. I usually whisk until it’s a little frothy (no reason). Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add one to two tablespoons of butter. While it melts, soak the pieces of bread - about 10 seconds each side depending on thickness - in the batter. Make sure they pick up some of the cinnamon because it will be delicious later on. After the butter has melted, lower the heat slightly and add the pieces of bread to the pan. Cook until the first side is browned and then turn over. I, after forgetting to do this earlier and now forgot to mention it earlier in the post, will now suggest you preheat your oven or toaster oven to 200 degrees. When the pieces are browned on both sides, transfer them to the oven to keep warm. This will also ensure you get the inside of your toast cooked if you happen to slice the bread thick and then cook it too fast. Slice your peach and get out the maple syrup and butter. Remove the pieces from the oven, smother them in butter and syrup, and enjoy!

Typically, I follow a recipe when I make something other than ramen, spaghetti, or a grilled cheese. But yesterday I decided to wing it with a boneless pork chop I purchased from my new buddy at the meat counter at Golden Natural Foods. I know I said it was pricey, but it’s also really convenient. I knew I wanted to use some sage and rosemary from my little garden. Dressing the linguine was proving quite difficult until I came upon some ricotta left over from lasagna I made last week. This recipe isn’t exactly fancy. I was even too lazy to mince garlic, but it tasted pretty good so… No whining!

Pork chop 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 or 3 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 or 6 leaves of sage
• 1 boneless pork chop on the small side

In a cast iron skillet add the olive oil, rosemary, and sage and let cook over medium heat until fragrant. Add the pork chop, cook about 15-20 minutes on each side (depending on thickness). I was having trouble gauging the cooking time for this because I can get impatient and my meat thermometer is not very accurate. So you should probably rely on your own pig-cooking skills before sticking to my suggested 15-20 minutes.

Linguine 
• single serving of whole wheat linguine
• 2 tbsp fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 or 2 tbsp dried cranberries
• salt and pepper

Cook the pasta to that lovely point of al dente, drain, and return to the pan to keep warm. Toss with ricotta and pinches of salt and pepper or according to taste.

No, not the pizza. The game I remember my grandfather trying to teach me the game when I was 7 or 8, but it didn’t stick. Today I learned from a dominoes enthusiast over coffee and iced tea. It was a fun game but it was sort of embarrassing to realize how rusty my basic arithmetic skills have become.

The primary reason I was in Oakland today (seem to be going there a lot lately…) was to check out Brittany Crepes and Galettes at the Temescal farmers’ market. It seemed like a cute enough market, and I appreciate that it happens in the Oakland DMV parking lot. Although their website advertised traditional crepes, my ham and cheese galette was tragically disappointing. I mean, they use a blend of shredded jack and cheddar (or American .. whatever it was, it was orange) instead of the more “traditional” emmenthal or gruyère. You can pay an extra dollar for swiss cheese, but I found that even with just two thin slices of deli ham the cheese to meat ratio was pretty off. I guess it’s possible my crepe master was annoyed with the obvious disbelief on my face while we discussed my options de fromage and decided to skimp on the swiss. Luckily the galette part of the galette was spot on – I love me some buckwheat! Overall, however, my galette was a big bummer. I didn’t even think to take a picture of the limp, thin thing. The search continues…

When I lived in Oakland I would purchase the majority of my Asian foodstuffs at the EM Food Market on 14th street. It’s a Korean grocery store full of lots of interesting stuff. Not the best produce, but they have kimchi, a variety of frozen goodies, and booze. Anyway, I eat a lot of noodle soup. Noodles and water are pretty cheap these days, and I get to throw in whatever veggies I have in the fridge into the mix. It’s fun. But sometimes a girl gets lazy and buys the instant, MSG-laden ramen noodle soup. My favorite is the Shin Ramyun brand spicy gourmet flavor and it is perfect for a lazy Saturday (as most of mine are).

Today is Wednesday, which means UN Plaza Farmers’ Market! I’ve passed by it many a time, making a mental note to actually go. Today all those notes piled up to a point where I actually remembered and so after a quick trip to the bank I headed over. It’s a pretty small farmers’ market, which I actually prefer because it makes it a heck of a lot easier to find the best prices. They all seemed to be about the same, though. Peaches and other pitted fruits were $2.50/lb, onions at $0.40/lb. Hmmm, that’s all I remember. Anyway:

• two peaches and three nectarines: $3.50
• bunch of basil: $1.00
• small box of baby shiitake mushrooms: $3.00
• four plants (rosemary, red shiso, white sage, and catnip): $10.00
• one falafel sandwich: $5.00

For a little over $20.00 I’d say I could have done better. I didn’t really need that falafel sandwich, but I absolutely love tahini sauce and couldn’t resist. That being said, I know I overpaid at two grocery stores this week: Golden Natural Foods and Bristol Farms. Bristol Farms wasn’t that surprising because it’s in the Westfield shopping center. And everything in Golden Natural Foods is way too expensive except the seafood and deli meats. Weird, huh?

This Saturday I took a little trip to Oakland to go grocery shopping with a new friend and check out my old friend’s Pro Arts open studio. Grocery shopping brought us to the new Berkeley Bowl. In terms of dodging soccer moms and cantankerous hippies, it was definitely an improvement. Granted, it’s still very new (opened last Thursday, June 4th) but I had a nice time ooohing and aaahing over the exotic and photogenic produce. I also got a tasty sandwich at the deli, which would benefit from one of those handy “Take A Number” systems. My only critique is that the lighting, layout, and size are reminiscent of Costco, but if that’s what it takes to keep the violent cart-wielders away, I’m sold.

After eating my sandwich and washing it down with a lot of cherries, I headed over to neighboring JFK University to check out my friend’s art stuffs. That’s neither here nor there in terms of food blogging, but I was struck by a plate of food left out on one of the tables on the loading dock. The diner wholeheartedly went for “a little bit of everything” but hardly finished anything. While waiting for yet another old friend – I’m really popular – to pick me up, I walked up to Caffe Trieste on San Pablo to kill some time. I ordered a cookies’n'cream gelato and it was delicious. My italian soda was loaded liberally with cherry syrup, a rarity I always appreciate.

Fun, closing fact (via Twitter): Liberals are about twice as likely to prefer arugula to iceberg in their salads, the exact opposite goes for conservatives.