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:

              

I *heart* Seattle.

My +1 took me to Seattle for my birthday (Nov. 21, in case you ever have a spare diamond tiara to send along), and I got a Real Autumn.  Also, a few extra pounds and a numb face.

Seattle is one of the few cities I feel that I could move to and fit right in.  Aside from my lack of rain boots and the cold weather that hits you like a brick of brisk to the face, I love the scenery, the food/cocktail/microbrew culture, and the fish (!!!).  Sign me up for a vacation home, please.

I’ll never permanently move out of state because I never want to take another Bar exam, but sometimes it’s a tempting thought.

Especially when I imagine having Piroshky Piroshky and Purple Cafe whenever I want.

More photos from Seattle here.

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.

No big deal, I was just standing around with U2

I can associate every major event or era in my life with a U2 album or song.  A fan since age 8, when my mom bought Achtung Baby on cassette, I have loved them from the first time I heard “Even Better Than The Real Thing.”  I used to sit in my room listening to Rattle and Hum on repeat, wishing that I could see this band live, up close and personal.  To say that U2 is my favorite band, or that I spent all of my adolescence absolutely in love with their music, is a vast understatement.  Just ask my parents, who got to hear all about my musical obsession.  Nonstop.  For at least ten years.

I saw U2 once from the nosebleed seats, back in 2001.  Even far away, I felt like the room was very small.  Bono is one of the few performers I’ve seen who lives up to the hype: he knows how to make the crowd feel included, no matter how far away they are.

But last night?  Last night blew that experience out of the water, because this was my view.

Bono chose to start singing Beautiful Day directly in front of me. I'm taking this as a sign that he wants to marry me and have my babies. Call me!

$40 of extra ticketbastard fees, 9 hours of waiting, 400 pages of reading, a mild sunburn, near total lack of food, aching back and legs from standing from 3pm to midnight, obnoxious drunkards nearly puking on us, the overwhelming stench of stale beer, ringing ears, sore throat, and a dead phone battery: so unbelievably worth it.

The Edge is also cordially invited to be mine.

If my 11-year-old self had known I would be four feet away from all four members of U2, her head would have exploded.  As it is, all I can do is sit back and think, I just stood right in front of U2.

I like boys named Adam, especially when they wear sparkles. What you can't see in this picture is that he is wearing a sparkly shirt (under the jacket) and sparkly pants with fringe. I die. I wonder if I can get MY Adam to wear sparkles. Something tells me that he will tell me no. Hmph.

I feel so lucky that everything worked out the way it did, from actually getting GA tickets, to excellent public transportation karma, to my friend’s good parking, to the most amazing view, to fantastic history nerd company, to OH MY LORD WE JUST SAW U2 RIGHT IN FRONT OF US IEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This photo is blurry because my camera gave up trying to capture how dashing Larry is in person.

Now, let’s do it again!