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Monday Munchies

Currently snacking on…

Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Caramel with Black Sea Salt Bar

What was my life before sea salt stormed onto the scene??

The Caramel & Black Hawaiian Sea Salt bar is filled with a buttery, burnt sugar caramel & Hiwa Kai, a blend of sea salt and volcanic charcoal harvested from pristine Hawaiian tide pools. The exterior of the bar is garnished with Maldon sea salt harvested from estuaries in Great Britain. The combination of luscious dark chocolate, rich caramel and crunchy salt crystals is simply sublime.

Sunday Supper

Balsamic Zucchini (via Epicurious)

I made a version of this and served over a bed of quinoa with a simple butter lettuce side salad.  This is a super simple recipe with simple, quality ingredients (my favorite kind).  Use good olive oil, balsamic, salt, & cheese. 

Some friends gave us the most giant zucchini I have ever seen from their garden.  (I only used half; we have leftovers & another entire zuc!)  Since it was so large, I hollowed out the centers and filled with salted & broiled grape tomatoes.  I also dry-roasted the pine nuts.  

#californiacuisine

Michael Pollan Gets Cooked

In his seventh book, the celebrated food activist and scholar explains why home cooking is so crucial to our health and the planet’s

A wonderful interview with Michael Pollan by Epicurious.  He is one of my food heroes & a favorite Bay Area writer, teacher, & food thinker/writer/philosopher.  Read the rest HERE.

“My work is very much about connecting the dots between our everyday actions and the larger currents of nature and history. So, the everyday choices you make in the kitchen ramify all the way back to the land [and] help determine whether that land will be nurtured with care by good farming or abused by industrial agriculture. You can view this awareness as an ethical burden, or as a wonderful empowerment, which is how I’ve come to see it. It gives us a whole other set of votes to cast, every time we eat, and especially when we cook.”

Fresh Happy Tasty

A new cookbook from DVF’s personal chef.  You may not be able to sail away on her giant luxury yacht, but you can eat like you are!

Traveling on DVF’s yacht, Ms. Coxwell has developed light, fresh recipes inspired from far-fetched international locales.

www.janecoxwell.com 

Sample a few of her recipes HERE.  You can also check out a couple more of my favorites HERE, HERE & HERE.

The Well & Good Quinoa Cookbook

The United Nations has declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa.  Get on the party train!  This is one of my favorite foods & a great source of protein & aminos.

Well + Good NYC tapped ten top celebrity chefs, from Bill Telepan and Candice Kumai to Mary Cleaver—for healthy, easy quinoa recipes to make at home. There’s even a quinoa cocktail from Candle Café!

Download HERE.

Tagliatelle with Baby Vegetables and Lemon-Parmesan Sauce

Made this for some friends for dinner Friday evening.  Super simple & tasty.  Recipe HERE.

Currently Reading

Available HERE | Michael Pollan is one of my favorite food authors & philosophers.  His writing & ideas are not only brilliant, but engaging & accessible. He does an incredible job of connecting individual to global, addressing not just personal health & well-being, but environment benefits of eating well.  Looking forward to this read & to recommitting to cooking a plant-based diet at home & being connected to my food.  NYT Book Review HERE.  See more below: 

Coffee & Tea Collective

Ever on the quest for a great cup of coffee, I try to find the best everywhere I go.  I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but I love it, so when I indulge, I’m looking for quality.  This is just that kind of place, located in San Diego, CA.  Minimalist, no muss, no fuss.  Small-batch, roasted in-house, drip.  As close to Brooklyn-style super bougie coffee (I’m the worst offender, so I mean that endearingly) as I’ve found yet in San Diego.

Polite Provisions + Soda & Swine

If you happen through San Diego, this great new spot just opened in North Park from the people behind Craft & Commerce.  The cocktails are just as tasty, but it’s so much less of a scene (in the best possible way).  I love the vibe & the open air.  The cocktails are DELICIOUS & only $8 (my favorite is the Ocean Side with gin, lime, mint, sea salt, & celery bitters).  They don’t have their own liquor license, but if you go next door to Soda & Swine (it’s connected via hallway), you can order at the counter from the simple meatball menu & they bring your food to you in the bar.  They even offer a quinoa ‘meatball’ which is right up my alley.  I will definitely be a frequent offender.

Craftsman & Wolves

This is one of my favorite spots.  I kind of don’t even want to tell you about it, but it’s clear the cat is out of the bag.  I love the exposed brick & ceiling beams.  I happened to stop by recently on a rare free weekday (read: no line down the block) on a sunny day in the Mission.  There’s nothing better than a sunny day in the Mish, coffee, pastry, & good company.

C&W is the first endeavor by Outfit Generic, a 5-person foodie team helmed by former Quince exec pastry chef, William Werner.  Whether you are in the mood for sweet of savory, you will not be disappointed.  It also recently took top honors for Best Desserts in 7x7’s Eat + Drink Awards (ousting Tartine from its long-held top spot).

Simple & darling arrangements lined the table (see another shot HERE).

Tasty coffee.

Bites

Quotes that adorn the polished concrete walls.

Nearby Dolores Park overlooking my sweet city, San Francisco.  I’m telling you, there is no better place on a sunny afternoon.

Cauliflower Steaks with Puree

I made this tasty recipe from Food 52 tonight.  Delicious!  Cauliflower is high in vitamin C—perfect for keeping your immune system up during flu season.