I’m not sure if I have complained about this much here or not, but living in San Francisco can get pretty tiring. Literally, physically tiring. For example does it every happen to you that when are working out so hard and you are so tired that you actually cry a little bit? Well that happens to me every day - twice. That being said, I still try and see as much of the city as I can, but often times, without a car, I can only get so far. 

My friend Sherm lives in the Outer Richmond (READ: the other side of the world) so I don’t get over to her side of town much, however she has been preaching about the food at Shanghai Dumpling King for so long, I knew I had to make the trek over before I left for the summer.

We scooted in at 7:00 on Tuesday, beating the dinner rush by only seconds (though Sherm assured me that even if we hadn’t made it, she’s a regular and they treat their regulars right). We settled in and quickly ordered some garlic string beans, vegetable gyoza and their signature soup dumplings. The string beans came out first, bright green and covered in salt and garlic and did the perfect job of wetting my appetite for the main event: soup dumplings. These dumplings have been on 7x7 list of great food for the past few years and after tasting them, have definitely earned their spot. As for the vegetable gyoza, they were the way I like them, packed full of fresh bok choy and napa cabbage, but more or less unremarkable. 

As I started taking down the soup dumplings at lightning speed, I warned Sherm that I may be ordering a few more rounds before the night was over. “I’d wait”, she replied, “you have no idea how fast these things catch up with you”. And believe it or not, as I finished that last gyoza I was completely stuffed. Good thing I had that long trek back home to walk it off.

I wish I had an excuse for my extreme lack of baking the last few months, but I don’t. Baking and cooking are one of a handful of things in life that I love doing, so I guess I never force myself to do it because it may lead to a rocky relationship with my kitchen, which would be the saddest thing of all.

But, all that aside, I was feeling a little sad the other day about my impending departure from this beautiful city, so I decided to go for a walk, pick up some chocolate and spend the afternoon making a giant batch of Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies. I used a new recipe, one that I found on Smitten Kitchen but was originally adapted from David Leibowitz. They aren’t my favorite or the best I’ve ever made, but they definitely did the trick.

Chocolate Chip (Walnut) Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen and David Leobowitz

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

8 TBSP unsalted butter, cold

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla and baking soda.

Stir together the four and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop into small balls (bakers choice on size) and bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

As you know, since moving to San Francisco, there has been no lack of surprising, intriguing, tasty food in my life, and it is easy to say that the city has lived up to it’s culinary reputation of being tasty, eclectic and affordable. There is, however, one sector in which I hadn’t been able to (quite literally) sink my teeth into yet: the bagel.

Call me an arrogant and annoying New Yorker all you want, but to me there is nothing worse than a lousy bagel. Not that I am one to count calories (clearly), but I am not wasting good calories on the starchy, soft, pale-looking bagels that I have been seeing in cafes around the city. Bagels are one of the only things that I can hold out for, no matter how long the wait. So, when my friend Emily (from New Jersey, so a trusted source) told me there was a bagel in town she could finally approve of, I had to make it my business to try it. Besides, with a name like Schmendricks, doesn’t it have to be good?

We arrived early to Schmendricks’ pop up shop on Sunday morning at Matrix-Fillmore in the Marina to secure a good spot in line and make sure to get ourselves a bagel (since they have been selling out every weekend). It seemed that Schmendricks already has quite a reputation because the line was nearly around the block before they officially opened at 10:30. The menu was small and straightforward, a few different types of bagels (salt, poppy, sesame, everything, plain) and a few different types of schmear (plain, scallion, lox). At $4 for a simple bagel and cream cheese it was far more expensive than anything I’d usually pay, but if those extra few bucks mean more weeks of Schmendricks bagels, it is definitely a price I do not mind paying.

Ultimately, I went with an everything bagel coupled with both lox and scallion cream cheese. I’m not a big coffee drinker so I passed on the java, but those who indulged raved about how delicious it was (roasted and brewed by Teeny Tiny Coffee). Though the bagel was a little smaller than I expected, I can happily say that it was every bit as delicious as Emily promised. Schmendricks prides itself on the being the kind of bagel you don’t have to (and should not) toast; it is cooked perfectly to be soft on the inside, crisp on the outside, and delightfully chewy. OH! and the cream cheese! Actually some of the best cream cheese I’ve had in a while, being both light and soft but not at all runny. The only qualm I had was that I could’ve used a tablespoon or so more - there’s never too much schmear - but I won’t dwell. 

If there’s anything that makes me the most happy about these bagels, it is that now when all my east coast friends taunt me about all their delicious bagel, bialy and smoked salmon adventures, I can laugh it off and go get myself a Schmendricks.

Visitors are in the best! And I write this from the comfort of bed, since I am positively aching from all the activities and adventures of the last few days. They were spent galavanting around this amazing city with Laura, Kristina, Carly and Liv, exploring everywhere from the GG Bridge to the Ferry Building to the Outer Sunset, the Mission, North Beach, Haight-Ashbury and Russian Hill. All this walking and sight-seeing was, of course, done in between eating all the most delicious things we could think of.

On Saturday we explored the famous Ferry Building Farmer’s Market and spent 2 hours wandering the booths, tasting fruits, cheeses, ice creams, vegetables and dips. We figured the best way to try everything we wanted was to just buy and share all the pastries in the world (including but not limited to: macaroon, beignet, croissant) while sipping delicious New Orleans Iced Coffees from Blue Bottle.  The market also served as the inspiration for an exciting new project: The French BullBlog.

After we gathered enough snacks (3 different cheeses, Acme Long Italian, carrots, sugar snap peas, strawberries and cherries) we decided to make the most of the beautiful 70 degree day and headed off to GG Park to spend the day relaxing, throwing around a frisbee and stalking french bulldogs (see above). Doesn’t get better than that.

Little Thai Kitchen / Lunch, Dinner / 21 St. Roch Ave, Greenwich, CT / $$-$$$

Little Thai Kitchen was first introduced to me many years ago, far before Thai food became the new Chinese, and I was immediately smitten. The only problem with having your introduction to a new cuisine be at a place as good as Little Thai Kitchen, is that you falsely assume that all of it is that good. 

In the years that have passed since that introduction, I’ve had a roller-coaster relationship with Thai food. Though I love the convenience of all the millions of small Thai places, it makes it even harder to weed out the good from the bad. Alas, after turning my mom onto the place and it’s delicious noodles and big bowl soups, we make it a ritual to pick it up every time I am home. 

We ordered green curry with shrimp and extra veggies, pad thai with shrimp and extra veggies, one large seafood tom-yum noodle soup and one large duck clear broth noodle soup. All soared above our expectations except the clear broth noodle soup. We ordered it for my Dad, who we were worried could not handle the spice of the tom yum, but it paled in comparison to the vibrant tom yum, with a broth that tasted like it was only flavored with oyster sauce. However, the duck was so fresh and tender and while we ate it, it helped us forgot about the sorry bowl of lonely broth, which was all for the better. 

All in all, every dish I’ve had has tons of flavor without giving you a salty tongue that night or even the next day, which is a rarity these days. Not to mention that when I ask for extra vegetables in all my dishes, they do not skimp on the large broccoli florets, giant snow peas and thick-cut eggplant slices, which coupled with their proteins, turn a simple curry dish into something hearty enough for even the biggest stomachs to ration into two meals. And who doesn’t love left-over Thai fod?

So, I know that Passover ended a few days ago and everyone has probably already eaten like, 10 Lenny’s Bagels by now. But in the spirit of all things leavened, I thought I’d post some pics of this amazing Semolina loaf from Della Fattoria that I found hidden away in my Finder. The above picture was labeled only “sexy closeup”…can’t say I was disappointed.

The Passover Seder is one of my favorite memories from growing up. We were never very religious and we never did our own at our house, but me and my brother looked forward to that Seder night the whole year. I think I mostly liked it when I was younger because a.) I was always the youngest and got to read the four questions and everyone was so proud when I didn’t make a mistake (yay praise!) and b.) Our family friends (and hosts of the seder) always had these amazing sugar pops for me and my brother that we ate up in approximately .2 seconds.

As I got older it was less about being a cool reader (stupid younger kids) and sugar pops, and it was about all the delicious food. We always read the Haggadah, and it lasted just long enough to have you on the edge of the seat with hunger, but not too long that you were sneaking pieces of the bitter herbs just to deal with the stomach growls. And when it did come, it came hard. Matzoh ball soup! Potato latkes! Home-made gefilte fish! Then came the turkey and the cucumber salad; the home-made matzoh and leftover haroseth. Then, just when you thought you couldn’t bring another morsel to your mouth, you were handed the macaroons and the fruit jellies and of course, the chocolate covered matzoh. 

So this year, since I couldn’t take part being all the way here on the West Coast, I did what I could for Passover - and here’s the haroseth to prove it.

Apple, Asian Pear and Toasted Walnut Haroseth

Adapted from Bon Appetit

makes 12 servings

2 large asian pears (peeled, cored, cut into small cubes)

6 small granny smith apples (peeled, cored, cut into small cubes)

3 TBSP honey

2 cups of walnuts (halved)

2 tsp finely grated orange peel

2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like it!)

Chopped fresh mint

In a small pan over medium-high heat, toast the walnuts until they become slightly brown and fragrant. Cool and chop nuts, then place in large bowl. 

Add apple, pear, honey, orange and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Top with mint. Can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours.

This week I’m counting myself as a very lucky girl. Not only have I picked up an awesome part-time job teaching tiny children how to play soccer, but I have not one but TWO of my best friends visiting SF!

I have been counting down the days until Steph’s arrival since she bought her tickets a few months ago. Back when we were younger, our families vacationed in San Fran together and we have vowed to relive it! So far we have gotten off to a good start, spending her first two days touring around in the SF sunshine; hitting up all the tourist spots we can, including Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge (we even walked across!).

Talia (or as I like to call her, Ralph) made a spur on the moment decision last week to drive up and join us for the weekend. Though rain has been forecasted for both days, we have not let it get in the way of our epic eating choices. This morning Steph, Ralph and I woke up early and braved the rain to hit up the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. After grabbing us some Blue Bottle Coffee [Steph got the drip, I got a cappuccino, Ralph hit it out of the park with a Caffe Mocha], we navigated the market as I showed them all my favorite stalls and hit up many a fruit and cheese sample along the way. Because the weather wasn’t ideal for eating outside on the Embarcadero, we decided to purchase a bunch of fresh ingredients and make ourselves a delicious brunch back at my warm (and dry) apartment. 

We chose to a make egg sandwiches with a side salad, so we picked up:

Fresh Radishes

Arugula

On the vine tomatoes

Sweet onion

Cowgirl Creamery Fromage Blac

Achadinha Cheese Company Broncha

Acme Pain au Levain

And with that, we made ourselves some bomb-ass breakfast sandwiches (if I do say so myself). Check out some snapshots of our vacation below!

“Wait, what! You don’t DIY on this blog you only eat! And, wait a minute, I guess you do DIY the things you make to eat…but this is a non-edible DIY? I’m confused!”

Yes, that is true. This blog, in all other senses besides food, is about as far from DIY as possible. Mostly because, as a person, I am about as far from DIY as possible. Though my mom is a beautiful potter, painter, jewelry maker, interior designer, sewer (alright I could go on for a while there), it seems that I have not inherited all that much of her ability. And for the small bit of talent I do have, I have most definitely not inherited my mother’s love of it all.

But, alas, being presented with my current situation (new apartment, not very much money, a lot of time on my hands) I have decided that I should embrace the DIY that is hidden (very deep) inside of me. And thus, “Baby’s First D-I-Y” was born. After a quick Pinterest search yielded me enough project ideas to last at least two years, I decided on a project painting the inside of glass bottles to decorate my new desk. This is because I had a bunch of empty Strauss milk bottles I had been meaning to return the market but hadn’t gotten around to and also because I desperately needed something to look pretty on my new desk. This choice was definitely not because it looked like the easiest one. Or wait…

Doesn’t matter, does it? Well, I say this is part one because I haven’t quite finished all the bottles and these still need to dry. But I was so excited about it that I just couldn’t wait to a least post a little something about it…enjoy!