Off the Grid ~ Fort Mason

Picture a large parking lot with all of SF’s food trucks parked in a circle, beer, wine and spirits stations sprinkled in, some chairs and live music. Every Friday night, only blocks from my house.

Sarah and I went for the first time yesterday. We faced the paradox of choice. So many options, too little room in our stomachs. In the end, we made our decisions based on the length of the lines. The longer the line, the better the food. We started off with Chinese steam buns. Tender Pork Belly with Turmeric Pickled Daikon & Green Shiso, and Coca-Cola Braised Pork with Savoy Cabbage & Preserved Yellow Mustard Seeds. Those were a few heavenly bites…

Next, Cuban nachos: Cuban style chopped porchetta, tortilla chips, housemade white cheese sauce, Rancho Gordo black beans, crema, green onions.

Before we moved to dessert, we shared some freshly fried chicken spring rolls in a sweet chili sauce. Dessert really stood out for us. We stood in Rocko’s Ice Cream Taco line for a solid 20 minutes, so we should have known it was going to be amazing. You had the choice of (4) of their homemade ice creams to fill the taco, and (4) homemade sauces for the candy shell. I went with coffee Kahlua ice cream with dark chocolate shell. Sarah went Madagascar vanilla ice cream with milk chocolate shell.

Me, double fisting with a Magnolia IPA and choco-taco. Happy girl. (Like my new shorts?!)

New Friday tradition.

B4D: Cinnana Pecan Pancakes

I've made pancakes three times since I got the Peas and Thank You cookbook last month. Her recipe is egg-less which is great for a couple reasons. I don't always have eggs on hand, and I can steal bites of the batter while I patiently wait for my dinner partner to get home from work. 

I went a little overboard and made bacon and scrambled eggs with basil and Gruyère. 

Cinnana Pecan Pancakes

1 3/4 cup flour (I mixed wheat and white)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
Handful of toasted pecans
1 very ripe banana, mushed or diced
Canola oil for greasing pan

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, then mix in milk. Fold in pecans and banana. Cook pancakes on oiled griddle or skillet. 

These are great topped with Greek yogurt and maple syrup. 

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

The possibilities are endless. I follow Kath Eats Real Food, and she literally has a different breakfast concoction everyday. It gives me lots of ideas, such as this Saturday morning yogurt bowl.

Inside:
half of a banana, mashed
frozen berries, thawed
plain Greek yogurt
Trader Joe’s Maple Pecan granola
Trader Joe’s organic chunky peanut butter
sweetened coconut flakes

It keeps you so full! I breakfast creations.

I accomplished many things this Saturday, including laundry, organizing my important documents into a binder, and a trip to Trader Joes.
I’m loving tapas style meals these days… This time it was a whole wheat English muffin, half covered with basil pesto and white cheddar, the other with mashed banana, peanut butter and walnuts.

I whipped up a quick dinner of bulgur mixed with basil pesto, lemon juice, tomatoes and feta with a side of broccoli, before I went over to a friend’s house to watch a movie. It’s a good thing my dinner was so healthy because the smorgasbord of snacks we had during the movie was anything but healthy.

We watched The American President – such a great movie. A couple of True Blood episodes were sprinkled in and I must say… it’s SO addicting!

Homemade Hummus Melt

I drove over 800 miles this weekend, but it was definitely worth it. I headed down to Charlotte NC for the 1st annual Quail Party hosted in part by my good friend Anna’s boyfriend. They did a phenomenal job and it benefit under privileged kids golf lessons. What could be more crucial?

After the super fun, less than healthy time I had in Charlotte last weekend, this healthy and economical dinner was perfect.

Easy and delicious hummus recipe:

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spread hummus on wheat toast. Top with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and mozzarella cheese and melt in the oven.

And a seaweed salad to boot! Could this be any healthier? However, a piece of my roommate’s Oreo ice cream cake should even the score a little bit…Happy birthday Caroline!

New Car, Old Food

Yesterday I bought a car. Here she is:

I love her. But like a real girlfriend, she has taken all of my money.

Mostly I’m just trying to save up for the things she needs, so I have put my needs on hold. Dinner tonight was a combination of things in my refrigerator. Last slice of Greek pizza I made Sunday night, a salad with feta and craisins (we’re out of salad dressing but a drizzle of strawberry balsamic and basil olive oil did the trick), and microwaved frozen peas.

I’m not going to get started about the process of buy my car. It was not easy, not fun, and not cheap. However, I am very proud to say I did it essentially all on my own, and was approved for a loan and everything. So I’m preparing myself for dinners including frozen peas and Trader Joes Asian dinners-in-a-box for a while. I apologize ahead of time for lack-luster blog entries.