Saikyo Yaki & Konnyaku to Ninjin no Shira ae

I’ve had a fabulous traditional Japanese cookbook for some years now, never really venturing into it. I was interested in it because an old friend used to cook, by nature, a lot of fusion food, and I loved the yuzu citrus so much that I”d go to [...]

A few weeks ago I celebrated a birthday. I invited only a small group of people, two of whom happen to be married. One ended up being legitimately exhausted, and she sent in her stead an amazing little backup cake. K works at a bakery, and does work on cakes, so this was quite an [...]

The original plan was to throw my stuff in storage while evacuating a home of disbanding roommates, to buy the bare essentials from ikea, from east bay restaurant supply, from the dollar store–make do in the studio together for a couple of months, save some money, move out and back into the world of roommates.
But [...]

A good friend of mine and his wife celebrated his anniversary recently, and welcomed a houseful of friends with this wonderful appetizer. He has an interesting history and a lot of experience with Indian food, being that he had years of involvement at a restaurant in a small town in India.

Here’s the secret recipe:
Urad dal [...]

Roast Vegetable Ragout
2 large heirloom tomatoes, preferably green/purple variety or other rich color
2 large carrots, peeled & trimmed
1/2 medium onion
6+ garlic cloves, peeled & trimmed
1/2 red bell pepper
Cut all vegetables into chunks; carrots diagonally. Put into baking dish, toss with 1/4-1/3 C olive oil, pleanty of sea salt & cracked pepper. Cook for 45-90min until [...]

On a budget of $120 for four people, a good friend and “astro-twin” who claims herself as a vegetarian but eats seafood and strangely, bacon, asked me to make a belated birthday dinner for her friend (my acquaintance). Because of the graces the bay area allows us in grocery shopping, and with many thanks to [...]

We’ve enjoyed dinner with my friend Peter before, but about two weeks ago I worked hard (read: begged) for another home cooked meal in the city.
Friend and I headed from Berkeley to the city for pre-show dinner at Peter’s (we were to catch the MF Doom/Pigeon John performance at the Independent, but when we arrived [...]

I walked tonight from my somewhat new home to my good friend’s new home for a late-night housewarming party and found it quite romantic. Berkeley at night, when the air is still and quiet, smells of all the many flowers growing wild in million dollar homes’ yards’. Jasmine, blooming orange trees, calunda.. It smells sweet [...]

A few years ago, someone turned me on to a little bakery specializing in cupcakes. Located in a little “mall” in the Gourmet Ghetto district of Berkeley, and now a short two block walk from my house, this place cranks out amazing mini cakes in all sorts of flavors, always perfectly moist, never stale, perfect [...]

In the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a small chain called The Cheesesteak Shop (you can find locations, menus, history and more on their website). I’ve been going (primarily) to the location on University Ave in Berkeley for a little over a year–a stop a previous boyfriend and I would make on our way [...]