Borrowed. A recipe for Cranberry Nut Dessert that is, from Use Real Butter. It just looked too good on Jen's blog. The only thing different is that I used dried powdered whole eggs and double the almond extract. I also tried it on Saturday for a party where a friend is allergic to walnuts using pecans instead. With either nut inside this is delicious! Tangy fresh cranberries with and almond taste infused --- whoooh! Today (Wed) is my birthday, and I have a full schedule of fun!

More of Sunday's outing to West Marin. So yesterday we left off with a couple of hungry kids, and a closed Drake's Beach Cafe. It seemed apropos to stop at the first restaurant we came across on our way back, which luckily happened to be open!

Barnaby's in Inverness is right on the bay (Tomales), and its windows maximize the advantage of the view. The staff was quite friendly and welcoming.

And some warm chips arrived immediately. We were also, for quite some time, the only guests. And then, only one other group showed up.

I started with some delicious clam chowder which was served promptly. It had lots of fresh, tender clams, and the soup was thin, yet very creamy.

Then the first glitch started. It took forever to serve the next course. Toran decided that he'd found a better way for scientists to study bubbles, by looking through a straw into Sierra Mist.

Aurelia soon imitated and they amused themselves spinning tales of scientific discovery. Thank goodness they had active minds and were patient as it was an unbelievably long wait to the next course.

Then Aurelia's well-done child's burger came. It was so well done it was BLACK all over. After the initial positive vibes from a well-rounded children's menu, this really threw cold water on the positive regard.

Toran's order of children's spaghetti was quite good, and he enjoyed every drop! It was also a very large portion, which fit neatly into his hollow leg ;-).

Dad's schnitzelburger was another disappointment. Rather than schnitzel between a bun, it was more like very tough chicken fried pork steak with a greasy slick. Dad had a hard time biting it.

I was also disappointed with my Toast Hawaii. It consisted of deli slices of ham topped with canned pineapple slices and with a melted processed Swiss cheese with a shiny surface. The toast was cold and dry (not 'Golden'). I think Barnaby's would be an awesome locale for drinks, but this experience leads me to believe a little menu and cooking tune-up is needed. This place has lots of potential, and it was my first and only visit. Hopefully next time round things will be different.

Fun in West Marin. Getting up to a cloudy sky, as someone born and raised in the Seattle area, I thought great! time for a trip to the coast! Locals everywhere love weather that discourages crowds of tourists, yet isn't so bad as to keep one indoors. I thought my young friends Toran & Aurelia might enjoy an outing as well, so quick as a wink, I was on the phone to their parents. All worked out well, so Dad & I were out the door in just a few minutes to pick them up. After a meandering ride, we ended up at Point Reyes, and had breakfast at the Pine Cone Diner. The friendly staff greeted us warmly, and we were soon seated at a bright yellow table. One of the most efficient waitstaff was a cute child who earnestly took our drink order. I think the people in this town must be very friendly with each other, as the menu states a caution "WE REQUEST YOU DO NOT SWITCH TABLES AFTER ORDERING." It is also a cash or check only kind of place.

Dad ordered a Ham and Munster Cheese Omelet which he said was worth coming back for.

When I saw that local oysters are used in the Hangtown Fry Omelet, my mind was made up. It was worth coming back for too. The breaded oysters were tender and fresh and neatly wrapped up with bacon pieces and cheese in a fluffy egg wrapper. The hash browns were great as well - nice and crispy on the outside and potatoes taste in a well-cooked inside.

Toran & Aurelia decided to share a regular 3-pancake order of Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes. The skin was a bit tough on these so they were not as impressed, however they enjoyed most of these nonetheless. The Pine Cone Diner was a hit all-in-all, and I would definitely recommend it if you are in the neighborhood. It also supports local farming and artisan foods.

At this point I diverge from food, to tell kid tales and talk about our other adventures in West Marin. And skip to the next paragraph if you have a queasy stomach as I'm about to report a cute but not appetizing kidism... As we were eating our most enjoyable breakfast, being in the country, a fly flew in the door with a customer and lighted on the rim of my Dad's hot chocolate. Toran asked if we knew that that wasn't just the fly's tongue that was touching the rim, but that the fly deposited a little fly vomit each time it touched the surface. ooohh. That was an image I could do without, however, I didn't have the heart to ask him what he thought honey was...

Being well fortified and energized by such a great breakfast, we decided to try the Earthquake Trail that the 'tall lady' (how the children described the waitress) recommended the kids would like near the Bear Valley Visitors Center at Point Reyes. So off we went, and the kids enjoyed it several times in fact as Dad was finding it slow going, and the high energy Toran & Aurelia would run back and forth along each stretch of the trail.

Toran thought the tree that had been cut into a bench must be thousands of years old, and he and his sister started counting the rings, and found it to be too many to complete!

They found a perfect climbing tree towards the end which was a natural photo op.

Aurelia is in the horse loving stage of her growing up, so we had to stop to visit the Morgan Horse Ranch. There were examples of a Blacksmith's shop and labels on everything for self-guided information on horses in Marin, and American horses in general.

And we had to greet Lance, the Morgan horse identified from the photos on the wall of the barn.

Then we took off on the next leg, up near the Lighthouse. We passed a lot of ranches with single letters as their name with cows enjoying the sunbeams breaking through here and there and chewing their cud. We also noticed vultures sitting in rows on posts at one point. A whole bunch of quail ran across the road while I braked quickly when we were least expecting it as well!

There were plenty of pretty seascapes with breaking waves.

And it seemed that there were nearly as many deer as cows enjoying the fields.

There were all kinds of warning signs about not walking on the hazardous cliffs along this road to the Chimney Rock trailhead.

Obviously someone forgot to inform the cows about this, or they simply don't care.

We traveled on to Drake's Beach, but didn't see the elephant seals we heard like to sit there. But we did see a hang-glider with red canopy land there after we followed his long glide down from the cliffs as we drove to the beach.

About this time, the kids got hungry and I thought we'd try Drake's Beach Cafe, but noticed it was closed. A call to its phone after arriving home found that it is closed between November 26-December 28th so no wonder. We'll have to try it another time, and I'll let you know where we ate lunch after all in tomorrow's post.

Surfing's a theme. Wipeout Bar & Grill recently opened in Greenbrae, in the Bon Aire Shopping Center taking over the old Chevy's space. There are large screens everywhere with movies of surfers and BIG waves.

Dad ordered a turkey burger, which they pounded extra thin, just for him. He enjoyed it and liked the fries too.

I tried a taco salad, and they were nice enough to cut up a veggie burger patty on top in place of the usual meat offerings. Fresh, crisp and good. I liked that black beans were standard.

We shared a smooth and cold iced key lime pie. This is worth coming back for. In general Wipeout has American standard menu items, service is good, and the food is well prepared and fresh. No surprises here.

Transplant. And it's taking. Fukusuke was an old favorite in Sausalito some time ago, and the restaurant disappeared from its long established neighborhood, reportedly, because of an unreasonable rent increase. (I think the space is still unoccupied after a couple years now?) It's reopened in Larkspur, in a tiny space, but the same family is there making all guests feel welcome. Dad and I arrived at 5:45, and there was already a wait to be seated!

Fukusuke does not have a sushi bar, nor is sushi a specialty, although you can get some fresh basic sushi items. Home style cooked dishes are what to order here. And as soon as you do, food immediately appears! Each entree comes with a cucumber salad and tsukemono (pickles) first. I also had a bottle of old fashioned Japanese soda called ramune which is sealed with a marble.

Then comes the smooth and deeply flavored miso soup.

The menu really doesn't have good vegetarian options, so I chose a light yosenabe, or seafood pot. It was chock full of freshly simmered seafood, albacore tuna and vegetables, and it came with an aji-ponzu sauce. It was refreshing and delicious.

Dad was in the mood for chicken teriyaki and he said the meat was well marinated and flavorful. He said between bites "oh, this is good!" several times, which is high praise indeed! A friendly motherly sort that was called "okasan (mother)" several times during the evening, brought us some Chinese fortune cookies and stood by the table shaking them until we each chose one of the dancing cookies. A cheerful place with good food, that will lift your spirits!

New style. The old Sushi Lin place has been overhauled and a new cuisine on the scene has opened up here since October, Hawaiian style BBQ. With as pleasant as staff can be, Mauna Loa Hawaiian Barbeque serves typical Hawaiian dishes, even Spam musubi.

There is really nothing for the vegetarian here, so I ordered a Seafood Combo plate of Teriyaki Salmon and Coconut Shrimp. The salmon was good, the teriyaki sauce was added on afterwards rather than marinated which can be a disappointment for some. The coconut shrimp were meaty and tasty served with a "Mauna Loa" sweet red dipping sauce. Most dishes come with a choice of macaroni salad or an Asian cole slaw and white rice. If you are expecting Hawaiian fast food, in a very casual setting (everything is served on paper plates), with happy Hawaiian mood music, you won't be disappointed.

And what do you suppose this is? I couldn't resist it when I was in Japantown last. I've wanted one for some time, but there was always the question of whether I would use it... well I did. This is a Japanese pickle maker particularly for shio-zuke (salt pickles). The screwlid is to put pressure on the vegetables you are pickling.

To make cucumber shio-zuke, you need Japanese cucumbers, or Persian cucumbers. I picked up some Persian cucumbers at Trader Joe's. These are smaller, less seedy cucumbers than the usual American variety. You wash, cut into pieces 1/2 - 1" long, and put in the picklemaker. Then you add course salt a teaspoon at a time and mix it thoroughly with the cucumbers. The ratio is about 1 teaspoon to 1 cucumber, but it depends on the size. I put 4 teaspoons into 5 Persian cucumbers and it was plenty. When you are done, be sure that the pickles are in a position where they are about equal height, and turn the screwtop like in the above photo.

After 10-12 hours, the pickles should look like this, and they are ready to be taken out and rinsed.

After rinsing, I cut them into smaller pieces for serving.

These keep well in the refrigerator. I kept the ones for storage in larger pieces (as they were) and used my Frisper to vacuum seal the package for longer life. These were crisp, fresh tasting and delicious!

Supper Club - Holiday Traditions. On Sunday the Supper Club got together for a casual celebration of holiday traditions in food and good company. And we shared all kinds of traditions from Hanukkah to Christmas to Japanese New Year's. Here's a look at our food offerings.

First up were a few bites:

Tom H. invented an appetizer and arranged a holiday colorful plate of Endives with Fresh Chevre and Rosemary Salt.

Isadora told of how she came of age as a homemaker with the blessing of her mother-in-law the first time she succeeded in making chopped liver spread which she served with matzo crackers and a dark, dense German bread which required 'sawing' to cut.

And just after the champagne ran out, Stephanie had made Bob's Glögg on his behalf since he wasn't able to make it. The Glögg did him proud.

Then we did a round of the mains and most of the sides for a simple sit down. I brought Kinpira Gobo, braised burdock and carrots which represented a Japanese New Year's dish. Root vegetables signify relationships, so it is served for harmonious and continuing good relationships during the year.

And roasted potatoes go well with most anything, especially -

Tom's brisket with carrots, parsnips and potatoes, and

Connie's Sauerbrauten which she marinated for days... yum!

Stephanie's prize winning (literally) latkes with sour cream and

applesauce also blended right in with these fabulous mains.

Linda brought asparagus with mushroom sauce, using a recipe given her daughter by the Chef of the restaurant at the Silverado Resort in Napa. It was well-executed and a very nice blend which went well with the meat dishes and the other sides.

Gillian, who is from Scotland, brought a typical celebratory Scottish dish, Shrimp Salad, explaining that the thrifty Scots stretch the salad by adding small steamed cauliflower florets which have a similar texture to the shrimp.

Janis brought in her perfectly piping hot and unfallen Corn Soufflé just as we were finishing our plates. It was beyond good, and when queried about the recipe Janis said that it is so simple, it is embarrassing.

The main plates were then whisked away while Karen prepared a Celebration Salad with Gorgonzola, Pears and Glazed pecans, which was layered with flavors, including a balsamic vinegar reduction syrup to top it off.

We paused before going on to the dessert round, which we also enjoyed buffet style. Arthur researched an authentic Indian Pudding recipe with vanilla ice cream (necessity), which is close to the Durgin Park recipe. Apparently, in old days anything with cornmeal in it received the label "Indian", and this one is likely to have come by the name that way rather than actually having its origin with the Native Americans.

Janis & Bill also brought the lightest most delicious pumpkin pudding,

and a luxurious cream whipped by hand.

Gillian & Richie also brought another Scottish favorite, Millionaire's Shortbread, which was a dense and rich shortbread topped with two kinds of fudge and dipped in dark chocolate.. it was decadent! And thus ended another gastronomical adventure, and the last Supper Club for 2007.