Things have gotten a bit out of control

Now, I've never been one to be ashamed of my love of Starbucks, as you all know (a certain poem comes to mind...) However, recently things have spun wildly out of control. I got two of my co-works -- we'll call them N and J -- hooked on the stuff too. J is especially bad -- he gets a venti latte (I usually stick with a grande). Recently we've taken to making Starbucks a daily trip. I'll even admit that there have been days that it has happened twice. I'm officially a gold member with my gift card. Not good for our wallets or our waistlines. So, we collectively decided that Wednesdays would be 'no Starbucks' day. And I have to tell you, I'm jonesing hard right now. I understand that it is just because I've been told (even if just by myself) that I can't have any, but it is all I'm think about. My brain is going "Starbucks...Starbucks...STARBUCKSSTARBUCKSSTARBUCKS!" My hands are jittery. I can barely type.

It doesn't help that today I got an e-mail that a free drink has been loaded onto my gift card.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

I'm so excited

And I just can't hide it! Today has been a fabulous start to November, I have to say. First of all, I stopped at Starbucks this morning and they had their seasonal red cups out already! An official cue to the holiday season, in my book. Plus they were featuring peppermint mochas! *Picture me doing a crazy happy dance right now* It was delicious -- because you know I ordered one! Plus I picked up Rod Stewart's new Christmas CD, aptly named "Merry Christmas, Baby," and it is excellent -- two thumbs up. But all of this is just build up to the really excellent news -- both my parents are coming out to California for Thanksgiving! I could not be more thrilled by this news.

We'd originally discussed something similar a few months back, but that was before my grandmother got really sick and things got all screwed up. I, of course, have been stressing about this for weeks already, and for awhile there, things were looking kind of bleak. But alas! By some miracle, everything has worked out exactly how I wanted it to, and I'll be hosting Thanksgiving for my whole family this year. Its been three Thanksgivings since we were all together, what with me on the East Coast and the brother here in Cali. I am just so pleased that we're all going to be together, and that I get to cook us all a fantastic meal. And now I have to get back to planning said meal...

Happy November!

What's going on (cue Motown music)

I know, I know. How long has it been since my last post? And I was doing so good for a while there…In all seriousness, October has sped by me and I can’t believe we’ve only got a week to go until November. A big part of that is because I recently spent ten days in Massachusetts – an unexpected trip, to be sure, and not for a fun reason. I know that when they lose someone special to them, a lot of other bloggers write some kind of tribute post, often zeroing in on how that person’s influence relates to the blog’s topic. And then tons of strangers out there in the universe write in with their condolences and special stories of their own, and perhaps the whole thing makes the blogger feel better, comforted, less alone. Well, maybe someday I’ll write a post about my grandmother’s food eccentricities, her penchant for baking, the cookbook collection she made me for my sixteenth birthday, the applesauce she and my grandfather made every fall, her unwavering encouragement of me and my aspirations…but I’m not there yet.

So in the meantime, let me do a little round-up of what’s been going in food-wise in my life. I made significant progress on the cookbook challenge before taking a break, but I’m getting back on track this week with four recipes lined up – eggplant gratin, radishes with compound butter, elephant ears, and cheese puffs (gougeres in French).

I made pumpkin mac and cheese the other day, a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens that I’ve been wanting to try for a while. It was eh, okay. I think in actuality it tasted just fine, but what I really wanted was ooey gooey cheesy mac and cheese, and this was not that. So I was disappointed and probably won’t make the recipe again. Tonight I’m going to try a recipe, also from BHG, for pumpkin rice pudding, which I think will be much more successful. Have I ever talked about my mom’s rice pudding? The recipe is from a Sun-Maid golden raisins box many years ago and it’s just the best. I wish she could make me some right now.

The brother and I had a nice fall day last Saturday – we did a corn maze, visited a pumpkin patch, and then carved those pumpkins (later dubbed Dennis and Amelia). I roasted up the pumpkin seeds with some olive oil, salt, black pepper, and a touch of cayenne – they came out pretty good! I also made an apple pie (the only one I've made so far the season -- ridiculous!). I used to like apple pie best when it was warm from the oven, but I think I like it better now nice and cold. Is that weird? The apples at the farmers' market are just fascinating -- and the cider is yummy too (although not as good as the New England stuff).

I drank sooo much Dunkin Donuts coffee and ate at least five Boston Creme doughnuts. True story. Although now I haven't had Starbucks in like, two weeks. That's a tragedy in my book.

Finally, I’d like to make an observation – Applebee’s food really sucks these days (except for the boneless Buffalo wings, which are always delish). I guess maybe it always sucked and I just wasn’t picky enough to notice. Well, I am now, and its ruined for me. Maybe for the best?

Oh, and let me say – I returned to the west coast with a stack of Thanksgiving related magazines about a foot tall. I’m still making my way through them – so fun! Have I mentioned lately how much I love the holidays?

Falling for fall

Right. So, fall in California – official as of last Saturday, but there were signs beforehand. As we all know, I love autumn. As in, I luuuuurve autumn. This is definitely my favorite time of year – I love the cooler weather, the beautiful trees, the clothes, the sense of coziness, apples and pumpkins and winter squash (which, of course, means apple pie and apple sauce and apple cider and apple cider doughnuts and…okay, I’ll stop now. I think you get the point). Plus, to top everything off, we are officially at the beginning of the holiday season! YES! Before you know it, Halloween will have come and gone and it’ll be time to prep for THE BIG ONE (Thanksgiving, which there is already a feature about on foodnetwork.com) and then Christmas. I am already so excited that I can barely contain myself. I just realized that the next round of magazines to arrive will all be Thanksgiving ones! Wyatt says, “Did someone say…turkey?”

But back to the matter at hand. I apologize, I know I tend to get distracted by holidays…and turkey…and cooking…and Starbucks…(wow, I’m in kind of a goofy mood today, huh?). I was concerned that moving out here would mean no fall. After all, I was coming from New England, the kingdom of autumn. And while fall might not be quite as in your face here, it definitely makes its presence known. The weather hasn’t changed dramatically, although it is cooler in the mornings and evenings. But that was kind of to be expected – the weather is fairly steady year round here, and it is always pretty ideal, so no complaints. The leaves on certain trees are changing colors – mostly to a brilliant red, which is very pretty. It seems like the further north one goes, the more color there is – there is even a difference from Oakland up to Berkeley. There are several drives recommended for leaf peepers, pretty much all somewhat north of me, and I really hope to take one with Wyatt and the brother. Perhaps most exciting of all, fall produce has made its way to the farmers’ market – apples, pears, some squash and pumpkins, sunflowers – I’m in heaven! A number of the apples are old heirloom varieties that you don’t see much anymore (including Jonathon, a long-time fave of my dad’s although he never get his hands on any). There is actually a whole section of the region called “apple hill” that features apple orchards, cider makers, and apparently the best apple cider doughnuts ever (we’ll see about that). Anyway, I hope to take a drive that way in a couple weeks, once the season peaks – check out this link for more info: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/84940. So far, autumn in northern California has been quite satisfying.

Last weekend was the Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square in Oakland. Because I live pretty close, the roommate and I went twice – Friday evening and Saturday morning. And boy, did we eat – lobster roll bites (good, but not as good as at the Clam Shack in MA), nutella-strawberry crème brulee, frozen custard, spring rolls, garlic mac and cheese, cupcakes (twice), and a caramel apple topped with bacon. True story. Everything was delicious, and it was a lot of fun to wander and see what everybody was eating. A whole weekend festival dedicated to food!

Cooked four more recipes from Barefoot in Paris over the weekend, too!

Finally, here’s a funny pic of Alex, hanging his head in shame and admitting defeat to the pancakes – hence the white flag.

An ode to...Starbucks

As the summer season begins to turn, my incorrigible heart begins to yearn

For those autumn staples which I love – salted caramel mocha sent from above

And a pumpkin cream cheese muffin too, a seasonal delight for me and you.

Then the local Starbucks is decked out in red and the holiday season comes to head

A peppermint mocha, oh such joy! More than Santa and any toy.

A pound of Christmas blend as always sends me into a delirious daze.

The rest of winter is cozy and warm, and Starbucks is welcome in any form

As spring begins to blossom we lighten up, and then summer brings an icy cup

So many delights all year round – thank goodness a Starbucks on every block abounds!

I may never stop talking about last Sunday

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I just had so many exciting things to talk about.

No exaggeration – this past Sunday was one of the best days of my life! Alex and I spent the day in Napa before heading to a John Hiatt concert, and the whole day was epic. Here’s the rundown:

We left Berkeley around 11, and didn’t arrive in Calistoga (the very northern part of the Napa region) until almost 1:30. Unfortunately, this is pretty typical – its only a 50 miles drive or so, but traffic tends to suck. Thankfully we swung through Starbucks on the way (side note: fall drinks and treats are back! I got a salted caramel mocha and it was to die for. This also means that its pumpkin cream cheese muffin time! I’ll let you know how that goes as soon as I get my hands on one). It was a gorgeous day and we had good tunes in the car, so the drive was pleasant.

Finally we arrived at a tasting room in Calistoga. I had spent some time on Google and Yelp looking for some inexpensive wine tastings for two reasons – 1, I was trying to save some money (duh) and 2, this isn’t really Alex’s thing – he was mostly doing it to humor me – so I didn’t want him to spend a ton either. It turns out that there are a TON on inexpensive tastings available throughout Napa, you just have to do your research. So anyway, we went to this place (and now I’ve totally forgotten the name, but I did buy a bottle there). While we were there, we got a coupon for two complimentary tastings at Markham (www.markhamvineyards.com/) – where it turns out they also had a free gallery full of photos from Rolling Stone’s original photographer – think Jerry Garcia, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, all in their prime, paired with the original Rolling Stones covers. Alex was ecstatic – this is definitely more his scene, and I was pleased because while the day was rather me-oriented, I wanted him to enjoy it too. So we drank some more free wine and checked out some very cool art. Then we had a delicious packed lunch in the parking lot (cheese, summer sausage, crackers). That concluded our wine tasting for the day – and ringing in at $6 each, it was not bad at all.

Next we headed over to the CIA Greystone, which is practically across the street from Markham. The woman at the first tasting room had recommended that we stop by. Honestly, I hadn’t realized that it was open to the public, and that there was an awesome campus store. The building is beautiful, like a castle, and there are also some neat displays inside – the antique corkscrew collection, for example. I wanted to drop everything and enroll and never leave…but I managed to contain myself (I have been looking for a part-time culinary program to enroll in, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but they are so dang expensive and I guess just not a very practical option right now). I did buy a cute bamboo salt box with the CIA logo on it and a postcard for my grandparents. I saw the cutest pink chef’s coat, too (hint, hint, mom and dad).

Next stop was Dean and DeLuca. I’d been surprised to see the shop last time I was in Napa; I’d always thought Dean and DeLuca was more of an East Coast thing. Regardless, I’d never actually been in one (just heard Julie talk about in Julie and Julia, and of course, Felicity worked there…). Paradise. I walked away with a very cool burlap tote bag, and Alex got some licorice, so everyone was happy. We drooled over the meats and cheese cases, and the homemade marshmallows, but managed to resist. But  I wanted one of everything in the store (of course, I felt the same way back at the CIA shop…I’m incorrigible, I know).

Fall in the Berkshires!

I love fall! I love the crisp, cool morning, the fresh apples at farm stands and markets (and consequently the smell of apple pie baking), the leaves turning colors – which they already are here in Western Mass. – the clothes, the promise of holidays to come…I love fall! (I also feel like I’ve been on this rant before, probably, oh, about a year ago…)


This morning when I woke up and took the dog out, my breath left little puffs of mist in the air. The Weather Channel informed me that it is going to frost tonight and I better bring my plants in. My apartment is decked out in pumpkins and gourds. And on the way to work I swung by Dunkin Donuts for a coffee and a pumpkin muffin. Life is good.

Now, last weekend I drove all the way out to Starbucks for a pumpkin cream cheese muffin. As I am sure I have rambled on about in the past, I LOVE these muffins and look forward to them all year. And I have to say, this was really a disappointment. Starbucks is not exactly next door – it’s about a 20-25 minute drive, usually including a bit of traffic. Since I moved a few months ago, I have gone through serious Starbucks withdrawal – like, I need an IV in the crook of my arm. So anyway, actually driving up and going to Starbucks is a much bigger deal than it used to be. This Starbucks is pretty small, kind of out of the way, and overall pretty lame. But I am ecstatic that pumpkin cream cheese muffins were out on the shelves, and I promptly ordered one. My coffee was good; the muffin, not so much. It seemed like it wasn’t quite baked through, and was sorely lacking in the candied pumpkin seed department. I ate the top (always the best part anyway, right?) and offered the rest to the dog. No takers – this from a dog that licks his own butt. Seriously. So from now on its Dunkin Donuts pumpkin muffins. Not quite the same, and no cream cheese, but good nonetheless, and much less expensive and out of the way.

Also last weekend, I had the opportunity to judge an apple pie baking contest that was sponsored by King Arthur flour! Ah, the hidden perks of being a journalist. It was really fun, even though judging meant I didn’t get to enter. And really, I should have – not to sound cocky or anything, but my pie would’ve blown them away. There were a lot of yummy pies, but many of them were so heavy on the spices (esp. the nutmeg) that one could barely taste the apples. And I believe that a pie should really showcase the apples – esp. considering the area we live in.

Oh, and finally, the last bit of news – my dad is coming to visit in a couple weeks! I have big plans for us – a visit to Viva for tapas, Chez Nous for a French dinner, a glorified min-Thanksgiving Sunday night, hiking, shopping. Its gonna be legen – wait for it – dary!

Apples, pumpkins, and fall foliage, oh my!

It is autumn! Okay, maybe not technically for a few more weeks (Sept. 23, to be exact), but can’t you smell it in the air? We can here in Vermont – mums are starting to grace the front porch steps, gourds and pumpkins are making their way into the supermarkets, and the apple orchards are in full swing. And of course, the leaves are already starting to get a tinge of vibrant color. Fall has always been my favorite season, as it marks the beginning of the phenomenal eating of months to come.
This past weekend, I had my first Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin of the season – something I look forward to for the whole month of August. I don’t know what it is about these muffins, but they are so good – moist, with candied pumpkin on top and a cream cheese filling. I could die with happiness from eating one. Also over the weekend, I made my first apple pie of the season. No pictures, but no worries – there will be many more to come. I take a lot of pride in my apple pies. They are simple yet undeniably delicious, topped with fresh whipped cream…and no, I see no reason for modesty here. I am going apple picking this weekend, and am already wracking my brain for ways to use all the fresh local fruit. Another pie, to be sure – my co-workers requested that I bring one in, and I’m happy to oblige. Lumpy applesauce is also a must. What else? Maybe a tart? Or perhaps a savory application for chicken or pork? I’m sure I’ll find many yummy ways to use them up.
As you might guess, fall is also the gateway to my two favorite holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas – both of which just happen to be jam packed with lots of delicious goodies. Is there anything better that Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and cranberry sauce and orange Jell-O and pumpkin pie and….I guess I am getting a little carried away. Seriously, though. It is fantastic. I do tend to get carried away with the holidays (my home is already decorated with leaves and gourds and candles), but I think it is part of what makes me so endearingJ.