Men and Hats

Random photo from an art gallery in North Beach that was showcasing a pile of hats on the floor.

These same guys were hanging out outside the gallery doors. Bouncers? Foster brothers? Super heroes? I'm not sure.

Click the photo for the full effect.

Hats off to you, weekend

We honor thee with brunch in the Dog Patch.

Bubble Magnets

A while back I mentioned that I'd had a creative moment while sick and started making magnets based on Not Martha's instructions.

It has been so cold that I've been staying inside and have made a few more batches. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I made a bachelor-themed set for Reid's new 70s-style apartment out of old Playboy cartoons,




(cartoon boob)


abstract sets from a magazine photos and drawings (the one at the start of this post, and below. The ones at the top all came from one drawing in Wired showing a cow being subjected to hormones and antibiotics.)


and have a bunch more on the way.

My workspace. Not the brightest thing to use silicone glue near leather furniture, but it makes a good worktable.


The plastic cabochons (the "bubble" part) are fun because of the magnifying nature and the tiniest images become a lot more interesting. I bought mine at Tap Plastics on Van Ness, added some magazine cutouts, silicone glue, and magnets, and voila!

Mini Pies!

Lately I've been obsessed with mini-pastries. I'm not sure why. I don't have a desire to eat them, just look at them.

They're so damn cute!

Check out Not Martha's Guide to Making Mini Pies, especially the tiny lattice she made, and the mini pie montage at the top of this link for the Mini Pie Revolution Round-Up.

Funnily, Whole Foods also carries mini pastries at $18 per lb.
The fruit slices in these pictures give reference for their size.



I haven't tried making them myself yet because I think I just like looking at them!

Always carry a book

What would you do if you were trapped in an elevator for 40 hours?

A Dinner Party with Vietnamese Salmon

Last night my step-mom and dad came to see my place in North Beach and have dinner. They're bigger foodies than me and I wanted to make sure I made something tasty that I also couldn't mess up too badly. Plus, my dad showed up in a suit (he came from work, but still. If your dad shows up to dinner at your house wearing a suit, you better have something nice to serve him that you can make under pressure!)

One of my old fallbacks is a recipe from the SF Chronicle from a couple years ago, before salmon became as scarce as they are this season. This is such a great dish though, that I had to make it.

The recipe for seared salmon with spicy mango sauce was provided by Ana Mandara, a Vietnamese fusion restaurant in the city. I follow the recipe exactly (except for the amount of time it cooks. My pan must have never gotten that hot so I've always had to cook it a bit longer than 2 minutes per side).

One note--fish sauce smells not so nice out of the bottle but added to the sauce it makes a comforting, savory smell and taste. Don't omit it! The mango sauce on its own is delicious, and it's a perfect complement to the salmon.

Adding the sauce to the fillets

I added jasmine rice and a seaweed/kale deli salad from Whole Foods, plus fresh berries drizzled with a little meyer lemon syrup for dessert (Reid says he's never heard me talk more about any food than meyer lemons. I say for good reason, they're amazing!).

We all had a good time, and talk turned to our next meal together for the first night of Passover, this weekend.



I have to say, I've never cooked for my parents before but it's a very satisfying feeling to cook for your family and provide them with nourishing and tasty food.

Happy eater

Sunshine in a Bottle

The summery weather this past weekend has gotten me thinking about foods for warmer weather.

One fun and easy thing I like to make is Meyer lemon syrup.

I love Meyer lemons. A cross between a tangerine and a lemon, they're not too tart or too sweet. They have an amazing, perfume-like scent. For me, even if they aren't the fruit that symbolizes summer, they're summer in a fruit.

Here's the recipe, adapted from this one on Epicurious.

2 cups fresh meyer lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Combine and bring to a boil.
When boiling point has been reached, remove from heat and let cool, then bottle how you please.

I like all the little bottles they have at Cost Plus to give the syrup as gifts.
The labels in the picture are stickers from Chronicle Books, hole-punched and tied with raffia for extra Martha credit.

A little Meyer lemon syrup and plain soda is guaranteed to make you think of summer and put a smile on your face.

And if that doesn't work, add a little vodka!

Other uses are as a marinade on meats or fish, or you can drizzle over yogurt or hard cheeses, or fruit or cakes.

The syrup lasts, refrigerated, for about a week.

The Delight That is Warm Nights and Warm Days in San Francisco

This past weekend in San Francisco was one of those truly incredible weekends of amazing weather that comes so rarely in the city that it inspires something of a frantic disposition in its denizens.

"Must do something!!!! Must be outside and make most of every single ounce of sunshine and warmth! Warm weather will not last! Every man for himself, except that we must enjoy this gloriousness collectively!"

I’m predisposed to this frantic nature as well.

I have to say, though, that I had such a fun weekend!

On Friday Reid and I had a date (tee hee) and after dinner and a movie we went to the Tonga room at the Fairmont to enjoy drinks and middle-aged people dancing, while it rained from the ceiling into a pool where the band played on a little boat.

Afterwards, we scooted around the city. The night was so warm that we didn’t even have to wear jackets. We scooted past Grace Catherdral, through Nob Hill where we saw the San Francisco Twins walking arm in arm as always, down Polk Street where we saw the Friday night rollerskaters and people out walking around. We rode all the way down to Crissy Field where the bay water was like glass, reflecting the bridge lights in straight lines.

Saturday was hanging out on the Jo-tel roof,


in the Rogue Brewery patio,



and grilling at Reid’s.




Sunday was an amazing bike ride with Shannon from North Beach through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach and Beach Chalet, which shall be called, from here on out, Babies n’ Beer.

(see Shannon with Ocean Beach windmill in the background!)

Babies 'n' Beer! (both were everywhere)


On the way back I stopped at a BBQ in the Haight at Allison and Ellen's house (sometimes called the Haigh-tel but they're not so into that).




But, what happens when the weather is nice in the city is that you get three days where the city enjoys itself in sunshine, and then

suddenly

it tires of it

and the fog rushes back in off the bay.

A welcome respite and pleasant ending to the heat and frantic-ism that the lovely and temporary weather inspires.

It's as if the city is saying, that's it, I've given you this lovely gift. You can go home now, relax, and relish your memories of these wonderful days.

Only in San Francisco

I've been getting a little project off the ground this week.

While I was in a convenience store the other day I heard Bill O'Reilly on a tv giving a tease to an upcoming segment about a Jesus look-a-like contest. The last statement before the commercial was "Only in San Francisco!"

The convenience store owner and I looked at each other and I said "thank goodness for that!"

The quirks of this city are what makes it the character it is. From the buffalo in Golden Gate Park, to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Bay to Breakers, this place is full of color and people doing just what they want to.

I see evidence of it every day, including this photo from a walk home through Chinatown.

So, inspired by the great blog Paris Daily Photo, I'm starting a new blog dedicated to the quirks of SF with a photo posted as often as I can. I'm not abandoning this blog, though. This one stays as my personal blog.

Here's the new blog: Only in San Francisco!

Panty Party in the Park!

(click this one to view bigger!)


Sunday afternoon a group of girls who normally don't get together without the boys of the Jo-tel gathered in Dolores Park to give Patsy a wedding shower. It's not a great leap to figure out that we were going to drink a lot and get a little crazy.

Patsy's friend Kristin surrounded our blankets with mini-clotheslines of the undies we brought for Patsy. People kept stopping to ask if it was an art project, if they could take a pair for a dare, etc.

We dined on Patsy's favorite foods: Flaming Hot Cheetos, baloney and pickle sandwiches, carrot cake cupcakes, pigs in a blanket. Drinks were champagne, strawberry soda (or Dr. Pepper) and vodka.

Hanging out in the park was fun. We listened to music, talked to each other and the people around us, and experienced not one but TWO naked men.

Lady of the hour


The girls (a few other SF natives--that's rare!)


Little scruffy chihuahua and froofy dog playing.


Deepa

There was a birthday party going on next to us in the park with a bunch of cute gay guys and (we think) cute formerly-guy gals. They were having fun, too. This cowboy decided that we needed a stripper at our bachelorette party and after a few visits, he came over and showed us his (as apparent from this photo) blindingly white ass.


We'd been drinking at the park for about 3 or 4 hours when suddenly, Hip E showed up (Patsy's roommate from the Jo-tel).
Question: What happens when you get a bunch of girls together to celebrate a friend getting married, they get drunk, and then one of your guy friends show up? He becomes the impromptu stripper.
(and entertains not just you guys, but the entire south side of the park)

By the way, at the end that's the cowboy guy from before. He came back over from the birthday party and shook Hip E's hand and told him he had a nice penis.

People around us watching the show...

These people went up the hill to get a better view...

After Patsy threw his boxers up the hill someone was nice enough to give him one of Patsy's new pink-and-frillies to cover up.

Hip E hangs with the girls.




Lounging at the end of the day.