Movin' On Up

Well, it's been a fun 5 years here at my first grown up apartment but it's time to pack up ourselves and move on. And by move on I mean move to a place down the block so I can still walk to Sushi Tomi, Steven's Green and that goofy used bookstore whose name I can never remember.

Strange thinking about the place I've called home for so long--It was here with an innocent pot of mint (any of you who have mint plants from me, they were all pieces of that original plant!), a snake plant (same) and a maidenhair fern that I was first bitten by the gardening bug. It was also here I really came into my own as a cook. Here I brought home my sweet Maxie boy. Here was my sanctuary, my place to think and unwind after long days at my favorite job in the world.

But this reflection tells me that there are more amazing adventures to come. As to the garden, I suspect that only the green beans might not survive the move and there is good news: at my new place there's plenty of room for gardening, even expanding from containers to the ground. There's an adorable kitchen with antique tile and bright sunny windows, the site of many future dinner parties. I can actually take a chip off my dad's block and learn to barbecue--no more rules about that! So, readers, stay tuned for more California gardening and cooking adventures coming soon!

Plum Jam!

Yesterday I experienced the essence of summer--no, it wasn't sitting on the beach with a trashy read (that's planned for next week). My childhood friend Diane and I walked to my cousin's house, picked these gorgeous ripe Santa Rosa red plums from his tree, and then made plum jam! A delicious success!

I had tried before to make jam thinking that it was done like tomato sauce where you can make it up as you go. Wrong. Apparently making jam is more like baking a cake than sauteeing vegetables for a sandwich--it's an exact science. Last year's plum jam looked like shoe polish and tasted worse. My apologies if I pawned some off on you thinking I was Martha Stewart. Then earlier this year I tried again with yellow plums but made the mistake of letting the fruit pulp sit out on the counter and it oxidized and looked like pond sludge, which is not what I go for in a condiment.

This time, I was going for something a little, well, brighter.

Luckily my mom came to the rescue. She has been making jam since I was a kid. We used a James Beard recipe for freezer jam that doesn't require cooking and it came out great.


The taste test: Diane approves!
(and her mom is English, so she should know good plum jam...)

Chemistry lessons never tasted so good.

This will keep me in sweet spirits all year round. Anyone want to come over for scones and jam?

And South Bay folks, stay tuned for the upcoming second annual tomato sauce making party!

Recycle, Reuse, Restyle

I grew up knowing that recycling was important. We heard it everywhere in the 80s, right? At school, at home, on tv. Don't throw out that plastic bottle because then a fish might get stuck in it and it will take a trillion years to break down! What I'm starting to understand now is that sometimes recycling is not about plastic bottles and metal cans. Sometimes it's about making strategic choices and not buying a plastic bottle to begin with. And sometimes it's about taking something old and making it new. It's taking an out of style dress to a tailor and emerging with a new shirt (made of course from your old shortened dress!). Which brings me to the chunky blue sweater.

My aunt gave me this gorgeous Rowan yarn and the pattern as a present when I went to graduate school. I had only been knitting for a year or two when I made it. Naturally I was proud of it when I was done and wore it a lot, but it was really poorly made--shoddy seaming, ends tied together in knots (!), sleeves built for a gorilla. But this sweater and I had such good times (and I made it) that I could never bear to give it away. It sat on a top shelf in my closet, waiting...

...until January of this year when I ripped the whole thing apart and wound the yarn into balls. Which waited again until I could figure out what to do with it. Then on spring break while visiting my cousin in Minneapolis (a knitter and creative thinker herself),
I found this--Click here to see pattern!

Perfect! So cute! And it called for the exact same yarn, too. Now, this sweater took some fine tuning on my part--I am working with yarn that was dyed like 8 years ago, so if I run out, that's the end. I shortened the body, omitted the collar, and am shortening the sleeves (in progress as we speak).

That's where you come in, dear readers! Vote now for my reinvented blue sweater! Do you like the buttons here, off center, cardigan style...

STYLE A

...OR do you like them double breasted? By the way, aren't those buttons great? I bought them in Amsterdam at this fantastic street market, and they too have been waiting for the right time.

STYLE B



What do you think? Style A or B? Thoughts? I must know!

The Summer of Me

I have waited for sweet peas since my folks gave me the seed packet in December. Sweet peas are my very favorite flower, but they sure took their merry sweet time arriving.

Swoon! That sweet delicate smell, feminine petals and tiny tendrils.

I am in love all over again! (Sigh)

The arrival of sweet peas can only mean one thing--this is going to be a beautiful summer. The summer of sleeping in and crisp morning walks to the local library or farmer's market. The summer of driving up to some funky SF neighborhood and hanging out just because I can. The summer of seeing friends. The long coastal drives and late night movies summer. The summer of lunch beer and more lunch beer. The garden summer, the flowering summer. The summer of all the small things I sometimes forget.

My Vegetable Romance

Readers, I must confess, I have been swept up in a romance lately... a roasted vegetable romance, a whirlwind of tender slices of Japanese eggplant, baby zucchini, and sweet spring onions. I can't get enough. I mean, just look at these:

How you doin'?

My favorite roasted veggie treat is a throwback to childhood. I remember when the first local farmer's market opened in Redwood City. My parents would take my sister and I to buy the most beautiful vegetables there, varieties of which I never saw at the grocery store, like striped purple and white Japanese eggplant, summer squashes, and pale green Anaheim chilies. My dad would throw all of these on the barbecue and we'd eat everything on thick crusty sourdough with soft cheeses.


We Americans are such a meat loving culture that I don't think it's reasonable to ask the general populace to give up meat entirely. However, eating less meat is not only reasonable, it's easily managed and better for us. Similarly, anyone trying to watch their calories could substitute a roasted veggie side with their steak instead of pasta or other starch. We all know it couldn't hurt to eat more vegetables. The trick seems to be how to sneak them in with things we already like eating until it just becomes habit. For those adults that claim they don't like vegetables, my question is, are you eating the carrots out of a frozen microwaved potpie, because a). that doesn't count and b). yes, you're right, that is disgusting.

The thing I am discovering about roasting vegetable dishes in particular is that I don't miss the meat. I savor every bite, lick my fingers, swig my beer, and then kick back utterly satisfied. Sure, I do reach for that occasional burger or my weekly sushi, but I am getting a real kick out of veggies right now. Delicious, easy to cook, and don't spoil in two seconds like fruit (this is good news for the cook that shops on Sunday but is too busy to cook till Wednesday).

I don't have a barbecue, but an oven gets the job done! I did this tray of yellow onions, round zucchinis and eggplants in a 450 oven for 20-25 min. Slice up, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle of kosher salt & pepper

Stir a bit after about 15 min. I almost like them a dark golden brown, kind of caramelized. The eggplant will shrink considerably in size. Poke onions with a knife tip to see if they're done.

Before...

...and after...think of the possibilities! Roasted veggies go with everything.

You could set out roasted veggie slices with olives, salami and crusty Italian bread.

Gluten free friends (or any of us really) could toss some in scrambled egg with white cheddar and extra black pepper for an amazing omelet. Add green salad and you're good to go!

You could make my folks' famous --and lately my favorite dinner-- sandwich layered with fresh tomato and a shmear of goat cheese.

Or this super romantic dinner:
tossed here with linguine, spicy olive oil, and 1/3 cup chevre.
Creamy delicious. Garden parsley and arugula on top.
Open a little vino, play some dinner jazz, and enjoy.

Garden Spotlight: Cucumber Victory!

I have tried to grow cucumber for 3 years.

I am proud to say that sweet green crisp crunchy victory is finally mine!

The first attempt two summers ago was miserable. I bought some picky heirloom cucumber at a plant sale, and the poor thing shot out one measly vine and then shriveled up.


Last year I tried to grow cucumber hanging upside down from a hole cut into an OSH paint bucket. Looks good right? Well, the cucumbers were terrible--the few I got tasted bitter and inedible. Turns out it wasn't getting enough water. Water is key.

(Don't try that at home, kids)

The first thing I did differently this year was when I planted--March instead of July. It really thrived in this strange rainy spring we've been having here in Nor Cal! The second thing I changed was where I placed the container.

In previous years, the plants had full sun exposure. This year, it's in the shadiest corner of the balcony, exposed to bright light but not necessarily scorching sun. I put it next to flowering herb friends like lavender and rosemary, hoping to attract insects to the little yellow blossoms. Not sure if that's helping, but it sure looks good, right Maxie Boy?

The last thing I changed--and this is crucial--was the amount of water the plants received.
As it turns out, they are not like tomatoes. You can't just ignore them and expect love. Cucumbers like the soil damp at all times.


I make sure the saucer beneath that container has water in it all the time. Of course the rain has helped, but now that it's warming up I will be especially conscious of it! Even if I was growing in the ground, my number one concern would be to monitor the moisture of the soil.



Let me tell you, they smell sweet and green from the minute you cut them off the vine. Gorgeous. These are too good for pickling (and I am pickle obsessed so that tells you something).

I ate mine with toasted green onion ciabatta (thanks, Acme Bread Co!), a shmear of goat cheese, fresh tomato slices, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.


Wait, I need a close up of this action...



Whoa Mama! I am drooling through my own computer monitor right now.

Garden Spotlight: Early Summer Goodies

It's early summer in my balcony garden!

This is a yellow flower called biden (like the vice president) that's supposed to attract bees and other beneficial insects. Hey, the more the merrier, I say. Honey bees and hummingbirds and all their pollinatin' friends can stop by anytime.

Hopefully, they'll like this African blue basil, planted here with my baby Japanese eggplants.




And that's not all. Look at these beautiful plants--black cherry tomato...

...cucumber that makes me dream of lox and shmear...

...a new friend--pole beans!

...and old familiar ones, like my monster, out of control radishes. I can't wait to eat these with cold dip and salt.



Maybe green herb dip with this parsley. Maybe a cold beer, too.