It’s Tuesday night. The gorgeous Asian pears are gone, except for a half, the blueberry muffin from Craftsman and Wolves but a memory, the husband is sick and watching Corner Gas somewhere he can’t infect the rest of the household, and I had my dad’s Sloppy Joes for dinner. It involves Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo soup. Don’t judge. It’s back to real life. It’s a relief. Being on the road, dining out for every meal, sounds glam, but it is tiresome. I’m not 25 anymore.
But believe me, it’s not a complaint. I had a fantastic time in San Francisco, catching up with folks I see once a year. Italian and Cal-Italian dominated our restaurant choices over the course of the week and Tim, the friend we hung out with at the market, and I chatted about lavender biscotti, so naturally I’m diving back into posting with these little Italian cookies on the brain. So, Rosemary, Cornmeal and Pine Nut biscotti.
Two days after being back from SF, I’m finally hungry again. When you’re trying to pack food experiences into a compressed amount of time, you’re never hungry for 3 meals, let alone afternoon snacks. But I persevered. California delivered a gorgeous week of sunshine, practically a heatwave for early October. Ahhh, vitamin D. And not only that, this past weekend happened to coincide with Fleet Week, the America’s Cup, a post-season Giants game, and a Niners game. But let's start with an appetizer, shall we? The Ferry Building ended up being a home away from home of sorts, since it was so close to the hotel.
You know that thing I said about tiptoeing into fall? It’s on hold. Well, temporarily. Ma Nature has gifted us with an extended summer and around these parts, you don’t look a sunny and 75 gift horse in the mouth. You bypass the pumpkin lattes and keep on making cold brew and enjoy every last bit of summer you can, because there’ll be beets and parsnips from the moment it ends until July comes around again next year.
I’m sure I’ve committed some kind of culinary crime with these vegetarian summer rolls. Violated a sacrosanct law by bringing quinoa into the picture. A grain that’s as hipster as skinny jeans and typewriters. But if you’re trying to get more whole grains, more fiber, well, then you work it in where you can. These summer rolls are a perfect little snack, a perfect little starter and they’re chock full of vegetables.
At the tail-end of blackberry season, every week is a guessing game. Whose berries will best? Last week, the Skagit Sun blackberries and golden raspberries were terrific. This week those blackberries were phenomenal -- sweet and full of berry flavor. It's not hyperbole. I bought a mixed flat of blackberries, golden raspberries and regular raspberries and ate half a basket of the blackberries as I walked back to the car. Then I high-tailed it back to their booth to get another flat of just blackberries. I thought I might make pork chops with a blackberry-cabernet sauce, but then I remembered this froyo.
I’m tiptoeing into Fall. The last few mornings there’s been more of a chill in the air, but the afternoons are still warm. I'm still wearing flip-flops, but with long sleeve t-shirts. My cherry tomato in a hanging pot is in its second wind. This is when we keep our fingers crossed for one last push. Last night’s pasta carried that forward. Summer's Lite Brite punches of heirloom tomato and basil were left behind, making way for the earthiness of mushroom. We (er, I) haven’t quite given ourselves (read: myself) over entirely to the autumn, but this mushroom ragu was a first tentative step.
