Queenkv’s Brainpickings

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I also loved this spicy bowl of jambalaya shrimp and grilled andouille sausage.

Susan and Tom are always tuning us into the cutting-edge of San Francisco eating and I’m grateful for that. We can always expect tasty meals, cocktails and wacky tales of living and working in the City by the Bay. Since we live about an hour away, Susan said it was nice we could work out our meet-ups in a matter of hours. That’s in comparison to when I lived in Topeka and we attempted to synch up our schedules months in advance.

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We’re also enjoying our new yoga studio in Davis. Barefoot Yoga has a beautiful wood panel space and our instructor is really smart and zen-like. At the end of class, he always says: “Take your practice off the mat.” I want to do that for 2008: focus on breathing, finding peace for myself and being a positive force for the world around me. I’ve spent the last two years establishing myself as a broadcast journalist. Now I’ve moved up to a bigger market and I know I’ve proven to myself and my colleagues that I know what I’m doing. I think the next step is balancing hard work with a positive outlook. I want to be able to take my ego out of the work equation and hopefully, find peace of mind inside the newsroom. I would be happy if I could figure out how to do that for 5 minutes.

And the other nice bonus about doing yoga in Davis is eating dinner at one of the fabulous food spots. This week, we did dinner at 2K Thai. This is the Gang Phed Ped Yang. It has savory blend of duck, pineapple chunks, bell peppers and other veggies — all mixed into a red curry sauce.

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I don’t think we’re going to get tired of sampling all the different restaurants in Sacramento and the rest of Northern California. It’s really easy to eat local and fresh food products in this area. We’re having a lot of fun stumbling on spots like Brew It Up! in Sacramento. It’s one of the featured spots in this week’s Dine Downtown. I enjoyed last night’s Oatmeal Stout and Irish Amber. Plus - this place doesn’t skimp on the food. These fresh mussels packed a nice spicy punch in the tomato broth. I only wish I had more bread to mop up the juices!

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I thought sampling Mark’s scallops was like biting into a work of art. It’s served with a yummy saffron risotto and I thought the thick rice took on some of the scallop flavors. Mark said he thought the relishes tasted like different flavors of chutney.

Overall, it was a satisfying dinner for $30/head.
And we’re looking forward to our next food adventure.

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We also tried the grilled sardines. We tasted this incredible fresh fish meat after pulling it away from the bony spine. I also loved how it tasted with lime and chunky salt pieces. These sardines went nicely with the buttery olives.

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It took 45 minutes to prep the seafood paella and it was worth the wait. Our waiter warned us against filling up on tapas and bread….saying this dish will fill us up in no time. I fell in love with the saffron flavored rice. It was a yummy treasure hunt picking out the fresh shellfish, seafood and smoky chorizo pieces from the steaming hot pan.

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We also checked out a beer meet-up after church. We met at the Sacramento Brewing Company and they recommended the Novemberfest. They said it was actually a late brew made for Octoberfest…by a month or so. It had a nice smooth, hoppy-tinged flavor. I was also fascinated by their tales of home brewing and beer fests.

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During my weekend, we tried out the Thai Bistro in Davis. This was after a particularly grueling hatha flow yoga class. I’m still sore in my abs, shoulders and quads. Good times (and good exercise…totally needed after eating way too much good food). This is the young coconut meat soup with chicken. The coconut meat reminded me of chomping on those delicate bites back in Ixtapa. I also liked dipping in spoonfuls of rice into the soup. The broth reminded me of my favorite Japanese cafe next to Reuters in London. I thought both flavors worked wonderfully together.

I know this is only the tip of the iceberg for my eating adventures in this area. So far so good.

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Last week, I finished watching Bourdain’s No Reservation trip to Tuscany. He visited one of the grand-daddy’s of butcher shops in the region. That’s where he sliced off pieces of serrano ham from a pig’s leg. On Saturday night, I followed in his footsteps. Moist, savory and the meaty goodness melted in my mouth.

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Of course, after a number of cocktails and one bottle of red wine — Tom got his culinary groove on.

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And Mark was Tom’s partner in kitchen gangsta crime.

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I also adored the calamari. In California, I always do my best to get my fill of fresh seafood.

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OK can’t remember what type of fish Susan ordered. I remember it tasted fresh, delicate and oh so frickin’ good. It floated on top of a spinach mixture. I do remember having a wonderful time, slightly buzzed and happy to be home. Good Times.

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I’m always amazed by the diversity of the California landscape. I can drink in the beautiful cityscape of San Francisco, rising boldly from the bay waters. Then I can wander through quaint East Bay neighborhoods, like Rockridge…doing Thai food for dinner and sipping a Black and Tan with Betina and her teaching friends. This state lets me be a city girl from a small town world. Really.

Yesterday morning, I took the 680 up to Sacramento. As a I crossed over the Suisun Bay, I watched the sun rise over the water. And on the other side of the freeway, I watched the full moon rise. Beautiful. I love being home.

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• 1/2 small onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• Morning Star’s grilled beef starter (the entire bag)
• Handful of cliantro
• A few teaspoons of Patis (or fish sauce)
• Lemon or lime juice

First, I sauteed the chopped onion and garlic in vegetable oil in our paella pan (you could use any large pan, really). When the chopped pieces softened up, I added the beef starter, some cilantro, lemon or lime juice and about 3-4 teaspoons of fish sauce. (I didn’t feel like paying through the nose for Patis at the Filipino store in Topeka).

That’s it. Serve it with rice and top the tofu mixture with the remaining cilantro leaves.

On this dish, I forgot to add the citrus juice in the last step. We ended-up squirting it on top of the tofu mix, after it came out of our paella pan. That helped seal in the flavors and get it closer to the taste of my Dad’s meat version. Overall, it had a nice mix of Thai/Filipino flavors: garlic, citrus and an echo of meaty goodnes.

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• 1 Bag of Morning Star’s Sausage Crumbles
• 1/2 bottle of Classico’s Alfredo Mushroom Sauce
• A pinch of Rosemary
• A few teaspoons of garlic salt and onion powder
• 3 cups of white rice
• Lot’s of chicken broth
• A few teaspoons of olive oil

(this recipe will basically look similar to my other rice dishes…simply because I like the texture of the rice, simmered down with chicken broth and other liquids)

In a paella pan (or you could use any large, deep pan), I sauteed the rice with olive oil and garlic salt and onion powder until golden. Then I stirred in some chicken broth to cover the rice. Watch out for the steaming action when the broth hits the hot surface. After the broth reduces to less than half, I added in the rest of the chicken broth, the rosemary, Alfredo sauce and the entire bag of the sausage crumbles. I brought the mixture up to a boil and then I set the stove temperature to low and covered the pan. I let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes.

It’s a hearty meal and it almost tastes like meat. Mark said I went a little heavy on the rosemary. So, that’s why I changed the measurement to a pinch. I like how the sausage crumbles absorb the flavor of the Alfredo sauce

I do miss cooking things from scratch. Cooking with pre-made sauces is convenient, but I know if I had the time, I could whip up my own Alfredo sauce. Sometimes it’s tough getting ingredients in Topeka, especially for the Thai and Filipino dishes. Most of my cookbooks are probably targeted to people living in metropolitan centers within easy access to a Whole Foods-like specialty store.

Someday, I will cook something without a pre-made sauce. Someday.

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Back to our roadtrip to Emporia….These limestone sculptures are at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. According to Marci Penner, they’re suppose to represent prominent historic Kansans. I’ll try to post more about our roadtrip, another time.

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This is my recent favorite dish by my dad - his version of the Thai laarb…heavy on the patis. Last year, we brought home Thai food for dinner and this dish. My dad said he could make it and a few days later, he did. My mom said that’s his gift — he can take someone else’s entree and reproduce it at home. This laarb had a nice meaty bite, tang from the patis and some nice lime overtones. A few years ago, my favorite Dad dish was mushroom steak - heavy on the mushroom cream…I loved dipping rice into that sauce.

Ahhh lumpia — a fantastic introduction to Filipino cuisine. Very user friendly. I tell newbies it’s like Chinese egg rolls, but it taste better Inside, you get bitefuls of ground beef, noodles, carrots, onions and other veggies. It’s fried up to make the skin crispy and smoky. Sometimes, I lose track of how many lumpias I’ve popped into my mouth - which is dangerous to anybody watching her waist line.

Mark tried more of the adventurous dishes…pink stuff, egg plant and stew…he was trying to find the ox tail and couldn’t…so he was a little bummed about that. As for myself, childhood memories makes me a wuss when it comes to those dishes. After watching and reading books by Anthony Bourdain and reading columns by Jeffery Steingarten — I know I’m missing out on a world of flavors…ignoring the mung beans, the egg plant and other savory dishes the rest of my family digs into with gusto. I was a stupid kid…easily influenced by the fucking cookie cutter meals other American kids grew-up with, like macaroni and cheese, hot dogs…stuff that’s pleasing to the eyes. And it soooo bugs me when anybody tells me “Just try it.” Because that’s insulting my memory, which is pretty darn good. Yes, I did try that dish, back when I was 10 years old…back when I couldn’t leave the table until it was finished…leaving a bitter taste in my memory of flavors. I’m not sure what I can do to get over my psychological hang-up on these dishes. Mentally, I want to be able to eat anything…and when it comes to other ethnic meals, I do! Escargot, tripe, chicken feet…and more. But there’s something I have to do to wipe the slate clean in my mind and on my tounge, to go back to those Filipino dishes. The ones that take more of an open mind…Something. Suggestions are welcome.

This piece from our wedding cake was more than a year old. Tradition has married couples take a bite of their wedding cake on their one year anniversary. My parents had it in their freezer and my dad thawed it out on the day we back to So. Cal. Mark and I did out married duty and ate the cake for breakfast. We were surprised it still tasted good - the cake was moist and sweet…and it didn’t taste old. Wow. Good job on preserving it! That tradition should ensure a happy marriage for a least a few more years…I’m sure.

On our way down to San Diego, we stopped by the Cafe Bagelry on Arrow Highway. I picked up this yummy egg, bacon and cheese bagel sandwich on a Cheese Onion Bagel. Tasty!

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We stayed at the Taylor Hotel in San Francisco. It’s just off of Union Square and in the middle of yummy food spots. On our first night in town, I had a craving for rice. I found Ar Roi on citysearch. Reasonable prices and great flavors.

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Mark found his favorite peanut curry dish…it was a bit watery but still tasty. I had this laarb duck salad. I remember when I brought home some laarb salad for my dad last year. He went out and replicated the dish in his kitchen. Well, I think laarb duck is a little more difficult to reproduce. I loved the rich flavor of the duck melded with the salad elements and Thai spices. I guess it’s suppose to be a starter dish…but it filled me up like a main entree.

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The next day, we took BART into Berkeley.

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I felt sad passing by the closed thearer, Act 1 and 2. So many things changed in my college town…it’s tough to keep up.

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I stopped by KALX Radio and said hi to folks…I also got a tour of all the cool new stuff - like a totally digital news studio! Wow! Back when I was a volunteer, we were still relying on cart tapes that were like 8-tracks.

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Here are some station pix from 2003….see the difference?

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I was also impressed with how clean the new mixing board was in comparison to this old school board.

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KALX still has the largest vinyl library of all the college stations on the West Coast. It was nice to see DJ’s are still using records for their shows. Rock on! I miss being a DJ.

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