tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52930762008-05-19T07:16:57.409-07:00Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comBlogger244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-57867564687996354782008-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:002008-02-04T09:22:48.943-08:00

Since most of my friends and I are not much in the Football Fan department, my big foodie weekend was the weekend before the Superbowl, where I did a lot of the food production for our Annual Meeting. (More later on our easy pizza dough recipe, and mini-quiches with puff pastry crusts. Those latter are definitely a "party in your pantry" as they can be cooked from frozen.) This past week, I

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-58131938802306323692008-01-26T15:43:00.001-08:002008-01-26T15:53:57.126-08:00

I have a young friend at the church who is allergic to dairy. His name is Patrick and he is in first grade. He is a good kid and a pretty good sport about things. I have started using Earth Balance in some of my baking so he can have something to snack on. (I have also learned what common kid snacks have dairy in them or not. I can report that Nilla wafers are safe for the Sunday school.)

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-21561748728223027382008-01-01T15:03:00.000-08:002008-01-01T15:19:17.427-08:00

I'm trying to get back more in the blogging habit in 2008, so expect more regular updates. I've got the monster sinus thing that seems to be running around, so a lot of my diet recently has been Chicken Soup, Tea, and Toast. After I do some decluttering (I think I'm up for a short round of kitchen clean-up before the next meds-and-nap cycle), I might make my cross between minestrone and

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-63953453454948387662007-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:002007-05-26T17:56:12.390-07:00

Is this thing on? Well, I have now joined the ranks of the "cool kids" and become the Featured Local Blogger in a news feature. I was interviewed by the Oakland Tribune for their piece on vegan cooking. The featured recipe was Josephine's Lenten Chocolate Cake, from Sam's"I can't believe I ate vegan!" IMBB contest. It's not a full-on book tour (with segment on the Today Show!), a full

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-83851774577147112502007-04-06T16:08:00.000-07:002007-04-06T16:15:07.496-07:00

12 dozen peanut butter cup cookies - done, to be delivered to church tonight 4 dozen mini-quiches (asparagus and goat cheese) - done, to be delivered (Why, yes, all the pans I found myself with after Christmas have come in handy.) Banana bread - in progress (raisins done, bananas defrosted, might do tonight or tomorrow am) Punch materials - purchased Before I leave tonight: start boiling

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-74252100422984764682007-03-13T16:21:00.000-07:002007-03-13T16:41:19.498-07:00

For years, I have been going to the Homemade Cafe in Berkeley, and not even bothering to look at the menu, because I know what I want. Huevos Rancheros. Two eggs on a tortilla over easy, topped with cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. Served with spicy black beans, some more tortillas, and a pile of the best homefries in town. I would waddle back home, contented, and not need to eat for

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1157422796606065912006-09-04T18:54:00.000-07:002006-09-04T19:19:56.623-07:00

Before I completely forget here, I was part of the Second Annual Food Blogger's Picnic. It was at the fab Owen's house in Lafayette - pool, deck, the works. I was a bit tired because I had gotten very sunburned at the Giants game the day before (how often do people get sunburned in San Francisco, eh?) and had done coffee hour at the church that morning. I brought Kahlua truffles, and they

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1153276263701930682006-07-18T19:24:00.000-07:002006-07-18T19:31:03.713-07:00

I have had many food-related adventures in the last almost two months. I had my first frybread and a kick-ass green chile burger in Santa Fe. Peaches and tomatoes are in the market. Which I have started going to again. I had some New York style pizza that made me aware of what the damn fuss was about. I met Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini on her whirlwind US road trip. (Yes, she is as

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1148864359608464422006-05-28T17:44:00.000-07:002006-05-28T17:59:19.620-07:00

I am still not cooking much, although I have ventured into the area of preparing some (very basic) food for myself. I'm almost back up to something resembling "real" food prep. (Trader Joe's has really been my friend lately.) A few observations: I went to Poulet on Shattuck for the first time in forever because Shuna is doing the desserts there these days. I missed out on the caramel cake (

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1147822737614200842006-05-16T16:35:00.000-07:002006-05-16T16:40:59.266-07:00

As someone who has been involved in TEH INTARWEB!!1! for a while, I think that the current moves to kill "net neutrality" are killing the goose that laid the golden egg of the high-tech boom. Help save the net. Write your congresscritter. Thanks, as is not infrequent in this sort of endeavor, to the fabulous Pim.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1145313890871577842006-04-17T15:33:00.000-07:002006-04-17T15:44:50.880-07:00

It was a busy Holy Week for me in various kitchens, despite still being low energy. Palm Sunday evening - per an inspiration from Nosheteria, I made savory palmiers with Pepperidge Farm puff pastry and goodies from Trader Joe's spreads section inside for the Evensong reception. The experiment in Liturgically Correct Food paid off. Wednesday - made a double batch of dough for Mom's Peanut

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1143425442082263762006-03-26T18:05:00.000-08:002006-03-26T18:10:50.896-08:00

hot cross buns. I have the meshugginah notion that I will make hot cross buns for the parish Easter breakfast. It is meshugginah because I will spend most of Saturday at the church, not home in my kitchen, can guarantee that I will be exhausted when I get home, and need to be at the church around 5 am on Easter. But I pulled several recipes from rec.food.cooking and am going through them. My

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1142345748058543302006-03-14T06:10:00.000-08:002006-03-14T06:15:48.070-08:00

but not cooking much. The only big food news is that I made truffles for the church evensong reception (the guest artist is a special friend of the congregation) and the crowd went wild. I did discover that Fatapple's bakery now sells something they call "Ollallieberry twists", which is o-berries and custard in a puff pastry container. What's not to like? Also, Trader Joe's now sells New

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1140479213847239592006-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:002006-02-20T15:59:01.403-08:00

Ingredients: 50 cans cannellini beans (from the Alameda County Community food bank ... boy, was that a lucky find, given what I already had in mind. Look, ma, no soaking.) One bag onions from Costco (chopped ... the first volunteer to arrive was Tricia, an ex-caterer, and she had those whipped in no time. It was a joy to watch.) Two costco bags celery hearts (chopped) about 20 lb Aidell's

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1140479517868342552006-02-15T19:47:00.000-08:002006-02-20T15:52:37.293-08:00

I had Monday off, and went to the Microsoft SF office for a mini-seminar, so went in early and had lunch at the Ferry Building market: The thing that really made me go "YUM" were the rosemary potato chips at Petite LuLu's. The salmon sandwich was "ehh" and I was similarly not-terribly-impressed by the spring rolls (what I call "summer rolls") at Out the Door. Is there something there that

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1139975547251850382006-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:002006-02-14T19:52:27.266-08:00

I've been making these recipes for so long I haven't even felt the need to record it here so I can refer to it. I got the dipped truffle recipe from my friend Kay Hartman of Los Angeles via rec.food.cooking. The rolled truffles were from a Fine Cooking article. The dipped truffles are a multi-day process; not much work is required every day but things do need to chill. It sounds more

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1139689865580606552006-02-11T12:26:00.000-08:002006-02-11T12:31:05.593-08:00

I've got one batch of chocolate truffles mostly done (and half distributed at the Farmer's Market) and have raspberries for the second, waiting to have enough energy to deal with them. It's how I deal with V Day - spreading the chocolate luuuuuv. Recipe with pix to follow when I edit the pix, which I took last time I made a batch ... but was too knackered to post about due to Weird Things

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1139687917060858942006-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:002006-02-11T11:58:37.073-08:00

At the Fatted Calf stall last Saturday, I saw the fabulous Guy of MeatHenge ... with bags full of winter veg. I was interested to see what he had in mind for the cauliflower and then caught up on my blog reading enough to see this entry from Chez Panisse Vegetables. Oh my. I'm thinking a version with broccoli and cauli ... and it would be good wrapped in a tortilla, for dinner. Since I am

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1138582404340047962006-01-29T16:26:00.000-08:002006-01-29T17:01:58.116-08:00

I love noodles, in just about any form. They are definitely one of my favorite comfort foods. I have branched out from the spaghetti-and-meatballs and mac cheese/mac salad of my childhood into all sorts of international noodle territory and I don't think I've met one I haven't liked. So I was glad when I learned of Amy's theme for IMBB #22. I had grand visions of whipping up some Pad Thai,

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1138366604426765152006-01-27T04:40:00.000-08:002006-01-27T04:57:25.713-08:00

I've used my new rectangular springform pan (from King Arthur Flour) twice already to make lemon bars. I'm always on the search for a better lemon bar, and Alison from Bake Sale Betty told me that her stunningly good ones were based on a recipe of Alice Medrich, in the book "Cookies and Brownies". The book seems to be OP, but I had given my mother a copy of it a while back - it's the source of

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1137989561793590152006-01-21T18:50:00.000-08:002006-01-22T20:12:41.840-08:00

We ran into a little problem with our monthly Feeding the Multitudes exercise. Shortly after New Year's, a lot of plaster fell dramatically from the ceiling in the parish hall, where we set up and serve. It could have been all the *#$% rain, it could have been sheer old age - that part of the building dates from 1914. In any case, the room was declared by management to be Unfit for Occupation.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1137462915380254652006-01-16T17:55:00.000-08:002006-01-16T18:07:10.800-08:00

I had the day off today, so managed to eat a dinner that was not completely or substantially pre-prepared. I made roast chicken and potatoes. I used the "Cook the Chook!" spice rub my pal Tammy gave to me after Christmas. That felt good. In other food news, I swung by Bakesale Betty today after I took Maggie to the vet (the verdict: "thriving") and picked up my prescription. Betty is now

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1136774715356158452006-01-08T18:29:00.000-08:002006-01-08T18:45:15.373-08:00

Lawrence Bliss is the happy winner of the L&C raffle prize in the Menu for Hope II raffle. He will not be recieving curd, as he lives in Maine. But here's a picture anyway of a jar I made New Year's Day: I will be sending some Sacramento County Meyer lemons, some Berkeley-manufactured Scharffen Berger, and some gizmos and recipes as soon as The Cold From Hell subsides enough so that I

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1135996456600267622005-12-30T18:26:00.000-08:002005-12-30T18:34:16.600-08:00

It's been wet here lately. As I was going home tonight I was wondering what to have for dinner. I had a slight hankering for tuna-noodle casserole, but that would have involved going to the store for cheese. Other supplies are a little bare at the moment because I "ate down" before Christmas and have eaten through the turkey breast that I got sent home with. But en route I thought that I

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293076.post-1135995961974152562005-12-27T20:18:00.000-08:002005-12-30T18:26:12.013-08:00

I had a Most Excellent Christmas from a foodie perspective - good food, good wine, and great gifts. Brother got me some goodies from the Baker's Catalogue (*Go King Arthur!*) Mom and Dad got me a KitchenAid mixer bowl and two wonderful cookbooks I had requested - More from Magnolia (mmmm cupcakes) and Cooking One on One. Santa left me lots of lovely coffee from Boulevard Coffee and Tea, Dad's

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124847109117072966noreply@blogger.com