Month: June 2012

2012, Week Twenty-Six

Wowza. I’m a little late on this one. Also, I took almost no pictures last week. Whoops. I was in Anaheim at the American Library Association conference, and even though I swore to myself I would take it easy this time around, and not exhaust myself trying to attend all the events, I was still busy, and at the end of it all, pretty tired.

And now I’m in San Diego with the family, taking care of my way-too-cute niece during the day and relaxing with the family at night. These things all conspire to keep me away from my computer.

Here is a tiny glimpse at last week, in photos:

Steak from Olivier
June 17 – We picked up a big bag of meat, and we grilled steaks. This rib-eye is from Olivier’s Butchery in San Francisco.
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2012, Week Twenty-Five

Last week was kind of exhausting. All-night road work and early summer heat conspired to ensure I wasn’t sleeping well, which meant that I was only half awake during waking hours, too. I wish I had more to say about the week than that, but let’s take a look, shall we?

Tacos
June 10 – Sunday night we made tacos. We grilled some Trader Joe’s steak and I mixed up a quick lime and cabbage salad. This was our dinner after a totally butt-kicking hike, which means all the short-cuts involved (pre-marinated meat, pre-made salsa) were so worth it.
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2012, Week Twenty-four

This was my first full week back at work in a little while. It felt so long! I don’t think my mere two days of weekend were enough to feel rejuvenating and ready to start all over again. But I’m here at my desk, anyway. It’s going to be another busy week.

It’s hard to believe that it was only last Sunday that we were saying goodbye to our beautiful beach campsite and driving back down to Oakland.

Beach at MacKerricher
June 3 – The beach at MacKerricher State Park in Mendocino.
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Building your Batterie de Cuisine: Part One

I think one of the biggest hindrances for people who are trying to learn to cook is not having the right tools for the job. Trying to prepare even the simplest recipe with dull knives or the wrong kind of pan makes cooking stressful and un-fun. But if you’re just starting out, how do you know what you need? Sure, there are all kinds of starter boxes out there that promise to give you every thing in one fell swoop (and I can be a total sucker for anything that comes in a kit). But most of the time the stuff in those boxes is crap quality, and using crappy cookware sucks. Plus you’ll have to replace it all soon anyway, when the handles start to fall off and the cheap aluminum warps.

I’m certainly not the first blogger to share my list of essential kitchen tools. Anyone who really gets into cooking becomes at least a little obsessed with gear. But I think most food bloggers are people who cook a lot and have tons of little speciality tools that they love and want to evangelize. And if you’re just starting out, that stuff can be kind of daunting. I don’t want you to be daunted. I want you to cook. So I came up with the bare bones list of things you really need to be successful in the kitchen.
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2012, Week Twenty-two

First Tinto of the summer
May 27 – It is summer, and it is on. I started things off right by enjoying my first Tinto of the year. This has been a signature summer drink for a few years now. I’ve you’ve never heard of Tinto de verano, it’s time to rectify the situation. Tinto is a Spanish drink, which is kind of like a poor man’s sangria. Just mix a little cheap red wine with sparkling lemonade and you’re set. Summer has been inaugurated.
Continue reading 2012, Week Twenty-two