some of the SanFran food

Bobby G's Pizzeria - our last night there

Point Reyes Station - The Station House Cafe

Fried oysters. Big portions.

Berkeley - Octoberfeast

sugary thing + pretzel croissant + free coffee = $5 (so yum and such a deal)

Balompié - The Mission

pupusas and black bean empanadas

long wait, but the nicest staff we encountered on our trip

Cream - a warm cookie sandwich for $1.50

XOXO Truffles - tiny bits of goodness

Pyramid Brewery

I think I'll go to Boston

Boston lit their Faneuil Hall Christmas tree just two nights before this picture was taken. Shouldn't we save the intensive decorating for when all of the natural decorations fall off the trees?

All this walking around, and I'm still stuffed from all of the good food we ate. Cheap, yummy Thai food? Yes please. How about eating handmade pasta in the North End, while an adorable older gentleman plays the accordion and sings to you? Indian food? Crab rolls? Oh sure, but only because you're twisting my arm.



Chicken curry dumplings and something else that was way too delicious to ponder for very long

Pupusas, please!

Last week I had the chance to stuff my face at local Caribbean restaurant Cazón Tropical. Cazón is a type of shark, not a variation on "casa," as I mistakenly told people for a long time. Life hint: learn another language, or just tell people you know one, and they'll believe anything you say. Anyway, we were there in time to catch the U.S. vs. Mexico soccer match. In case you're wondering, the closed-captioning is right on the money, as they do take the time to write out "GOOOOOOOOOOOL!" for as many lines as necessary. In addition to the excitement of the game, the food, was great. Here is an appetizer of 3 bean-and-cheese pupusas (more on pupusas below) along with horchata, a rice/milk/cinammon/really good drink.






Pupusas are pretty hard to describe to someone who hasn't had one, especially since the dough, cheese and beans make it like a lot of other things that you could get at similar restaurant. Ideally they are crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. Here is a helpful video, though I warn you that it's all easier said (and watched) than done.

Bigger, brighter and better food

Time to share some more scrumtrulescent food from the crop share!

Nearly unmanageable cabbage:





Rainbow chard part II (in this case called "Bright Lights chard":





A new, almost unimaginable treat called chocolate bread. Unsweetened, but notice the pockets of glorious chocolate chunks wrapped up inside. They get nice and gooey when you heat them up, and the bread is great with honey.




Finally, enormous, ready-to-burst blueberries:



These are not the blueberries you're going to find in your grocery chain. A size comparison with a timely patriotic nod:



I hear George was more of a cherry guy, but I'm sure these blueberries would convert him. Happy 4th!

Rainbow-themed food

As if regular old Swiss chard wasn't good enough, we were lucky enough to find rainbow chard at the farmer's market this week.



This made me think of all of the other great colors that come along with fresh food. Here are some cherries from the crop share:



The red cherries in the blue bowl with the yellow background was too much to resist. The lovely bowl is courtesy of my college dining services. During my freshman year they had them for a brief few weeks at the stir fry bar, until they reverted to crappy plates that no one wanted to steal.



Lovely stem close-ups:








The colors!





And finally, a recent dinner of coconut chicken, baked tortilla chips, a bright mango-tomatillo salsa and the rainbow chard in its final, delicious state.



The mango salsa can go with a lot of things, including fish. It was great both with the chicken and the tortilla chips. I didn't settle on one recipe, since there are many and I didn't have all of the ingredients for any of them. There were no complaints, but I went a little too heavy on the lime juice and probably could have used more salt. In short, do whatever makes you happy, but here is a good starting point:

Mango-Tomatillo Salsa

2 mangos, peeled and sliced (if you've never done it before, please check out this website. There's a science to it. Really.)
5-7 tomatillos, husked
1 large spring onion, quartered
4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp salt
fresh cilantro
any other spices or things that you think might taste good

Place onions, tomatillos, garlic and red pepper on a tray coated with cooking spray. Place in (toaster) oven and broil until vegetables start to char. Peel garlic, and place vegetables in blender. Blend into chunks by pulsing a few times. Add lime juice, salt, cilantro and anything else that strikes your fancy. Mix in cubed mango and enjoy!

Tortilla chips

10 tortilla wraps
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450. Coat tortillas with cooking spray and cut into chip-sized pieces. Sprinkle evenly with a mixture of chili powder, cumin and salt. Spread on a cooking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 8ish minutes, or until they are as crispy as you want. I've also fried them on the stove and cooked them on the grill with olive oil. The extra spices make this really yummy.

Strawberry desserts and dolls

These crop share strawberries were too gorgeous not to take pictures of:







After their photo shoot, they formed the basis of some delicious strawberry shortcake. I didn't think I liked strawberry shortcake, but that's because I had only ever had the sponge-like fake shortcake from the grocery store. Making it at home is highly recommended - these came out with the perfect sweetness, with a crispy outside and a soft and warm inside.

Strawberry Shortcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients. Using your hands and/or a spoon, mix in slices of chilled butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put about 1/3 of a cup of dough down for each shortcake. You should come out with about 8. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until cakes start to turn golden on top.





Since I've had Strawberry Shortcake on the brain, I kept thinking about a doll that I used to have. At the time I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, but now that I've looked it up, I've realized that it's inherently creepy, maybe in a David Lynch way.

"Cupcakes hide inside their wrappers 'til it's time to surprise - then out they pop!"