breakfast of champions.




a.k.a. a sunny-side up egg and baguette toast. Since there have been a few cold days in the last two weeks, I've been wanting something warm, filling and comforting for breakfast. Plus, eggs keep me full until lunch, instead of leaving me with a growling stomach at 10:30.


Everybody needs a little comfort sometimes.

summer bounty.





Isn't it pretty?

summary.



Here's a quick summary, since I've been M.I.A. for a few days:



First, apparently it's not just Gemini and Cancer boys. It's also boys named Andrew. I think this is some cruel trick the universe is playing on me.



My friend Nicole called. Yay! This might not seem like such a big thing, but she lives in the eastern time zone and since I'm so bad with them (time zones), we haven't talked in months and months.



I took a half day from work 2 weeks ago, *ahem, cough* when the weather was so beautiful and went to the beach in San Francisco with a friend. I know what you're thinking: why did you go to the beach in San Francisco? It's never warm there. Ahh, but my friends, it was. It was warm and clear and the ocean was cold and salty and it was gorgeous. We stayed for sunset and then went out for Ethiopian food. Icing on the cake.



Later that week, I caught the last A's game of the season. I love going to baseball games. I love day games in the sun and night games with the lights. Out of the the NFL, NBA and MLB, I will always choose MLB. It was a nice day, and they won, which is always a plus.



Also, a quick note on food. I showed previously that I do most of my shopping at the farmer's market. I think it's about 75-80% of the food I purchase. This is easy to do in the summer, when there is a bounty of fresh produce. It is also easy to cook it. Or perhaps I should say, not cook with it. The produce of the summer doesn't need much work to create a great meal. Sure, you could turn on the oven and roast or make something complicated out of it, but you don't need to. So, many of my summer meals are salads and simple vegetable dishes, with fruit for dessert. It might sound boring, but it is not. In fact, besides being easy to cook or assemble, it is quite delicious and plenty varied. Now fall and winter might be a different story, but during the summer, this is the life.



Things to come? A book review, and two restaurant reviews (like the second half of that Rubicon one that I should have done 3 months ago). Oops.

fall.





It's October. Wow. When did that happen? I feel like this last year (plus a month or two) has sped by like a bullet train. There have been the best of times (weddings) and the worst of times (hospitalized family members). Many questions and decisions, and not quite as many answers. This, combined with the dying of the light and heat, make me want to savor as many moments as possible, take time with my projects and actions (unless they’re undesirable), and really appreciate how things are in these moments. This sounds like an end-of-the-year post, but it feels appropriate now. It is the end of summer and the beginning of fall, after all.



I think I have said before that I love summer. I love the heat and the long days and the light. It is, unequivocally my favorite season. But, there is something heartbreakingly beautiful about fall.



Just the other day, there was an almost perfect fall day (in my opinion). It was a cold night, with a frosty morning- the kind that makes you want to snuggle under your covers with a hot mug of hot chocolate or tea. Eventually, it warmed up, but the temperature was still cool and crisp to the skin. The air was sharp in its clarity, and the sky was such an uninterrupted bright blue that it almost hurt your eyes. The leaves had started changing colors and falling off the trees, crunching underfoot, while the flowers were showing off their colorful blooms, in a last gasp for attention.



It was beautiful.



Soon, the rain will come, and more cold. I don’t specifically dislike the rain and the cold- I especially appreciate rain for what it does, and enjoy the occasional song and dance through it. I like bundling up in sweaters, scarves, and gloves and going for walks in the cold. I also enjoy staying inside, under blankets, or by the fire (a.k.a. my space heater) with a hot toddy, or two.



I only wish there was some snow to go with the cold and rain, but on this island, it’s about as rare as being able to see the Northern Lights. I’m not a big winter sports girl, but I love that soft blanket of white. And let’s not forget the snowflakes falling from the sky! Last winter I took a trip to Chicago, and the sight of the snow falling through the light of the street lamps at night took my breath away. All that individual beauty practically lost in the big picture. Snowflakes are the apple trees of the weather world.



Fall is all about change and opposition. It’s sharp and soft. It has bold colors that fade quickly. It is bright and it is dull, and it can be oh so wonderful. Enjoy it while it lasts!

pesto and boys.



like peas in a pod, right? right? or not. let's get the boys party out of the way: I need to stop falling for smart Geminis and Cancers. I realized a few days ago that as far as I can recall (at least to high school), I think all of the guys I have dated have been Geminis, or Cancers. And I'm a Cancer. They do not mix so well. I wasn't cultivating this at all. I never even realized it. Now I'm going to have to be all weird and ask guys what their birthday is first thing. "Hey, what's your sign? Come here often?"
(Jason and the) Arg (0nauts).





Now, on to the pesto. So many of the food bloggers have been posting about canning since it's the theme of this month's Eat Local Challenge. It sounds perfect to me- having your pantry stocked with your personal tomato sauce, pesto, etc. It may not be less expensive, but at least you would know (and be able to control) exactly what is going into your food. That means quite a bit, to me. Plus, my dear Nonna always canned, and I would like to learn how. So, I took some of her old canning jars. Alas, when I got home, I realized they were all large. Too large. I would need a bigger pot to boil them in. Also, since I'm only cooking for one person (for the most part), storing many large jars of food in my pantry doesn't make that much sense. So I thought about freezing. And then I made pesto.

mmmmmm. Homemade pesto.* I used Mario Batali's recipe. From these pictures, I'm sure you can understand why I don't post many. While I think my photography skills are not that bad, I certainly don't know how to photograph food. And, my camera is very basic.




*after 2 hours with the mortar and pestle, I had a bruised, strained hand, so I switched to a food processor.

oodles of noodles.




Last night I made Orangette's (hubby's) peanut noodle dish. It was delish. It just happened that I had all the ingredients (except I substituted rice noodles for soba) and I looove peanut sauce. I highly recommend this one. It was creamy and salty, juicy and bright, crunchy and slippery smooth.

jobs.



This is a list of jobs I have done, have considered at some point in my life, or still consider, for some point in my life:



-interior architect at an international hospitality design firm, or clothing brand (like Diesel. yaaaaah.), preferably abroad

-interior architect at a small organic architecture firm, preferably in the city (yes "the city", people.)

-owner/ceo of a sustainable developing firm

-furniture maker

-event planner/set builder

-shop owner (selling furniture, furnishings and household goods- mainly environmentally friendly design stuff)

-a job working with the government on sustainable building codes and laws

-a job working with the government on city planning, transportation planning, etc.



-chef

-host (at a restaurant)

-hospitality manager

-bartender

-cheesemaker

-farmer (small-scale and all-natural of course)



-cage dancer (always in the cage, never out. no private dancer here)

-professional modern dancer (pipe dream)

-professional soccer player (pipe dream #2)

-zoologist, specifically researching Siberian tigers... in Siberia.

--ummmmmm. well? I dunno.