Wild Raspberries and a Sacrifice

"Are you sure you're not stepping in Poison Oak?" the Somm asked me as I teetered in a good approximation of dancer's pose on a collapsing branch a couple yards off the walking path in Glen Park Canyon... one hand holding my bag of booty, the other outstretched for the glistening, perfect, purple berry just a centimeter away from my fingertips.

"Yeah, totally..." I trailed off. Got it! The berry joined its brethren in the bag. Roughly thirty minutes later, I had gathered around three cups of wild berries for the homemade chocolate ice cream I'd planned to make for my grandfather for Father's Day. We used to make ice cream together when I was a little girl, and Grandpa has always been a fiend for fresh fruit (as well as sweets), so I was excited to be making my own recipe of dark chocolate swirled with wild raspberry and blackberry compote.

Back home, I cooked down my triumphantly foraged berries with sugar and a dash of balsamic before mixing them into the chocolate custard.

The ice cream was a massive hit at my grandpa's nursing home the next weekend... and I kept quiet about the rash of itchy welts that had developed on my thigh...

Mint Chip Trip

Maybe I've mentioned that the Somm's grammy gave me an ice cream maker last time we were down for a visit. I never thought I could get into the swing of thinking ahead enough to make the ice cream a full day before I wanted it, but here I am.

The first batch, just in time for the wisdom teeth sayonara was salted caramel, which knocked me for a serious loop and made me (very temporarily) forget the gaping holes in the back of my mouth.

For the second batch, I pillaged our front herb box for three fat cups of fresh mint, and I made mint chip that is, frankly, astounding. I couldn't believe that so much wildly fresh mint flavor would actually infuse into the cream--nevermind lend it a pretty, pale green color. I'm going to go eat some right now.

Springtime, Visits, Teeth and Pressies

These are the things I've been up to in the last month that have kept me away from the computer and, to a large extent, the stove. Here's the photo montage...

 

Miss Bray came to town, and we took advantage of the verdant bounty at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market--asparagus, peas, favas, potes, spring onions, watercress... all whipped into a rabbit stew dazzled up with a handful of fresh tarragon!

For dessert, we broke out Miss Kiwi's quadruplet baby ramekins for cherry clafoutis. Non-pitted cherries are definitely superior, flavor-wise and effort-wise, to pitted. I wish I could say that these stayed as airy and fluffy even after being out of the oven for 20 minutes, but... well... they were prettiest as pictured. 

Then I got my wisdom teeth out. All four at once. Go for the kill, right? One of my first meals "back" (pseudo-back) was homemade corn chowder with the first Cali corn of the season--how they can have fresh corn in late May is beyond me, but there it is. I had also been practically protein-free for a week and a half, so I loaded this up with bacon. All pureed, this was delectable and made my mouth feel better.

As a present to myself for getting through the tooth extraction, I took myself on a shopping spree to Sur La Table with the $500 gift card I won for my Pesto Pasta recipe on Saveur.com. I made out. Here's all the luxe loot I came home with. Favorites include the set of Schott crystal glassware, the small scanpan that makes the best fritatta ever, and the set of Sur La Table saucepans.

Mariquita Farms Mystery Box!

I just picked up my first Mystery Box--$25 for all this, which I slung over my shoulder and lugged home from Incanto, a few blocks down the street from home... thank you, Julia and Andy! What should I make for dinner?? Feeling like a giant, herbed-vinaigrette salad with roasted garlic bread crumbs, but pasta with wilted chicory could do the trick, too...

Seduction on the Stove

Here's what smells so damn good in the kitchen right now. It's the beginnings of sugo, or my great-grandmother's Abruzzese tomato sauce, which starts, as shown, with finely chopped salt pork and a bit of garlic browning in a pool of olive oil before beef and pork ribs get browned... before chopped onions, celery, bell pepper, parsley, celery leaf, basil all get mixed in and around.

The tomatoes come soon, but this part smells the most heavenly...

Holy Man, Holy Mother!!!!!

GUESS WHAT?!

I WON!

Saveur sent me a note today saying my recipe for my Parsley Pesto Pasta was a "huge, huge hit" with the editors, and they are going to post it today! Which means, dearest reader you, that you might just be here, reading this, thanks to them and that! My biggest squeeze of gratitude.

I will tell you that my blog is not full of professional, pretty photos, or many smart posts. This is my humble space for sharing what I love, which is being in my home kitchen and surrounded by good ingredients and friends and almost always a glass of wine. Thank you for visiting!

Radish Salad and Pea Soup with Chevre

I never got any presents like a giant bag of just-picked radishes from my neighbors at 223 Manhattan Ave. But I came home to that a few days ago in my new city!

This is part of the reason San Francisco is The Best. 

I am on a radish kick right now, so I felt pretty bowled over and ready to stuff my face with this recipe I've been ogling: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/recipe-of-the-day-radish-salad/

I also felt the need to put the kibosh on a bag of frozen peas now that fresh ones are all up in my space, so I whizzed them together with homemade veggie stock, fresh mint and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.

Finally, I got a riotously tasty fresh chèvre from Bi-Rite (thank you, girl with short hair, for the rec as I stared blankly at the cheese wall). I dolloped it on the soup and also smeared that all over a baguette (for good measure) and called this my first Perfect Spring Dinner of 2011.