Two x Mouthfuls



I had a plausible fantasy fanned by last week's heat wave that I could snorkel one last time this year. Larry generously offered his Mendocino wood shack- he said take as much firewood as we lug away. All signs pointed to a marvelous one last dunk of 2004. Sadly I did not even get a toe wet as intrepid divers C and G first went out in the water only to came back defeated. No use snorkeling in pea soup. As a consolation there was no small amount of chicken pot pie, smoked ham sandwich, a most figgy fig tartlet, quince cheesecake, plump carrot cake- all from the excellent Boonville General Store. Also we licked the year's first batch of Cowlick's pumpkin icecream along with the novel candy cap mushroom icecream. So C and I returned with belly's properly full and a truckload of free wood.



To continue consoling myself over the stolen snorkel, I met Sof for a Frog Hollow Sunday brunch of Tomato pancetta turnover, sausage frittata, pear tartlet, peach tartlet and the requisite blackberry buttons. All buttery mouthfuls were exactly what I had been missing in Italy. We were promptly regretful we had stuffed ourselves after seeing the caviar sampler on display; I had forgotten how to food hop at the Ferry Building. So we exerted ourselves mightily climbing up Coit tower to ready our appetites for a second wave. I highly recommend the American caviar sampler(Hackleback Sturgeon, Pearl Trout, and various whitefish) from Tsar Nicoulai's Caviar Bar. Not too decadent at all. Lumps of caviar on a dollop of creme fraiche on buckwheat blinis. What can be more lovely than that popping of salty roe in one's mouth.



Sof got ambitious and wanted to go for the raw oyster bar, but I sagely stopped such excess and drove us straight to dessert. But nothing was quite suitable so we went with the overrated pates de fruits from Recchiuti. I missed out on "the dazzling flavors of fresh fruit burst from each elegant square". I took a few obligatory nibbles of each flavor but was not compelled to do anything more. So we took another stab at dessert with a little manchego and fig cake. And still something was still lacking so we carefully shaved the sides of a chocolate cherry torte which I had gotten for C . Nothing tastes as good as pilfered food even after a long day of eating.



I had expected to eat better than this traveling through Italy. While gems were found here and there- zucchini blossom tempura, flavorful saltimbocca, world's best panna cotta ever, beautifully cooked turbot, some lovely house cured porcini- I could not manage to sustain a full long day of wonderful varied eating as today. So I am grateful I live where many people take their eating quite seriously.



(Dear Reader, I swear nothing that exciting happened in Italy hence no entries or photos. Okay, okay. I've been junking my brain out on Netflix dvds instead of the infinitely more pleasurable activity of writing. But I swear to you I'm back on the bloggery. )

Hobbiting About



Finally revealed myself in public bearing my hobbit costume to work on Friday. I had worried all night about the most fitting hobbitty coat. I didn't want to introduce any Colonial costume confusion but all my coat choices simply said "Paul Revere". While I was picking up a dozen pumpkin-cranberry rolls, a homeless dude pushing a can cart on San Pablo had the most beautiful green waistcoat which was really meant for me.



It's not so bad having people incorrectly peg you as a fantasy nerd(I'm not!!! Really!!!). More humiliating is the fact 3 separate people told me they couldn't remember if my ears were always that big. Okay okay, probably all you want to see is a photo. Gavin contributed a pipe out of a gnarled bamboo root.