July 2nd, 2012
This post is also available in: French
Here’s the thing, we are in love. Butterflies in the stomach, silly smiles, breath taken away – the whole deal. Our crush? San Francisco.
San Francisco with its tasty, Eucalyptus kissed air, views that become more stunning around each corner, Victorian houses much like pastels in an artist’s box, mindblowing farmers’ markets, friendly locals, and contagious West coast positivity.
We were charmed even before stepping off the plane, while marveling at the velvet-like hills on our descend into the city.
At the Ferry Buidling market
We tried to go everywhere and see everything, which is quite a lot. Let’s get down to business and talk about our favourite places.
Muir Woods
First off, the Ferry building, a waterfront marketplace full of artisanal shops. We went there every day out of the five days in San Francisco, no joke. Think specialty cheese, bread, coffee, pastry, and a whole lot of other unique items. There is also an outdoor farmers’ market on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No wonder we couldn’t get out of there.
Every morning we would get green juice from one of the grocers inside the building. Another amazing indulgence was a candy-cap mushroom popsicle from Far West Fungi, a specialty mushroom shop. Decaf cappuccino from Blue Bottle is always very good.
The majestic Pacific
Cacao nib rocher / lemon meringue cake at Tartine bakery
Apart from the Ferry Buidling, the Mission district completely stole our hearts, neighborhood wise.
Tartine Bakery is in the Mission, and while we heard a lot of positive things about it, we had no idea what kind of crazy treat we were in for. The energy of that place is so happy, you feel it even when standing in line and eyeing the decadent cakes, croissants, scones, and tartines. There is live music on Friday evenings, and every single thing sold is beyond delicious. They have two beautiful cookbooks, which I highly recommend if you are into bread, pastry, or just great food photography.
Bi-Rite Market is right down the block from Tartine, a very nice neighborhood grocery with local produce and lots of other foodie-friendly stock.
Muir beach overlook / Far West Fungi mushroom shop at the Ferry Building
Happy 75th birthday, Golden Gate
Impressive porcini mushrooms at Far West Fungi
Veggie soup / garden roll at Cha-Ya vegan Japanese
Another noteworthy and far healthier place in the neighborhood was Cha-Ya, a vegan Japanese restaurant. They offer clean food, letting the ingredients speak for themselves. We ate there twice and each meal was truly memorable and left us with a light, nourished feeling.
Rose garden in Golden Gate Park
Other notes:
- XOX Truffles in the North Beach/Washington Square area – free small truffle with any drink, our favourites were red wine and earl grey truffles
– The view from Hamon Tower at the de Young museum is great, especially at sunset. Also, the Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective is on view now and well worth the visit.
– SFMOMA has a really nice collection, not as overwhelming as, say, the NYC MoMA. It is possible to see the whole thing in one day, and the building is cool.
– San Francisco is a transit first city. It is so pleasant to see places, where public transportation works so efficiently. We didn’t miss having a car once. Wish this was more common in the U.S.
Tags: inspiration, life, travel, travel notes
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June 6th, 2011
Hello there, I’m fresh off the plane from Europe, London-Cologne-Paris-London. Home just in time for my friend N.’s 60s themed birthday tea party.
You may remember N.’s son’s birthday that we posted about a while back. N. throws the most beautifully thought-out parties, where every detail is pitch perfect and fun. It goes without saying that I’m always excited when she asks me to make the dessert.
Tired because of jet lag and the overwhelming amount of memories I carried away from Europe, I wanted to make a cake that is unfussy in preparation, but still elegant and tasty.
My choice fell on pudding cake, a simple dessert perfect for afternoon tea.
N., an interior design ace, often starts with a colour story and builds a whole world around it. This time it was green, white, and black.
For the cake, I went with green and white stripes. The pudding is initially off-white, its main base being macadamia nuts, coconut milk, and banana. And what better way to achieve the green colour than by adding matcha (green tea) powder? Quite appropriate for a tea party.
The dome shape and minimal decoration was inspired by Fauchon cakes that I saw in Paris. Fauchon is a sort of luxury food supermarket, where much emphasis is put on packaging and design. They carry both sweets and savouries, and their patisserie is mind-blowing and very innovative. In addition, the food is delicious.
Fauchon’s cakes are unlike anything I’ve seen before. The shapes are often extremely simple – domes or very flat rectangles. The decorations seem to be placed instinctively, with a sort of raw confidence that I wish I had more of when it comes to decorating and plating food. One side of a Fauchon cake may be completely covered with edible gold leaf, while the other one remains bare. There is no visible strategy, an effortless feeling that makes for some of the most elegant desserts I’ve ever seen.
I worked with a dome shape, a thin pistachio crust, and very minimal decoration with strawberries, letting the striped cake speak for itself.
I really enjoyed the party theme, 60s. I’m almost embarrassed to admit what a huge Mad Men fan I am. Any excuse to put a Bardot tease in my hair and paint my eyes like Twiggy seems like a good one.
There were beautiful vintage gloves, clip ons, sweetheart necklines, and bright lipstick. A girls’ paradise – it’s a good thing it was girls only this time.
The pudding cake is light, nutritious, with subtle hints of matcha, ideal for green-tea ice cream lovers. Alternatively, the pudding can be easily eaten for breakfast.
The birthday girl was happy with the cake, and the guests seemed to enjoy it as well. All good fun, the best possible way to fight jet lag.
Striped Tea Time Pudding Cake
(adapted from Living Raw Food)
This amount is for a dome mold 8 1/2″ in diameter and about 5″ deep (we used a regular mixing bowl)
Pudding
4 1/2 cups macadamia nuts – preferably soaked and dehydrated
4 1/2 tablespoons coconut butter
6 grams or about 3/4 cup Irish moss – soaked in hot water for 10 or more minutes and drained
3/4 cup raw agave syrup or more if you like sweeter
1 1/4 cup sliced banana
2 1/4 cups coconut milk – see panna cotta recipe
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 vanilla bean – seeds
matcha powder – to taste
Crust
about 1 1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/2 cup dried coconut flakes – untoasted
1 teaspoon matcha powder – optional
2 tablespoons raw agave syrup or more until sticky
In a food processor, blend the macadamia nuts and coconut butter until smooth. Place the macadamia mixture into a high-speed blender and combine with the rest of the ingredients, except the matcha powder. Divide the mixture in half. Leave one half white. Add matcha to the other half and combine in a blender to achieve the desired colour and taste. Take care to add the matcha in small portions, as it’s very strong in colouring and taste. A little matcha goes a long way.
For the crust, combine all the ingredients in a food processor.
Pour the two mixtures into your mold, alternating between green and white to achieve the stripes. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
If you are using the type of cake mold, which you’ll have to flip (like we did here), distribute the crust onto the bottom after refrigeration and before flipping. If you are using a springform pan, which requires no flipping, form the crust first, pour the mixture over it, and then refrigerate. When set, the pudding should slide right out of the form. Optionally, garnish with fresh berries and ground pistachios.
Tags: dessert, food, inspiration, life, natalie, raw food, recipe
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August 21st, 2010
Here is our Chicago.
This visit was our first, long overdue, and we realized how much we’ve been missing. The city was all dressed up in summer – hot, clean, and friendly.
Little grows in Florida this time of year (we enjoy local produce when the rest of the country is blanketed in snow), so we made going to farmers’ markets our hobby. Rows of multicolored beets, various berries, plump eggplants, and zebra tomatoes inspired us as much as the room full of Calder’s mobiles at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
We liked the Sunday market at Wicker Park. It was raining, but the crowd was enthusiastic, equipped with umbrellas, and ready to stock up on the beautiful produce. The Streeterville market on Tuesday was another favourite. The highlight there was a tent with all kinds of spectacular, locally grown flowers. The variety and fair price of the bouquets left us speechless and wanting a proper garden.
P.O.S.H. was one of the first on our list of places-to-go. It’s the most charming tableware shoppe that stocks vintage pieces from European and American hotels, flea market finds, and some new gift items. The set up inside is incredible, like a museum, but much more inviting. We spent hours browsing the selection and still had to come back a second time to have another look. They have an incredible childrens’ section (where we got Paloma’s nesting dolls), with wonderfully illustrated books, finger puppets, drawing supplies, and sippy cups galore. If you are ever in the area, give it a visit, you won’t regret it.
Other fond memories include an organic fingerling potato pizza with the thinnest crust on the planet, dipping our toes in Lake Michigan, finally getting to see pieces by Henry Darger, magnificent architecture, Bucktown, uncomplicated subway, Hendrickx Belgian bakery, and snacking on all the lovely produce after a long day of walking around, with blisters.
Thank you, Chicago.
Tags: food, inspiration, life, travel, travel notes
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