a locavore's valentine's day

ORANGE ALMOND TORTE WITH ORANGE SAUCE AND MARSALA CREAM


This year, cowboy and I challenged each other to a locavore's Valentine's Day.

Rules:
All ingredients to come from within a 50 mile radius of either San Jose or Oakland (yes, we gained about 40 miles in the N-S direction that way). Existing pantry items like salt, black pepper, and flour were allowed ("anything that wouldn't be called out in a menu description").

We split up the meal so that he was responsible for entree and I for salad and dessert. Beverage duty was shared.

Menu:
My ideal salads happen in the summer and fall - heirloom tomatoes and burrata...persimmon and prosciutto. Using my handy fruit and vegetable seasonality calendars from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, I opted for a still unique - but more Bay Area winter-appropriate - selection:
Lacinato Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad from Gourmet

For dessert, there would be no cute chocolate cupcakes - no cacao trees nearby. I would have to take advantage of what we do have - citrus, nuts, and dairy:
Orange Almond Torte with Orange Sauce and Marsala Cream from Bon Appetit

And finally for drink, while there are certainly plenty of wines to choose from, I had always been intrigued by a certain distillery down in Alameda and its outstanding vodkas:
Kaffir Lime Vodka Gimlet from Hangar One

Shopping:
Trip 1: Berkeley Whole Foods Market. Friday night.
I actually thought I had done such a good job planning my menu that I could just hit up Whole Foods for everything I needed. 1.5 hours later, I had successfully gathered only shallots, butter (Clover Organic, Sonoma County), heavy cream (also Clover), and eggs (Judy's Family Farm, Petaluma). Almonds were unlabeled. Ricotta Salata was from Italy (the cheese guy did not seem amused by my challenge). Limes were from Mexico.

Trip 2: Oakland Grand Lake Farmer's Market. Saturday morning.
This is a pretty big farmer's market, bigger than downtown Berkeley anyhow. I started by circling the market, striking up conversation with the growers. "Where is your farm?" "Outside Fresno." "Where's that?" "Three to four hours." "More than 50 miles?" "More than 50 miles."

I picked up kale from Watsonville (50 mi from San Jose). I discovered Spring Hill Jersey Cheese (Petaluma), and its fantastic pepperjack goat cheese, which substituted just fine for ricotta salata. A kind almond grower from Fresno pointed me towards a Modesto almond farm (closer - around 80 miles - and good enough). Just outside Modesto was also the closest I could get for oranges and ginger. Most of the farmers nodded when I told them what I was doing - I was not the first they'd seen attempt this. Most agreed that 50 miles was ambitious.

Trip 3: Emeryville BevMo. Saturday afternoon.
Aside from picking up my local Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka, I also bought marsala wine (to flavor the whipped cream for the cake) and limes at my last stop. (Confession: totally cheated on these items, as the wine was from Italy and the limes probably from Mexico...)

Meal:
We ate excellently. Cowboy won points for buying a free-range chicken from Olivera Egg Ranch (and poultry house) in San Jose, which he roasted with locally grown turnips, carrots, onions, and potatoes.

comida in costa rica

COSTA RICAN "SMOOTHIE" OR REFRESCO - MADE WITH PAPAYA & YOGURT


Costa Rica, the travel books say, is no place to visit if you are interested in food. But let me tell you - you can have fun eating and drinking in this country. Here is a guide to some of the best food and drink that any visitor should check out:


"TIPICO" CASADO PLATE - BEANS, RICE, PLANTAINS, SALAD & CHICKEN


Beans and Rice
Gallo pinto. If you are trying to stay "tipico" with your food selections, likely you will be presented with beans and rice - if not with your meal, then as your meal. I encourage any traveler to experience as much and as many types of beans and rice as you can. Think about it like wine - when you first start drinking, any old bottle tastes the same. You try more and more, and you begin to appreciate the nuances. It's the same here - red beans, black beans, fried together/separately, different combinations of seasoning...you will quickly appreciate the restaurants that have really got their gallo pinto figured out.

Lizano Sauce
Or Salsa Lizano. For classic condiment lovers, this is the Heinz ketchup of Costa Rica, and you will quickly find yourself consuming embarassing amounts of this delicious dark brown concoction (or is that just me?!). It is all at once sweet, salty, and spicy, and ubiquitous at restaurants throughout Costa Rica. Delicious with gallo pinto and eggs. (Yes - it even beats Busha Browne's Spicy Tomato Love-Apple Sauce from Jamaica!)

Guaro
If we all could get our hands on Guaro here in the U.S., I swear the Guaro Sour would be the next caipirinha (which some predict to be the next mojito). Like Brazil's cachaça, the primary ingredient in caipirinhas, Guaro is made from sugarcane juice. It is 30-35% alcohol and has a subtly sweet flavor. Cacique is currently the only legally produced brand and unfortunately is not widely distributed in the U.S.

Guaro Sour
from Dowd's Spirits Notebook

2 ounces guaro
2 ounces simple syrup or 2 teaspoons raw sugar
5 to 6 lime wedges
Ice cubes
Sugar cane stick for garnish

Put guaro, sugar and lime wedges in a rocks glass. Muddle all the ingredients until you get lime juice. Add ice cubes.


Tropical Fruit
Fresh pineapples, papayas, coconut, mangos, and starfruit are so readily available that you could be at an American tourist trap ordering a $5 piña colada in a plastic cup, and the bartender would grab a handful of fresh pineapple spears, blend it with fresh coconut cream (plus rum and ice), and top with a slice of starfruit for a fresh, frothy, and tropical experience. (And the ice, by the way, is safe. We applied our "don't drink the water" practice rather inconsistently, particularly when it came to the ice used in our Guaro Sours, Pina Coladas and the like. We were OK.)

Regarding bananas - the bananas in Costa Rica are incredible, superior to any Costa Rican banana you might buy in the States. Why? Our tour guide at El Trapiche in Monteverde believes that it is because bananas in Costa Rica ripen naturally after being picked, whereas bananas in the U.S. undergo refrigeration while in transport (which halts the ripening process), followed by rapid ripening in rooms where they are sprayed with ethylene (a naturally occurring chemical that serves as a ripening agent). While I haven't been able to find any scientific evidence, it makes sense to me that this unnatural process would not do any favors for taste.

GREEN COFFEE BEANS ON COFFEE PLANT


Coffee
And finally, of course, the café. After tasting local offerings from various parts of the country, I am convinced that the best stuff comes from the Central Valley, around San Jose (regions: Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Herediá, Alajuela and Alajuela Poas Volcano). This area is known for its high altitude terrain, which supports growing high quality beans that make a coffee smooth, full bodied, with balanced acidity. I was interested to learn that the Costa Rican government only allows arabica (premium) beans to be grown, and only the highest grade is allowed for export. That's why the Costa Rican beans we are familiar with in the U.S. are generally very, very good.

little havana

MOJITO


For anyone who hasn't yet heard, South Bay is 2007's South Beach of the west. I say this, not because the Googleplex breathes sexy in that beachy-pastel/Art Deco-kind of way, but because Scott's awesome mojito recipe comes not from Mango's Tropical Cafe but rather La Bodeguita del Medio, which sits right along California Ave. in Palo Alto.

Mojito
12 mint leaves with stems
1 tsp sugar
2 oz citrus rum (I make a living marketing alcoholic beverages and am not afraid to suggest Bacardi Limon)
2 oz fresh citrus juice (lemon/lime)
2 oz soda water

In a collins glass, place mint and a teaspoon of sugar. Crush the mint using a muddler. Add rum and citrus. Mix again with muddler. (Scott actually has a muddler - and it did a great job releasing the flavor of the mint - but for those of you without, use a spoon.) Finish with soda water followed by crushed ice. Garnish with full stem of mint.


The original plan was to have a mojito-off, Berkeley vs. San Jose, limes, lemons, and mint. But considering each tasting amounted to two mojitos each, we never actually made it to Contestant No. 2. Though I'm fairly certain that Berkeley would have won.

I feel guilty saying that it was all very fun, given that it was a day of mourning for anyone whose heart belongs with New England. (And I would proudly describe myself as such).

Tom, Troy, Corey, if you wanted to drop by, we'd be happy to fix you a few, extra strong...for another kind of Miami experience.

breakfast and bubbly

GOAT CHEESE & SALAMI TOASTS with TOMATO and BASIL


Entertaining in California is as good as expected. It begins with a hour-long trip to Berkeley Bowl, during which I muse over which of the 10 varieties of peaches I should buy for my cobbler, and which ones I might toss into my tropical fruit salad...

And don't even get me started on the papaya ponderings.

On the menu for this morning:
- GOAT CHEESE & SALAMI TOASTS with TOMATO and BASIL
- PEACH RED BERRY COBBLER
- BANANA NUT BREAD with BURNT CARAMEL SAUCE
- CHOPPED TROPICAL FRUIT with COCONUT MILK YOGURT
- PINK & YELLOW MIMOSAS (just launched!)
- and of course...PEET'S COFFEE

Soundtrack:
- Putumayo's Afro-Latino Party
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Pink Martini (Hang on Little Tomato)

GOAT CHEESE & SALAMI TOASTS with TOMATO and BASIL
from Gourmet (with a few adjustments)

mini bagels, halved
soft goat cheese
Genoa salami, thickly sliced and quartered into triangles
cherry tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
basil chiffonade
black pepper

Lightly toast mini bagels. Generously spread goat cheese over each toasted bagel half. Top with three slices of salami and three slices of tomato. Garnish each bagel toast with basil and season with freshly ground black pepper.


Not a difficult menu at all. In fact, can be done with spare time to take 3 photos for food blog before guests arrive.


BANANA NUT BREAD with BURNT CARAMEL SAUCE

AND MORE FRUIT...

Oh yes, and would you like to know what I ate yesterday? Cabernet Sauvignon. Right off the vine (talk about tannic). My visit to the vineyards has got me thinking about crushing and bottling some of my own.

BTW - Pink and Yellow do make nice mimosas. Then again, I've never met a mimosa I didn't like.