Recipes, Real Estate, and other Ramblings: February 2011

It snowed today. Again. I was feeling sorry for my situation and decided to look up the weather in Russia. In Yakutsk, Russia, it is currently -31, but feels like -46. Tomorrow night it is supposed to be around -50 with partly cloudy skies. How do they know what the difference between -31 and -46 feels like? Uhm, I'll consider my 3 inches of snow and 19 degree weather a blessing.

So, with another day out of preschool, I must think of some project to occupy our time indoors tomorrow. My grown up project started tonight as the kids were going down for the night.
Christmastime was a little hectic and I didn't get around to my tradition of making cream puffs. This evening I spent some additional time and made swan cream puffs. I have romantic memories of my time in France when I would leisurely stop at a patisserie and admire their confectionary creations. Phillip got confused and called my creations flamingo cream puffs. My dreamy romantic bubble just got popped by thoughts of a brightly colored pink flamingo flying over me with cream on its beak.

like what we have outside, the swans received a heavy dusting of snow, or powdered sugar

On another snow day in January when we were confined indoors, we made marshmallows. The recipe is found on Martha Stewart's website. It wasn't difficult, but a heavy duty mixer is necessary for the project. The instructions were perfect, except for one minor detail. It is found below. Oh, and about the cookie cutters that you select...here's a hint, the less intricate ones, the better. We had the most success with simple shapes. These last 5 or so days. Be sure to store these in an air-tight container.

nice texture after 12 solid minutes of mixing.

Martha lied. Her instructions say to use an offset spatula to spread the marshmallowy goo. It sticks to that. (see what he is holding in his right hand?) I sprayed a rubber spatula with cooking spray and it worked much better.

8 hours later he cut out shapes

polar bears, angels, snowmen, and airplanes

They make a nice garnish to a hot chocolate (or coffee) and take a long time to melt.

We've been back a week, but I am still thinking about what fun we had in California. Then I remembered a couple of the souvenirs that I had purchased.

Phillip's souvenir. How ironic, it's a snow globe.

Here is my souvenir. I'll be drinking lots of hot tea tomorrow.

So, what do you do when you are stuck indoors on a snowy or rainy day?

1994 and I hurt. I am not going to smile. I am not going to smile, I am not going to smile.

This wasn't my first trip out to the San Francisco area. I've been going once a year since I was a teenager. When I was fifteen, I got braces. Wait, a couple of days before Thanksgiving when I was 15, spacers (aka painful rubber bands) were put between my teeth. We flew to SF the day before Thanksgiving. Excruciating headaches ensued and a lack of chewing abilities followed me through the weekend. My options for nourishment included such delicacies as mashed potatoes, applesauce, and pudding. I'd like to take a moment to thank my mother for scheduling that horrific and painful procedure 2 days before Thanksgiving.
So, my siblings and I flew out to Cali. This was pre-9/11, so I had an ice chest with jello and pudding cups to sustain me on the flight across the country. A passenger across the aisle asked me what I was carrying in my blue Coleman ice chest. Feeling mischievous, I told her that I was a courier for an organ transplant company and that there was a heart inside the ice chest. I didn't think she would take me seriously. Apparently she did, and spread the word about my "job." Upon landing in California, the people seated in the 3 rows in front of me parted ways, so that I could exit the plane before them with "the heart" in my Coleman.

Fast forward to 2011. With teeth somewhat straightened out and no headaches, I set off for California once again. This time I visited a dear friend from college. My friend, my 2 children and I began our adventures in San Francisco. The first stop: to get focaccia bread. My 4 year-old says fah KAHtch yuh with a slight Southern twang.
Not just ANY focaccia bread, but this kind comes from a bakery in the North Beach area (Little Italy) of San Francisco. Each heavenly slice measures 168 cubic inches (12x14x1). The light and fluffy bread serves as a canvas for the robust tomato sauce and green onions. Only somehow it doesn't feel light and fluffy 3 hours later after I've, I mean you've consumed a mere 84 cubic inches of focaccia. It is necessary to go in the morning. Business hours are posted on the door, but when they run out of glorious goods, they close up shop for the day.

When we arrived back at my friend's house, she removed the remaining slices from the butcher's paper and put it in a plastic container. We rationed it over the next 3 days. On the day that I left, she offered to put it in a Ziploc for me. That was after she cut off a portion of the rationed amount to keep for herself. A ziploc wasn't going to help this focaccia make the long trip back to Tennessee in a suitable manner. I came prepared and had planned for this moment. I disappeared, but quickly emerged from my guest room with a circa 1972 Tuperware meat marinater in hand. This antique piece of American plastic was the perfect piece to protect and transport my focaccia.

This is the precious cargo.

This is the indestructible container that carried the precious cargo.

On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market that surrounds the Ferry Building. There is a Sur La Table store in the Ferry Building. (sigh) I feel about Sur La Table like most people do about IKEA.

oranges picked that morning

Then, Phillip and I walked down Pier 39 to see the seals.

Next, we ate a late lunch at a restaurant in Ghirardelli Square. I ate crabs cakes topped with fried parsnips while seated at a window that overlooked the Bay. It was a lovely view.

I don't like parsnips. But then, I had never had one fried and on top of a crab cake.

Shari and Alexandra played and we all enjoyed the view.

Then we stood in line for 45 minutes to ride the Cable cars to the end of the line and back.

we were able to see the workers turn it around

Two days later, we went to Napa. We walked through a few expensive stores, bought a toy airplane, and went to the park. It was a beautiful sunny day and a nice park, but I forgot to take a picture. Oh yes, and we got a few goodies from Bouchon bakery. Alexandra ate her first madeleine, I mean ate my madeleine, and Phillip chose a chocolate eclair. Shari ate the most divine tarte au citron. I wish I had transported a few of those back to Tennessee. By the way, the owner of Bouchon bakery also owns the Bouchon Bistro and The French Laundry. His name is Thomas Keller and if you watch the extra selections on the Ratatouille DVD, you will discover that the cooking scenes were created based on his cooking methods.