Farmer’s Market Recipes: Spring

I like to cook seasonally, and, while I don’t have a garden (hello, super urban environment), I have two things: San Francisco Farmers’ Markets, and my mother’s abundant garden.

That’s lemon basil, basil, baby carrots, peaches, apricots, cherries, and artichokes.  And sweet peas, in the Leaning Tower of Turquoise Vase.

Of course, everything here is fantastic on its own, because it has so much flavor.  If you’re bored with the way Nature produced things, however, I’m your (easily bored) (always looking to find new flavors) girl.  Here are a few ideas.

 

CARROTS

You must try this Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots recipe.  It uses furikake – I have no idea how to pronounce it, having never bought it before, but it’s necessary.  It is $2.39 for a jar at my local Asian supermarket, and worth every penny. The seaweed and sesame seeds impart salt/umami to the dish, and the ginger/lime/cinnamon combination is sweet and spicy.  Paired with the tender baby carrots…well, Adam didn’t get to try any and I’M NOT SORRY.

Note: I did need to use more liquid than the recipe called for, so be prepared.  Also, prepare to strain the sauce if any carrot greens detach during cooking.  They’re stringy and not pleasant to eat.

You could also use the carrots to make this carrot-ginger-miso salad dressing, which tastes great over sauteed “meaty” greens like kale, chard, spinach, and mustard greens.

 

BASIL/LEMON BASIL

Aside from garnishes, what the heck do you do with lemon basil?  (If you’ve never seen or smelled it before, it has small leaves and smells exactly like a cross between lemons and basil.  Creative naming!) I took the easy route and made a lemon-basil-spiked pesto, but if I had bought more, I would have made a lemon-basil sorbet, inspired by the Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Cookbook.  Maybe next week.

I used Ina Garten’s recipe, cut down to 1/3 of the original – 4 cups of pesto seemed a tad excessive.  For the basil, I used half regular basil and half lemon basil, and walnuts instead of  pine nuts, because that is what I had on hand.  It turned out beautifully – a mostly-traditional pesto with a sharp lemony kick.

 

APRICOTS/PEACHES

I grew up with an apricot tree, but wasn’t particularly impressed with them as a child.  Mom’s tree will be ripening soon, and since I’ve seen the error of my ways, I’ve been bookmarking apricot recipes to try.  In the meantime, we found some rich, flavorful apricots at the farmer’s market.

Never one to be satisfied with the simple deliciousness of nature, behold my new favorite thing: apricots, drizzled with a little heavy cream (less than a tablespoon), a sprinkling of salt, and garnished with lemon basil.  It’s sweet and savory, creamy, and just a tad herbal.  You could probably do this with any stone fruit, and serve as an appetizer or dessert.

I haven’t tried this yet, but this apricot-whiskey cocktail recipe looks intriguing.

 

CHERRIES (THE SUPERIOR FRUIT)

Last year, I made a cherry ice cream by soaking fresh, super-ripe, pitted cherries in rye whiskey for several hours, pureed half, chopped the rest, and added them to a basic vanilla ice cream recipe.  (Okay, maybe the +1 and I ate a few of those boozy cherries first.  But.)  I also made bourbon-cherry old fashioneds, and this chicken-cherry salad that requires you to fry croutons in chicken fat.  NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS MORE DECADENT AND DELICIOUS.  Yes, that did require all-caps – try it, you’ll see what I mean.

Do you have anything from the farmer’s market or CSA that you’re not sure how to cook?  Let me know in the comments – chances are I have a few ideas!

Seen in San Francisco: Anchor Brewing Company Tour

Anchor Brewing Company

Should you find yourself in San Francisco, cash-poor and free on a weekday, may I recommend the Anchor Brewing Company tour?  For anyone who likes beer and finding out how things are made, this 45-minute tour and subsequent beer tasting is a fun and free activity for locals and out-of-towners alike.

You’ll need to call and make a reservation, but as I was told on the phone, if your chosen date is full, call back a week ahead of time to see if there are any cancellations.  Tours are only conducted on week days.  I was able to get a spot for Mom and I on two weeks’ notice this way.  (Fridays, I understand, are highly coveted and scheduled up to six months in advance.)

This was my second time on the brewery tour, and my mother’s first time.  We had a very animated tour guide who was happy to answer questions about the beer or the brewery (or anything, really, he said —  ”come talk to me, I’m a Leo and I like attention”).   The tour starts with a historical summary of the brewery–it’s colorful, to say the least–and then you walk through the facilities.

At the end of the tour, you are given the opportunity to try 4oz each of eight beers (this time, we had the seasonal Bock* as well as the first beer in the Zymaster series), so make sure you either have a designated driver, plenty of time to walk around, or take MUNI to and from the brewery.  (The 19 and 22 lines each pick up within a block of the brewery.)

* “Bock” means “Goat” in German, which, shamefully enough, neither my German mother nor I nor my +1 who also took German in high school knew or remembered.  Hey, at least I know how to say “Wo ist mein Bier?” and “Wer hat gefurzt?”

My Mom preferred the darker brews: the Bock and Porter were more her speed, with a nice caramelly, coffee, complex flavor, while I am personally a fan of the Old Foghorn Barleywine and the classic Anchor Steam beer.  Neither of us liked the Zymaster or the Small Beer selections (although they were flavorful for those styles).

I highly recommend a visit, whether you live here or are just visiting!

Photos:

              

All the art a city could want — at least this week

Preface:

1. I love John William Waterhouse, for about as long as I can remember being a cognizant human being.  As soon as I saw “The Mermaid” and “Miranda and the Tempest,” I was sold on a beautiful, idealized version of classical myth.

2. I love San Francisco’s museums.  My dad always gives me a little money for my birthday, and this year I spent it on a FAMSF membership (worth every penny).  This means I (and my guest) get into every special exhibit (currently Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion and a Victorian Avant-Garde exhibit) for “free.”

3. I love haute couture, despite never having even a prayer of the shape for it.  My high fashion taste far exceeds my shape and budget.

A terrible cameraphone photo in low light. Just go see the exhibit. Trust me.

This week, I went to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the De Young and loved every second of it.  His designs encapsulate every archetype and icon of art I love: medieval religion (virgins and skulls), mermaids, sinners, saints, punks, and priestesses.  There were bleeding, pierced hearts; mermaids on crutches; beautiful maidens in camouflage, and extraordinary craftsmanship.  Like the earlier Balenciaga exhibit I was lucky enough to see, the outfits themselves were so intricately detailed and beautifully crafted that I could hardly believe a single person (let alone a whole fashion house) was talented enough to makethese.

What I particularly liked? Many plaques in this exhibit detail how many hours it took to complete each outfit.  Sure, these  simply look cool: but when you really look up close and see the beading, the metal plate, the embroidery, the pleats, and the pin tucks… well, knowing it took 1000 hours to complete makes it real. Gaultier (and Balenciaga, and many other fashion designers) is a true artist.

Then we went to the Legion of Honor.

The Legion of Honor’s Victorian Cult of Beauty exhibit was almost a “throwaway” to me; I thought I would just go and appreciate the art, but with no particular connection to it.  I am/was a history major; I love all history but specialized in medieval European tomb sculpture.  Since I now have a membership, I make it a point to see every single piece that comes to these two museums, whether or not I am particularly interested.  I had seen the promotional works for the Cult of Beauty and they looked cool, but mentioned no particular artists I recognized or revered.

As I went through the exhibit with my mother, I pointed out a Whistler painting and told her how I learned that he titled and themed his paintings “nocturnes” or “symphonies” in colors.  I asked her about a specific painting, one that had  a blue and gold theme, and whether she had seen it in her studies.

Then I turned the corner and saw this in person:

James Macneill Whistler, Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge

My favorite Whistler painting from American Art and a favorite from my Art History minor: right there in front of me.  The same painting I told my mom about, and had no idea would be waiting for me here in town.

Seeing it in person gave me the biggest sense of glee: there it was.  What I studied was real!  Ha!  Definitely spent my college funds on some cool stuff, Mom.

(You know, totally aside from my History BA or my JD.)

(It was definitely smaller than I had imagined.)

As we walked through the exhibit, I kept thinking that so many of the pieces hearkened back to one of my original favorite artists, John William Waterhouse.  Some painting descriptions even mentioned the Pre-Raphaelite movement.  I love Waterhouse, not just for his subject matter (classical/medieval/Arthurian legends), but how he paints women: they simply glow.  I have long since realized that many Waterhouse pieces are out of the country, and hadn’t expected to see any until I can find the money to travel.

And then, of course, much to my delight, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a painting where the women had a distinctly “Waterhouse” look, with long red-gold hair and sharp features.  No.  Could it?  Was it? HOLY CRAP MOM!!!  MOM!!! COME LOOOOOOOK.

John William Waterhouse: St. Cecilia, 1895

Yeah, I saw my first Waterhouse in person, finally, and I can honestly say that the scans and prints simply do not do his paintings justice.  The colors are so rich and vibrant, and the women are just arresting.  Even in repose, they overtake the eye with a luminosity I admire.

I bought a print.  Hope Adam doesn’t mind yet…another…Waterhouse print in the apartment.

Either way, an excellent week for art.  If you’re in the city, do visit the De Young and Legion of Honor.  I know I certainly will see these again before they are whisked away.

3-day weekend

Fleet Week – and the nice weather – have come and gone.  I spent this 3-day weekend (Columbus Day is a court holiday, hence my having time to post this) with my good friend at an expo (and got a free haircut)/shopping/eating diner food, and my +1, wandering around the city.  So out came the phone camera.

 

Autumn storm

skyjuice, originally uploaded by inlucesco.

First storm of the season makes for great photos – and terribly rude commuters.  But great photos nonetheless.