Food scribbles

2011 Tropical Christmas ..

2011-12-25T14:41:00.000+01:00

Time flies. We are now on our second tropical Christmas. I like the tropical showers which cools down the temperature and the blue skies that follows. It's been another great year for the family and we're looking forward to the exciting things 2012 will bring. In the meantime ~ eat, drink and love.

Merry Christmas everyone!! xoxo

Holiday baking experimentation continues ...

2011-12-10T14:00:00.000+01:00

Alex and I need to work on our thumbprint cookies ~ an adaptation of the Cranberry Thumbprint (we used blueberries instead).

Work

2011-12-05T15:43:00.000+01:00

I'm in Bangkok this week for work. Apparently eating, shopping and going to the spa are the things to do when one is in Bangkok. But since I'm in meetings all day, I will have to be content with just the eating. Not too bad for a work week.

Bangkok at night, from the 37th floor

'Tis the season ....

2011-12-04T08:21:00.000+01:00

..to be baking ...lalalala..lalala...

Alex said the other day, when he grows up he wants to be a chef. Yippeee!!!! I am one happy mommy :) Gingerbread cookies by Chef Alex courtesy of 101 Cookbooks .

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T15:17:00.002+01:00

2010 was an amazing year for us -- a new baby (now 11 months old), a new job posting, a new country (as of Aug 2010) .. a new experience for the family.

So here we are on January 1st, 2011. Not sure how committed I'll be with blog entries .. but I'll try anyway.

Here's to a new year!
xoxo

..while you were incubating..

2010-01-21T21:02:00.005+01:00

Dear Baby #2,

I know you'll show up when you're ready, but just to let you know, I am ready for you to join the family (plus, lugging this big belly around is exhausting!). So while you're curled up in me, tonight we had fish in a paper bag. From your kicking, I think you liked it as well.

White fish in parchement paper
On a piece of parchment, stack thinly sliced carrots, cherry tomatoes and white fish fillet. Season with salt, pepper and dried bay leaves. Add a piece of garlic butter. Wrap paper like a parcel. Cook in pre-heated oven at 200 C for 20 min.

And here is big brother AJ imitating my big belly...

Adaptations...

2010-01-03T22:06:00.013+01:00

According to one of the definition from the Free Online Dictionary, adaptation means "something, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation".

I've been craving for a dish of Singapore chicken rice, so I tried to make it as our good friends, Sandra & Mae, were coming over for lunch. This post is all about adaptation, which actually means that I would use whatever I have available in the fridge and cross my fingers that it'll turn out edible. Luck was on my side today, as this was the only shot I managed to take after we polished off my adaptation of the Singapore chicken rice.

what's left of the chicken rice

I first saw the Aebleskiver pan in William-Sonoma when I was in Boston last October on a work trip (important note: I only stopped by at William-Sonoma AFTER I left work on my way back to my hotel). I meant to bring it back with me, but somehow it just slipped my mind. Since Aebelskiver is a Danish delicacy, I assumed it would be easy to find it online in Europe. I was wrong. At the end, I ordered this Aebleskiver pan from Amazon US; however, it wasn't available for delivery to Italy. Lucky me, Mae was going over to the States and was so kind to be my Amazon US extended delivery person. As dessert, we decided to give the pan its first run. I followed the recipe that came with the pan, substituting buttermilk with yogurt, sour cream and milk (those were what I had in the fridge) and forgetting to add baking powder, salt & sugar.

Aebleskiver pan

We tried one batch with no filling and gave it a dusting of vanilla powder sugar (a left over from the Pandoro box) and another batch with fig jam filling. Despite the butchered adaptation approach to the recipe, I think the pancakes turned out to be pretty good.

Danish Ableskiver pancakes

To top off the yummy lunch, we sipped the artisinal Vin Santo brought by Sandra.

artisinal vin Santo from Sandra

After a fun afternoon of eating and catching up with everyone, AJ retired to his igloo-covered blanket.

adaptation of a penquin in the livingroom

So long 2009, hello 2010

2010-01-01T20:51:00.014+01:00

Right..2010, new year, new decade. I have a feeling it's going to be a year of big happenings. One of them, my ever growing belly. Countdown to Baby #2 is 4 weeks. I think both of us are ready to meet, not that there's much space for Baby#2 and I'm running out of skin to stretch. Patience..patience...

Speaking of patience..I want to give a shout out to my super wonderful hubby and my bubbly son AJ. I'm very very thankful of what life has given me. I must have done something right to have a caring hubby who is so great at playing hide-and-seek as well as teaching our soon to be 4-years old son to make his first deep pan pizza. This caring hubby also puts up with my crazy work, my pregnancy mood swings and always makes sure I get a back rub every night to soothe the aches from Baby#2's constant gymnastic moves in my belly. And as for my AJ, my #1 baby who is now longer a baby, he is such a lively and a talkative little boy, with a constant twinkle of naughtiness in his eyes. I wonder where he got that from...?? Yep..I've pinched myself at times and this life is real. Lucky lucky me..

OK..now to the next best thing in life after family..food!

For our New Year's day dinner we had the traditional 'cotechino di Modena' - a fresh sausage made from pork, fatback, and pork rind, and for luck, we served it with lentils (which apparently is a symbol for money). I added mild curry powder to the lentils, as this is how hubby likes it.

cotechino & curried lentils

While we're still on the food topic, for last night's 2009 New Year's Eve dinner we had a starter of bruschetta with mixed veggies, pan-seared duck breast with cinnamon & coriander dry rub served with green beans & potato/carrot pancakes.

bruschetta

pan-seared duck breast with cinnamon & coriander dry rub

And to top it all...D's & AJ's deep pan pizza for today's lunch. Molto buono!

deep pan pizza

I'm still here .......

2009-12-22T15:48:00.004+01:00

....although it's been over a year since my last post. 2009 has been busy busy busy for us. We've managed to get a lot of work done on the new apartment, travelled, tasted great food, entertained with friends...and to top it all...we're currently expecting our next Baby ....

In the meantime, here are some samples of our latest kitchen adventure ....

(white choc chip-raisins-banana bread)

(molasses gingerbread cookies)

scary spider ...

2008-10-31T09:00:00.001+01:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We're moving

2008-09-12T11:10:00.002+02:00

so much to do, so little time ...

Riva del Garda - part 1

2008-08-17T20:48:00.004+02:00

After almost four years in Italy, I finally made it to Lake Garda, where D's parents have a beautiful little flat right in the center of Riva del Garda. Here are some sights from Riva and our day trip to Gardaland.

Harvest

2008-08-08T14:54:00.004+02:00

A couple of nights ago we were invited to sample M's first kangkung harvest. Along with the crisp and savoury kangkung, we were also treated to home-grown tomato and mozzarella salad, chicken in black bean sauce and tofu sprinkled with furikake. Both D and I enjoyed good food and great conversation (in italian!) among friends. A perfect summer evening (even with the mozzies...)

jazz, aperitivo, friends

2008-08-08T14:39:00.005+02:00

.....summer scenes from Siena

(Manhattan Transfer performing at the opening of Siena Jazz in Piazza il Campo)

AJ

2008-07-29T09:23:00.003+02:00

Several poses of AJ taken by Kate (or as AJ would pronounce it 'Ket') ...

my newest playground

2008-07-20T11:56:00.004+02:00

although not completely finished yet, I love love love our new kitchen ....

let's just hope chocolate prints only ends up here ...

ice lolly

2008-07-07T12:42:00.003+02:00

1 melon - cut into slices, peel off skin and take out seeds

Put slices/chunks into blender. Whizz for 3-4 seconds. Pour into lolly mold and freeze.

Result: fast moving toddler with 100% fruit, sugar/chemical free ice fruit lolly

Seaside getaway - Monte Argentario

2008-07-03T23:43:00.012+02:00

Summer is in full swing and it is HOT! We decided to escape the Palio frenzy in Siena and head off to Monte Argentario - the southern most coastline of Tuscany (I think). Apparently Caravaggio drank himself to death on the beach of one of the port towns - Porto Ercole.

We booked a room at La Conchiglia, a simple (and very clean) hotel in Porto Ercole. After dropping off our things at the hotel we hit the beach at La Feniglia. The beach was secluded, with cool breeze and warm(ish) water. Perfect!

After a quick shower back at the hotel, we set off to La Serena for dinner. Food was great. Both D and I ordered a plate of fritto misto and fries which was thinly sliced. Sort of like fancy PRINGLES. After dinner we went for a stroll along the water front lined up with yachts, speed boats and tiny wooden boats. We also did some window shopping since the shops re-opened at 10pm till after midnight. Before heading back to the hotel, D decided to grab a brioche filled with gelato and cream.

The next morning, we didn't get out of bed till after 9! Even AJ enjoyed lazying around in bed. Breakfast, a visit to a small bar with a fish tank as a table, and then off to Porto Santo Stefano - the other port town in Monte Argentario. Side info -- apparently the mayor's wife is Indonesian (Javanese). I saw a shop in Porto Santo Stefano called Djawa with a becak parked outside. Pretty cool. After another lovely sea-inspired meal, we parked ourselves in one of the bars along the waterfront enjoying the sights, cool breeze and more gelato. Here are some more sights and flavours from Monte Argentario.

Pasta pasta pasta

2008-06-28T11:21:00.011+02:00

Catching up with posts from our food outings - here's one on pasta ..Different types of pasta with different sauces ...It was a pasta-lovers dream (you know who you are!)..Here are some pictures from the scene and those with belly full of pasta ..

B Boys

2008-06-28T11:18:00.001+02:00

Ini untuk Oma ....

Cantine Aperte at Fattoria dei Barbi

2008-05-24T22:59:00.045+02:00

Solo Ciccia

2008-05-24T22:59:00.035+02:00

Tucked away on a small side street in Panzano is Solo Ciccia - the all meat restaurant of Dario Cecchini, the Dante-quoting butcher. Without further due, here are .....

the diners ..

the food ...

AND .....the butcher and his shop

it's time for .....

2008-05-22T10:57:00.002+02:00

GELATO

jammin' (not the eating kind...)

2008-03-03T10:28:00.002+01:00

it's been awhile....

2008-03-03T10:22:00.002+01:00

The plan is to start blogging again on my favourite topics..family, food, friends and the everyday fun stuff. So here it is ... a gingerbread mom, baked by my AJ (aka Baby Boy) with the help of nonna T.

a nice place under the tuscan sun

2007-08-20T14:37:00.000+02:00

I can't believe it's Monday already...and it's been almost three weeks since I started my new job. Still learning and enjoy meeting new people -- although I know quite a few people at work from my time as a SAHM (stay at home mom) when I had the time to throw dinner parties ...

Anyway, the temperature has dropped and it feels like summer is slowly going away. We decided to make the most of last week, being ferrogosto followed by the Palio, meaning two days off from work. Last Tuesday we went to the sagra di bistecca in Cortona, which you can read about it in Tania's blog. On the weekend, we returned to Cortona for the sagra di porcini and to spend time with our friends Tania & Keith at their new home.

We arrived late afternoon, just in time for a quick swim in their big pool with the view of Cortona in the background. Baby Boy wasn't so keen going into the water, although towards the end he did spend some time knee deep on the steps of the pool. I ended up using his floaties ....yay...Lightning Mcqueen!
We sipped fruit cocktails made by Keith (he is the master of drinks!) and enjoyed some munchies I brought over from Siena.

cherry tomato, pancetta quiche (recipe to follow..not much time at the moment)

sticky cinnamon rolls (recipe to follow..not much time at the moment)

After more swimming and lazying around, we all got ready to head off to the sagra.

Baby Boy and his new game -- gravel discovery. The pool and view in the background

The sagra was held in the big garden in the center of Cortona. Here are series of pictures from the sagra.

Porcini man

BIG frying pans

Porcini ladies

Porcini baby (plus few pieces of nectarine)

Porcini fritto -- HEAVENLY DELICIOUS

Yum!

After a long day of lazying and eating, we decided to stay over at Tania's and Keith's. While Baby Boy slept in his stroller, the four of us (plus Murphy puppy) set under the Tuscan stars sipping on a wonderful Cortona red. The pool was lit beautifully -- I was too tired (and full) to take pictures, but you should head over to Tania's blog to see what I mean. It was so peaceful. That night, I slept so deeply. Baby Boy slept next to me and only stirred a little, while continuing to do his cute little snores.

Breakfast was under the pine trees -- coffee, fruit, juice and leftovers ... It was magnificent!!! I can't thank Tania & Keith enough for a great time and for such a wonderful friendship.

for the grandparents ....

2007-08-14T11:33:00.000+02:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

horses, fish and the case of the spinach pesto

2007-07-03T11:39:00.001+02:00

Siena is back in business again after the long weekend leading up to the Palio yesterday evening. On Saturday we decided to go to the Prova in Piazza del Campo. It was quite exciting to see so many people gathered in the piazza. The mood was amazing -- I can't imagine how it must be on the actual Palio day. Here is a footage of the race of the Saturday prova.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Baby Boy didn't really like the 'blasts' at the end of the race. But he did have a great time hanging out in the crowd prior to the race.

I'd love to write more about the Palio, but I think it's best to wikipedia it (am a bit lazy today .. haha..) or come to Siena and see it for yourself. Anyway, sometime next spring Baby Boy is going to be 'baptised' into a contrada -- we've decided on Drago, not only because it is a smaller size contrada but also the dragon symbol is a link to Baby Boy's Welsh heritage.

Sunday evening was the prova generale, with a show of carabinieri on horseback as well as another mock race for the horses. On Monday most businesses in Siena was either close or only opened half day. Since D got the day off from work, we decided to go on a short drive to Castiglione del Lago, a small town on Lago Trasimeno (Umbria). After walking around in the old center, we stopped for lunch at Ristorante La Cantina. It was a nice relaxing lunch for the three of us. Baby Boy wasn't so much into grilled fish, but he did enjoy the patate rosmarino and a whole jar of baby yogurt (plus he finished off his left over pancake from breakfast in the car). The food and ambience was great -- very different from Siena. I had a plate of spaghetti di sapori di lago and shared a plate of grigliata mista di lago with D.

After a quick gelato stop, we headed home just in time to watch the Palio on TV. Oh yes...remember my spinach pesto? Well...Baby Boy may not have the biggest smile, but at least he was willing to give it a try. He did manage to finish his meal at the end.

ps: Although there was a slight confusion on which contrada actually won the race (Oca or Nicchio), after examining the replays, the winner was the Oca (goose) contrada. Congratulations to Giorgia -- our neighbor (& my former student).

Where's the spinach?

2007-06-27T14:32:00.000+02:00

Baby Boy turned 17 months old yesterday. He is a proper little boy, no longer a baby (although will forever be MY baby). It's been almost a month since he started attending nursery for longer periods - staying for lunch, a nap and teatime, before being picked up at 4 pm. That's a whole 6-hour stay!! There are no more tears in the morning and lots of laughter when leaving later in the day. All this development is giving D and I comfort that when I begin my new job in August, Baby Boy will be well adjusted at the nursery. Of course this does not in any way eliminate my guilt of leaving my baby for those long hours. I know that going back to work is the right thing to do - not only for myself but also for our family. And deep down I do believe that in some way it is a good thing for Baby Boy to gain his independence. But, the guilt is still there and I suppose will always be there. Although for the first month on the job I have been given flexibility regarding my work hours (at least till the new school year starts in mid September), I think there will be less time to spend on chores at home. Even with the help of D (who is working fulltime) and myself not working at the moment, it still took me a looooong time to unpack the boxes from our move in March. OK, I admit procrastination has been my friend for sometime. Anyway, since we both will be working fulltime soon, I am looking for efficient ways to keep our home life with good healthy home cooking, clean floors, laundered clothes, well-stock fridge and in the meantime having quality family time. So if any of you working families have tips for me, please do share!!

As a part of my 'quick tip' for healthy food, I decided to whip up a batch of spinach pesto. Baby Boy loves pesto, but he doesn't like spinach (although he did gobble up our friend, F's (twins' mommy), home made spinach torta -- but after that he refused any attempt of mine to feed him spinach). So I thought the best way to get him to eat spinach is to 'hide' it in a pesto. I followed the basic pesto recipe (you can find it online) and added a handful of spinach. Then I froze them in ice cube trays. Once they're set, take them out and store them in ziplock bags in the freezer. I'll report back with the results.

Friends, Food and more Food

2007-06-24T19:28:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we drove up to Cortona to meet our friends, Tania & Keith, who we haven't seen for awhile. We always enjoy our time with them, although with everything else going on, it's been quite difficult to find the time to get together. While enjoying Keith's super delicious mojitos, we caught up on the latest news from everyone. If you haven't done so already, you should check out their adventures over at Tania's blog. We also met with the newest member of their family, the very cute and cuddly (and big) Murphy. Baby Boy seemed quite amused by him, probably wondering how Murphy can be even bigger than fat cat Tequila. Later on we headed over to Osteria del Teatro for lunch. The food was delicious! I really enjoyed my primi of tagliolini with duck ragu. Baby Boy stuffed several strands of pasta in his mouth and dropped some on the floor. Thankfully in Italy, babies rule (even in posh restaurants). I also loved my dessert of mascarpone cream and lady fingers -- it was like a super fancy tiramisu of some sort. I forgot to take photographs, but then again Baby Boy was in one of his exploration moods, so my mind was somewhere else. Then it was time to say good bye and head back to Siena. We had a great time and hope to see Tania & Keith again soon.

Since I forgot to post my first attempt at making insalata di polpo, I'm going to include this here. Although D keep saying that I should've taken a picture of the whole octopus before I sliced it up, I'm glad I didn't. I love polpo -- all sliced up, but not in its 'original' form...urrgh..scary. The lady at the fish counter told me that I should put the octopus in a pan and cover it with water. Add salt and then cook it on very low heat for about 45 minutes. Of course, you want to make sure that your octopus has already been cleaned(better leave it to the pros if you're squimish like me). After the cooking period is over, cut the octopus into bite size pieces. Add this to cut up pieces of cherry tomatoes and red (bell) peppers. Dress the salad with extravirgine olive oil, salt, pepper and juice from one lemon. If you have fresh basil, throw them in as well. It's a refreshing summer meal.

OK, another quick post about food. For dinner tonight, we had roast potatoes and cherry tomatoes seasoned with herbs from the Alps which I received in my pachetto della felicita from K. It was a wonderful rustic flavor. We also had the first 'harvest' of our home grown organic mixed salad!! A round of applause to my green thumbs -- D & Baby Boy!

IL PACCHETTO DELLA FELICITA

2007-06-18T13:25:00.000+02:00

While we were in the Bay Area last year, I participated in a package exchange arranged by Fiordizucca. After a few attempts from my package 'buddy', my pacchetto della felicita finally arrived!! Who says Christmas can't come early (or later? ...heheheh..)
K thank you so much for the wonderful goodies!!!

wine from Aosta Valley, pear & wine sauce, La Saporita spice, herbs from the Alps, linen from Aosta

Cherries and playful 'boys'

2007-06-10T20:20:00.000+02:00

It's cherry season and the temperature has risen in Siena. Summer has arrived in Tuscany. A quick recap of the past few weeks events. I not only received one dream job offer, but I got a second one several days afterwards. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but at the end I chose to go with the second offer. I feel happy since I now feel that I've made the best decision. Plus, D and I will be working for the same company (although different departments), meaning that we get to have lunch together once in awhile. I won't start till August, so I've got the next two months to get Baby Boy well adjusted at nursery. So far he's doing great. He's been staying longer and having lunch at the nursery. Hopefully in the fall he can enroll in the company nursery so the three of us can just walk to school/work together. It's been a great summer so far. I'll end this post with a sweet note of D's cherry foccacia .. (recipe to follow)

..and the boys at play..

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Definetly (NOT) lost in translation

2007-05-20T22:50:00.000+02:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Indonesian :
SELAMAT ULANG TAHUN OMA! JANGAN LUPA KIRIM SAMBAL GORENG TEMPEH.

English :
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMA! hmmm...how do you say "sambal goreng tempeh" in english?

Just another lazy day ....

2007-05-15T12:48:00.000+02:00

It was one of those lazy sundays where you don't feel like doing anything except to enjoy good food and good conversation among good friends. Lucky for us, we were invited to a wonderful lunch at the home of the twins, M & G. As you can see, the kids clearly know what lazy sunday lunch is all about ..

Look....no hands!!

2007-05-11T12:19:00.000+02:00

F is for family visits, fun and (a little) fatigue

2007-05-04T12:33:00.000+02:00

Since I finally have a few minutes to log on to Blogger, I'll give you a quick run down on what we've been up to the last several weeks ....

My parents flew in from Indonesia to spend sometime with us. Although dad/opa only stayed for several days before heading back to his never-ending busy schedule, Baby Boy did enjoy a lot of quality time with him. It was great to see my dad bonded so well with Baby Boy. My mom/oma stayed with us for another 3 weeks and was a lot of help with keeping Baby Boy entertained. Every morning mom would wake up early to arrange Baby Boy's toys in some funny order, which really puts a big smile on Baby Boy's face. I can tell you, it wasn't easy dropping him off at the nursery after spending a quick play time with his Oma. Baby Boy seemed to have bonded really well with mom, that there were times when mom stepped outside the room he would cry for her. I think it's because both my parents really let Baby Boy make the first move. He's a bit like me, don't like to be rushed and told what to do ..hahah...and I'm glad that my parents really saw this in Baby Boy. I imagine it's not so easy to hold back since they don't have a lot of time to spend with him. But it's great to see how patience they were with him.

D has been really busy and going through some changes (good changes) with work. He deserves all the good things coming his way !!!

I've been busy as well, besides the daily nursery run, I've been working on several projects for a language school in Siena. Last week I suddenly got a call from another company asking me to come in and talk about a job opportunity with them. Unlike the work at the language school, the work with this company is somewhat similar to my previous work -- something that could eventually lead to a career, not just a job -- so you can imagine my excitement. Siena is a great town to live in, but a very tough place to find work, at least work that you could be passionate about. I'm still in the talking stage with this new company and it's looking pretty good. I still can't believe my luck (although it was also nice to hear the same comment about me from the director of this company)!! So I'll post again once we've settled all the details.

Baby Boy began taking his first wobbly steps two weeks ago. We're more attentive, following him around making sure he's got a place to hold on before landing on the floor. He's really proud of himself! He also went to the nursery's swim session, but didn't really like it. As usual, he likes to take it slow and do things in his own time. We're really proud about him, seeing him develop into his own personality.

I'm still cooking and eating ...but haven't bothered to take any pictures. Plus, my dad said that he prefers to see more pictures of Baby Boy instead of my latest experiment on chicken curry. Dad, the blog is called Food Scribbles!!!! I may have to start another for him called Stuff About Your Grandson.

In the meantime, warm thoughts to all out there ....

and last but not least ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPA !!!!!!!!!

Back online

2007-04-08T22:43:00.000+02:00

We've finally got our ADSL connected and we've almost unpacked all the boxes from our old place. Will post again soon ...

quick note

2007-02-21T15:07:00.000+01:00

I'm still around, still cooking and scribbling (although mostly offline) .. It's just been a bit crazy around here. We're getting ready to move house so any free time is spent on packing. I'll be back in a few weeks, although that all depends on how fast Telecom Italia can get us connected again.
Oh yes..Baby Boy is finally settling in at the nursery. We still have the usual tears in the morning, but this afternoon when I returned to pick him up, he was playing and babbling away to his teacher. My heart still sinks when I say good bye, but I've managed to control the wobbly legs and nail biting in the parking lot. But in general, we're good. Now back to packing.

anxious separation

2007-02-02T09:56:00.000+01:00

We've now reached the last day of our inserimento period at the nido. The first day was amazing, Baby Boy was so mesmerised by his new environment that he didn't seem to bother being apart from me. OK, I was only on the other side of the room across the small fence that separated the play area and the coat corner. Although busy playing, he would turn towards me once in awhile to see if I was still around. It went so great that when we got there the following day it caught me by surprise when Baby Boy refused to go with signora Simona, his teacher. After a bit of distraction they went off to join the other babies, but soon after that Baby Boy started crying. It started out as a small whine. He wasn't interested in the toys. After twenty minutes of small whines, Baby Boy got annoyed that I didn't immediately go to him. Then the water works was switched on. And once that's on, the 'pity me-I'm annoyed mama-cry' is unstoppable. Finally the very kind and patience signora asked me to join them in the play area. And then it stopped. Baby Boy started playing again, although he stayed close to me the entire time. When he seemed to be fully distracted by his toys, I quietly left the play area, and instead of sitting at the parents' waiting area, I crouched next to the coat hangers. We made it to the end of the period with no more tears. The last two days have followed a similar pattern. Crying at the beginning, playing, crying, playing and then home. The signora Simona was constantly with Baby Boy, comforting him during his crying times. And I could see that Baby Boy has started to trust her by the way he put his arms around her shoulders. So the last two days, I had to leave the nursery area for 20 minutes before returning to collect Baby Boy. This is a part of the gradual separation process. Apparently while I'm away, Baby Boy does quiet down. He started squirming again once he saw me and cries when not immediately brought to me. So today I had to drop him off and leave immediately only to return 2 hours later. He wasn't happy when I handed him to signora Simona. He didn't wail, Baby Boy was never a wailer. The teacher and child psychologist said that Baby Boy is ready to join the nursery. They think that the separation anxiety that he is experiencing is normal and he does bounce back when given the time. He's just so used to spending every minute with me. He's fine.
So here I am at home, typing away in front of the computer, to pass time. Two hours is a long time. There was no traffic jam. I stopped by the electronic shop, but that only took me 3 minutes. In the meantime, I feel like my heart has been ripped out leaving an anxious hole inside of me. I promised myself not to cry. I miss my baby so much. And before anyone tells me that it's good for him and myself -- I know. I'm just anxious. I know I have to suck it up for my baby. Only 20 minutes to go before we're together again.

ps: To my mom who has endured many anxious separation moments, thank you for teaching
me independence and staying strong in the meantime.

Zuppa di Ceci

2007-01-31T12:03:00.000+01:00

What to do when the temperature outside has dropped and all you want to do is to curl up in bed under the duvet, or in Baby Boy's case hang out on his daddy's shoulders? This is the moment when pantry food (a.k.a canned stuff) comes into play. A can of chickpeas, a couple sticks of carrots and vegetable broth equals dinner.

Zuppa di Ceci
1 can chickpeas
500 ml vegetable broth (I always have home-made broth in stock for Baby Boy's meals)
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
salt & pepper

Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly colored. Add the fennel seeds and stir. Add the chickpeas and broth, and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat. Take off the heat and blend using a handheld blender till smooth. Put back on the heat, season with salt & pepper. Serve with garlic croutons.

Happiness in a jar

2007-01-30T11:17:00.003+01:00

I am a self-proclaimed jar junkie. Any promise that comes in a jar, whether that is beauty, youth, health or wealth, I'm usually the first person in line to get one. I admit that most jars I've acquired in the past do not deliver their promises. This would leave me dissapointed in the jar and in myself for being a victim of advertisement over and over again. I just don't learn. But when I discovered Nutella for the first time, this jar has delivered its promise of creamy nutty chocolate with every spoon, finger tip, knife tip and the occasionall chopstick to get to the last bits at the bottom of the jar. And since Ms. Adventures in Italy and Shelley At Home in Rome have declared February 6 as World Nutella Day, I am more than happy to salute this miracle jar of happiness.

Nutella Banana Cake

INGREDIENTS:
300 grams all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
50 grams brown sugar
150 grams butter
80 ml vegetable oil
1 tub of TOTAL yogurt
2 ripe bananas (approximately 400 grams) - mashed
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Nutella, slightly melted over very low heat

Preheat oven to 200°F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Blend brown sugar and butter in a mixer. Scrape side of bowl. Add yogurt, banana, eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the melted Nutella and stir just until a marbled pattern develops. Pour batter into a lightly oiled and floured pan. Bake 40-50 minutes at 200°F or until cake tester comes out clean.

Midweek dinner - Spiced lamb stew

2007-01-30T11:17:00.001+01:00

When the weather is cold outside and there aren't just enough minutes to spend in the kitchen, a stew is the perfect mid-week dinner dish. While Baby Boy has his afternoon nap, I quickly prepare this dish and let it cook in the oven for an hour or so. Dinner time arrives, it's all about heating up the dish and pouring a glass of Brunello di Montalcino. Easy!

Spiced lamb stew (serves 2)

500-700 grams (more or less) lamb shoulder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
200 ml vegetable stock
1 cup of chopped prunes
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
fresh ground black pepper
all purpose flour to dust

Heat the oil in a heavy duty pan (for cooking stews, I always use my Tuscan bean pot). Dust the lamb with flour and fry until the color turns brown. Take out the lamb and set aside. Into the same pan, add the garlic and onion and all the spices. Stir until the onions are soft and lightly colored. Add the prunes and the lamb, stir once again. Pour in the stock and season with salt and pepper. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan and then cover with the lid. Cook in a 240 C over for 1.5 hours. Serve with crusty bread and a full bodied red wine.

Day 1 of inserimento

2007-01-29T11:13:00.000+01:00

I'm sure everyone is waiting to hear how it went with Baby Boy's first day of inserimento at the nido. During the inserimento period, a gradual separation process takes place over the next five days. While the children play with their teachers, parents sit in a seperate area where they can still have visual contact with the children. I sat next to a dad and a grandmother who were also there for their first day of inserimento. When I handed Baby Boy to his teacher, at first he looked a bit uncertain. But then once he was surrounded by other babies, he immediately began to interact with them. Sometimes he would crawl off to explore and a teacher would go with him. Then he would crawl back to the group and curiously begin examining the toys. At one point he slipped while trying to hold on to a rocking horse. He cried mostly because he was surprised. His teacher immediately hugged him and Baby Boy cheered up quite fast. I had to stop myself from jumping over the plastic fence to pick him up and give him a hug. I guess it's important that he starts bonding and trusting his teachers. Baby Boy babbled and played and seemed to adjust well with the new environment. So, it went really well. I didn't burst into tears and embarrassed my infant son. Although I must admit that this morning D had to drag me out of bed.

The night before ...

2007-01-28T22:24:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow morning Baby Boy and I will head off to his new nursery for the first day of the inserimento period. After seeing him interact with the other children at yesterday's party, I'm pretty much convinced that he's ready to attend the nursery. It's only 2 hours a day. I can get other things done in the meantime. And it's good for him. And it's good for me. He's ready. So why do I feel that I'm just saying all this to convince myself that I won't be sitting in the parking lot, biting my finger nails and missing my baby?

Since I don't have much to say, I'm posting this dish I made a couple of weeks ago.

Cauliflower Gratin - adapted from a Food Network recipe
2 1/2 cups milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch florets (about 7 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 generous cup finely grated Asiago cheese
Pinch of cayenne
4 gratings of fresh nutmeg
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 200 C. Butter a gratin dish and set it aside.
In medium sauce pan, heat the milk to just below the boiling point. Set aside. In another medium pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, and then sift in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Gradually whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add the cauliflower. Cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Arrange the cauliflower, florets-side up, in the buttered gratin dish.

Strain the sauce and season it with a teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne to taste. Whisk in the cheese and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the butter to coat evenly. Sprinkle the top of the cauliflower with the buttered breadcrumbs. Bake until the top of the cauliflower gratin is golden brown and bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

1 year old - the PARTY

2007-01-27T17:57:00.001+01:00

This afternoon we had five children under the age of three roaming (well, technically four were roaming while baby G watched from his seat)in our living room, while four sets of parents tried to balance a plate of food, conversation and keeping hold on wiggly little ones all at the same. It was wonderful! While the twins, Maggie & Giulia, enjoyed going on 'rides' on the big blue ball, and Baby Boy and Elena played with lego blocks, baby Gabriele watched curiously from his seat. It was interesting to watch Baby Boy interact with the other children. I think he will do well at his new asilo (nursery) next week. Now I just have to get myself adjusted to the fact that my baby is going to 'school'.

1 year old

2007-01-25T13:10:00.000+01:00

phew...we made it to a year! To be honest, despite the ups and downs of being new parents, Baby Boy has made it easy for D and I to carry out our duties as parents. Baby Boy has grown into his own personality -- an independent, bubbly, happy and easy-going little man. He has brought out the best of D and myself as we grow together as a family. As bis-nonna Maria always says when she calls 'siete una bella famiglia'. Grazie bis-nonna! And what's my take on motherhood ? One word sums it all up for me -- awesome!

Since we're celebrating I thought a traditional Indonesian tumpeng is in order. A tumpeng is basically a cone-shaped rice accompanied by several side dishes. I've made a tumpeng of nasi kuning (yellow rice) surrounded by (clockwise) stir-fried beans, coconut chicken, sambal goreng kentang (spiced potato crisps) and abon (shredded beef -- this I got from the Netherlands). An adaptation of the traditional version, but certainly an act that I hope to continue as our own family tradition. So here it is, an indonesian (expat's) in italyversion of tumpeng nasi kuning.

Scribbles Online Shop, second-hand baby store for expats in Italy

2007-01-24T09:20:00.000+01:00

I know the expat life. I've been an expat child and now I'm an expat mom & wife. So I know that for some things, you just don't want to be buying new everytime you start life in a new country. And those of you who live in Italy know that storage space is something precious, so you don't want to be hoarding too many things. Unfortunately the concept of second-hand shops isn't widely known yet in Italy, so it's not always easy to seek out goods that other expats might be leaving behind before their next move. The goods that I'll be posting on the online shop will be in good and some in excellent condition. Because as an expat, you want something good and strong to last you till the next move. So, here it is, my shameless self-promotion of a store. If you're an expat in Italy looking for second-hand baby stuff in good condition, visit Scribbles Online Shop .

Me? Weird? naaahh ....

2007-01-17T15:49:00.000+01:00

Well, maybe D and some family members will say otherwise, but I think I'm pretty normal, as far as normal can go..But since I've been tagged by Sandi at the Whistle Stop Cafe (which incidently is the exact same cafe from my favorite book and movie of all time!!) , I'll try to list 6 weird things about me which I actually find pretty normal (thus probably making it weird).

1. I'm superstitious -- I don't cut my nails after dark, it's bad luck. Why? I dunno ..just been that way forever
2. During the winter months, I'm always afraid of masuk angin loosely translated to the wind entered your body. Every ailment ranging from headache to runny nose, I think is caused by not bundling up properly while outdoors during the cold season thus causing one to have masuk angin. It's an indonesian thing...
3. My favorite daydreams are about food or rearranging furnitures (in my home or someone else's)
4. I rinse everything before they go into the dishwasher. (That's normal, right?)
5. When I was pregnant with Baby Boy, I developed a dislike to D tending the pumpkins in the garden. (yeah..that's weird)
6. This is probably what D would say about one of my weird traits -- I've got too many shoes and too many handbags. (well...don't get me started on his sunglasses collection)

That's my list. shheesh...i am pretty weird..but i'm nice, don't worry. OK, so let's see if there are other weirdos out there...

Roast lunch

2007-01-15T11:52:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, weekends are for eating .. and sorting out old clothes. On Sunday afternoon we spent a good hour putting away Baby Boy's super small clothes, and my own super big clothes (from the pregnancy). It felt good to see the once tight XL-sized shirts and jeans are actually too big for me to use. Yep..I'm (almost) back to my pre-big mama clothes. So to celebrate decreasing waist lines (and expanding one on Baby Boy), we had roast chicken and potatoes for lunch. And to prevent my waist line from increasing again, instead we had a poulet which is basically a small chicken.

Rosemary poulet and roast potatoes
Rinse the poulet under the tap and pat dry with paper towels. Rub salt and freshly ground pepper all over the chicken as well as the insides. Drizzle 1-2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and then massage it all over the chicken (how i envy the poulet...). Stick a several sprigs of rosemary in the inside of the chicken and scatter some around it. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and drizzle more oil. Roast for 45-50 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

..and for the lurking grandparents..here's our small chicken ...

What's cooking this weekend ..

2007-01-13T15:08:00.000+01:00

I love Saturdays because we get to sleep in (even Baby Boy seems to agree), relax and eat all day. When we were in the States last year, one of our favorite Saturday morning activity was to drive down to Bette's diner for their wonderful pancakes and eggs. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the diner's signed recipe collection so this morning I decided to try out Bette's buttermilk pancake recipe. Those of you who are expats in Italy, know that acquiring buttermilk in Italy can be as tricky as getting your mail actually delivered on time by Poste Italiana. The book suggested yogurt as a replacement for the buttermilk, so that's what I did. The resulting pancakes were pillowy and soft, which made us a tiny bit nostalgic of our time spent in the Bay Area.

Pancakes Alla Bette's

Yogurt Pancakes (makes 8 medium sized pancakes for 2 people)
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 eggs
1 cup TOTAL greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup unsalted butter, melted

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.In a separate bowl lightly beat the eggs with the buttermilk, milk and melted butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once, stirring just long enough to blend and let sit for 5-10 minutes. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. I used a table spoon of batter per pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes and the undersides are lightly browned, turn and cook for about 2 minutes longer, until lightly browned on the bottom.

---------------------------
So..what to do after that filling breakfast?? Bake cookies, of course!! To be honest, I am NOT a baker. Baking, in my opinion, needs to be approached in a scientific manner in the way of following the recipe to the dot, and those who know me well know I'm not always very good in following instructions. I tend to deviate from the outlined directions, although I must admit in certain aspects of my life, those deviations have ended up pretty well in my favor. But in the case of baking, not. So, since it's the weekend and D is in charge of playtime with Baby Boy, I decided to try out the simplest cookie recipe available, and this time making sure I actually followed the rules.

Sugar cookies

As a result of following the rules, I made my first non-disastrous cookies. Although at the end D had a hard time to follow his own rule of not stuffing his face with too many cookies. Next time, maybe I'll try to bend the rule a bit by adding a little less sugar.

Cutout Sugar Cookies
4 cups all purpose flour (italian OO)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar (i decided to use demerara sugar)
2 eggs
3/4 cup butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 170 C. In a bowl, sift flour and baking powder together. Stir to mix. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs. The recipe called for vanilla but I didn't use any since the italian baking powder Pan Angeli already has vanilla in it (ok, that's not following the exact rule,but old habits die hard..). Stir in flour mixture a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll out a portion of the cookie dough -- I can't tell you the exact measurement of the thickness, but I rolled it not too thin and not too thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet lined with baking paper. Bake until the edges of the cookies have changed into a light golden color.

I must add that I have a lousy oven, so I really had to keep an eye on the cookies.

-------------------------
After all that rule following, and a stroll outside to try out Baby Boy's new light weight Maclaren, it was time for some recipe adaptations. The following is an adaption of the traditional Vietnamese pho from the Pleasures of the Vietnamese table cookbook. Again this brought me back to the first time I tasted pho at Le Regal, a small vietnamese restaurant on Center street in Berkeley. The broth was rich yet at the same time light to the taste. The second time I had pho was at our favorite restaurant The Slanted Door, this time in San Francisco's Ferry Building. My pho turned out pretty good even though it was my first try. I will definitely try making this another time, hopefully recreating the traditional flavor with the ingredients I have available.

Beef noodle soup - my take on pho

My pho
300 grams ossobucco ( i used the ones with lots of meat around the marrow)
1 thumb size ginger, lightly charred
1 medium yellow onion, lightly charred
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons star anise, lightly toasted
6 whole cloves, lightly toasted

In a large stock pot place the ossobucco in 1 L of water and bring it to a boil. Skim the surface often to remove an foam and fat. Add the charred ginger and onion, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Afterwards I took out the ossobucco and cutout the meat around the marrow. Put the meat aside and return the marrow into the pot. After simmering for about an hour, add the star anise and cloves and continue to simmer for another 45 minuets. In separate bowls, assemble the pre-cooked rice noodles, meat from the marrow and all other garnishes. I used spinach, sprouts and scallions as garnishes (not traditional, but hey..it's all I've got in the refrigerator). Bring the broth in the stock pot to a rolling boil and then ladle about 2-3 cups each into each bowl. Sprinkle with deep friend shallots. Yum.

-------------------------------

Later in the evening, D was in charge of dinner. He made a very simple yet delicious pasta dish adapted from Twelve. It was the perfect ending to our weekend eating. Well, we do still have Sunday to eat ....but that's another day ...

Broccoli pasta

250 grams pipe rigate (shell shaped pasta)
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
100 grams anchovies
500 grams (?) broccoli
1 small dried chili

Cook the washed broccoli on a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Transfer the broccoli to a bowl using a slotted spoon and reserve the cooking water. Cut away the stem part of the broccoli and return these pieces to the pan of water. Divide the rest of the broccoli into florets. Heat the olive oil in a pan and then add the garlic, anchovies and chili. Saute until the garlic and anchovies melt into the oil. Add the broccoli florets and quick for a few minutes. Season with pepper and salt. Boil the pasta in the reserved broccoli water with stems. Drain and toss with the broccoli sauce. Add a cup of pasta water into the broccoli sauce and quickly mix to coat all the pasta evenly. Sprinkle with grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

old man P

2007-01-12T11:08:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we paid a visit to old man P, Baby Boy's pediatrician. It was just a regular monthly visit to check on Baby Boy's development, but D and I have always faced it with a tiny bit of nervous anticipation. Facing old man P in the examination room, which I must add is quite colorful and child-friendly, is like being called to the principle's office. And since I was a graduate of the strict catholic boarding school education system, I especially know how that feels. The Italian healthcare system can be a bit of a challenge for new (and old) expats. Most doctors don't keep a record of your health history instead you, the patient, are responsible for storing all your records and bringing them with you on every visit. OK...I'm digressing...Old man P is a grumpy, old fashion and slightly chauvinistic doctor who's attention to detail is impressive and has a gentle yet firm touch when handling children. And instead of asking us to produce mounds of paper records, he actually has a computerized record on the health history of every child in his care. He punches in a code, data and graphs flashes on his computer screen. He keeps us in check of past and future health checks for Baby Boy and wags his finger at us if he thinks we're not up to date. He would give us a print out of healthy diet for Baby Boy, everything down to menu suggestions to keep Baby Boy from being bored. So..I shouldn't complain, right?? I know...I know...but did I mention that he's grumpy?? Yesterday we got the thumbs up for Baby Boy's health and development. As we walked out of old man P's office, we felt like we've done well with the principal. And since it's the weekend, it's movie night and comfort food at our home.

Salsicce pepperoncini e fagioli
a quick adaption from Twelve a Tuscan Cookbook

(a light meal for 2 people)
2 medium sized italian sausages (I used spicy tuscan sausages we get from our local COOP)
1 can of cannelini beans
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
a sprig of rosemary
2 garlic cloves, minced

I used my beloved Tuscan bean pot for this recipe.

Pour a couple of tablesppons of olive oil into the pot and add the crushed garlic. Turn on the heat to medium high(*). Once the garlic has slighty changed color, add the sausages. Using a fork prick the sausages a couple times and then let them cook until they become slightly brown. Add the rosemary sprig, beans and tomatoes. Lower the heat and simmer until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce. Serve with thick slices of bread to soak up the sauce. Oh..a glass of Chianti would make it even better.

(*)when I took cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu, we were instructed to always add garlic into cold oil to prevent it from buring and allow the flavors to infuse the oil

with love..

2007-01-09T08:24:00.000+01:00

the joys of having a child ... instant greeting card

La Befana in Siena

2007-01-06T18:45:00.000+01:00

Today La Befana visited children in Italy. Just as the evening sky over piazza il Campo turned into a dark purple haze Befana arrived on her broom stick, flying down from the top of the Palazzo Pubblico towards the crowd waiting below. Babies, children, parents and grandparents cheered upon Befana as she landed and proceeded to throw candies into the crowd.

When we got home, instead of getting a lump of coal from la Befana, we had a delicious grilled polenta and beef stew cooked by D. We've been good indeed!

Grilled polenta and beef stew
i'll post the recipe after my nap ...zzz

Potato & leek soup

2007-01-04T18:18:00.000+01:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Potato & leek soup
4-5 medium sized potatoes - cut into quarters
1 medium sized leek - sliced thinly up to the green part
2 shallots - thinly sliced
1 garlic - minced
500 ml vegetable stock
100 ml heavy cream

Saute the leeks, shallots and garlic in olive oil. Some recipes call for butter, but with keeping with our new year, new health resolution, I opted to use olive oil instead. Once they've turned translucent, add the potatoes. Pour the vegetable stock over the vegetable. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat, or until the potatoes become really soft. Once the potatoes are soft, turn off the heat. Blend the soup using a handheld blender. Make sure there are no lumps left in the soup. Turn the heat back on, keeping it low, and then add the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.I served the soup with gorgonzolabaguettes. Just spread the cheese on a piece of bread and stick it in the oven till the cheese bubbles. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the soup.

* This is also a perfect food for babies. I took a portion of the soup for Baby Boy before adding cream, salt and pepper. He loved it!

Osteria Le Logge, Siena

2007-01-02T21:50:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we walked to the center of town to meet up with nonna, grandpa and Gx to have lunch at one of Siena's leading restaurants, Le Logge. The center of town was busy with locals enjoying a sunny winter afternoon as well as visitors coming to see the Laura Pausini concert on new year's eve. I've always said that it's difficult to find bad food in Siena. In general the osteria and trattoria in the area serve up good Tuscan food. I've heard good reviews about Le Logge from friends and fellow expats. I've been there myself a couple of times, and in my opinion the food was not exceptionally better than one of our favorite restaurants in Siena, ristorante Papei. However, I must say that Le Logge does great innovative Tuscan fares -- a creative twist to traditional dishes. The dining rooms are beautiful with wooden beams on the top floor and the kitchen can be viewed from the street. I like Le Logge for its creative interpretation of traditional tuscan dishes. I heard George Clooney dined there once. I wonder what he ate?

This is an antipasti of smoked salmon and baccala (salted cod). The combination of flavours were quite interesting. Although I thought it would be better to have the smoke salmon in fillets not chunks.
Tagliata di manzo served with mashed potatoes and picant sauce

Branzino on a bed of greens

chiangiale (wild boar) in chocolate sauce and torta mele -- I thought the combination was great!

torta di zucca -- a bit on the jello style side.

Le Logge kitchen viewed from the street.

It was a wonderful experience. And although Le Logge is considered to be a fine dining restaurant, being in Italy, children are always welcome. After lunch we strolled back to the piazza, went to our favorite gelato bar Manganelli and then took Baby Boy for his practice steps.

Osteria Le Logge
Via del Porrione, 33, off piazza Il Campo
Siena
phone: 0577-48013
closed Sundays

2007 - wishing for a year full of happiness to all

2007-01-01T10:18:00.001+01:00

A couple of days ago, nonna, grandpa and Gx (visiting all the way from San Francisco) arrived in Siena with bags laden with gifts, clothes for Baby Boy and a load of magazines for the two of us. It was nice for Baby Boy to be surrounded by family and he seemed to especially enjoyed playing cards with his grandpa. In the meantime, Siena became alive with the preparation for the new year's eve concert in the piazza Il Campo. This year the town played host to Laura Pausini, one of Italy's famous musician. We decided to stay in and enjoyed a new year's eve meal cooked by nonna. We had roast faraona (guinea hen) with a side of roasted vegetables. And keeping with tradition, we also had cotechino (a type of pork sausage) and lentils. Food was wonderful. Just as the clock striked midnight, we toasted the new year with prosecco and slices of panattone.

As I am writing this post on the first day of 2007, I look back to the full year we have just left behind. I am looking forward to the new adventures of this new year and somewhere along the way taking notes on food and daily life.

Roast faraona and veggies

Lentils

AUGURI !!!

Are you laughin' at me?

2006-12-27T21:27:00.000+01:00

Just as I was getting mentally ready to face another evening of teething tears, this happened ....

bliss ... hehe

Merry Christmas (a late post due to too much fun)

2006-12-25T09:09:00.000+01:00

We woke up this morning not to a fat Santa trying to squeeze himself down our non-existent chimney, but to a drooling teething baby shrieking and bouncing in his crib. He probably knew that this being his first Christmas, and after receiving his first gift-loaded advent calender from his nonna a couple of weeks earlier,
he is bound to see more gifts under the tree...thus the bouncing and the shrieking.

I must say, between D and myself, we are such suckers for Christmas.
Well, maybe D takes the lead, but I do follow in quite closely. This advent calender used to belong to D and now it is passed down to Baby Boy. It's been fun to see Baby Boy picking out a gift to open everyday, although I think his daddy was having a lot more fun in the process.

After a huge breakfast of pancakes, spicy tuscan sausages and eggs, we proceeded to unwrap the goodies. Baby Boy seemed quite pleased with his first dump trunk. I could see in the future a cat will be forced to ride as a passenger ... in my mommy-crystal-ball, I see a lot of hissing and crying ...

After what it seemed to be hours of never-ending honking dump truck ride, it was finally nap time for the Christmas baby. Which meant, serious eating for us grown ups!!

We had slices of percorino fresca and olives as appetizer, and for wine that we opened a bottle of Pinot Noir we brought back from California. As much as we love our sangiovese grapes, the smooth and easy drinking of the pinot noir was just perfect for our lunch.

This year we had quails stuffed with sage leaves and a side of chestnuts pancetta prune stuffing. D always says that Christmas is not Christmas without Brussel sprouts, so I made buttered pecan brussels sprouts.

Quail stuffed with sage

Wash the insides of the quail and pat dry
Rub salt and ground pepper all over the bird
Stuff the cavity with a bunch of sage leaves

Heat up a pan with olive oil and sear the bird on its sides. Approximately two minutes on each side, just to get it brown. Then stick it in a 200 C oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Buttered pecan brussel sprouts - adapted from Gourmet
1/4 cup pecans, chop into small pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Spread pecan pieces in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake until fragrant and a few shades darker, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn! Once done, take it out of the oven and place them in a bowl. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt to nuts and toss until butter is melted and nuts are coated.

Cook the Brussels sprouts in a pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Then transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain the sprouts and pat dry.

Melt remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a pan over moderate heat, then add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to moderately high, then add sprouts and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned in patches, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, pepper, and season with salt. Then stir in pecans and serve.

As a part of tradition in D's family, we ended our meal with nonna's Christmas pudding. Every year it is a competition between D and his sister, Gx (although both may deny this), to see who will get the pound hidden inside the pudding. Well, guess who got the lucky pound this year ...ME! Although without the pound, I'm already a lucky gal..

Here's a look back to one of our favorite time of the year.

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Banana Cranberry breakfast loaf

2006-12-23T21:16:00.000+01:00

I think I was half awake when I wrote this post. Now besides the endless jetlag, we've added teething to the cause of Baby Boy's wacko sleep time. I don't remember what time I got up this morning, nor do I remember if I slept at all. But I do remember that I went into the kitchen thinking I was going to make fried eggs but instead began preparing the ingredients for a banana bread. I also remember finding a half open bag of dried cranberries on the refrigerator door which I decided to add into the mix. So before I forget, here's the recipe.

4 ripe bananas - mashed
150 grams butter, softened
100 grams brown sugar
300 grams plain flour*
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs beaten
100 ml vegetable oil

*Omit the baking powder if you're using the self-rising flour. I've tried this once and it turned out pretty good.

Mix the butter and sugar till fluffy. Stir in the mashed bananas. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder together, and then add this flour mix and the beaten eggs into the banana-butter-sugar mix. Mix well so the lumps sort of disappear. At the end add the vegetable oil and mix well. Pour into a bread pan and bake at 180 C for 40-45 minutes.

Ginger pork with aubergine and cherry tomatoes

2006-12-18T23:28:00.000+01:00

I love ground coriander because it sorts of generates 'warm heat' instead of spiciness. Spices like coriander seeds, turmeric and ginger can be found at the (one and only) Asian shop in Siena. Although if you happen to live in or near Firenze, the Vivi market is a great Asian supermarket where you can get spices from Asia and other parts of the world. But I must add that I haven't managed to find kecap manis in any of the Asian shops I've visited in Italy. I had mine sent from the Netherlands, where Indonesian spices are easily found in Asian shops. With jet lag still lingering in our household, it's quite hard to focus on what to cook for dinner. So here is my take on a quick warm winter stew.

250 grams pork chops, cut into bite size pieces
1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
10 cherry tomatoes
1 piece ginger (size of your thumb), thinly sliced on a mandolin
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 shallot, sliced thinly
1/2 cup passata
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon kikkoman soy sauce
1 tablespoon kecap manis

Saute the garlic, shallots, ground coriander and ginger until slightly colored. Add the pork chops and stir until the meat becomes light brown in color. Then stir in the eggplant cubes and cherry tomatoes. Stir on high heat for 5 minutes. Pour in the passata, soy sauce and kecap manis and then turn down the heat. Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring once in awhile to make sure that all ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Serve with steamed rice.

Tour Del Gelato - Bar Manganelli in Siena

2006-12-17T07:24:00.000+01:00

Earlier this morning I stumbled across Ms Avdenvutre in Italy's Tour Del Gelato. With the grey skies and chilly temperature outside, I long for those warm summer days sitting under the big umbrellas of Bar Manganelli with the beautiful view of piazza del Campo enjoying a big coppa of gelato. I've posted a visit to our favorite gelateria back in the summer, but I'll post the pictures again here. D would always gets a coppa vienese. Whereas, I would have the affogato of vanilla gelato and espresso. Sometimes we would get a cone of gelato each, find a spot in the piazza and then let our taste buds do all the work. The chocolate gelato is so intense and creamy. Somtimes if you're lucky, you could find actual chocolate chunks in your gelato. I do hope winter passes soon.

coppa viennese

affogato - vanilla gelato con espresso

Bar & Gelateria Manganelli
Piazza del Campo
Siena, Italy

Potato gratin

2006-12-15T10:49:00.000+01:00

It's been almost one week since we arrived back in Siena. The week has gone by slowly, with jetlag, exhaustion and cold weather. Although we are glad to be home again, at times we do miss the warmer California weather. Baby Boy has been going to sleep and waking up at strange hours, leaving me feel like a zombie most part of the day. Being the great husband that he is, D came home from work early yesterday so I could take a quick power nap. Tonight he took over dinner preparation while I plonked myself down on the carpet, nibbling on cheese and olives in between sips of a glass of Chianti. In the meantime Baby Boy was busy examining a rattle in his playpen. Dinner was a dish of soul warming potato gratin. It was deliciously creamy with layers of thinly sliced potatoes and topped with bubbly asiago cheese.

D's potato gratin
1 lb potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
3/4 cup finely shredded Asiago cheese

Heat the oven to 200°C. Using a mandoline, carefully cut the potatoes into 1/8-inch slices (no thicker). Put the potatoes in a large heavy-based saucepan and add the cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and garlic. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat until the cream is boiling, stirring occasionally. When the cream boils, pour the mixture into a 2-1/2- or 3-qt. baking dish. Shake the dish a bit to let the slices settle and then sprinkle the surface with the cheese. Bake in the hot oven until the top is deep golden brown, the cream has thickened, and the potatoes are extremely tender when pierced with a knife, about 40 minutes. Before serving, let the potatoes cool until they're very warm but not hot (at least 15 minutes) or serve them at room temperature.

Travelling light

2006-12-07T19:56:00.000+01:00

It's almost time to say good bye ...

2006-12-05T05:26:00.001+01:00

Our stay in the bay area is almost coming to an end. I feel like that we've been here for such a long time, but at the same time, it also feels like time went by so fast. I guess three months is long enough to be away from home, but at the same time short enough not to feel too homesick and still able to explore and enjoy our new surroundings. We've enjoyed our time spent in the area and we will surely miss many aspects of life here. However, we are also ready to go back home. Since we don't know when we'll be back in the area again, we decided to make a return visit to some of our favorite places. In no particular order (and not necessariy done in the same day), we made a return visit to Hog Island Oyster Company and the Slanted Door at the Ferry Building, sea lion watching at Pier 39, sushi at Kirala in Berkeley, breakfast at Bette's Diner and even squeezing in time to enjoy an organic cupcake from Miette's. Yes, my favorite letter is F, which stands for family, friends, fun and FOOD!! Here is an overview of some of my favorite moments in the bay area.

F is for family and friends

2006-12-04T21:43:00.002+01:00

After attending the sunday service in Berkeley, we drove across the Bay Bridge to visit Gx. I'm always a bit anxious driving over the bridge, but the sight is quite impressive.

Gx has prepared chicken cacciatore, which was really good. It was really nice just to spend time together and exchanged stories with Gx and her friend, C. After lunch Gx and C took us on a tour of the apartment complex. This is the view from Gx bedroom.

This is the view from the roof top outdoor swimming pool.

Baby Boy enjoying time with his aunty Gx.

How to make guacamole

2006-11-27T22:13:00.000+01:00

Sales and food -- my kind of thing ..

2006-11-26T07:37:00.001+01:00

The next best thing after a great Thanksgiving meal is shopping the sales. Although Baby Boy wasn't so sure about the turkey hat.

After filling up our shopping trolley, it was our tummy that needed some filling up. We decided to try Thai Delight, a small restaurant on Shattuck serving organic thai food. I ordered a glass of Thai iced tea which was really good.

Then we shared a plate of vegetarian spring roll. I'm usually not a fan of fried food, but this springroll was good. It wasn't oily at all.

D and I ordered the same dish. I don't remember its Thai name, but it was chicken with basil, chilli, ginger cooked in osyter sauce. It was delicious.

After lunch we walked around a bit. Then we headed home because Gx was visiting. Baby Boy was keen to show his Baby Einstein dvd to his aunty Gx.

The story of the ginger breadman by Baby Boy

2006-11-26T07:34:00.000+01:00

My name is Baby Boy and I'd like to tell you a story about the Ginger Breadman. This morning my mama asked my daddy to get coffee and a cookie from the coffee shop around the corner. Daddy came back with coffee and a very special looking cookie -- a Ginger Breadman. I like the shape because it looks like a little man with a big smile. I can not eat cookies yet, but I like to hold the Ginger Breadman.

My daddy and Whisky seem to be very interested in the ginger breadman. Whisky tried to kiss ginger breadman.

Daddy loves the ginger breadman so much that he decided to give him a big kiss.

Oh no, it wasn't a kiss!!

Poor Ginger Breadman !

At the end, there was no more ginger breadman, but daddy did have a big smile on his face. And whenever my daddy smiles, I smile too! THE END

The Slanted Door -- take two

2006-11-26T07:33:00.000+01:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Slanted Door for lunch with Gx and her friend, S. This time I made the effort to take pictures of the delicious food we had. We had a great time and I also have to thank Gx for introducing me to S -- good luck on whatever adventure life brings you.

Since I was too busy eating, talking and tending to Baby Boy at the same time, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the 'shaking beef' (it doesn't really shake) and my most favorite vietnamese dish of all the Pho -- a wonderful fragrant beef noodle soup.

Flourless chocolate cake with creme fraiche and a hint of chilli powder. SUPERB!

Figs and ice cream. Another winner.

Apple crumble -- very hot and yum.

And to top it all off --- a snuggly Baby Boy.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2006-11-23T18:27:00.000+01:00

A few posts ago I mentioned about Mr. C, a family friend with a connection to Toraja which goes back almost 40 years. The C family has invited us to join their family thanksgiving lunch. As everybody started to take their place at the table, you can see all the delicious food.

Ever tasted purple potatoes ? They were good! My favorite were the green beans.

More food and wine.

C Senior and C Junior -- the ultimate turkey carvers.

A plate full of thanks. Yumm.

After filling up our tummy with all those wonderful food, the group went for a walk around the block. The sky was blue and the air was crisp. I am truly thankful for being blessed with so much love and laughter in my life.

New Toys

2006-11-22T05:52:00.000+01:00

Baby Boy and I went to Fourth street in Berkeley and got ourselves new toys..

D's coming home tomorrow. Yay!

Look Daddy .... I'm cruising!

2006-11-21T03:38:00.000+01:00

When life gives you (too much) cinnamon bread...

2006-11-21T03:15:00.000+01:00

...make bread pudding. Ever since we had the cranberry bread pudding from Gregoire's, I've been wanting to make some myself. Since I had some of Semifreddi's cinnamon bread (a good thing since I didn't have any cinnamon), a bag of dried cranberries and some slivered almonds in the cupboard, I decided to give bread pudding a try.

Cinnamon, cranberry & almond bread pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cranberries
2 cups cinnamon bread (cut into bite size pieces)
1 tablespoon melted butter
slivered almonds

Mix the milk, heavy cream, eggs, maple syrup and melted butter in a bowl. In an oven proof bowl, mix the cubed bread and cranberries. Pour the milk mixture over the bread. Sprinkle almonds over the surface of the dish. Create a kind of water bath by placing the baking bowl in the center of a baking dish filled with water. Bake for 45 minutes at 400 F.

Dinner came in small packages ...

2006-11-20T04:56:00.000+01:00

Since D is out of town on special assignment (Good luck honey!), it's just me around to eat grown up food (although Tequila thinks he's perfectly fine eating human food -- grown up or not). After meeting Gx for some nephew and aunty time (which included coffee and desserts), I didn't feel like having a big meal afterwards. So I decided to make pot stickers to snack on after putting Baby Boy to bed. I rummaged through the refridgerator and found some stuff I could use as my fillings. I didn't follow a traditional recipe, but it turned out pretty good. Baby Boy was keen to help out in the kitchen.

The filling:
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup snap peas, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 dry white wine

Heat oil in a pan and fry the garlic and onion. Then add the chopped vegetables. Add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup white wine, lower heat and let simmer till all the liquid has evaporated. Put the fillings aside and let cool.

Spoon a teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonyon wrapper and bring the edges together to form a triangle. I brushed the sides with water to help them stick together.

Heat oil in a pan and place the pot stickers on its side. Once one side browned, I flipped it to the other side. Then pour a cup of water over the pot stickers. Cook for a few more minutes and then scoop the little packages out.

Not bad ...

How do you say take out in french?

2006-11-18T00:17:00.000+01:00

Why do people get take outs? Is it because they can't/won't/too lazy/too busy (to) cook? Or is it because you can get quality food in cute brown boxes from Gregoire's? Well, my excuse is that I wanted to try food from Gregoire's after reading great reviews about this take out place. Gregoire was started by a funny hat-wearing french-trained chef, Gregoire Jacquet. You can read all about him here .

I've walked passed by Gregoire's almost everytime when I'm in the gourmet ghetto district. Its tiny kitchen/reception area opens out to a couple of tables and benches on the sidewalk porch. Since the tables are almost always occupied, it's best to pre-order and pick up the food to enjoy at home. I called in to place our order and we went to pick it up in the evening after D got home from work.

Our order:

Rib eye steak with bourbon glaze.
Marinated lamb chops
The famous crispy potato puffs.
Gruyere cheese potato gratin.
Cranberry bread pudding --- which was out of this world!!

C'est delicieux!

For a limited time...checkout the talking baby..

2006-11-17T17:33:00.000+01:00

For the next 14 days, you can catch the latest on what Baby Boy has been up to via this link

http://www.budsmack.com/slip/qG7Ck1L22XgsS5ox7PbxIa .

ps: There wasn't much choice available, so for now Baby Boy is Scottish. Enjoy!!
ps: ...and yes .... us parents are sleep deprived :)

Comfort food

2006-11-17T08:10:00.000+01:00

Today we woke up to another rainy day. Fall has finally arrived. After a few days of stuffy nose and constant coughing, I am finally feeling a lot better. Although my taste buds haven't fully recovered, comfort food seemed to be the proper way to go.

recipe to follow ...

special note to the grandparents ...

Baby Boy is almost over his cold, although he still has a bit of a runny nose. He's back into his bouncy mode, grabbing to the railings of his cot trying to get himself up. The past few days he's been babbling a lot -- especially during nappy change. He's almost crawling properly, rocking back and forth on his knees testing his balance.

Top Dog

2006-11-16T05:48:00.000+01:00

i know, not much note on home cooking. but doesn't my top dog look deliciously cute ?

Tag along ...

2006-11-15T00:36:00.000+01:00

found this here.

You can only type one word. No explanations.

Yourself: sick
Your partner: working
Your hair: short
Your Mother: creative
Your Father: leader
Your Favorite Item: ring
Your dream last night: forgot
Your Favorite Drink: wine
Your Dream Car: classic
Your Dream Home: light
The Room You Are In: livingroom
Your Ex: past
Your fear: losing
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? home
Who you hung out with last night: hubby
What You're Not: uptight
Muffins: banana-nut
One of Your Wish List Items: oven
Time: fast
The Last Thing You Did: dishes
What You Are Wearing: pyjamas
Your favorite weather: cool
Your Favorite Book: many
Last thing you ate: couscous
Your Life: full
Your mood: ok
Your Best Friends: relaxed
What are you thinking about right now: scarf
Your car: nice
What are you doing at the moment: blogging
Your summer: hot
Relationship status: married
What is on your tv: off
What is the weather like: sunny
When is the last time you laughed: today

Baby scribbles #6: What to do on a rainy day

2006-11-13T23:16:00.000+01:00

- put clean clothes away
- put baby in basket

...then find cat in baby doughnut ...

a life of abundant blessings ...

2006-11-12T06:04:00.000+01:00

Make an online slide show at onetruemedia.com

Straits Restaurant

2006-11-12T02:45:00.000+01:00

This afternoon we went to meet Gx, my sis in law, at the Westfield Center in San Francisco. The BART stopped right below the mall, so there was no need to walk outside in the rain (I do hope we'll be getting some more warm weather before heading back to Siena). Since we got there a bit early, we walked around the mall and admired the beautiful glass dome. Oh yes, and my search for the perfect pair of winter boots has ended.

Considering that it was the Veteran Day's sale in most of the department stores, the mall wasn't as busy as I expected. We were meeting Gx for lunch along with Laura and James, two friends holidaying from the UK. After everyone turned up, we headed to STRAITS, a singaporean restaurant located on the fourth floor across Bloomingdales. Our waiter explained that the dishes were served family style -- meaning that each dish would be shared among everyone at the table. It was exactly like Slanted Door's style. Each of us ordered a dish (except for Baby Boy) to be shared. The first dish that arrived was sashimi. I must say I was a bit disappointed to see that the portions were quite small. Much smaller than I expected (since I assumed it would be just like Slanted Door's generous portions). Fish was fresh though.

David ordered a plate of crab cakes. It was tasty, but again .. small portion..

My picture taking wasn't the greatest since I had a stuffy-nose baby in one arm. Baby Boy wasn't too cheery at lunch time. He still has a tiny bit of runny nose, which was probably making him quite uncomfortable. The rice noodles with seafood was good. I think that was my favorite dish.
My second favorite dish was the seafood curry -- fresh and spicy!
I ordered the beef rendang. I must say, it wasn't the rendang I'm used to, but the pandan polenta was good although a bit odd combination in my opinion. Nothing can beat plain steamed rice and rendang (spicy and hot!).

In general, the food was OK. The restaurant was a bit noisy. D gave it a 2-3 star. I must say that Straits didn't go straight to my heart -- unlike the Slanted Door (and yes, I will post the one on Slanted Door, Gx!! But we must go back there again). After lunch we parted ways with Laura and James, and headed to the family lounge. I love that place. There were toys and changing stations, as well as nursing rooms available. There was even a special bathroom for parents with kids. Baby Boy's mood picked up during playtime with daddy and his aunty Gx.

Baby scribbles #5: HINT HINT

2006-11-11T17:09:00.000+01:00

Although Baby Boy (and now mommy) is still feeling a bit poorly, this has not stopped him from giving hints ....

Baby Scribbles #4: Baby cold

2006-11-08T18:42:00.000+01:00

Two days ago Baby Boy had a fever. At first we thought it was due to teething. He (and us) didn't get much sleep that night. Poor little man, he was restless and uncomfortable. The next morning the fever went away only to be replaced by a runny nose and little coughs. The doctor told us that Baby Boy has a cold. We're trying to make him as comfortable as possible and thankfully he seems to be getting better, at least he seems to be a bit more cheery. This is a typical morning in our home.

Moules à la marinière

2006-11-06T21:09:00.000+01:00

I had half a bottle of white wine in the fridge and didn't want it to go to waste. So I searched the web and stumbled across this recipe. It's pronounced mool-ah-lah-mah ree nyer, that's french for mussels with white wine and butter. When I was living in the Netherlands, I remember visits to Zeeland and drives to Bruge for mussels cooked in beer or in cream broth. I made minor adjustments to the recipe below. It was really good that we ate it all up before I even remembered to take a picture. Oh well..

My version (for 2):
1 lb of mussels, rinsed and scrubbed. Pull out the 'beards' and rinse under cold water.
2 cups dry white wine
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped parsley and cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon of butter

In a pan, combine wine, onion, garlic and salt in a large stockpot and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mussels. Cover the pot and increase heat to high.Cook about 5 minutes or until all the mussels have opened.Stir in the herbs and the butter. Remove from heat.

Divide the mussels among 2 soup bowls. Pour the broth over the mussels and serve immediately with some crusty bread for sopping up the juice.

Time differences

2006-11-06T01:58:00.000+01:00

This is not a post about food, but more about time. Since my blog was registered based on western Europe time, depending on my time of posting while I'm in the Bay area, there will be discrepancies of what I'm talking about (i.e. my previous post was dated on Monday, but I was talking about Sunday outings) and the date on the post.

Eats, shoots and (tea) leaves

2006-11-06T00:38:00.000+01:00

Earlier this morning we had a homemade (a.k.a made at home while still half asleep) breakfast of eggs, spicy italian sausages and sweet potato homefries. Somehow between relaxing and getting ready to go to Sunday service in Berkeley, we (inlcuding the cats) dozed off and didn't wake up until it was too late to go. I think all the early wake up sessions finally caught up with us. Fortunately we were on time to leave for Baby Boy's photo shoot appointment with Adina Meastas at Waddle & Swaddle in north Berkeley. Although not showing much of his usual giggles, baby boy smiled and posed for the photographer for a whole 20 minutes. He was such a good boy. Once we get the images from the studio, I'll post one online.

All that modelling left us parents a bit hungry. So we strolled towards Epicurious Garden where we usually would pick up a pint of soup at SOOP or sushi from Kirala's take away counter. Instead of going in through the usual front entrance, we decided to check out the small garden patio in the back. A path next to a small made up waterfall led us to the door of the Imperial Tea Court.

We decided to give it a try. Glass containers filled with different types of tea leaves lined the counter and shelves of the restaurant. Over the counter we could see a lady working on a batch of hand pulled noodles. We ordered a bowl of the Spicy Tea House noodles, pot stickers and handmade steamed buns.

D had the Organic Sparrow Tongue Dragon Well (impressive name!!) and I had the Imperial Sliver Needle Jasmine which had the most amazing fragrance. I'm not really into tea, but when our tea arrived in cute little pots, I thought maybe I could be a tea drinker after all.

It was a nice lunch. I loved my tea and our server even showed me how to properly drink from the little pots so I don't end up drinking the tea leaves. After lunch we strolled around the gourmet ghetto, grabbed coffee at Peet's and then headed home. It was another summery day in the east bay. Amazing.

Breakfast, Trees and Bridges

2006-11-05T03:14:00.000+01:00

Finally..the weekend. We woke up really early this morning (as usual..) to Baby Boy's on the dot 5:30 am gurgles and babbles. Outside the bedroom door Whisky was meow-ing away, apparently trying to let us know that his brother, Teqs, has shut himslef again in the spare bathroom. We (well, actually I, since David could continue sleeping even though a train would pass right over his head) decided to drag myself (David followed by throwing himself) out of bed and got breakfast ready for the little ones: baby & two cats. After a brief chat with nonna and baby boy showing off his 'crawling/rolling' skill via the web cam, we headed off to Bette's Oceanview Diner located in the lovely shopping district of Berkeley's Fourth street.

This was our second breakfast at Bette's. Since we had such a pleasant experience from our first visit and we just love the food and setting, we couldn't resist going for a second time. The diner setting had the 'authentic american' diner style from the 50s and 60s, complete with booths and a jukebox. At 8:30 am the diner was packed with families with babies, couples, friends and it seems anyone who enjoys breakfast. Initially I wanted to try their french toast, but after our waiter told us about the specials, I just had to try it. Since it was my first coffee of the day, I ordered a cappucino. It was good .. as good as how it looked in the picture below.

Since it was early and it had stopped raining, we planned to drive up to Muir Woods, which meant that we had the perfect excuse to have a big breakfast.

I had one of the day's special -- pumpkin pancakes, eggs and sausages. David had two eggs over-easy, a couple of strips of crispy bacon, home fries and an apricot scone. Oh yes, and he had a short stack of buttermilk pancakes. Everything was so good. I am sure that this won't be our last breakfast at Bette's.

* I forgot to say that on our first visit to Bette's Diner, I also purchased their cookbook The Pancake Handbook . The book contains not only favorite pancake recipes but also tips on the cooking process. I look forward to trying out the recipes when we're back in Siena.

After breakfast we got back into the car and headed off to Muir Woods. We crossed the San Pablo bay on the Richmond San Rafael bridge and then drove towards Muir Woods. In approximately 30 minutes we arrived on Muir Woods road which was a winding round leading to the main entrance of the park. Just as we pulled into the parking lot, baby boy woke up from his nap.

We decided to follow the shortest trail in the park -- a 30 minute loop trail that led back to the entrance. Being inside the park among huge redwoods was an amazing feeling. It's not easy to describe so you have be there in person to understand.

Ever heard the new ABC (or was it NBC??) series Men in Trees?? Well, these are my men inside the trunk of a redwood.

And this is me with my little man in front of it.

Check out the curly bark !

Since we were in the area, we decided to check out Muir beach. It was a winding 15 minute drive down the hill. It was a sandy beach, making it really tough to push the stroller with a big baby. So at the end I carried baby boy and David carried the stroller to a small made up camp fire area on the beach. As we listened to the waves of the Pacific ocean crashing on the shore (and keeping a watchful eye on one really big black crow that was hanging out on the beach) baby boy enjoyed his lunch of blueberry yogurt. We didn't stay so long and decided it was time for lunch. HAH! So we drove to Buckeye Roadhouse near the entrance to Highway 101 Suth (direction San Francisco). The restaurant was busy but luckily we had a reservation. Since we arrived early and our table wasn't ready, we decided to have our drink and an appetizer in the lobby. I had a glass of MUMM Brut Prestige (Napa N.V.) and D had a glass of 2001 Rodney Strong Merlot from Sonoma. We also had a plate of calamari fritto misto to share. Our table was in a room with a huge fire place and wood panelling on the walls and ceiling. It was really a beautiful setting. Since we were not so hungry (remember the huge breakfast?) we decided to go easy on lunch. I ordered a plate of smoked chicken salad with apples, pecans and blue cheese and David had a plate of crab salad. The food were good. I took a picture of my salad, but had to delete it so I could take the last picture on this post. I forgot to mention that my new camera arrived yesterday and I'm loving it. It came with a memory card which unfortunately only holds several photographs. I also ordered an extra memory card that can hold at least 100 pictures, but due to my excitement last night (and laziness) I forgot to insert the larger size memory card into my camera. So anyway, you're just going to have to take my word that the Buckeye Roadhouse dining room setting was beautiful and the food was good. Although according to David's star rating (we'll go into that in another post), Buckeye got 3 stars -- 2 stars for the food (good but nothing special) and 5 stars for the location (which will make more sense in the next paragraph). Anyway, he just chimed in saying that he regretted not having the cherry pie (Hmmm...). Several guests stopped by at our table as they were heading out to let us know that we've got such a cute baby. We thanked them gracioulsy (with smiles that strecthed across our faces), but also remembering what nonna's words on baby boy -- Che Bello !! Yep...we're proud parents.

Since the entrance to the highway leading to San Francisco was just a few meters away from the restaurant, we decided to drive towards the city and cross the Golden Gate bridge -- our second bridge crossing of the day. I took video footages as we crossed the bridge. After the toll bridge we pulled into the viewing point parking lot where we could get a better look at the bridge. It was an impressive sight!!

We finally got our Golden Gate bridge shot. Afterwards, we got into the car, drove across San Francisco towards the Bay bridge that would bring us back home to Emeryville. The was heavy traffic flow towards the Bay bridge entrance. Baby Boy woke up from his nap just as we crossed the bridge and drove towards our exit. It's been a very wonderful day.

Baby scribbles #3: First ever haircut

2006-11-02T06:29:00.000+01:00

This week was haircut week for the entire family. For Baby Boy and the two boys (cats), it’ll be the first ever haircut for them. I found Cool Tops for Kids hair salon based on recommendations on the very informative Berkeley Parents directory. The cool thing about this salon, they also give grown ups haircut. Since D wanted to get his haircut as well, I made an appointment for him to have his hair cut after Baby Boy’s. As first time parents, the video camera and digital camera are our best friends. We have documented almost every move that Baby Boy had made from birth. Since this is Baby Boy’s first hair cut and first trip to the hairdresser, we wanted to document the entire process.

There were three types of chairs inside Cool Tops – a regular swivel chair, a rocking horse and a car! Since Baby Boy was still too young to sit on his own, I held him while sitting in the regular chair. The stylist popped in one of those Baby Einstein DVDs and started combing Baby Boy’s hair. I was a bit nervous but the stylist was very gentle, yet precise. In less then 15 minutes he was done. Baby Boy had his picture taken with his new haircut. He also received a ‘first hair cut’ certificate with a little bag of proof. SUPER!

D had his hair cut afterwards, but since he’s done this many times before, I don’t think it’s that interesting ..hahah..I got my haircut the next day. Nothing interesting to tell as well, besides that my hair is now shorter.

Then it was the cats’ turned to be groomed. Tequila had matted hair on his back which must be shaved off to allow healthy hair growth. Whisky had some patches of matted hair which also needed attention, although not as bad as Teqs. But in general, the boys were due for a good bath (which I couldn’t do anymore since I only have two hands and not enough time!) and nail trimmings – their own kitty manicure and pedicure. Early Friday morning we dropped the cats off at Pet Smart’s Grooming center. After check in, the groomer took the boys and I was told to pick them up at the end of the day. When we came back later in the day, before heading to the grooming center we did a bit of browsing in the store and picked up a couple of treats. I had to help the staff put the boys back into their travel crate since both of them weren’t so happy after the bath. Poor cats, but they did look and smell good. Teqs looked a bit funny with his partially shaved back, but I’m sure he’s feeling much better without the matted hair. Plus the hair will grow back in a short time.

Tequila

Whisky

Wine country scribbles #3: Napa and beyond

2006-11-02T06:28:00.000+01:00

After a light breakfast at the hotel, which included Baby Boy rolling around on the floor, we packed our bags and headed to Napa. We arrived in the center of Napa just as the shops were opening. We headed to the visitor information center to find out things to do in town. Our first impression of Napa was that the town wasn't as 'quaint' as Sonoma. The 'old' center was made to look old and had little character. As recommended by the visitor's center, we strolled towards the Napa Valley roasting company to get our second shot of (decaf) morning coffee and breakfast pastries. Afterwards we walked to the Hatt Building (which at first I thought it was a shop selling hats -- imagine my disappointment) which has the view of the river. The river view wasn't so impressive due to ongoing construction work. So we decided to get back in the car and head north to Yountville. Baby Boy woke up from his nap just as we pulled into the parking lot of Domaine Chandon, just outside of Yountville. The visitor's center was set before a beautiful garden. The tasting room was already busy with visitors. At first we planned to have lunch at their restaurant, but after a quick look at the menu, we decided to head off into Yountville to find something more appetizing.

After parking our car, we walked up and down Washington street looking at the menus of restaurants on that road. It was a toss between Bistro Jeanty and Bouchon. We chose Bouchon and it was a good choice indeed. As it belonged to the famed French Laundry group, we expected to get great food. To make a long delicious story short -- it was WONDERFUL!! David had a glass of sparkling Domaine Chandon Brut Classic NV to accompany his crab salad roll served with a generous portion of fries. I had the croque madame and side of french beans. Inside the restaurant there was the feeling of a bustling french bistro, and sitting next to an older french couple made it even more like we're in Paris. Even the waiter was great. The way he explained the specials and answered questions about the food, made me want to eat the leather covered menu! After lunch we went next door to the Bouchon bakery to pick up some pastries for breakfast at home as well as a little something to enjoy in the garden patio behind the bakery. As we sipped our coffee and enjoyed our pastries, we thank our lucky stars for a wonderful trip. After two days of wining and dining, we decided to head home to beat the rush hour traffic. The only downer was that my camera completely died just before sitting down for the meal at Bouchon. But David took some video footage and as soon as we figure out how to upload it, I'll be including it in this post.

Wine country scribbles #2: Saddles at MacArthur

2006-11-01T00:20:00.000+01:00

After a busy day of eating, drinking and playing in the park, we went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out to dinner. Did I mention that we love food? Most of you may wonder how we could go to all these restaurants with a 9 month old infant in tow. Our trick is to go for lunches because Baby Boy is always in his best during the daytime. And as for dinner, we would reserve a table for the earliest seating. In America, that would be around 5:30pm and Italy it would be around 7pm. We always make sure that Baby Boy has an afertoon nap, which helps when we venture out for dinner. And since he started on solids, we always sit down for a meal together, except on evenings when David and I have our alone time after Baby Boy is in bed.

We strolled to Saddles located at the MacArthur hotel several blocks south of the Sonoma plaza. It was a lot cooler so we all bundled up. We arrived 15 minutes before our reservation so we decided to have apperitivo in the lobby. I had a Flir-tini, a martini cocktail I first heard on the show Sex & the City, and D had a classic.

When they said Saddles, they meant saddles .. everywhere! There were several saddles scattered around the restaurant as well as a big wooden horse which Baby Boy found a bit amusing.

Then our table was ready. Baby Boy even had his own chair. He's ready to for dinner.

We started with a plate of fried calamari and rock shrimp. They were fried in a crisp and light batter and tasted so good with a bit of lime juice.

For our mains, I had the pot roast, which according to the menu was a local favorite. The mashed potatoes were so light and full of flavor. David had a filet mignon served with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

We shared a half bottle of pinot noir during the meal. Everything was so good. I must mention that David's filet mignon was EXCEPTIONALLY good! It was cooked to perfection and the meat just melted in your mouth.

For dessert we shared a vanilla creme brulee which brought the whole meal to a perfect end. The walk back to the hotel was good for the digestion after all the great food we ate. After a warm bath, we all snuggled in bed ending another perfect day.

Saddles at MacArthur Place

29 East MacArthur Street Sonoma, CA 95476

http://www.macarthurplace.com/dining.php

Wine country scribbles #1: sideways and a baby swing

2006-10-31T17:39:00.000+01:00

This past weekend we did our own little sideways in California's wine country. Since we were going to stay overnight, we had to get everything ready for the cats' home alone stay in the apartment. After an early breakfast and making sure the cats had enough food and water and both their litter boxes cleaned and fresh, we headed up north to Sonoma. It was a nice drive and a shorter one than I expected. As we drove towards Sonoma, vineyards started popping up on both sides of the highways with rolling hills in the background. It wasn't like the rolling hills of Chianti, but it was beautiful in its own way. Our hotel was just two blocks off the historical Sonoma plaza. After leaving our car at the hotel, we walked towards the plaza to find a place for lunch. Quaint boutiques lined the streets surrounding the plaza selling country-ish bric bracs which on the spur of the moment might make you think you need it, but in reality is just another duct collector. The plaza was more like a huge park/playground in the center of town. We strolled slowly under the warm sunshine towards the Girl & the Fig located on the top corner of the plaza. The beautiful country style garden patio was busy with people enjoying Sunday brunch. We both started with a glass of bloody maries -- a balsamic bloody mary for me and a classic style for David. We munched on warm bread and soft butter while waiting for our dishes to arrive. In the meantime, Baby Boy enjoyed his baby yogurt of mixed berries and baby rice. Then our food arrived.

David had a generous portion of fritatta with a side of salad and I had grilled cheese sandwich with a generous pile of matchstick fries. Food and setting were great !

After lunch we continued walking around the plaza. We followed a sign that said Chocolate Cow which led us into a small courtyard with shops all around it. The Chocolate Cow is a small shop selling homemade fudge, chocolates, candies and ice cream. We each had a small cup of coffee (decaf espresso macchiato for me and regular latte for D) and shared a cup of hot fudge sundae. it was so GOOD !!

Hot fudge sundae from the Chocolate Cow

At the Visitor's Center, we were told about a vineyard not far from the plaza. To walk off the recent indulgence, we decided to walk to Sebastiani. It was a good 15 - 20 minute walk to get to Sebastiani. I must say, that we are a family of walkers. In Siena, we walk everywhere. We only use the car to do the weekly shopping, if we actually go to the big supermarket. Anyway, the entrance to the winery was pretty. It had a courtyard with a big fountain in the center and a touch of old Europe. We decided not to do the tour since it wasn't going to be much fun for Baby Boy anyway. So David and I decided to do a tasting. We were offered a free tasting of either a chardonnay or a merlot. I chose the chardonnay and D the merlot. The chardonnay was good, not too acidic but instead it was crisp and light at the same time. We had the option to do a tasting of a couple of wines. I decided not to do one. David tried the three reds they had on the tasting menu.

Sideways ...

We bought a bottle of their zinfandel as well as a special box for wine shipping. After getting ourselves together, we walked back into town through a small path next to the vineyards. The walk back was really nice. We went to the park and Baby Boy had his first ride on the baby swings. I was a bit terrified but he was having a lot of fun.

Cilantro pesto

2006-10-28T05:31:00.000+02:00

new camera hasn't arrived yet ...

Since we arrived in the bay area, we've set out to try different types of food. As much as we like our Tuscan food, it's wonderful to have the option to try cuisines from other parts of the world. Unfortunately we don't really have that option in Siena. Anyway, some weeks ago we bought a parsely walnut pesto from the famed Berkeley Bowl (it reminded me of open markets in Indonesia, although BB is clearly cleaner and well organised). Back to the pesto ... it was an interesting flavor. Very nutty but not as 'fresh' tasting as basil pesto. David (= hubby) suggested I try making pesto with an asian twist. So after shopping for the ingredients at BB, here's my take on pesto ...

Cilantro pesto
a bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup of roasted peanuts
3-4 lime leaves
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
juice from 1 lime
extra virgin olive oil

Pulse all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the leon juice. Pulse again. On low speed, add the olive oil until the mixture resembles a coarse paste. Store in container and refrigerate.

The cilantro and lime leaves gave the pesto a bit of a 'kick'. In the future I'd like to try adding lemongrass, for a fresher taste. I'm looking forward to use my pesto mix with the rice noodles I just bought as well as using it as marinade for poultry or fish.

Ferry ride and a long walk

2006-10-23T19:53:00.000+02:00

These are the last pictures taken with my old camera before it goes into retirement.

It was another beautiful day in the bay area while we waited to board the ferry that would take us to Sausalito. The sky was blue, sun was shining, cool breeze .. a perfect day for a ferry ride.

We boarded the Golden Gate Ferry from the Ferry building. The 30 minute trip went by quickly. Before we knew it, we arrived in Saulsalito. Unfortunately pictures I took during the ferry trip didn't come out so well. But in the future I will upload a short video that hubby took during that trip.

Sausalito is a cute little town with cute shops and restaurants. After strolling along the main street, we settled at Scoma's for lunch. We sat on the sun drenched terrace with a beautiful view of the bay. I had a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder and hubby got himself a sandwhich of fresh bay shrimp.

Manhattan clam chowder

Ready....set....

yumm.....

After our wonderful lunch we popped in a candy shop selling Salt Water Taffy -- something that sparked our curiosity. The taffies are chewy and not too sweet. Not salty at all!! With a small bag filled with several different flavors of salt water taffy, we headed back to the ferry landing. This time we decided to take the Blue and Gold fleet back to Pier 41 at the Fisherman's Wharf. The ferry ride to Fisherman's Wharf also took 30 minutes. This time we got a closer view of the Golden Gate bridge. It was beautiful.

After disembarking the ferry, we walked towards Lombard street -- San Francisco's windy road. It was quite hilly just to get to the bottom of Lombard, and pushing the stroller with a big baby was definetly a good workout. Hubby and I took turns pushing, hoping that this walk will burn off some of the pecan pie we had the night before.

to be continued ... (bed time ...)

Cha Am Thai Restaurant

2006-10-21T07:32:00.000+02:00

Two postings in one day. That's some achievement in my blogger world. Anyway, we drove to Berkeley's gourmet ghetto earlier this evening for some thai food at Cha Am. The restaurant was packed, but luckily we managed to get a table. Since we had the stroller with us, we entered through the wheel chair entrance around the corner on Cedar St. We had to go through a small narrow lane, which was lined with garbage bins, and entered from the back of the restaurant. It wasn't the most pleasant way to enter a restaurant. After we were seated, the waitress brought two silver colored bowls to the table and then proceeded to take our orders. I was quite excited because the presence of these bowls, which I thought to be finger bowls, gave me the impression that we will be having something "authentic". Well, it turned out that these finger bowls were our drinking water. The revelation was quite a turn off for me because in Indonesia nobody would drink water out of a bowl that looks like a place where you're meant to dip your fingers before/after a meal. Plus, these bowls were made of aluminum, another turn off. At the end I ordered iced tea, which turned out to be pretty good (was served with a dash of coconut cream or condensed milk). Hubby had chicken green curry and I ordered deep fried fish in chilli and garlic sauce. Our starters were the best part of the meal, a plate of deep fried spring roll filled with veggies and sweet potatoes, served with a peanut dipping sauce. Before the finger bowls/drinking water revelation, I was a bit dissapointed that I've forgotten to bring my camera. But at the end, it really didn't matter. Food was alright, service was alright, price was alright. I guess it was alright. Would I go back there? Most likely not. Baby Boy had apple yogurt and prune juice. Highchairs available.

Cha Am Thai Restaurant
1543 Shattuck (cross street Cedar)
Berkeley, CA 94709

chocolate and naps

2006-10-21T07:07:00.000+02:00

One of our things to do in Emeryville is a visit to the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory. Unfortunately, they don't admit children under 10 years old to go on their chocolate factory tour. So to make up for that, we decided to have breakfast at Cafe Cacao located at the factory. Chocolate was in the air upon entering the cafe. Hubby had his morning latte and a semi sweet chocolate scone,

while I had the scharffen berger mocha and a chocolate croissant. It was a really good start to a Friday morning.

..then after some playtime, it was time for a nap ....

Doyle Street Cafe in Emeryville

2006-10-18T23:10:00.000+02:00

Last weekend we went to visit a long time friend of my family, a retired professor who in the past did some study on my family and the region where we come from in Indonesia. We spent the afternoon talking about families, culture and enjoying good food in the meantime. We left with a full stomach and memories of a wonderful time as well as a list of where to eat and things to do while we're in the area.

Doyle Street Cafe was on our list of where to eat, and since it wasn't far from our place we decided to go there for breakfast on one sunny morning. The cafe was located on a quiet street in a pretty neighborhood of Emeryville. Hubby ordered a stack of buttermilk pancakes with pecan butter and a side dish of bacon, and I decided to try the Miquel Moraga omelette filled with cheese, green chile and tons of veggies. Hubby had a cup of house blend coffee and I had a cappuccino, which I must admit was the best coffee I've had since arriving in the area. Overall the food was great and the service was fast and efficient.

my artistic shot of my huge omelette

buttermilk pancakes with pecan butter

* At our second visit to Doyle's, David had the Huevos Rancheros omelette. He skipped lunch because he was still full from breakfast!!

Doyle Street Cafe
5515 Doyle Street (and Standford)
Emeryville, California

www.doylestreetcafe.com

Kirala - 2100 Ward St, Berkeley

2006-10-13T05:26:00.000+02:00

Between adjusting to our new surroundings, a busy hubby, going on foodie ventures, a teething baby and two lazy cats, my postings have taken a back seat. But tonight I've decided to immediately post our latest foodie outing just because it's been such a pleasant experience.

Last weekend on our way to Shattuck Avenue's gourmet ghetto district, we passed by Kirala and saw a long line outside the restaurant at 6:30pm. Apparently Kirala serves up fantastic japanese food and does not take reservations. So we decided to make our way there on a weekday evening for an early dinner to avoid the lines.

After placing our orders, we were served salad with a tangy sesame dressing. Our server also brought us steaming cups green tea. For starters we ordered a plate of seafood and veggie tempura. I especially loved the sweet potato and green bean tempura. The batter was crispy and not oily at all.

Then my agedashi tofu arrived. I LOVE tofu. The shaved bonito (tuna flakes)and ginger complemented the silky deep fried tofu. I love tofu -- which reminded me of a restaurant I went to in Tokyo some years ago that only served tofu on their menu. Cold silky tofu for dessert. Yum.

The next dish to arrive was yaki nasu, a very tender japanese eggplant topped with bonito. It was delicious.

Hubby had chirashi sushi -- a selection of sashimi and veggies served over sushi rice. Everything was presented beautifully.

I had nabeyaki udon, which is a bowl of noodles served with shrimp tempura, egg and veggies.

So far everything was wonderful. To end our meal, we had tempura ice cream and green tea ice cream served with azuki bean paste.

Food and service were great. Baby Boy had organic mango chicken puree and apple juice. He was very well behaved. I would recommend Kirala -- although if you want to avoid the lines, come early (or avoid the weekends). Highchair available.

Kirala
2100 Ward St
Berkeley, CA 94705

5 things to eat before you die ..

2006-09-24T06:16:00.000+02:00

Thanks to PennyLane who tagged me for 5 things to eat before you die. It's taken me awhile to get back online since our temporary move to the Bay area, so I hope it's not too late. Here's my top 5 ...

5. Tagliata di Montalcinese at ristorante Papei in Siena :
slices of juicy steak medium rare, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil
4. Ma Teresa's Ravioli di Zucca with Italian sausage ragu -- heaven!!
3. Dim sum
2. Japanese food -- sushi, sashimi, ramen
1. Sfoglia di marzipane (light puff pastry filled with almond paste) from the pasticerria near our
apartment in Siena

I can go on, but that's for another time ..

Here are the other 5 foodies I'm tagging ..
Gia, Tania, Bea, HomeMades and Eliza

Scribbling from the East Bay

2006-09-23T08:50:00.000+02:00

Currently in Emeryville for the next three months, about 15 minutes across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. After an 11 hour flight with Baby Boy and two fat cats in the hold, I'm looking forward to scribble our Californian adventure. Stay tune ...