Jamon iberico.
Dried tuna? (I didn’t know this was a thing. But apparently it is!)
Some razor clams, in butter. Just because. Lunch, or the meal that loosely filled the role of lunch yesterday was at a Ciudad Comal. Razor clams, fried fish, veal and some desserts. Not bad, but nothing spectacular or particularly interesting.
After doing no updates for weeks due to too much homework, I’m on vacation!
I’m currently in Barcelona adjusting to jet lag and eating way, way too much… Including,
Caviar out of the jar with a wooden stirrer, because I’m classy like that. (And too lazy to find a spoon)
Our haul from a trip to the market. Figs are super cheap, 3 euros for a kilo, so we got half a kilo.
AND JAMON. EVERYWHERE. SO MUCH OF IT.
so tasty.
I found the original recipe somewhere on Pintrest as “omg paleo pancakes,” or some such title. The original recipe is 2 eggs, 1 banana. I found that concoction rather eggy, much like banana scrambled eggs.
So instead —
Banana Pancakes
1 ripe banana, well mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon of flour
a pinch of baking powder (optional)
Mix everything, cook the pancakes at low heat. Low heat means the banana cooks more and caramelizes slightly.
Eat!
Great use for mushy overripe bananas when you don’t have enough for banana bread.
the menu!
jamon de cordero=cured lamb leg+green almonds+pickeled green strawberries
pebrots farcits=stuffed piquillos+lamb+currant+cumin+pine nuts
canalones=black trumpet mushrooms+spinach+engish peas+mint
fideua=toasted fideos+duck+wild nettles+olives+balsamico
tcho dark chocolate tart
I think of all the new restaurants I’ve tried lately, I enjoyed Duende the most. For example, the lamb ham wasn’t particularly interesting… But the flavor combination with the almonds and strawberries was unique. The canalones and fideua were both on the large size, portion-wise, but both delicious.
I can’t wait to come back. Actually, reviewing these pictures is making me super hungry. :< I guess I could drive up to Oakland now…
This weekend, I went to Ramen Shop. I showed up at about 5, and was seated immediately. By about 6, there appeared to be quite a wait, though they serve cocktails in the waiting area. The wait pales in comparison to that of Orenchi.
I enjoyed their menu — more choices than just ramen.
Asparagus, fava and avocado salad. Very Californian, quite tasty and fresh.
Their kitchen! I felt a little weird taking photos of them cooking….
The decor is hip and interesting, without exposed filament bulbs or reclaimed wood…
Tonkotsu ramen with spit roasted chashu, shoyu marinated egg, pickled ramps and a carrot. Including the carrot’s greens.
Veggie miso ramen with maitake and king mushrooms, salt cured eggs.
Black sesame icecream sandwich
First of all, it’s hard to take attractive photos of soup, particularly since everything was swimming in the broth. But, excuses, I need to work on this.
Second, the food. The appetizers were great (I also got two to go, but not pictures…) and the dessert icecream sandwich was interesting, but I really, really like black sesame. But the ramen? Not bad, but nothing great. The veggie miso was a little too salty, but probably the richest veggie ramen I’ve ever had. The tonkotsu pales in comparison to other more “traditional” ramen places I’ve been to. Overall, I don’t know much about the availability of ramen in the East Bay, and Ramen shop is open late… So a good backup. But if I really wanted ramen, I’d stick to the south bay places. (Also Orenchi, Ryowa, Maruichi and Santouka are cheaper. $16 for a bowl of ramen with one slice of meat is pretty steep)
This picture is underexposed.
But it’s a picture of fava and artichoke pasta, made roughly following this recipe. I used way less breadcrumbs than the receipe called for. Also, I added some lemon zest and thinly sliced mint over the top once it came off the stove. It was more mild flavored than things I tend to make, but I liked it. Would make again!
Thanks, Shamiq.
I’ve wanted to try Boot and Shoe Service for a couple years now, but they don’t take reservations and I’m not that dedicated to my quest for pizza, so I never made it. This weekend, my parents wanted to pick up some kougin aman from Starter Bakery at the farmers market and we happened to park outside Boot and Shoe and I finally got to try it!
potato, trugole, black olives, rosemary & an egg........ 17
cotechino hash with a fried egg................................. 14
trippa alla milanese from the wood oven with cannellini beans,
croutons, grana, fried sage & an egg............................ 14
Each dish seemed a bit expensive, but ~$50 for brunch for three isn’t bad… and it was very filling and satisfying. The pizza was thin, chewy and the toppings interesting and flavorful. The hash was a bit potato heavy, but the pork sausage was tasty and caramelized in all the right ways. The tripe was tender, well seasoned and interesting with the addition of sage and croutons. Between the tripe here and the tripe at Corso, I think Italian-style-tomato-sauce tripe is next up on my things to learn how to cook. I’m not even sure what to Google though.
In addition to working on my CS 107 homework for hours on end and battling the monster that is C (well, mostly, refreshing myself on pointers & malloc), I fried some fish! My parents picked up some rock cod at Market Hall and I dipped it in egg whites, then panko. Then into the hot oil they went, with some thyme pulled from the front yard.
I was surprised at how well it turned out since I’ve never been particularly adept at frying things. Perhaps all that’s needed is more practice…
It’s the season for foraging! Fields of wild mustard (above), clumps of wild radishes (second below) and if you find a well shaded patch — miners lettuce! (the reddish leaves below are too late…)
I took a second foraging class lead by Kevin a couple weekends ago with my parents. They had a lot of fun and we foraged (on private land!) wild radishes, mustard, cleavers, miners lettuce, mallow, chamomile, thistles and cardoons. April is definitely a better time to go foraging than June (when I took the last class). Wild plums aren’t in season, but all the interesting leafy things are!
