tomorrow morning i leave for the happiest place on earth. i won't bring my computer with me, but expect a long post and tons of photos once i arrive back in the east bay.

also, the school quarter is over tonight. YES. two down...several more to go...

sophie and nate left today for the long drive back to iowa. before they left we managed to spend a good amount of time together though. if only i didn't have work. speaking of. i only have work for two days next week and then off to dc!! i do have class next week though, and a paper to finish before monday. so i need to get planning.

last night neil. sophie, nate and myself sent to chez panisse for dinner. it was the best meal i've had there yet. i ordered a ricotta and artichoke salad with cilantro and lime. it was soooooooo good. i'm looking forward to trying to recreate it on my own. neil and nate both had oysters and sophie ordered a salad consisting primarily of blood oranges. for my entree i had a pasta dish... i can't remember the title. noodles similar to ziti, rigontoncinni, maybe? with mint, cream and aspargus. it, also, was very good. For desert I tried the caramel cream puffs with bittersweet chocolate sauce and candied walnuts. though it was a bit too rich it was still very delicious. we also ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, and as a result had a really, really good time.

Today we went to the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon in the marina. i haven't spent much time up there and got to see many different views of golden gate bridge and alcatraz. we also all tried more chocolate than we could all stomach. the best was definitely a chocolate with bacon, salt and pop rocks, or 'sizzling bacon chocolate'. wow, so good. later today neil and i went to sur la table, always a risk. i made it out of the store only buying a cooling rack though, crisis adverted.

My friends sophie and nate are here from iowa! yesssssss, first visitors since i've moved here! last night shannon made delicious tofu dijon and the five of us ate dinner together.



then sophie, nate, neil and myself went to albatross and played scrabble while having a few drinks.

note: scrabble is much harder in person than online. Note the score card picture. Yes, neil and i beat sophie and nate. booyah.

also, it's been incredibly nice here lately. super sunny and warmer. spring has arrived.

I made pumpkin penne pasta last night, even though i haaaaaate cooking for only one person. it turned out alright though - i added asparagus to the original recipe. it's in season here and is yummy, delicious and bright green. the recipe is very simple and could easily be halved down. it could also easily be added to - I've tried shrimp before and that was excellent. the original recipe calls for an entire can of pumpkin, but i usually end up using half to three-fourths of a can.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

1 pound penne pasta
2T butter
1 onion, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the pasta to the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, and toss. Stir in the parmesan; season with salt & pepper.

Top pasta with parsley and more Parmesan to serve.

in celebration of jennie's sister being in town we went to acme bar last night for a few drinks. i hadn't been there in a while and it's a really neat venue to sneak some pictures. lots of dark corners and red light. i've recently found out that a few friends from Iowa are visiting this week - i'm really excited! we've made dinner reservations for friday at the chez panisse cafe and on saturday there is a international chocolate fair in san francisco -
more on this later.

it's been raining off and on all morning. i absolutely love it. i slept in until 10:37 am, which normally would be completely impossible. so far i haven't done much besides have cereal and sit in bed. jennie's sister, aimee is visiting and was cutting up some fruit from the berkeley bowl. pineapple has such a great texture so i took a few photos. also strawberries, yum!


also, a few photos from the failed banana bread the other night. at the canvass dinner on friday we tried to figure out what went wrong...most likely inadequate baking time and/or too little baking soda.

Last night Neil and I went to a dinner party that a coworker told me about. It's a branch off from the original ghetto gourmet (http://www.theghet.com). The ghetto gourmet, which started in 2004 as an underground dinner party movement, grew quickly and as a result canvas underground was born - as a way to keep the parties at an intimate and smaller size. the dinner we attended last night was hosted in glen park. i haven't spent any time there and was pleasantly surprised. narrow winding streets and cute corner stores. everywhere.

the dinner party is hosted by a volunteer so the venue changes from party to party. the chef, peter jackson, had a wonderful menu lined up including:

Cream of Cauliflower Soup with White Cheddar Croutons
Romaine Salad with Golden Beet Vinaigrette, Blood Oranges and Sweet Italian Onions
Homemade Linguica Sausage with White Beans and Wilted Chicories
Baba Au Rhum with Whipped Cream

there was plenty of wine passed around, and we were fortunate enough to meet loads of new people with similar interests. i'll definitely look forward to attending again - and next time hopefully taking a few photos.

I attempted to make banana bread last night and failed. miserably. It wasn't so bad beside the fact that the top half of the middle portion of the loaf didn't cook so well. I think i need to invest in two smaller loaf pans. The non-cooking happened because i didn't leave the bread in for as long as the last time I made it - to avoid browning the bread too much. yuck, i hate burnt things. better luck next time.

I'm back for a second day - hopefully I can keep this up. After spending all of yesterday in a cramped office space with oh-so-lovely fluorescent lighting I managed to sneak away and work out before going home. Even though I have the most convenient set up in terms of working/working out it's still hard to find time with class, paper writing, and everyday life.

Last night I gave a new recipe a try....Lemon Orzo with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts. For fun I added shrimp as well. It actually turned out pretty well...I need a strainer with smaller holes for the orzo pasta, so I had to attempt the using the lid as a strainer method. everything ended up okay though and it made enough for four people. The original recipe didn't call for cheese, but I definitely recommend using about 1/2 cup of Parmesan. mhmmmm yum.

Lemon Orzo with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts
Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

Ingredients

-1 lb orzo pasta
-3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
-3/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
-2 lemons, juice of
-1 lemon, zest of
-2 (6 ounce) white mushrooms, sliced (depending)
-1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-10 medium/large shrimp
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
-Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in toasted pine nuts, parsley, lemon juice, lemon peel, and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly coat skillet with olive oil and set stove to high heat until rippling. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes. If using pre-cooked shrimp add them to the Orzo mixture. After mushrooms have cooked add them to Orzo mixture.

Note: Because I didn't have the right strainer my pasta was left with a bit more water than usual, therefore I did not use the called for amount of olive oil - just a drizzle. I suspect that with the proper strainer you would not come across this problem. I'd recommend adding a bit of olive oil and going from there - depending on how oily you want your pasta to be.

Serve and eat!

I'm going to attempt to start this up again, though we'll see how that actually goes. Second quarter of grad school will be over within the next two weeks and i'm really excited about wrapping things up. I spent monday night in the kitchen, after class, attempting a baking project. An old standard though - andes chocolate brownie cupcakes. though with my new camera the pictures are far more enticing. This recipe is so easy it hurts and feels like you're cheating yourself out of a true baking experience. Though, it's quick and easy and you're left with an extremely rich treat. i'd recommend having them warm and possibly with a glass of milk - if you're into that.

Andes Mints Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes
Any dry brownie mix - prepared as directed
Two boxes of Andes Mints (could use the cherry or toffee flavors, though mint takes the cake)

Line cupcake pan with liners and fill with brownie batter to half full. Place one Andes Mint in the middle and press slightly down, nearly covering the mint with batter. Add additional batter (only a slight bit) if needed to cover any exposed mint. Bake as directed (approximately 25-30 minutes at suggested heat). Immediately remove and place on cooling rack. For Andes Mint topping place one mint on top of cupcake and let melt for a few seconds. Using a small spoon (or your finger if you don't mind a little heat) swirl the melted mint over the cupcake. Place cupcakes in refrigerator to cool/harden.