What better way to celebrate the hottest day of the year than with our usual Thursday fare and a fantastic bottle of Bollinger from Dad? I know it was meant for Nate and I to share, but we wanted to spread the wealth. Surprisingly, champagne is a great foil for Papalote's masterpieces. After Kara, Kiko, Rudy, Josh, Nate and I savored the first bottle, we opened Josh's offering of Moet. Yummy. Normally my bubbles are along the order of Freixinet, so this was an exciting departure.
While we're on the topic, I have to mention that our backyard is sooo much more wonderful with a table on the deck. Really, it was useless before, and a backyard shouldn't be useless.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
How I plan my wedding
Nate and I are engaged! It's amazing how quickly you have to start talking about all of the details - it only happened last Thursday and already we're picking a date.
What do you eat at a backyard wedding reception in March? Mind you, this will be in Phoenix, not San Francisco, so the weather will be balmy.
I suggested grilled steaks, but Nate feels that a barbecue is either too bo-ring, or too tacky. So maybe...?
I'm at a bit of a loss. Any comments are appreciated.
What do you eat at a backyard wedding reception in March? Mind you, this will be in Phoenix, not San Francisco, so the weather will be balmy.
I suggested grilled steaks, but Nate feels that a barbecue is either too bo-ring, or too tacky. So maybe...?
I'm at a bit of a loss. Any comments are appreciated.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Veinte y siete de abril
April 27th is the new May 5th, in my book. Josh, Rudy, Lindsay, Anna, Kara, Nate and I BBQed it up. Kara came over first, around lunchtime, and we made delicious hamburgers for lunch. Despite Nate's nay saying, I ground the beef chuck myself, in the food processor. This is better from a food safety standpoint and I think it makes the meat taste fresher (I'm sure the latter is an artifact of my imagination). To give credit back where credit is due, Nate suggested including pickles and onions in the hamburger patties, so I threw a few spoonfuls of bread and butter pickles into the mix. The hamburgers were quite good, although a little overcooked, thanks to Kara and I's dawdling. The real star of the meal was the banana sauce and mayonnaise spread, which we slathered on our burgers. It was a great dip for the Tater Tots, too.
Banana sauce alone is a little boring (don't tell Nate), but added to mayo is a thing of beauty. It brings a little spice and a lot of sweetness and turns it an appealing pink. I first had this dip at the Spider House in Boracay with their magical meatloaf cum hamburger sandwich.
Later in the afternoon, we grilled up some carne asada on the replacement BBQ (which is now chained to the deck, to prevent another backyard robbery). This was my first attempt at marinating my own and I think it turned out well. It wasn't exactly like that of Super A Foods in Eagle Rock, but good in its own right. I drenched a fair amount of top sirloin slices in a mixture of sliced onions, garlic, key lime juice, orange juice, oil, cumin, and cayenne pepper. A few hours (and beers) later, we threw this on the grill and gobbled it down with some warm corn tortillas. And a great pineapple, cilantro, onion, avocado, and jalapeno salsa courtesy of Josh. And...a sugar snap, corn, and spinach salad with blue cheese dressing that would have been more interesting with real blue cheese.
Please sun, grace San Francisco with your presence for a few more weeks (or the whole summer if you're feeling particularly generous).
Banana sauce alone is a little boring (don't tell Nate), but added to mayo is a thing of beauty. It brings a little spice and a lot of sweetness and turns it an appealing pink. I first had this dip at the Spider House in Boracay with their magical meatloaf cum hamburger sandwich.
Later in the afternoon, we grilled up some carne asada on the replacement BBQ (which is now chained to the deck, to prevent another backyard robbery). This was my first attempt at marinating my own and I think it turned out well. It wasn't exactly like that of Super A Foods in Eagle Rock, but good in its own right. I drenched a fair amount of top sirloin slices in a mixture of sliced onions, garlic, key lime juice, orange juice, oil, cumin, and cayenne pepper. A few hours (and beers) later, we threw this on the grill and gobbled it down with some warm corn tortillas. And a great pineapple, cilantro, onion, avocado, and jalapeno salsa courtesy of Josh. And...a sugar snap, corn, and spinach salad with blue cheese dressing that would have been more interesting with real blue cheese.
Please sun, grace San Francisco with your presence for a few more weeks (or the whole summer if you're feeling particularly generous).
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
199 miles, 33 hours, no sleep
I did The Relay this weekend with 11 random people. We were trapped in a van for two days, running, eating, and not really sleeping. It's amazing what your body can do if you push it.
The following times are approximate:
12pm: cheeseburger and half a beer.
4pm: ran my first 5.5 mile leg. The wind was blowing so hard that it added 30 seconds to my pace and I felt like I was running backwards.
9pm: ate a roast beef sandwich for the first time ever and washed it down with tortellini soup and a chocolate Interlude (thanks Mac). Slept on the bench of a van for 1.5 hours, then woke up and brushed my teeth.
4am: ran 6.4 miles in the dark. Nearly hyperventilated from fear. Back on pace though, running away from imagined bad guys.
8am: half a Jimmy Dean sausage and egg sandwich, a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, apple juice, and a hard boiled egg (eaten whole on a dare from Alek). Slept 2 hours on a mat on a cold gym floor.
2pm: ran 6.2 miles on Highway 9 through little towns like Ben Lemond. Had some energy to sprint to my last handoff (I'll give the egg credit for that).
7pm: ate 2.5 tacos and half a plate of nachos at Las Palmas in Santa Cruz, washed down with a Pacifico.
9pm: nearly fell asleep on the way home to SF. Thanks for picking us up, Nate!
The following times are approximate:
12pm: cheeseburger and half a beer.
4pm: ran my first 5.5 mile leg. The wind was blowing so hard that it added 30 seconds to my pace and I felt like I was running backwards.
9pm: ate a roast beef sandwich for the first time ever and washed it down with tortellini soup and a chocolate Interlude (thanks Mac). Slept on the bench of a van for 1.5 hours, then woke up and brushed my teeth.
4am: ran 6.4 miles in the dark. Nearly hyperventilated from fear. Back on pace though, running away from imagined bad guys.
8am: half a Jimmy Dean sausage and egg sandwich, a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, apple juice, and a hard boiled egg (eaten whole on a dare from Alek). Slept 2 hours on a mat on a cold gym floor.
2pm: ran 6.2 miles on Highway 9 through little towns like Ben Lemond. Had some energy to sprint to my last handoff (I'll give the egg credit for that).
7pm: ate 2.5 tacos and half a plate of nachos at Las Palmas in Santa Cruz, washed down with a Pacifico.
9pm: nearly fell asleep on the way home to SF. Thanks for picking us up, Nate!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Balut
The bag o' balut.
A peek inside.
"Balut soup" down the hatch.
A wee little duck.
All done!
More Philippines pics to come...
A peek inside.
"Balut soup" down the hatch.
A wee little duck.
All done!
More Philippines pics to come...
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sometimes PB&J just won't cut it
My breakfasts are usually fairly simple: peanut butter on toast, cream cheese on a bagel, fried egg in a tortilla. And the one I had this morning while walking to my bus stop was no exception to this rule of simplicity. It tasted different, though, like Sunday brunch.
If you hate the idea of eggs with anything sweet on them, then read no further. I know that there are a class of people who do not like their food to mix - sauce and rice, broccoli and pasta, eggs and syrup. I am not one of those people, so this breakfast doesn't make my stomach turn. However, if you are, then this is not for you.
Toast an Eggo Nutri-Grain waffle, or your favorite kind of frozen waffle. Don't use homemade - they aren't sturdy enough (I'm not partial to Eggos on a regular basis, but they are particularly suited to rushed mornings). Now, put it in the toaster. Foam up some butter in a frying pan. Crack an egg into it. Break the yolk, if you want (I like to do this while I'm hard frying an egg so that the layers are more evenly dispersed). Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper. When done to your liking, slide it onto the waffle (which came out of the toaster while the egg was frying, and now has syrup on it).
Et, voila! Sunday morning on Monday morning. Or Tuesday. If you don't go overboard with the syrup, you can eat it on the way to the bus. Or in your car.
If you hate the idea of eggs with anything sweet on them, then read no further. I know that there are a class of people who do not like their food to mix - sauce and rice, broccoli and pasta, eggs and syrup. I am not one of those people, so this breakfast doesn't make my stomach turn. However, if you are, then this is not for you.
Toast an Eggo Nutri-Grain waffle, or your favorite kind of frozen waffle. Don't use homemade - they aren't sturdy enough (I'm not partial to Eggos on a regular basis, but they are particularly suited to rushed mornings). Now, put it in the toaster. Foam up some butter in a frying pan. Crack an egg into it. Break the yolk, if you want (I like to do this while I'm hard frying an egg so that the layers are more evenly dispersed). Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper. When done to your liking, slide it onto the waffle (which came out of the toaster while the egg was frying, and now has syrup on it).
Et, voila! Sunday morning on Monday morning. Or Tuesday. If you don't go overboard with the syrup, you can eat it on the way to the bus. Or in your car.
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