My obsession began with a creole cookin' codger and a funny talking lady, both on my local PBS station after my weekly Saturday morning cartoons. What a babysitter that TV was on those Saturdays. Cartoons galore only interrupted to push sugary cereals with prizes. After those cartoons ended I mustered the strength to lift myself from the couch to the television to turn the knob to 13 for the "I guar-ahn-tee"s and silly warblings of an amazonian sex kitten who were the celebrity chefs of my youth. Their food was exotic..for an Arkansas boy, but it was their palatable passion for their craft that most amazed me and helped define my want to experience as many food things as possible within this lifetime.
Which brings us to this blog. Our homage to Guy Fieri, http://www.guyfieri.com/ , due to seeing him on TV at the Raiders vs. 49ers pre-season game. Guy Fieri was on the first season of "Next Food Network Star"..I think..and now look at him. He's an empire. He's in line to be the next Rachel Ray. He's so upbeat that he makes your teeth hurt ... and that's okay! He's the embodiment of why I fell in love with food. People smiling, cooking and most importantly...eating. The bones of this Tuesday's with Pookie is all about the Triple D.....Also known as Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We knew the dive portion due to Andy's desire to check out a dive in the Haight highlighted on Anthony Bourdain's TLC show No Reservations, http://www.anthonybourdain.net/ . The diner and drive-in part were still up in the air because A) Neither of us are fans of "chain" diners...a la Mel's or Lori's. I'm sure these establishments are great for some people, but not us. and B) We wanted something authentic. A quick google search and we were on our way.
Our Tuesday started like each one before. Leslie picks me up at the back gates of my complex and then we take off with hopes of locating our destination without the assistance of a GPS. Today was no different as we made a few circles and wrong turns before landing at our first stop. It's Tops Coffee Shop; 1801 Market, SF, CA (415) 431.6395. This "coffee shop" has been a mainstay at this busy intersection since 1935! Can you even imagine? Once inside, you're immediately transported back in time as the smell of waffles invades your nostrils. Warm wood panelling covers all the walls which are packed with memorabilia and write ups from every paper in the City and every era since 1935. They even go so far as to dress the lone waitress in a hot pink outfit reminiscent of a 1950's diner. Even before sitting down, you know you're in for a good meal. The menu lists specials that one would expect in a diner and a large selection of California inspired burgers that had our tongues wagging. We opted for the California pig * burger with cheese, bacon and avocado* This was a nearly perfect burger. Not too large that you felt full even before your first bite and all of the toppings were nestled tightly on top of a perfectly cooked pattie. The hand cut fries that accompanied were just fine, albeit a little greasy. What did we care? We were at a diner, greasy spoon or whatever you want to call them. We came for food that was going to stick to our ribs and we were not disappointed.
We had very few options for our Drive-In spot. In fact we were only able to come up with one place in San Francisco that could actually be called a "drive-in". After pounding the diner burger, we made our way to Whiz Burgers Drive-In; 700 South Van Ness, SF, CA. (415)824.5888. This old school drive in is everything you want a drive in to be. No frills, a menu full of fried items, fountain sodas and whipped cream topped milk shakes. By the time we made our way to this side of town, we were ready for the dive portion of this Tuesday and had only intended to get a drink and a loo break. Although, once we spotted the menu we couldn't resist ordering a corn dog and a tang! We were both children, again. Sitting at the outdoor counter, sharing a corn dog and tang and giggling. We were now in perfect shape to start happy hour a little early.
We hopped back into the car and made our way to the Haight district for a quick happy hour at Aub Zam Zam; 1633 Haight, SF, CA. (415)861.2545. When we came up with this week's theme of Triple D, I screamed out this bar! I'd been wanting to check it out ever since Anthony Bourdain threw back a few here during a taping of his TLC show. This was the kind of watering hold where you come to be invisible. Where you come to be a regular...heck it's just a great bar with a massive selection of libations. I could extol on and on about the interior and the theme and the funky juke box, but I'll let you go to those sites dedicated to letting folks extol on such things. I'll keep it simple. We ordered our drinks. I dropped $5 in the juke box, picked a few select tunes and left credits for the other patrons to use and we made friends with the bartender. We chatted about nothing and everything..Hell, I couldn't even tell you what we really talked about..other than Leslie giving me emotional support to take my art to the next step and raising our glasses to zukra bakery's first retail store! Should you find yourself in the Castro, stop in to Buffalo Whole Food; 598 Castro, SF, CA. (415)626.7038 and pick up your week's worth of zukra's gluten-free baked goods!
Take your own Triple D tour of your own city, try a new recipe, cook with a new ingredient and order something other than your usual next time you're out. There's a whole world of food out there just waiting to be gobbled up. What are you waiting for?
Pookie's Loo Review of Aub Zam Zam
3 flushes
The Ladies restroom was just what you would expect at a dive bar...grungy. Although, it did have everything one would need. Toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap and a working sink. I looked around fully expecting to see the onslaught of the "Sarah *hearts* Daniel" and the "Chris Erickson is an asshole" s. ...but to my surprise there was nary a thing on the wall with the exception of the red(ish) walls which were merely hiding the old graffiti. AHA! Just as I had expected. What dive bar is complete without a graffiti covered loo? At least not one in San Francisco. All in all...this loo was fairly clean and served its purpose.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Pookie's reunited!
It's been close to three weeks since Leslie and me have been able to have our weekly TwP due her busy travel schedule. Since we hadn't seen each other in such a long time we wanted to plan wisely so that we could spend as much time just catching up and hanging out. Lucky for us Mother Nature finally thought that San Francisco deserved a Summer, as well on Tuesday. So, in lieu of bar/restaurant hopping we opted to hang out at my pool sippin' cool drinks and eating. From Noon-5 we were nestled under the canopy of trees shading us from the fire in the sky and spent that time with a few of our friends while we all enjoyed a very late Summer in SF!
Since our Tuesdays always involve food, I came up with an idea to A) use the food in my fridge and B) fill us up~ I had no idea what to make as my fridge was on the verge of being bare. Here's what I had:
6 pork loins
1/2 lb of bacon ends
4 peaches
organic pizza dough
red peppers
tomatoes and herbs from my garden
I quickly flipped through my mental Rolodex for ideas of what to make. I wanted to make something light and easy to handle. So that left me with one choice. Pizza. Although, I've never had a pizza topped with pork loin. I racked my brain as to how I could use this pork and do so for pizza. I started hacking at the loin. Chopping it into bite sized pieces. I still wasn't satisfied and knew that it would work well on pizza. All of a sudden, I saw the immersion blender..what if? maybe? So..I went for it. I placed the bit sized loin in a large bowl and seasoned it up with salt & pepper, threw in a few whole garlic cloves and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. I slowly and carefully plunged the blender into this mound of meat and lo and behold..I started to get ground meat. Perfect to crumble on top of a pie! Ingenuity is definitely my best kitchen tool..after my Le Cruesset and cutting boards, of course. My quick TwP lunch was coming together quickly.
Tuesdays with Pookie Lunch date menu:
Peach, bacon and rosemary pizza
pork sausage, bacon, tomato and pepper pizza
pepper and bacon pizza
Minted Bellinis
These pies were so darn easy to make and even more so to enjoy! My favorite was the peach and bacon. I'm a sucker for savory/sweet combos. Leslie preferred the pork, bacon, tomato and pepper one. We both thoroughly enjoyed the bellinis...A lot! It was the perfect way to start a five hour stint poolside. We got our grub on early on, had drinks throughout the day and friends to keep us company. We were truly living La Dolce Vita~
For me, this Tuesday was about making the best with what you have. A great lesson that translates just as easy in the kitchen as it does out of it. If life gives you lemons then make yourself some lemonade..but pour a bit of vodka into mine..ok? I took my lemons..aka the above fridge list..and made an extraordinary lunch that was filling and super easy to prepare! If you take anything away at all from our blog, we want you to be adventurous, to get out of your comfort zone and to try something new. For if you never try it how are you to know if you're any good at it? I had never worked with pizza dough, but had a fairly good understanding of how to use it. I oiled it up, stretched it out, placed it in a oven pre-heated to 500 on my pizza stone and let the dough work it's magic. Of course, these pies had the opportunity to turn into garbage, but I have faith in myself and confidence in my decisions. I hope that you, too, will find your courage, your worth and confidence in all of the decisions you make in your life. Until next time..eat well and laugh a lot~
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
What's up, Dawg?
Yet another Tuesdays with Pookie and I'm still one less Pookie for our Tuesday outing. She's busy making the rounds of the lower 48 spreading the gospel of idunnoknowwhat and here I am pining her absence....and yes. It's a pity party. Party of one. Not only was I Pookieless, but I was also without my partner, boyfriend, someone I'll never be able to call Husband and the such. I was left to my own guise this Tuesday and I found myself shopping at the market and creating. The best way to while the day away, I believe...
In fact, as I write this update, I am alone in our friend Shanni's apartment. Only cause she has wi-fi and HD television. I mean. Have you ever watched "Glee" in High Definition? Of course, I'm doing this all alone...well, I am surrounded by three small dogs. All sleeping and without care of me or my doings and ramblings..So this Tuesdays with Pookie is all about dinner for one. A problem for all of us at one point in time.
A.) You don't want to cook too much because we all know you're never going to eat the leftovers.
B.) You want to cook enough just in case it's really good and you'll maybeprobably have secondsthirds.
I feel as if I've perfected the art of cooking for one. Upon landing in San Francisco, I found myself living in an extended stay hotel with a small electrical stove top and the need to eat..every night. It's really simple to cook for yourself and you also have the opportunity to do whateve YOU want to do with it. Seeing as you're going to be the only one eating.
Today, I visited the Ferry Building's Tuesday Market in the hopes of finding produce that would enhance a pork dish. For whatever reason, I had swine on the mind. This tends to happen at least three times a week. Nothing but thoughts of bacon and guancianale and porcetta and pancetta and pork belly an...well..you get the idea. The weather in San Francisco has been less than Summer-like. With temperatures barley peaking above 60 for the past two months and with less than four hours of direct sun light a day. Don't get me wrong. San Francisco is a beautiful, magical, wonderfully hippieristic and doobietastic City..yes. I put a capital "C", but c'mon..I mean..C'MON...This "SUMMER" has been a rambing of expletives about something sucking...So...I wanted a meal with substance. A meal that would warm from the inside out and make me feel as if I were wrapped in a woolen stole, sitting in front of a crackling fire and rosy red from a day on the slopes. Well...not really a day on the slopes. I've got weak ankles and would surely snap 'em on skis...I'm more of an apres ski type of guy..I digress...
TwP's market inspired dinner was inspired by the Berkshire pork scallopini from Prather Ranch Meat Co. to the Braising greens from Shoi Farms in Fresno, CA. to the Galvenstein Apples from a ranch in Marin, CA. I found inspiration in the bounty around me and available to me after a mile walk from home to a fantastic farmer's market on the Bay.
Although, I complain a bit too much about the weather and can come across as ungrateful for what I have and what is available to me I am happy to say that I love living in a city where I can take my two dogs on an afternoon walk around the MLB ballpark and run into an American Idol audition in the works. Too bad I didn't run into Randy. I would have been forced to sing my rendition of that 2003 hit, "Fresh Bread"..
In fact, as I write this update, I am alone in our friend Shanni's apartment. Only cause she has wi-fi and HD television. I mean. Have you ever watched "Glee" in High Definition? Of course, I'm doing this all alone...well, I am surrounded by three small dogs. All sleeping and without care of me or my doings and ramblings..So this Tuesdays with Pookie is all about dinner for one. A problem for all of us at one point in time.
A.) You don't want to cook too much because we all know you're never going to eat the leftovers.
B.) You want to cook enough just in case it's really good and you'll maybeprobably have secondsthirds.
I feel as if I've perfected the art of cooking for one. Upon landing in San Francisco, I found myself living in an extended stay hotel with a small electrical stove top and the need to eat..every night. It's really simple to cook for yourself and you also have the opportunity to do whateve YOU want to do with it. Seeing as you're going to be the only one eating.
Today, I visited the Ferry Building's Tuesday Market in the hopes of finding produce that would enhance a pork dish. For whatever reason, I had swine on the mind. This tends to happen at least three times a week. Nothing but thoughts of bacon and guancianale and porcetta and pancetta and pork belly an...well..you get the idea. The weather in San Francisco has been less than Summer-like. With temperatures barley peaking above 60 for the past two months and with less than four hours of direct sun light a day. Don't get me wrong. San Francisco is a beautiful, magical, wonderfully hippieristic and doobietastic City..yes. I put a capital "C", but c'mon..I mean..C'MON...This "SUMMER" has been a rambing of expletives about something sucking...So...I wanted a meal with substance. A meal that would warm from the inside out and make me feel as if I were wrapped in a woolen stole, sitting in front of a crackling fire and rosy red from a day on the slopes. Well...not really a day on the slopes. I've got weak ankles and would surely snap 'em on skis...I'm more of an apres ski type of guy..I digress...
TwP's market inspired dinner was inspired by the Berkshire pork scallopini from Prather Ranch Meat Co. to the Braising greens from Shoi Farms in Fresno, CA. to the Galvenstein Apples from a ranch in Marin, CA. I found inspiration in the bounty around me and available to me after a mile walk from home to a fantastic farmer's market on the Bay.
Although, I complain a bit too much about the weather and can come across as ungrateful for what I have and what is available to me I am happy to say that I love living in a city where I can take my two dogs on an afternoon walk around the MLB ballpark and run into an American Idol audition in the works. Too bad I didn't run into Randy. I would have been forced to sing my rendition of that 2003 hit, "Fresh Bread"..
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Inspired much?
Inspiration, in the artistic sense, can come from anywhere, thing or place. It's usually waiting around the corner of the least likely place you thought you'd find it. I like to consider myself an artist, or at least I always tackle my "to-do" list with an artistic approach. Be it a large-scale painting for a window display to each meal I prepare from scratch. I believe that living the artistic life allows me to give a piece of myself each and every time I produce something. Call it what you will..it makes me happy!
This week for Tuesdays with Pookie, I found myself one Pookie short. She's on a whirl wind tour of the United States and I'm not really sure where she's at right now. I think she's somewhere in NYC. It's like that game...you know? Where's Pookie? Regardless. I needed to accomplish this week's entry and grabbed my gal pal, Shanni and ran off to the Ferry Building's Tuesday Farmers Market, http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/, to scoop up a week's worth of bounty. For the past several weeks stone fruits and peppers in every color and kelvin scale have dominated the booths. Peaches, plums and pluots are so sweet that all one need to do is slice and eat. Although, I tend to want to make pies, crumbles and betty's in all flavors when I pick up these super sweet stone fruits!
I was looking for inspiration for Tuesday night's dinner. I needed to let the produce speak to me. As I made my way from one booth to the next, I was mentally flashing through recipes and ideas of what I could do with this and that. All the while on an empty stomach. Never a good idea. NEVER! I found my inspiration not in the food, but in the weather. For those of you readers who also happen to be my facebook friend , www.facebook.com/andy.farriester , you'll know by now that living in San Francisco during the Summer months is sometimes irritating due to such inclement weather. The weatherman this morning actually pointed out that San Francisco's temps have not soared above 70 degrees since July 4th! Hello! IT'S AUGUST 11! Needless to say. I was in the mood for comfort food. I flipped through my mental rolodex quickly hoping to land on the perfect dish that would lend itself to the bounty of produce in front of me. Standing in front of brightly colored root vegetables, I came to the conclusion that I would make a pot pie! Inspiration came and I was on a mission to see it to fruition. I grabbed a bunch of fresh from the ground carrots, a bag of just picked french green beans, a sweet onion and a clove of garlic. All I needed now was the bird and the crust. Thankfully for us, we were at the Ferry Building and all of that could be found within.
For the bird, I stopped at Prather Ranch, http://www.prmeatco.com/, to pick up a whole bird. This purveyor of all things protein is stocked with some of the most organic, HMO-free and free range possibilities. The bird I picked up was unlike any bird you'd find in your neighborhood grocery store. Smaller than those plumped up birds you'll find on Safeway's shelves. Lucky for me, they also carried their own pie crust. A lard crust, none the less! Voila! I had everything I needed for my Tuesdays with Pookie dinner!
Not being one to not contribute, Shanni lent her fresh shelled English peas and a wonderful salad to accompany our hearty dinner. With her peas, I made a pea puree by simply boiling the peas with some low-sodium vegetable stock, pepper and a garlic clove. After five minutes, I removed from the stove, added the remaining stock and about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Using an immersion blender I blended this mixture into a smooth and bright green mixture that tasted of nothing more than sweet peas. I placed this chilled puree into small liqueur glasses and topped with finely chopped pancetta from another fine house of meat located in the Ferry Building, Boccalone, http://www.boccalone.com/ , This is Chris Consentino's haven to tasty salted pig parts. Yes, the same Chris who runs Incanto in San Francisco. That fine eating institution to all things offal. I finished off this amuse with a few springs of mint and must say that it evoked everything great about each parts. The sweetness of the peas and the velvety texture playing nicely off of the salt and crunch of the pancetta. I easily could have downed a jug. Hell! I'd even give up beer if I had this in it's place. All in all this was one tasty dinner!
Whatever inspires you, find it. Find yourself inspired daily to create and to make beautiful things. Paint, cook or even cleaning. All of these things done with intent make me feel accomplished and alive. I hope that you, too, can find the beauty in everything around you. Sometimes you may have to search for the inspiration, but other times inspiration may just find you.
There will be no Pookie's Loo Reviews this week. We'll have more when we're able to resume our regularly scheduled TwP. In the meantime, eat well, laugh till it hurts and love endlessly.
This week for Tuesdays with Pookie, I found myself one Pookie short. She's on a whirl wind tour of the United States and I'm not really sure where she's at right now. I think she's somewhere in NYC. It's like that game...you know? Where's Pookie? Regardless. I needed to accomplish this week's entry and grabbed my gal pal, Shanni and ran off to the Ferry Building's Tuesday Farmers Market, http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/, to scoop up a week's worth of bounty. For the past several weeks stone fruits and peppers in every color and kelvin scale have dominated the booths. Peaches, plums and pluots are so sweet that all one need to do is slice and eat. Although, I tend to want to make pies, crumbles and betty's in all flavors when I pick up these super sweet stone fruits!
I was looking for inspiration for Tuesday night's dinner. I needed to let the produce speak to me. As I made my way from one booth to the next, I was mentally flashing through recipes and ideas of what I could do with this and that. All the while on an empty stomach. Never a good idea. NEVER! I found my inspiration not in the food, but in the weather. For those of you readers who also happen to be my facebook friend , www.facebook.com/andy.farriester , you'll know by now that living in San Francisco during the Summer months is sometimes irritating due to such inclement weather. The weatherman this morning actually pointed out that San Francisco's temps have not soared above 70 degrees since July 4th! Hello! IT'S AUGUST 11! Needless to say. I was in the mood for comfort food. I flipped through my mental rolodex quickly hoping to land on the perfect dish that would lend itself to the bounty of produce in front of me. Standing in front of brightly colored root vegetables, I came to the conclusion that I would make a pot pie! Inspiration came and I was on a mission to see it to fruition. I grabbed a bunch of fresh from the ground carrots, a bag of just picked french green beans, a sweet onion and a clove of garlic. All I needed now was the bird and the crust. Thankfully for us, we were at the Ferry Building and all of that could be found within.
For the bird, I stopped at Prather Ranch, http://www.prmeatco.com/, to pick up a whole bird. This purveyor of all things protein is stocked with some of the most organic, HMO-free and free range possibilities. The bird I picked up was unlike any bird you'd find in your neighborhood grocery store. Smaller than those plumped up birds you'll find on Safeway's shelves. Lucky for me, they also carried their own pie crust. A lard crust, none the less! Voila! I had everything I needed for my Tuesdays with Pookie dinner!
Not being one to not contribute, Shanni lent her fresh shelled English peas and a wonderful salad to accompany our hearty dinner. With her peas, I made a pea puree by simply boiling the peas with some low-sodium vegetable stock, pepper and a garlic clove. After five minutes, I removed from the stove, added the remaining stock and about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Using an immersion blender I blended this mixture into a smooth and bright green mixture that tasted of nothing more than sweet peas. I placed this chilled puree into small liqueur glasses and topped with finely chopped pancetta from another fine house of meat located in the Ferry Building, Boccalone, http://www.boccalone.com/ , This is Chris Consentino's haven to tasty salted pig parts. Yes, the same Chris who runs Incanto in San Francisco. That fine eating institution to all things offal. I finished off this amuse with a few springs of mint and must say that it evoked everything great about each parts. The sweetness of the peas and the velvety texture playing nicely off of the salt and crunch of the pancetta. I easily could have downed a jug. Hell! I'd even give up beer if I had this in it's place. All in all this was one tasty dinner!
Whatever inspires you, find it. Find yourself inspired daily to create and to make beautiful things. Paint, cook or even cleaning. All of these things done with intent make me feel accomplished and alive. I hope that you, too, can find the beauty in everything around you. Sometimes you may have to search for the inspiration, but other times inspiration may just find you.
There will be no Pookie's Loo Reviews this week. We'll have more when we're able to resume our regularly scheduled TwP. In the meantime, eat well, laugh till it hurts and love endlessly.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday with a Her...
Pookie's out of town enjoying the sun and surf of SoCal. In lieu of a lonely Tuesday with Pookie, I grabbed my gal pal, Shanni and took her on a whirlwind culinary tour of the Ferry Building Tuesday Farmer's Market followed up by a rigorous walk with our many dogs! It was quite the healthy Tuesday. As opposed to previous Tuesdays with Pookie where a cocktail found it's way into our day no later than Noon...Mind you..This Pookie and the Her found ourselves swimming in cocktails for sure...but at least we waited until 2:00 p.m. to start!
If you've never been to the Ferry Building's weekly farmer's markets..or any farmer's market for that matter..you're missing out..BIG TIME! Not only do you pay less for better, you also get to witness first hand the ebb and flow of the farm. You get to witness the seasonality of produce and in turn, you become a more informed consumer...a.k.a. FOOD SNOB! I, for one, am not ashamed of my food snobbery. I'm happy to help you become a food snob, too!
This week was all about peppers at the market. Guindillas peppers..Which are a favorite bar snack in the Basque region. Best enjoyed flash fried in olive oil until white blisters appear and sprinkle with sea salt..I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to coax out the natural sweetness of these yummy little peppers. We also picked up a handful of exotic sounding squash that were perfect with a sprinkling of seasoning, a dash of oil and a few minutes on a hot grill. This is summer eating at it's best!
Beyond becoming a more educated and holier-than-thou food snob when shopping at farmer's market, you're also helping to support the farmers. These farmers markets may be the only lifeline to consumers for some farmers. You're also more apt to strike up a conversation on say..the best way to prepare this bunch of peppers I just bought and within the blink of an eye, you're being handed a few other things under the table and developing a relationship that's nearly impossible to come by at a grocery store. So say it with me....EAT, SHOP AND SUPPORT LOCAL!
Did I miss my Pookie? Of course, but I do love my time with a Her. It was nice to let her in on my weekly rituals..a.k.a. drinking before noon and eating too much! As with every Tuesdays with Pookie, we start with a basic idea/theme and the rest is up to the cosmos, mother nature, karma or whathaveyou. This Tuesday was more like an extended weekend with a Her. On Monday, we happy hour'd at Osha Thai with quite successful results. 2 shots, a piece and three or four margaritas..and yes. Shanni took the elevator up to her apartment..which is on the second floor!
I'd also like to take this moment to express my joy by today's announcement of the overturning of Prop. 8 in California. It's historic and the battles ahead will more than likely be tough and many, but it's a step in the right direction. I personally don't understand how two men or two women getting married would do anything but good for our country. Was this country not founded on inclusion and equality for all? Somewhere along the way, we faltered and lost our balance and we're now in the act of finding our footing, again. I hope that the majority of Americans can learn to accept each other. Whether some one's of a different race, nationality or sexual preference. Cause in the end, we're all on the outside looking in.
If you've never been to the Ferry Building's weekly farmer's markets..or any farmer's market for that matter..you're missing out..BIG TIME! Not only do you pay less for better, you also get to witness first hand the ebb and flow of the farm. You get to witness the seasonality of produce and in turn, you become a more informed consumer...a.k.a. FOOD SNOB! I, for one, am not ashamed of my food snobbery. I'm happy to help you become a food snob, too!
This week was all about peppers at the market. Guindillas peppers..Which are a favorite bar snack in the Basque region. Best enjoyed flash fried in olive oil until white blisters appear and sprinkle with sea salt..I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to coax out the natural sweetness of these yummy little peppers. We also picked up a handful of exotic sounding squash that were perfect with a sprinkling of seasoning, a dash of oil and a few minutes on a hot grill. This is summer eating at it's best!
Beyond becoming a more educated and holier-than-thou food snob when shopping at farmer's market, you're also helping to support the farmers. These farmers markets may be the only lifeline to consumers for some farmers. You're also more apt to strike up a conversation on say..the best way to prepare this bunch of peppers I just bought and within the blink of an eye, you're being handed a few other things under the table and developing a relationship that's nearly impossible to come by at a grocery store. So say it with me....EAT, SHOP AND SUPPORT LOCAL!
Did I miss my Pookie? Of course, but I do love my time with a Her. It was nice to let her in on my weekly rituals..a.k.a. drinking before noon and eating too much! As with every Tuesdays with Pookie, we start with a basic idea/theme and the rest is up to the cosmos, mother nature, karma or whathaveyou. This Tuesday was more like an extended weekend with a Her. On Monday, we happy hour'd at Osha Thai with quite successful results. 2 shots, a piece and three or four margaritas..and yes. Shanni took the elevator up to her apartment..which is on the second floor!
I'd also like to take this moment to express my joy by today's announcement of the overturning of Prop. 8 in California. It's historic and the battles ahead will more than likely be tough and many, but it's a step in the right direction. I personally don't understand how two men or two women getting married would do anything but good for our country. Was this country not founded on inclusion and equality for all? Somewhere along the way, we faltered and lost our balance and we're now in the act of finding our footing, again. I hope that the majority of Americans can learn to accept each other. Whether some one's of a different race, nationality or sexual preference. Cause in the end, we're all on the outside looking in.
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