I get it from a local Asian grocery - they are cubes that you defrost in water. They’re not as good as fresh probably but they work in a pinch.
5 Likes
No, none of those are a 1:1 replacement for fresh, of course. I don’t expect them to be 
I’ll have a look-see at the various Asian grocers we have in town. Thank you!
1 Like
Our first visit to The Rustic https://www.therusticsf.com/ - Cal-Italian cuisine with wood-fired pizza, all pasta made in-house etc. We sat in the nice covered backyard with a tree in the middle and enjoyed the ambience and good service.
Dishes were all really well made ranging from the fried olives filled with anchovies to daily special of sourdough toast with grilled peaches and burrata to the braised lamb shanks or the hazelnut affogato. Prices are, especially for San Francisco, very reasonable for the quality.
Complimentary focaccia
Fried olives - anchovies filled spanish olives
Spanish octopus, piquillo pepper, cannellini beans, herb salad, salsa verde
Sourdough toast, grilled peach, burrata, red wine reduction
Chicories, radicchio, frisee, grilled nectarine, toasted hazelnuts, balsamic vinaigrette
Pappardelle & oxtail ragu - 6 hours nebbiolo braised oxtail, pecorino sardo
Orecchiette, mild Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, spicy chili flakes
Lamb shank, potato puree, rainbow chard, white wine jus, gremolata
Affogato - hazelnut gelato topped with espresso
Panna cotta, blueberry sauce
Tiramisu, mascarpone, ladyfinger, espresso
13 Likes
You are lucky to have so many good Italian restaurants around. No such luck here, and even in Philly it’s been hard to find places on par with Berlin (or Italy, of course). The pappardelle look faceplant-worthy 
One of my favorite places in Philly has a grilled toast menu with glorious sourdough from a local bakery. There are seasonal changes to the toppings, but their blue crab toast is a standing menu item & must-order every time we go.
4 Likes
B.A.S for dinner.
Leftover stuff from the family get together yesterday.
Greek salad and chicken souvlaki from my sister’s local joint , Greek rice made by my nieces husband(very talented cook), I added some leftover grilled corn and diced tomatoes
.I have enough “leftover “ for a bit of lunch tomorrow.
17 Likes
All spectacular. I can happily imagine both the oxtail ragu and the pappardelle and the lamb shanks. It being summer in Texas, such thoughts are aspirational.
2 Likes
Why not also making them in summer ? Here on the Bay area peninsula we had many days in the last 4-6 weeks between 90-105F but that doesn’t stop us to cook using the oven. You also need good food in the hot months
We’ve overnight camping and had a tasty, easy meal: grilled b/s chicken thighs marinated in zhug and plain yogurt, rice-orzo pilaf, sauteed heirloom pink beans with chili crisp and butter a la a local restaurant, sweet kale poppy slaw, and toasted ciabatta baguette (not pictured).
15 Likes
Pork Marsala on orzo with steamed broccoli alongside. Also wine.
Dessert was a favorite: fresh figs with goat cheese and peppered honey.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/fresh-figs-with-goat-cheese-and-peppered-hone
21 Likes
oh good!
1 Like
last night at my sister’s, she made fresh pasta, fettucine-like, and i made a tomato sauce with Campari tomatoes I cooked down, shallot, garlic, evoo, dry sherry, a little butter, parm, and basil, then dropped Early Girl tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds, peeled, added them, pasta water, more basil and tons more parm to the sauce and finished the pasta in it. Super sweet!
tonight, i made myself black bean (canned, doctored up with garlic and green El Yucateco sauce) tacos with guac with cilantro, red onion, jalapeno and a squeeze of lime, the BF’s salsa fresca, and a bit of sauteed Soyrizo. The 'rizo got away from me while i was making the guac (that’s the charred bits), but I don’t mind a bit of char. A little crema on top and red El Yucateco. The BF made himself some breakfast sausage (! - he read the package wrong) and delicious rounds of potatoes he sauteed then braised in just water, and his creamless creamed spinach.
21 Likes
We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at one of our favorite Thai restaurants, Koon Thai Eatery, in Hillsdale, NJ, including Grilled marinated NY strip steak with Lao Jeow tomato and spicy lime soy sauce, scallion, ground roasted rice, fried string beans; Cod tempura with Coconut milk, white fermented soy beans, lemongrass, shallot, kaffir lime leaves, sweet peppers, fennel and cucumber salad; Yum Ped - Roasted duck salad with shallot, orange, apple, fennel, scallion, cilantro, cashew nut, calamansi lime vinaigrette; crispy vermicelli with Tamarind, fried shallot, jumbo lump crab meat, green apple, shallot, scallion, calamansi lime, coconut milk; Fried chicken thigh, shallot, corn, tomato, scallion, cilantro, tamarind lime fish sauce. It all went great with an excellent Shiraz and cabernet.
12 Likes
I could cook them and eat them for sure, but in hot summer weather I crave vegetables and very light but spicy food.
3 Likes
Sautéed chicken thigh with fennel and rosemary over pureed cauliflower. Roasted beet, avocado, little gem & radicchio, pasticcios, blue cheese, citrus dressing salad. There was wine.
17 Likes
We had our final San Diego dinner tonight at Shino Sushi and Kappo on Ash St. The meal was outstanding, as always.
Kanpachi with sesame oil and salt
Bincho maguro (albacore, not escolar) with ponzu and crispy onions, cucumber and seaweed sumono
Halibut, red snapper, scallops
Hamachi, hamachi belly, kanpachi
Salmon, salmon belly, spear squid
Noduguro, kinmedai, kasugo (baby snapper, cured and seared)
Bincho maguro, chu toro, toro
Monkfish liver
Local uni
And now we enjoy the sunset!
17 Likes
Thanks! I’m a longtime lurker, my phone makes it not easy to post. But i always take serious inspiation from you all!
3 Likes
Lasagna with lentils and mushrooms - You make first a red lentil bolognese - cooking the red lentils for a few minutes and in parallel sauté carrots, celery root, onions and garlic and cook it with diced tomatoes, tomato paste, smoked paprika and harissa. At the end you combine red lentils with the cooked vegetables. In addition, you cook a classic béchamel sauce and add parmesan at the end to it. Assemble lasagne and bake for 25 minutes. In parallel you slice king oyster mushrooms and sauté them with some parsley. You add the sautéed king oyster mushrooms on top of the lasagne with some parmesan and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
17 Likes
Pan fried cod, green beans almondine. The “French” green beans (haricots vert?) I find here have more flavor, but are more expensive.
16 Likes
Wow, what a feast! A proper send-off.
2 Likes
