*1179 - little getaway

Mister Strawbree and I went on a little road trip to Half Moon Bay.  On the itinerary: brunch at a diner, organic strawbree-picking, wine-tasting, olive oil-tasting, walking by the Pacific ocean, and buying pre-shelled English peas for my first time at a farmer's market stand.

It was windy.

These were also the sweetest strawberries I've ever had--my eyes bugged when I put the first one in my mouth because it tasted like I was eating candy!  Mister Strawbree liked them too.

Our favorite was the basil-infused olive oil.

The Pacific Ocean--always beautiful.

My first experience shelling peas ever!

These went into a creamy bacon pasta.  Fresh peas are leagues above frozen, but they also take ten times as long to prepare ... worth it or not?

Little getaways into the countryside with locally-grown produce and beautiful scenery and Mister Strawbree ... things to remember to be thankful for.

*1178 - blessed

It couldn't have gone wrong with Mummy praying so hard for me! My heavenly father is always looking after me.

*1177 - mount tamalpais

At the end of a very brisk hike that left me huffing and puffing (no really it was really tiring because I am so out of shape), we settled down for a little picnic at the top of Mt. Tam, overlooking this lovely view with the city mistily in the background.



E & D frolicking in the weeds as R & L politely decline.

*1176 - wedding caterer?

Produced from scratch by EV and Sous-Chef D!  With some very welcome help from Mumsies and friends.

Pretty pictures by 39 East Photography again, less pretty pictures by my little camera :)

1. The Snack Table

In the midst of setting the snack table:

I walked around Chinatown for three hours in search of quail eggs.  Exhausted, almost burst into tears multiple times because of rude Chinese shopkeepers, etc., but found them!!  And they were so worth it.

(If anyone needs to find quail eggs in San Francisco: there's this really strange stretch of (live and dead) poultry and egg shops along Geary Ave, between Pacific and Broadway.  Not a part of Chinatown you would chance upon; you have to know it's there to find it!)

 

 

This was an open faced sandwich: ham, tomato, quail egg, and sprouts on dark rye.

 

Twice-baked sour cream potatoes.

 

Watermelon rounds topped with feta, fresh mint, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

 

My amazing (no, really) banana cake.

 

Rosemary lemon shortbread cookies.  So very fragrant.

 

One other open-faced round sandwich not pictured was brie, pear, and honey on nut and seed bread.  We were running around in such a frenzy that there really wasn't time for photos!

I thought the round theme was quite genius and we had so much fun stamping everything into little circles.  Round food just looks so much more polished and elegant and visually startling.

Don't worry, all the leftover pieces of bread became french toast for breakfast.  No wastage!

 

 

2. The Dessert Table

This is all there is to be seen of the dessert table: 

On the menu:

• More banana cake
• More rosemary lemon shortbread cookies
• Earl grey berry tart with apricot glaze
• Vanilla cake with peach filling and buttercream
• Rustic apple pie

Again, everything made from scratch including pie pastry and all that.  A daunting task that involved many a panicked moment, a very late and sticky/floury/sugary night, but huge huge accomplishment!  Especially for my Sous-Chef who had, before that day, never wielded an electric beater or tested a cake or anything else to do with baking.  Very proud! :)