Sunday, November 29, 2009

Tiny Pie Slice

It was teensy. I swear. I had no choice but to finish it off. It was taking up space in the fridge.
Sweet Earth makes many kinds of pah. My favorite is the Vegan Pumpkin. It's got the custardy pumpkiny spiced goodness inside, flaky crust outside, and it's not too sweet. Non-vegans dig it, too. Most health-food stores carry it; if yours doesn't, throw a tantrum.
Mine is gone but yours could be just beginning...

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Smoky and the Undertones

Tonite we dined chez The N and The G, out in the Richmond, where delicacies are but a short walk away. Witness the nearby Haig's Delicacies, where our hosts bought some lovely spreads to accompany the bread and crackers, baked potatoes, and organic turkey that came from George Lucas...The G works at ILM, a company that gets real generous around the holidays.
My Lord, Haig's makes some fine baba ghanoush. Or as they spell it: baba ghannouge. I also love their description:
Rich, smoky undertones bloom on your palate in this
flavorful mezé of roasted eggplants and tahini, with a
hint of zesty lemon, garlic, and spices.
How can I top that? Nope, I can't.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Oui, s'il vous plait

That's what most of my Noe brethren are saying, French-speakers or not...It's nice to have a lousy Italian restaurant replaced with a Boulange. I had always been fond of the Hayes Valley outpost, with its dangerous proximity to Miette, Blue Bottle, and Alla Prima. But now I just mosey up 24th Street for my Frenchified fix. JP and I shared a rustic wooden table (with cute matching chairs) and two lattes in red-checked cups, tres charmant! Alors, Noe may now have a place that serves good coffee. (Not to mention adorable pastries, tantalizing sandwiches and salads...) And cheers to the wooden counter in the front window, where une femme can sit, livre in hand, un cafe at her elbow, watching tout le monde pass by. Makes me want to take up smoking, almost.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanks

I had stopped writing my blog. I was sad. I didn't know if it was worth doing anymore.
But I'm gonna try again. Please leave a comment if you care to.
I am thankful today, and most days, for the good things. Today I celebrated with five lovely people. There were cheeses, a drunken, firm goat and a sober, herb-flecked goat log...flatbread crackers with all kinds of seeds on top. Hard pear cider and wine. Tofurkey for us veg-heads, which comes with vegan gravy and a spiral of stuffing inside. My own cardamom cranberry sauce laced with orange peel. Sweet and white potatoes mashed with lots of elephant garlic and buttermilk. Roasted brussels sprouts, carrots and kabocha squash. Green beans with lemony gremolata. Salad that sang with cubes of Asian pear and slivered almonds. And for dessert, coffee and pumpkin pie, apple pie, perfect ginger cookies.
Thankful to those who read my blog. Be happy; enjoy your leftovers.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Great Pumpkin

We may not look like fall, here in SF, but we eat like it. Case in point: dinner at Incanto last night. JP and I shared, as an appetizer, the roasted autumn veggies: yams, pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke, parsnip, carrot with olive oil and herbs. We also shared the first-of-the-season Meyer lemon sorbetto, which is sweet and puckery and adorned with candy-like shreds of peel. Remember Italian ice, eaten with a teensy wooden spoon? Much, much better.
Pumpkin again this morning at Chloe's; namely, pumpkin-cinnamon-ginger pancakes, dusted with powdered sugar. Take a moment to admire their spice-swirled orange hue, then douse with syrup.
Soon, oh very soon, pumpkin pah...

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Sharing Some Pah

Pie. Or, as Kimster and I pronounce it, pah. If you want a vegan slice, do what we did: grab a nice latte from Ritual, then cross the street to Herbivore. Grab some stools at the counter in the window. Ask for pah. We chose strawberry-rhubarb, which pretty much always is the best choice. This slice came with slices of banana and blueberries; the pah itself was full of juicy sweetness and tartness, the crust flaky and buttery in a vegan sort of way. What a perfect end to the afternoon.
P.S. Not a bad idea to start the day with Blue Chair jam. I sampled the Plum and the Rhubarb/Kumquat today at the Noe Farmers' Market, and a sticky thumbs-up to both.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Lavish Lavash

OK, they spelled 'lavash' wrong on their online menu. Who cares? Sunrise Deli makes some mean Middle-Eastern food, and lucky for me and many other worker bees, they opened a branch downtown. Just take your hungry, sedentary ass down to 2nd St., off Market, and you can try a plethora of different falafels; salads; plate combos...
Me, I had the large and satisfying Veggie Delight. It's got hummus, tabbouleh, tahini sauce, sauteed eggplant and peppers, lettuce and tomato all wrapped in lavash. Which is wrapped in foil, for slightly less messy consumption. I still got tahini all over my chin.
They even have Turkish Delight! If you want to make me love you, bring me a piece. Or two. I'll share, I promise.