Starting My Backyard Farm

Aug 24, 2012 by

Starting My Backyard Farm

It all started with a chicken. She didn't have a name when my landlord asked if I'd help take care of her over the summer. My landlord had no idea that I have a chicken fetish and that my secret dream was to live in Berkeley and have chickens. Notice the past tense: My secret dream "was." Now it has come true. Meet Henrietta. In all honesty, I'm not totally sure what breed she is. I'm pretty sure she's an Auraucana, but she could be an Ameraucana--I'm not the only one who finds the delineation baffling--and she lays gorgeous little blue-green eggs. But either way, she's an Easter Egger, a chicken that possesses the "blue egg gene." And most importantly, she's my inspiration for my Backyard Farm project, which I'm trying to get in...

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Mission District Tour

Jan 25, 2012 by

Mission District Tour

    My students and I recently went on a tour of the San Francisco Mission District with Edible Excursions. Check out some photos from our adventures below. Write-up coming soon! [Show as...

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Now I Understand the Macaron Craze...

Jan 28, 2011 by

Now I Understand the Macaron Craze

Okay, I get it now. Tonight marked a big moment in any foodie's life--okay, maybe in any woman's life: I tried my first macaron. I couldn't believe I'd waited so long, really, as I tasted them from the bottom up. The bottom, a pistachio macaron with green-tea filling. The next, raspberry, and the top, lemon with lemon creme. Oo la la. I mean, come on, doesn't the pure French-ness of the word macaron turn you on just a little bit? Aren't you just a tad aroused by all the almond meal and egg white glory up there? You're probably thinking, Duh, of course they're amazing. Why'd you wait so long? Well, allow me to explain. Part of it is because they're ridiculously (nearly prohibitively, in my book) expensive. But it goes much deeper than...

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Chinatown–San Francisco

Jan 21, 2011 by

Chinatown–San Francisco

Whiskey, oysters, coffee, beef jerky. One of the things that most struck me most about my tour of San Francisco's Chinatown was this: the original diet of the San Francisco inhabitants before the Chinese immigrants arrived. I like to imagine a bunch of guys sitting at a make-shift table near the dock, chewing on beef jerky, a pile of pale oyster shells at their feet. It's 1848, and the bone-chilling fog is slowly breaking up under the cold sun. But it's clear enough to see the brig that just pulled into the dock this morning. Clear enough to see the man and woman, the Chinese Adam and Eve of San Francisco, that just stepped onto San Francisco soil. One guy elbows the other, knocking over his coffee tin. "Ya see that?" he says. And...

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Cooking Lessons in Varenna–The Deal of the Century...

Oct 31, 2010 by

Cooking Lessons in Varenna–The Deal of the Century

Pumpkin and Amaretti Tortellini--Oh. My. God. My love affair with Chef Moreno's cooking classes began in April of this year, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I had barely squeezed into Italy after a canceled flight due to the Iceland volcano, and so the whole trip had a slightly "I am one of the chosen ones" miraculous feel anyway. But something seemed unbelievably miraculous about this cooking class, which I found online: I learned how to make three different dishes and their sauces: asparagus risotto, handmade tagliatelle with a tomato zucchini sauce, and gnocchi drenched in Gorgonzola cream. Then I got to eat them all. I also ate parmigiano and salami during the break (see photo on right), and had an unlimited amount of wine. Plus he gave us all the recipes...

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When delicious food meets delicious writing…...

Oct 25, 2010 by

When delicious food meets delicious writing…

My talented friend and fellow M.F.A. graduate Rashaan Meneses recently wrote "Like Fish to Ginger" a lovely and haunting story about a Thai immigrant and the complex chemistry of food and romance. Read the first few paragraphs here, then click on the link for more. It's a beautiful read. The only downside is that now I'm dying for a bowl of curry... Like Fish to Ginger By Rashaan Meneses Before I set out to make my mark in Los Angeles, I chased Sunee. We met in a steamy noodle house in the Dusit District of Bangkok where I elbowed my way from dishwasher to sous chef. Sunee worked as hostess. Both seventeen, she knew exactly what she wanted, and it wasn’t me. Like with a delicate soup, I had to know when to stir...

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Super Orgasmic Slow Food Festival...

Jun 27, 2010 by

Super Orgasmic Slow Food Festival

Today Guido and I went to Caglio, a small town super close to the Swiss border (which explains why I had "The Sound of Music" in my head). A friend of Guido's told him about a Slow Food festival in this little mountain village, and Guido, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, knew that we had to go. Tucked into the foothills of the Italian alps about ninety minutes north of Milan, Caglio was the perfect location to display locally handcrafted foods from the province. (You can see a fun blog about Caglio here--but the photos are taken in winter.) There were so many sweet things to see. First we had buckwheat polenta (recipe for that later), followed by the most amazing gelato I've ever had (it was some of the best Guido...

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