PARIS IN THE FALL

I put pictures on Facebook and sent pictures to my family, but I am still so obsessed with our recent trip to Paris, I thought I would make a blog post too.  It was the perfect trip.  The weather was amazing everyday and fall colors were everywhere, making the sky even bluer.  We had such a wonderful time returning to the place of our honeymoon, and it was just what we needed after a very hard year.  Life is so good.  Even when it is sad, it is happy.

 

 

WEEKNIGHT DIN-DIN

I love to cook, but sometimes thinking up new ideas all the time is a pain.  I think I feel a lot of pressure to try something new every time, but I probably shouldn't.  I mean, my mom put things like beef stroganoff, chipped beef on toast, and tuna casserole in very heavy rotation, and I certainly didn't complain.  A dish that I make all the time is Roast Chicken and Asparagus with Tahini Sauce from the new-ish Gourmet Today cookbook.  It is very easy and so so good.  The chicken turns out juicy and tender because of the cooking method, it is packed with flavor, and is fairly healthy.  Serving it with a crusty bread is a must since you will want to mop up all the sauce.

You can find the recipe here.  My only suggestion would be to use the ready-made tahini sauce at Trader Joe's instead of the regular tahini paste and just add less water.  It makes it even better!

STAMPS

I learned about making stamp collages from my friend, Abby.  She let me know that stamp fairs aren't just for middle-aged guys, and ever since, I've enjoyed collecting sheets of vintage stamps (they are always worth face value).   I love putting together little collages for many special-occasion mailings. Below are a few examples.  I seriously love stamps.

POINT LOBOS

I was looking through some photos from this past summer of our trip to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, near Carmel. The pictures were so beautiful and moody I decided to post a few. We loved it there and spent the whole day hiking the trails and exploring the tide pools (that's a starfish in the second picture down).  It is a small but breathtaking place; varied in plant life, wildlife, and landscape.  If you get a chance to visit this park, do it. I want to go back soon, especially after I found out that it was used as a location to shoot many scenes from one of my favorite movies, Hitchcock's Rebecca!

 

APPLE PIE FOR AUTUMN

I grew up eating this delicious pie.  It is an old and well-used recipe from my Grandma Zollinger, who, with my grandpa, owned and operated an apple orchard for most of their marriage and all of my mother's childhood.  It is a very simple recipe, with the secret lying in the quality and type of apples.  Erik loves this dessert, and has been asking for it, so we shared some with friends last week.  It was as yummy as ever!  On a side note, does anyone else eat apple pie with cheddar cheese like I do? I was under the impression that it was an American classic combination, however, I'm beginning to think I am alone in this assumption!

If anyone would like this recipe, please let me know.  I would be happy to share it with you, I just feel a little weird putting such a "family recipe" up on the internet.

CAMPING

A couple of weeks ago Erik and I went camping at a place called Kirby Cove.  It is an incredible little campsite located on the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Our site (one of four) was nestled in a grove of eucalyptus trees and overlooked a private beach, the Golden Gate, and a beautiful view of San Francisco.  We spent the day on the beach, watching enormous freighters go by and in the evening we watched the lights come on across the bay.  It was so special, and felt very magical.  We cooked up some steaks for dinner and sat by the fire till bedtime.  The next morning we got to see the high tide, and enjoyed the sunshine by reading in the hammock.  I love this world so much and feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

RED NECTARINE JAM

Erik bought me a beautiful new jam cookbook a few weeks ago.  It is called The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, and is filled with recipes from the small Oakland-based jam company, Blue Chair.  You can find these jams at Market Hall in Oakland and Berkeley and at other gourmet food shops.  The recipes are so inventive and artistic (think Blueberry Jam with Mint, Rhubarb-Rose Conserve with Cherries, and Strawberry-Blood Orange Marmalade with Rosemary).  I hope to make some more interesting ones later on, but nectarines were on sale at Berkeley Bowl, so I started with a simple red nectarine jam.  It was pretty easy to make, as far as preserving goes, though you need time because the nectarines must macerate in the fridge for 3-6 days.  If you would like this recipe go out and buy this lovely book and support an independent bookstore and a local food artist!