Adventures in San Francisco. Jo-Ann and I went to JTB to get our JR Rail passes for our upcoming trip to Japan, and Toran & Aurelia of course wanted to know 'what else' we would be doing while we were in the city. We replied vaguely in the car that we were sure we would have some 'adventures', but we would happen upon them as we went along. By 10 a.m. we already had our Rail Pass certificates, and the kids again wanted to know what adventures we planned on having!


Seeing how movement oriented they were, I suggested we visit the Golden Gate Park and perhaps the Japanese Tea Garden within. Yeah! went the backseat chorus. So I programmed my car and off we headed. The garden was a delight! I'd passed it many times driving through the park, but was always too rushed to stop. The entrance fees were nominal - $3.25 for adults and $1.25 for children. Naturally, with the kids we stopped first at the restrooms which were exceptionally clean, and also in Japanese style buildings to match the rest of the garden architecture.

We walked through the park leisurely, with Toran and Aurelia skipping ahead at times and pointing out things that fascinated them. All my photos are here. There were some beautiful iris blooming in the ponds, and pretty red-outlined gates and pagodas. I took photos of Jo-Ann and the kids on top of a very steep-curved bridge! After tea at the tea house, we decided to continue our Japanese-themed adventure and head into Japantown for lunch.



After due negotiation with Toran and Aurelia we stopped at Kuishinbo for lunch. I'd been there several times before with good experiences, but not for a few years. It was the same authentic meal experience with lots of Japanese language spoken around us. Toran and Aurelia found every photo op in the mall on the way there of course, for more photos like this post's lead photo, click here. The children shared somen salad with curry don, of which the salad was great, but the curry too runny. Jo-Ann and I had Hiyashi Chuka-ramen which was a cold ramen noodle salad covered with various thinly sliced vegetables and meat/fish. We all enjoyed the meal.

Not wanting to quite finish the day, we went the LONG way home, by the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and the beautiful back views of the Golden Gate Bridge.


The rest of the photos of this view can be found here.

Las Camelias. Ok so you notice the Mexican theme? Well, I guess I'm just gearing up for the next Supper Club event - Regions of Mexico. So I tried a more upscale Mexican Restaurant tonight. I've been there several times before, and the food and service was consistent with my past experience. Las Camelias website is here.

They have made a very fine effort toward making the interior warm with interesting artful accents in each room.

The waiter was patient with my lengthy read of the menu. Well, what can they expect when it's so different than the standard Americanized Mexican menu and is a delight just to read!

I finally settled on "Pechuga de Pollo Parrilla Al-Guaca-Mole Salsa". This was a moist, flavorful mole covered chicken breast (none less than a Rocky Jr.) sliced, and served with amazingly flavored black beans, with salsa fresca, guacamole and fresh corn tortillas.

The mole was beautifully complex, and I rolled it over my tongue trying to distinguish the flavors within. The chips, by the way, were gourmet quality as well. Thick and crispy and fresh tasting!

The only misstep of the evening was serving my splurge - flan - before clearing off my dinner plate. It was also to die for -- smooth, creamy and fresh, with perfect carmelization on the top.

I wonder what the waiter thought when I pulled out my digital camera and took a snap before digging in... I like to be incognito, but also want to record something of the actual dinner to share here.

I'm going to be making some effort to go to out-of-the way, smaller places which may be missed by the standard reviewers. Hopefully, this won't mean a slew of poor reviews, but I think there may be some hidden gems for more casual and inexpensive dining. Stay tuned.

Bionaturae Organic Pasta. Nice taste and very good for you. Has rough exterior to hold sauces, and good biting texture. A cool find. See more details on their website.

Panchitos. I stopped for a VERY late lunch at Panchitos in Terra Linda, in the Scotty's Shopping Center.

The menu stated that the restaurant had been in business for 28 years. It was clean and welcoming with nice paintings on the wall. Very casual, but everything was sparkling, even the restroom, and the service was prompt and friendly.





I had a Tamarind soda and Chicken Tostada. The chicken in the tostada was perfection, had the look of pulled chicken and was moist and flavorful. A highly recommended neighborhood kind of place.

Real Fruit Juice - NOT. I had a little adventure going to a shopping center in Terra Linda which houses 'Scotty's Market', and a host of other small businesses. I found a line of intriguing licorice-like candies, and decided to try the watermelon 'Juicy Twists' on a whim. It proudly states, "with real fruit juice" on the front. Yes, real apple juice, but nary a drop of watermelon juice! They are sweet and have that artificial tang, so definitely could be passed by.

Applegate's Sunday Bacon - Organic, with no nitrates, and a whole lot of good taste. However, no nitrates means it should not be kept around for long, so having some left from a meal made for a guest earlier last week, I decided to have some for breakfast this morning. Fried crispy, and set on a piece of Jewish Rye Bread, it made a mini-explosion of delightful flavors in my mouth this morning. Read more about it. Paired with a San Rafael Farmer's Market fresh white peach (which had gone tree to me direct, without ever seeing the inside of a cooler) it made a breakfast fit for a princess.

Supper Club, Cuisine of Japan. Tonight's event was fabulous! Full photos here. All participants melded with the theme of Japan. Caren even wore an antique kimono, while Emil wore a traditional blue and white summer Yukata which Linda and Anna had given him as a gift a few Christmases ago. It was wonderful to welcome first-timers Richard and Paige who blended right into our mix of chefs seamlessly.

The final menu, served in separate courses:

Catepillar Sushi - Glen
Edamame - Tom M.
Chawanmushi - Stephanie
Okonomiyaki - Tom H.
Yasai dengaku - Linda
Buridaikon - Emil
Banbanji - Bob
Miso Soup - Karen
Somen - Richard
Sushi - Glen
Refreshing Daikon-Okra Salad (pictured) - Anna
Assortment of Sweet Mochi and Mochi Ice Cream - Paige

Caren, Tom M. & Karen and Richard all brought an amazing selection of authentic sake in different styles and regions and the tasting was a total education! Anna brought a traditional Japanese Plum Wine for dessert as well.

Sushi Lin. A new sushi restaurant (no bar) opened up a couple weeks ago in San Rafael. I tried it this evening. They remodeled an old Japanese restaurant (previously Tomoe's) to be more airy and light, and the old diggs were freshened and repainted. The walls are now apricot, with light green tablecloths as the contrasting color. The sushi was good -- nice light use of rice vinegar and distinct rice grains were in the sushi. The tempura appetizer by way of contrast, was awful. One would need mouth armor -- it's the hardest tempura batter I've ever attempted to eat. But the proprietors are friendly, and working hard at making the guests welcomed, so maybe the cooking kinks will work themselves out with a bit more time.

Ride Home. Colin and I left Rancho Mirage around 9:30 a.m., and with a couple stops on the way, arrived in Japantown, San Franicsco around 6:30 p.m. Colin requested Japanese flavors for dinner, so I told him that we would walk down a LONG hall of Japanese restaurants, and he could choose any one he liked for dinner. Wouldn't you know it, he picked BENIHANA's. After some teppan-yaki, "San Francisco" style, we were just in time to catch the newly released movie "Superman Returns", which we both enjoyed. We got finally to my place around 11:30 p.m.

The Living Desert. After driving all day yesterday to arrive at Erika's new place in Rancho Mirage, I watched Colin & Collette while Erika went to work for the day. After breakfast at Collette's requested place, Ruby's Diner, we set off for The Living Desert. At 113 degrees F, it was a good thing that I picked up the shuttle ride option for the tour. I can't remember ever being in as hot of weather. The animals weren't very active in that heat either, but we did see most of them. We also explored the largest wild animal hospital in north America there, and it was quite interesting. The kids loved it, although the heat sapped them too.

I'm afraid I went back with the kids and collapsed on the sofa with a pounding headache. The heat was just too much. When I finally roused myself or was roused by a couple hungry kids, it was Colin's choice for lunch, and we went to Maki Maki. The food was simply horrid, and hardly Japanese. I had a Japanese chicken salad -- the wilted pieces of lettuce were floating in sesame dressing soup. The 'tempura' chicken on top were more like beer-battered deep fried stuff with big hunks of won tons hanging off. Will pass on ever visiting that one again (and so will Colin!).

Erika came back later with her Chef's Toolbox -- amazing! And better yet, she showed off her culinary skills by making the most tender and well-flavored short ribs.. mmmmmm!

Wolf House. Dad and I met Linda and Miss Olivia at the Wolf House for lunch. Feeling like having lighter fare, we all had sandwiches. Dad's salmon sandwich looked perfectly done, and he enjoyed it. Reports of the burgers from Linda & Miss Olivia gave those good marks. The only misstep was that the chicken in my sandwich was underdone, but the management wisked it off and took care of it with apologies and a perfectly cooked one, so no complaints.

Dad enjoyed his shirt and belt from me, and the lovely hand drawn greetings from Miss Olivia, and is looking forward to the Giradelli chocolates she and Linda gave him.

Father's Day. Celebrating Father's Day at one of Dad's favorite restaurants, Wolf House, in Glen Ellen.

Found a great new Marin/Bay Area food blog, the Daily Feed. It had a nice past review of one of my favorite ethnic spots in San Rafael, Hatam's.

Well, best be off to REI to get Dad that new shirt! Will blog further on the Wolf House experience later!

Fresh tisane. Having recently discovered that this blog is listed on the Marin Food Blogs reference on Becks & Posh (one of only 4), I think that I'd better make a more concerted effort to include more of my 'cool finds', or musings on things food.

I have to admit, sometimes I'm a little lazy in my posting and don't include all of the fun things there are to be noticed or discovered each day. I really can't imagine why people become bored. Those who know me, know I love adventure and discovery -- and what is more accessible than food? One must eat (usually) every day, and good food adventures are not limited to expensive forays. A little imagination and a good eye go far!

Another thing my friends notice is that I have more shelves devoted to tea and tisanes in my pantry than any other category of food! And tisanes, like food, are best freshly prepared out of high quality ingredients! So I've been making my own concoctions rather than taking the dusty little tea bags prepared and sitting! What a nice smell in the kitchen freshly ground whole Jamaican hibsicus flowers or whole leaf dried peppermint make! And that is before steeping the tea! The nice thing about tisanes is that most will hold up to a higher steeping temperature than 'real' tea. And that fragrance wafts about the house as well. I snapped my freshly ground and made hibisucus tea above... now by my side to sip as I complete this posting. The color is even more garnet than the photo shows (the flash bleached out the color in the photo a bit).

Hibiscus has many reports of good health effects (Google "hibicus health" for backup articles). Some of the ones I've found are:

reduces cholesterol and artery fat build up
lowers blood pressure
weight loss
gentle laxitive
diuretic
abundant vitamin C and antioxidants

These have varying levels of scientific back up, but whatever the documentation - the tea tastes great!

Oh, and by the way, if you are looking for the best buy on whole Jamacian Hibiscus Flowers in Marin -- go to Hatam's on B Street in San Rafael. Whole Spice in San Rafael does have a bit better price judging from its website, but I haven't tried their product yet, so am not sure if the quality matches.

Toran's 7th Birthday Party. Oops. I forgot my camera in the quickly leaving the house to pick up ice on the way... however, imagine a bunch of 7-9 yo Luke Skywalkers, Hans Solos, Darth Vaders and numerous white-clothed Princess Leah's. Interesting - there was much more variety in the choices of male characters. And yes, I went as an alien costumed as a human.

The menu was even more creative than the costumes -- Yoda Soda, Jabba Jiggles, something that looked like dirt with worms in it (chocolate pudding with bright worm gummies and oreo cookies crumbled on top). Light saber duels, pin the saber on Yoda, and Darth Vader pinata were among the games eagerly participated in, while the adults sipped cool drinks in the shade.

Luckily the Star Wars chess set I gave him appeared to be well-received (big hug to Auntie Anna and kisses to the game!).

An eye-opening drink. Having picked a BIG package Ginger/Honey Crystals tea up at 99 Ranch yesterday, I tried a cup for breakfast, and woke up fast! Packs a punch, but is smooth and good. I'm thinking it would be great to add to a POT of regular tea as a taste novelty and sweetner.

Now I have to get in 'costume' for Toran's 7th birthday party in Star Wars theme. I think I'll go as an alien cloaked as a human...

A full day. Up at the crack of dawn, I organized my mission & vision materials as well as organized the Marin Entrepreuneurs Group's minutes and got them posted. (I started the group last month and it's going gangbusters.) Jo-Ann and I planned to go to 99 Ranch and see if Michael was up to a visit after surgery. The market was fun, the live sea urchins were the most interesting, wriggling around their spikes at the fish department. I just can't see myself trying to use those myself!

Michael was up for a visit and we got to meet Karen for the first time at her Oakland apartment. Through the painkiller grogginess, we could tell that the Meiji chocolate and Mango pudding treats we brought were hits.

The Dandy's Brand Lentil Pea Chips were a good find at the market as well, qualifying as a "Cool Find".

Erika called and said she'd taken my message to heart about taking the kids a week each again for Camp Auntie Anna, and already told Colin and Collette, so I couldn't change now! I guess I'll be driving to Rancho Mirage to pick them up at Erika's new home later this month!

I got home just in time to meet Sachiko for our night out -- to Avance for tapas and checking out a singles meet-up, and then on to Mission Impossible III. We enjoyed both - MI3 was particularly action packed and was a very thrilling end to the evening!

Yosemite

Yosemite,
originally uploaded by me!

My week in Yosemite! The photos paint the best picture, but Linda and I packed a lot in our week at the remote cabin at Fish Camp.

We were woken up one morning by a big rockslide that blocked the main entrance to the park -- a friend, Jan, called early to see if we were affected, but since Fish Camp was on the south end of the park, we didn't skip a beat!

We enjoyed lunching at The Forks at Bass Lake, a place having won an award for the best burger in California. Followed by a one-hour boat cruise on the popular and picturesque lake. Manmade and owned by PG & E, the development has been controlled such that the north side of the lake has private development, and the south side is mostly recreation and natural.

All the falls were full and cascading heavily over the cliffs. We enjoyed a hike to lower Yosemite Falls, and a 2-hour valley tram tour covering the highlights of the valley floor.

On Friday we enjoyed Jazz on the Lake at Ducey's on Bass Lake. It was a beautiful night with a BBQ buffet and easy sounding music provided by the Yosemite Jazz Band.

Supper Club

Table shot,
originally uploaded by me!

Another Wonderful Supper Club - Persian Style. I created a Flickr account to capture all the food photos from last night. You can access it from the link below the photo.

Cooking quotes:

"Good food has a magic appeal. You may grow old, even ugly, but if you are a good cook, people will always find the path to your door." - James Beard

"A good meal makes a man feel more charitable toward the world than any sermon." - Arthur Pendenys

"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star." -Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

The ashe-paz (soup preparer) reveals her secrets (well, the recipe was from a dear friend, Linda) for the Ash e-jow (barley soup) being prepared for the Supper Club, Persian theme. I'm preparing a day ahead, as it is recommended for melding the flavors.

I first enjoyed going to the San Rafael Farmer's Market with my neighbor Jerrie, and Jo-Ann to pick up some of the ingredients fresh and organic! It's amazing how fresh dill and coriander smell! I picked up the more exotic things like kashk last night after a quick and delicious dinner at Hatam's.

Ash e- jow (barley soup)

3 onions peeled and thinkly sliced
1/2 pound stew meat (beef, lamb or veal) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon tumeric
10 cups water
1/4 cup dried chick peas (optional)
1/4 cup lentils
1 cup barley
2 cups chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup fresh coriander
4 cups fresh spinach wash and chopped
1/4 cup rice
1 cup whey (kashk)

garnish
3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves

1) Brown 2 of the onions and meat in 1/3 cup of the oil in a large pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and tumeric. Pour in the water and add the kidney beans, chick peas and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 50 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

2) Add barley. Cover and cook 50 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

3) Add parsley, coriander, dill, spinach and rice. cover and cook 50 minutes

4) Check to see that the meat is tender and the beans are done. Adjust seasoning and add more warm water if ash is too thick.

5) Stir in the liquid whey and continue stirring constantly for 5 minutes with a wooden spoon to prevent curdling.

6) Just before serving, prepare the garnish. Pour the rest of the oil into a small frying pan and brown the remaining onion and garlic. Add tumeric and remove from heat. Crush dried mint in the palm of your hand and add to the pan.

7) Pour the simmering soup into a tureen and garnish with mint and garlic mixture.

For best results, cook your ash a day in advance so that the flavors meld. Add kashk and garnish at the last minute.