Fred’s …………. and Sam’s and Moe’s

Commonly in San Francisco, it seems, eateries are named thus and I ate at three of them. The first was Fred’s Coffee Shop. It was my initiation day to the highways of San Francisco with son Alex and daughter-in-law Jing and I was ushered into the front passenger seat to enjoy the views and converse with Alex, the driver. I found conversing calmly, whilst going on the opposite side of the road than I am used to, at 65 miles an hour, on a 5 lane highway, with hundreds of other cars at close proximity, difficult. Moreover, at times there were highways crossing above and below us and there were exits to navigate from time to time, which Alex did expertly, using google maps on his smart phone, safely secured to the windscreen. You see, where I live, things are slower, the traffic is w-a-y less and roads are called highways when they have 2 or even 1 lane!

On the outskirts of Sausalito we parked the car and I was relieved to be on my feet. I wondered why there was a crowd of people on the footpath in front of Fred’s Coffee Shop and soon discovered that by 10am on a weekend, the place was full and there was a waiting list. Oh lalalala, I was learning fast about life in San Francisco. I noticed, while we stood waiting for an outside table, that I was the oldest person there. Nice; I love being amongst people younger than myself and do get frustrated that where I live this is so often not the case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After about half an hour we had a table and I quickly chose from the extensive, double sided, breakfast menu….. Swedish pancakes with fried banana, candied walnuts AND berries (the menu said OR) plus a latte.

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latte was HUGE but really excellent, as was the plate of pancakes. Did I eat and drink all that! YES! No wonder Fred’s was the place to be on a Saturday morning. Alex and Jing often ride there on their push bikes and avoid the highways, taking a scenic route through the giant redwood forests.

The whole 2 weeks I was in San Francisco, I did not find as good a coffee as this until I went to Tartine on my last day. One day I even caught the ferry back to Sausalito and walked and walked to get to Fred’s Coffee Shop but I did not realise it closed at 2.30pm and I missed it because I had spent the day wandering the beautiful back streets, beforehand.

At the end of our day, we headed home….. with thousands of other people, at times almost coming to a standstill!

Cocoa and sugar

I thought I knew a thing or two about good chocolate. I have always been quite a chocolate snob; I will not touch milk chocolate or “white” chocolate, instead opting only for dark, strong chocolate, and none of those highly decorated but tasteless chocolates so many small producers make.
One day in San Francisco Alex and I were walking the streets and needed to find a toilet. We came across a likely looking cafe so decided we’d have a coffee and use the loo, if they had one. I sat at a table, while Alex went and looked for the bathrooms. While I sat there, I read a leaflet on the table and realised we were in a chocolate factory, called Dandelion.

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District of San Francisco, just down the road from Tartine, the famous sourdough bakery we had failed to get into because of the queue. The info said “….we roast, crack, sort, winnow, grind, conch, and temper small batches of beans and then mold and package each bar by hand. By sourcing high quality beans and carefully crafting tiny batches, we try to bring out the individual flavors and nuances of each bean.” “Cool, lets see how good they really are!” I said to Alex, thinking I knew about chocolate. So off he went and ordered hot chocolates and a little treat.
Well, there were several hot chocolates to choose from and whichever Alex chose was simply the best I had ever had, by a million miles! For our treat, Alex chose 3 miniature brownies on a card which explained that each was made with the same ingredients, just using chocolate made from different beans. We cut them in halves. I started at one end and Alex at the other. One bite in and we both exclaimed “wow….. incredible!” Then to the middle brownie…. and ohhhh so remarkably different but equally as good. The third brought the same response. I realised that these people knew more about chocolate than I thought possible.

I went over to their display and read about what they do. They take so much care to choose ethically too. (You can find it all on their website). Hugh makes great brownies, fabulous brownies, but clearly the way the chocolate is made and where it comes from makes fabulous brownies into stellar ones so I bought two little bars of chocolate to bring home for Hugh and I to share and compare.
Dandelion bars only have 2 ingredients, cocoa and sugar; nothing else. The bars are both incredible but so different….. and the only difference is the cacao beans. Each night I have one tiny piece. It is all you need as the flavour lingers on and on.

If ever you are in San Francisco, you must go to Dandelion.

Chez Panisse

Here is my assessment of lunch at Chez Panisse Cafe today.... and why I booked to go again tomorrow! Of course the food was great but so it is at lots of places here. What set this way, way apart from anywhere else I have ever eaten was the service. Here's a detailed run down of how a good restaurant can become great, and famous for many years, even without a view or other amazing setting....

The moment I walked through the door I was greeted and shown to a table, the menu slipped onto the table as I wrestled with my bags.

Seated and sorted, a waitress arrived within seconds, with bread and butter, asking if I would like water; still or sparkling. She then brought a jug of it and a glass immediately, without seeing to anything else. I noticed at least 4 waitresses, for just my end of the cafe, which had about 10 tables of 2 - 4 seats. Maybe the same ones served the other end too, but the open plan kitchen was in the centre, so I could not see. Nice idea, divide the diners in half by putting the kitchen between. Makes a more intimate space.

There were 5 chefs in white jackets, in the kitchen, calmly and quietly doing their stuff. There were 2 other blokes in black t-shirts, seeing to the dishes and stuff, I think.

After a few minutes of my consulting of the menu, she came back and asked if I had any questions about the menu. I said I was just having entree and dessert and ordered the entree. But, I said I would like a few minutes to enjoy the bread and butter first. No problem. Nothing written but all taken in. My entree arrived a pleasant couple of minutes after I finished the bread.... but first she used a nifty tool to remove all the bread crumbs from the table.

I had mixed chicories, with super thinly sliced radishes, torn croutons, a light anchovy dressing (all my words).... In winter, chicories are not bitter and are so colourful, crunchy and wonderful but no-one I know eats them as much as I do and I had never seen a dish offered that was entirely chicories, so I was keen to have it. I really enjoyed it.

By now the cafe was filling fast but never did I receive less than perfect service and never did I notice her watching to see if I was ready for the next bit. She removed my plate and, without asking, left me for just a couple of minutes to think about dessert. I said I would have the almond cake with meyer lemon creme fraiche and huckleberries, as I have never had huckleberries. She told me about the native berries and that these were grown close by (I don't remember where but she did tell me). I heard her answering other people's questions and she (and all the other waitresses) knew everything about every ingredient; pretty amazing since the menu changes every day.

Being a connoisseur of fine desserts, I was ecstatic with this one; so simple a description but such amazing flavours with the hint of almond essence in the light, soft, delicious cake just so good with the sharpish, delicious, poached huckleberries and the meyer lemon creme fraiche. They even made a good latte, a rare treat in this land of drip filter coffee! (But not as good as The Lotus :-)

I was so impressed I booked again for tomorrow, when I will have a main course.... and maybe another dessert. Today they had clams and shrimps with saffron and other things, cooked in the wood fired oven.... I rather hope it is on the menu tomorrow again.

I paid US$40, including tip and taxes. Sure, I did not choose fancy things and that may seem expensive but with at least 10 people working that small cafe, what I received was a perfect, flawless experience and I can't wait for tomorrow!

ps I would have taken more photos but on the menu, in small print at the bottom, it asked for you to please not use phones or computers whilst there... I have borrowed a laptop to write this as it is so hard on a phone. I don't think I will ever travel again without a laptop, when I so love to write!!

The first decent bread I have come across yet in the USA!

Chicories and radishes in a pretty and delicious salad.

Maybe tomorrow I will skip savoury and have 2 sweet dishes, if they are as good as this :-)

Reality yoga, Christmas miracles and Enough

A little miracle has occurred between my blueberries and my perennial leeks! I now seem to have a gorgeous, lush patch of red alpine strawberries where, last year, I had a not very exciting patch of regular strawberries. The soft, green leaves are ever so pretty and spreading like a gorgeous carpet all over the hay and, every so often, incy wincy, brilliant, deep red berries dangle enticingly. The soft flesh drops into my fingers at the slightest touch and is transported to taste buds newly initiated to a rich, delicious flavour never before experienced, along with a concentrated, strawberry perfume to the nose, before even a taste is had.

Never can these tiny morsels make it to a shop and can only be experienced by gardeners in the right climate as I must be. How on earth they appeared or transformed I have no idea and I hope they remain happy inhabitants of this patch for a long time. I have left a row of flowering chicories on their north-west side to protect them from wind and too much summer sun.

This all sounds rather dandy but….. they chose a tricky spot to spread so thickly and, since I cannot bear to damage even one leaf, I must bring into practice much yoga in order to stretch to reach each berry, whilst kneeling on one knee, the other leg used to counter-balance the arm that must reach horizontally to a ripe berry the size of  a pea or smaller!

My friend Erika has a garden that makes me sick (with envy). Her strawberries are big and amazing, the patch is a jungle of abundance and I have been the happy recipient of many of her crop. I think my strawberries gave up after over-hearing a conversation about my disgust with mine, compared to Erika’s. Somehow though, a miracle did happen and now I can boast to Erika about my patch.

While I was out there a few moments ago I thought that I would actually prefer mine to hers now because I live here by myself and, by doing daily yoga in the garden, I can farm just enough strawberries to add to my raspberries and other berries for breakfast or dessert. Modern society is all about abundance and striving for more and more. Abundance is fabulous but sometimes it is nice to have almost enough instead of too much.

Life is short; eat dessert first.

Barefoot in bathers

I headed to Henley beach for a swim yesterday. If there is a specific place I call home, it is there. I parked my little red hire car in a row of hundreds of others, walked down a short, sandy path and dropped my towel, hat, clothes and car keys on the beach. As the sun spread silvery rays onto the calm sea, through some rare dark and stormy clouds, I dived into the cool water at the end of a 40C day.

As I floated about, relishing the moment, I looked back at the houses on the other side of the road. In my mother’s childhood, there was no road and this was a sandhill where her mother told her to watch out for strange men who camped in the sandhills. In my childhood it was a place you could rent a cheap house. Now it is millionaire’s row but still many of the old, stone and brick houses remain. If I had enough money I would buy one of them because it is still a wonderful place.

There is not much need for a towel on such an evening; Adelaide air being so totally dry. I donned my ancient beach shift (a word we never hear these days!) and went for a walk. Families dotted the beach and the shallows. Children pushed little trucks along the sand, others had buckets and spades. Lads of all ages threw or hit or kicked balls of all sizes and shapes in games whose rules were defined by lines drawn by toes, in the sand. I had to walk through a game whose boundaries clearly included the first 50m of the sea as well. Many languages were being spoken, many skin colours shone and I was so happy to be amongst them all because that is Adelaide; full of the richness of diversity, all seeming to co-exist happily, as it should be. I saw only one person on a phone.

As I walked along in the shallows, the main sound was the lapping of the sea on the shore. Dogs trotted happily along with their owners, some on leads, some enjoying a moment of freedom to splash in the water. There were no boat engines, no radios, not much sound besides the sea, laughter and quiet chatter. A couple of sailing boats drifted slowly by in the very light breeze.

I think that the peaceful diversity of Adelaide’s 1.5 million people is due in part to a climate that brings everyone together on the very long beach. There, it matters not how powerful you are, how rich you are, how old or young you are or where you were born. Everyone feels good at the beach at the end of a very hot day. Fashion is definitely absent in the heat and everyone looks pretty much the same when they are lazing about in the water or sitting barefoot in their bathers on the beach!

All along the coastline of Adelaide you can still get a park right by the sea, still find a large space in which to plop your towel and still not have to worry when you leave your keys and purse under your hat. You can get fish and chips or a coffee at Henley Square, where a grassy piazza stretches along the beach front and huge shade sails provide a place for people to wait, in sandy feet, messy hair and wet bathers for their chips to be ready. I am taking my mother there for her birthday and together with a brother and a son or two, we will have fish and chips. She lives not far away and loves Henley Beach too.

My hire care always needs to be well vacuumed at the end of my stay in Adelaide!

Why wouldn’t you want to grow food if….

it looked like this?

There’s no reason why food gardens have to be ugly but many I see are uninviting, regimented and have nowhere to sit with a coffee and watch the birds, the breeze in the leaves, the bees in the flowers or the vegetables growing.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon pottering about in my vegetable garden, which simply IS my garden. I step out my back door directly into my vegetable and fruit garden. My clothes line swings between a Bramley apple tree an oak tree and the broad beans. I love it.

My food garden is my haven; it is where I go to breathe fresh air, to rid my head of busyness, to feel the sun, to hear the birds and to relax. It is full of nooks and crannies so I can always find a spot to garden or sit in or out of the sun, in or out of the breeze and somewhere open or somewhere enclosed.

I garden in the earth, not in raised boxes. I have a love / hate relationship with some of my soil but I try to work out what is wrong and plant things that can manage the tough spots.

Here are some photos from around the world of Etherland, where I go to garden when it is dark outside in the real world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Microgreens experiment

I have been sprouting and eating lots of lovely things, all winter; the coldest winter for 50 years in southern Tasmania. The days are always short in winter but this winter was so grey and so cold that it was a chore to manage the garden at all. I use a handy little, 4 layered sprouter that is really good, so I always have fresh sprouts, even when it is snowing!

Now spring has arrived with its usual flourish and the garden is bursting with life once more. For some reason I now feel less like eating sprouts and more like eating micro-greens, which I have not really tried growing much before. I normally eat from the garden, not from a pot.

However, our local green grocer was giving away little punnets of microgreens (she called them lettuce sprouts, but they weren’t) she had grown but which had not sold. They were tall and spindly and did not look very interesting but I accepted one and brought it home. It sat, neglected, on my kitchen window sill until one day I clipped it back by half and gave it a drink. Within a few days it sprang to life, thickened up and looked like it might be worth looking after, after all.

That was at least a month ago and it is still going! I trim it and put the shoots in my salad often and still it grows. A week or so ago I took the whole clump out of the punnet to see what the seeds were, that had so much life in them, and discovered lentils. Ah haaa, I sell organic, Australian lentils, amongst other things, in my Garden Shed and Pantry shop, so I took a handful of this and that and headed to my potting bench.

I gathered some punnets and some pretty pots then wondered what medium to use. She had not put much soil in the punnet but had a thick layer of seeds so I did the same. Obviously they would need some good, nitrogenous medium to keep them growing so I used compost, potting mix and a dash of chook poo pellets. The pots required more soil than the punnets just to fill them up a bit but next time I would put less, as the swollen seeds have now pushed it all up and it looks like a risen loaf of bread!

I sowed green lentils, azuki beans, chick peas and buckwheat. Before long, the green lentils were up and growing fast. Next is the buckwheat; not so even germination but ok. The chick peas and azuki beans are slower to send up green shoots but have good roots.

These terracotta pots are cheap and available locally but made in Italy! They come without any holes, so I drilled one but, for these microgreens, I wonder if it would be ok not to have a hole, since the terracotta itself is porous and the life of the greens is not long. I will try that next.

Life is good. Get there fast then take it slow.