When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
This. This is the photo you've seen everywhere for the past week.
The Justin Bieber-Sarah Palin mashup can't touch it for popularity. It has a longer shelf life than the Rick Sanchez anti-semitic rant. Yes, it's the photo of mechanically separated chicken ― a bubblegum-pink rope of raw meat being extruded into a sloppy coil. MSC (doesn't it seem like it deserves its own acronym?) means everything but the cluck, ground finely and pressed through a sieve to make sure no bones make it through.
And Salon's Francis Lam wants to know just why you (and he) think it's so disgusting. After all, he writes:
...Eating the whole of an animal, "nose-to-tail dining," is a time-honored tradition born of necessity and, yes, respect for the animal that died for your dinner. Why waste anything? As one of my most meat-loving friends once said, "Look. Eating meat means eating gross stuff. You have to accept that if you're going to do it."
The Montara eatery is the third restaurant by the owner of Mochica and Piqueos.
Chef Carlos Altamirano, owner of local Peruvian restaurants Mochica and Piqueos, tonight celebrates the first anniversary of his third restaurant, La Costanera. The festivities start at 7 p.m.
The beachfront property near Half Moon Bay is hosting live salsa music and Latin dancers, and many food and drink specials. One highlight: a drawing to win a trip for two to Peru (a $5,000 value), or Las Vegas (a $1,500 value), as well as other prizes.
Enjoying good Peruvian food while watching the sun set over the ocean is good enough. Winning a pair of plane tickets would have us screaming like a 6-year-old girl. If you're thinking of going, it's probably good to call.
First Year Anniversary of La Costanera
When: Thurs., Oct. 7th, 7 p.m.
Where: La Costanera, 8150 Cabrillo Highway, Montara, 650-728-1600
When it comes to squash, summer never seems to end.
They may be called summer squash, but they are having a strong showing well into autumn. Farmers' markets are still bursting with them in a myriad of shapes and colors. Yellow and green zucchini prevail, but crooknecks, pattypans, and others add to the kaleidoscope of squashy goodness.
Anyone who's ever grown squash knows that when they come in, they come in fast and hard. Zukes in particular seem to have an almost preternatural ability to grow; skipping so much as a single day of harvesting can result in oversize, woody gourds. Consequently, they tend to be some of the more inexpensive vegetables at the market.
Happy Boy Farms, which appears at a large number of markets from San Francisco all the way down to Monterey, was selling mix-and-match varieties for just $1.50/pound last weekend, but as usual, it pays to buy in bulk. Contact the farm's wholesale division at 831-476-3276 to inquire about larger quantities and pricing. You'll be able to pick up your order from a nearby market.
Another tactic for saving money is to have recipes on hand for oversize squash. These are commonly not considered suitable for market, so you can often get them on the cheap. My new favorite recipe for big'uns is zucchine sott'olio, a Southern Italian recipe from Rosetta Costantino's fabulous new book, My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South (W. W. Norton, $35). I've got a batch going right now, marinating in the fridge. The fact that you use mature squash, combined with Costantino's method of preservation, gives the zucchini an amazingly satisfying texture.
Remi Hayashi, owner of Goody Goodie, and John Quintos, owner of Cento, Special Xtra, and Vega, are opening a new cafe on Harrison Street and 14th. Named StarStream ― after the 1960s-era Lambretta scooter ― the cafe will serve breakfast, lunch, and Blue Bottle coffee Mondays through Fridays. "We're going for the feel of a Roman espresso bar," says Hayashi, "with people stading around drinking espresso."
Finding under-$10 reds that don't suck can be an abject journey through liquor store fodder, Safeway drivel, and undrinkable vintage wines. Hell, some of the wines I've tried in the single-digit dollar category aren't even fit to cook with, but there are some amazing hidden gems out there. And as we head toward the last couple weeks of BBQ season, what better way to complement the hot dogs, grilled vegetables, and Saturday hangover then a terrific bottle of red that costs less then the medallion-sized, grass-fed beef patties sizzling on the grill?
Big House winery out of Livermore produces exceptional wines at exceptional value, and its 2009 Big House Red, is the best of the bunch, a testament to the kitchen sink approach to blending. Kitchen sink reds are a blend of numerous varietals, not necessarily traditional, often outright eccentric. It's an idea from Italy, where a large carafe of variously blended varietals (usually grown in the same town they're served in) is placed on the table for the whole family to imbibe without guilt.
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 2:47 PM
Tamara Palmer
Mariquita's baby bear pumpkin.
Watsonville's Mariquita Farm grows incredible organic produce for a who's-who of top Bay Area restaurants as well as the public, delivered via CSAs and biweekly Mystery Box deliveries. This Sat., Oct. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Piccino (801 22nd St., at Tennessee), Mariquita will park its new "Rolling Pumpkin Patch" to sell both edible and decorative pumpkins and squash. Expected varieties include jack o' lanterns, New England sugar pie pumpkins, baby bear pumpkins, heirloom Winter Luxury pie pumpkins, cheese pumpkins, lumina white pumpkins, assorted hard squash, Rouge Vif D'Etampes (aka Cinderella pumpkins), and warty blue Australian and French pumpkins.
While these pumpkins are certainly Halloween-ready, it might be a good idea to pick up some to actually eat as well. We received a pair of baby bear pumpkins in our recent Mystery Box and found them to be amazing vessels to stuff ― in our case, with spiced apples ― and bake.
Have you noticed it? That extra something in the air? Has your food started tasting a little extra sparkletastic, like it's made with Unicorn Meat™? It's no coincidence. The foodie world is getting an extra shot of fabulous thanks to the BlogHer Food conference in town tomorrow and Saturday, Oct. 8-9.
You see, about 80 percent of food bloggers in the world are women, but of the balance, about 80 percent of male food bloggers are gay. So while the conference lures a predictable parade of cupcake devotees topped with a liberal sprinkling of SQUEEEEE, it's also bringing together an unprecedented collective of gay foodie minds. In fact, this may be the gayest food happening since James Beard, Craig Claiborne, and James Villas took brunch at the Continental Baths in 1975. Okay, I made that part up.
Of course, there's no shortage of gay food bloggers already here in San Francisco. Like me, for example.
• Join the #BHF10PP, which stands for the "BlogHer Food 2010 Pity Party," for those who can't attend. We don't really get it, but we know it involves not showering, staying in pajamas, and hashtagging on Twitter to get prizes ... sounds pretty good to us, actually.
PostedByTamara Palmer
on Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 10:48 AM
Tamara Palmer
As we've noted, in advance of his Maiden Lane bakery (due this fall), William Werner's Tell Tale Preserve Co. has set up a case of treats at Coffee Bar in Potrero Hill and launched a monthly offering of what it calls its Society bag. The preorder, prepay bags (actually burlap sacks adorned with a letterpress tag, $35 via PayPal) are then available at Coffee Bar for pickup.
Tamara Palmer
Cocoa-sesame sablé.
Yesterday was pickup day. We felt something like elation when we unwrapped all the little bags and boxes inside. There was a jar of sangria-spiked jam made earthy with the addition of Black Jack figs and dark Valrhona Tainori chocolate, something that took willpower to avoid devouring straight with a spoon. A mini poundcake was almost savory with its rich notes of salted caramel and roasted cacao nib. Coconut-brown sugar shortbread sablés and cocoa-black sesame sablés, both crumbly and chewy, were particularly hard to ration. Cubes of paté de fruit, made with Mutsu apples and Concord grapes, held vividly fresh flavors. And it was really fun watching people's eyes light up as strings of espresso caramel ran down their chins.
Follow the Tell Tale blog to find out the date and contents of the November Society bag.
Clowns like this Lucent Dossier dude are scary. So are half the cheftestants on Just Desserts.
Last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts might have aired on a Wednesday but it felt just like sundae, as contestants were kicked off the top for being too nutty. It all began with guest judge Gale Gand, executive pastry chef at Chicago's Tru, whose Quickfire Challenge seemed simple enough: Make the ultimate ice cream sundae.
O.G. Gail (Simmons) did not want "just ole bananas and nuts," and when Seth learned he couldn't make his own ice cream (it was a Breyers challenge) he responded by topping it off with a "weak sauce" to the judges. We are always ones for phallic imagery so this kind of language got us in the mood ... for the challenge.
It was no surprise to us that Seth did exactly what we asked of him last week: He brought the crazy back. This time over the fact that he couldn't get his paper cups back from the show's producers. He stormed off, and the next thing the contestants knew they were hearing ambulance sirens. Seth had passed out from an anxiety attack; the producers said he was not (mentally) equipped to compete. That's it. Everyone's favorite crazy Dexter/Marky Mark lookalike was sent home.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
