A Trip to Dolores Park

It's been a very hot {by San Francisco standards} weekend here in San Francisco.  We have been enjoying the sun and 80 degrees F for the last three days, which is a nice change from the freezing 60 degrees summer days.  It's safe to say that our summer is here!  To celebrate, we headed out for a picnic with friends at Dolores Park, one of San Francisco's most popular and vibrant parks.  Pack member Jordi decided to stay home to get some beauty rest.  The hot weather exhausts him and the jog with his pack this morning knocked him out.

After the picnic, we decided to stop by Mitchell's Ice Cream, one of the best ice cream places in San Francisco.  There is always a wait, even if it's 50 degrees outside.  Look at that line!

{My outfit: Mango shirt - similar here; Urban Outfitters shorts; shoes from Italy; hat - Andrew's from Japan; LV bag that is perfect to hold the picnic blanket}

{Andrew's outfit - shirt that's close to ice cream color so no one can tell if it drips on the shirt}

{Left - Andrew's orange sherbet; Right - Natalia's peach ice-cream}


It was the perfect cooling snack to end a hot San Francisco summer day.

Thanks for visiting!

Challah!

After a somewhat stressful day, the pack enjoyed a beautiful evening baking.  And we had a good excuse - last night was the Jewish New Year, which means it's time for challah!  I found this delicious Apple Honey Challah recipe that took the traditional one to a whole new level - incorporating apples in the actual batter!  Could not resist it.

The whole pack was hard at work!

The end result was a sweet and gooey bundle of deliciousness.

L'shana tova! {=Happy New Year!}

Thanks for visiting!

Anniversary Date

It was a beautiful "Indian summer" day in San Francisco yesterday.  Andrew and I decided to celebrate our "nine years of togetherness" anniversary by dining at one of San Francisco's Italian restaurants, Flour + Water.  We've been planning to try it for about a year now, and never got around to it.  Maybe because it's so hard to get a reservation or because walk-ins have to line up well before the restaurant opens to get a seat.  And we did just that.  We arrived 45 minutes early, first in line, and first to get seated.  Score!

Pack member Andrew notes that we have become food snobs since living in San Francisco and had high expectations for Flour + Water.  It didn't disappoint us.  Here is his review:

Hi folks, Andrew here....We started off with the "crispy trotter."  Crispy means fried, and trotter means pork, so it was bound to taste good.  It was a very nice dish, balanced, and the fried pork was about as delicate as fried pork can be.  We also got the Pizza "Pepe"--Pizza with peppers, tomatoes, basil, and cheese.  This is hard to screw up if the ingredients are good.  The ingredients were very good, so this was a very good pizza.  For our entrees, I got the beef cheek "radiatore" and Natalia got the sunchoke cappelletti with brown butter and sage.  The radiatore was excellent, it tasted like a jewish mother's beef brisket mixed with pasta, in a good way.  We liked it a little better than the cappelletti, but that was also a good dish.  It was subtle and grew on us more as we kept eating it.

{Crispy trotter with rabe, baby carrots, prunes & fig mostarda}

{Top: pepe pizza.  Middle (in the bowl): black pepper radiatore with beef cheeks - Andrew's.  Bottom: sunchoke cappelletti with brown butter & sage - Natalia's}

{We skipped desert and had Porto instead}

{Natalia's outfit: sweater by Urban Outfitters; jeans by Paige - similar here; shoes from Italy.  Andrew's outfit: his least-wrinkled shirt and the white pants he wanted to wear before Labor Day passed}

It was a good good delicious night!

Thanks for visiting!

Figs and Ricotta Tart on our Anniversary Day

It is the nine year anniversary of togetherness for the human pack members today!  So of course I had to bake something.

And because it's fig season here in California, I decided to whip up this delicious fig recipe.  This tart is a great symbol of summer coming to an end and fall peaking in - from the richness of the ricotta, to the smokiness of the brandy and the earthiness of the figs.  

I started by making the ricotta from scratch using this recipe.  The trick with the ricotta for this particular recipe is that it has to drain for a good couple of hours, until it is super dry.  If too moist, the filling gets soggy while baking.  Also, the crust is made with lemon vodka but I didn't have lemon vodka in the house, so I infused regular vodka with a couple of strips of lemon peel. 

And now if you'll excuse us, we'll go have a piece of this tart & coffee, to start the celebration of our anniversary.

P.S. This recipe takes a while to make as there are lot of steps and waiting involved.

Thanks for visiting!

Roaming through The Mission

Yesterday, the pack left its den for the next door neighborhood, The Mission.

The Mission is usually warmer and sunnier than other parts of San Francisco, and today was no different.  We enjoyed the sunshine and 70 degrees F, which San Franciscans consider very hot.  I was actually able to wear a romper and sandals, but had my jacket as backup.  The pack had tons of fun, enjoying the vibrant and funky atmosphere of the neighborhood.

The street murals by local artists are very popular in The Mission and an attraction for tourists. 

Jordi and I did a little flea shopping. 

And we stopped by one of our favorite restaurants, Hog & Rocks, where the humans had some cocktails and a bite to eat.  Jordi pretty much begged the whole time. 

 {Peaches en Regalia cocktail}

{Chicken liver mouse, hogs aka prosciutto with ricotta, & rocks aka oysters}

We had tons of fun in the sun!

{My outfit - romper from Urban Outfitters, bag from Massimo Dutti, denim jacket from Target, sandals bought in Italy}

Thanks for visiting!

Saturday Morning Flourless Pancakes

I woke up this glorious Saturday morning craving pancakes.  So I made some.

I found this healthy & flourless recipe, but made a couple changes.  I only used 3 eggs (instead of 6), 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (instead of 1), and used strawberries instead of blueberries because I didn't have any blueberries in the house.

It is a quick recipe to make and it is delicious!  Highly recommend.   

Thanks for visiting and have a great long weekend!

It's the Little Things in Life...

Here are some of the things that made me happy this week.

View from my dentist's office - sure makes the cleaning appointment much more pleasant.  Can you see the fog rolling in over Golden Gate bridge?

Buying flowers from the neighborhood store and supporting local business.

New magazines that came in the mail.

New Lululemon hoodie for my daily trips to the park with Jordi.

Thanks for visiting!