saturday bliss

saturday was a full day of exploring. bekah and i caught up over coffee and books at the book sale. it was so nice to chat with her.

jacob and i enjoyed the sunny weather by exploring sutro heights and hiking from sutro baths to legion of honor. i've never been there before so it was our first time to explore a place as newbies together. sutro heights is rolling and manicured until it drops off into the ocean. its a very interesting contrast and was originally built in the late 1800s.




we sat in a tree obviously smoothed from other climbers and enjoyed the view. its right next to the cliff house a restaurant and an interesting oddity the camera obscura, it uses the technology of the first camera ever invented by da vinci and gives a 360 view of the cliff house and beach surrounding the camera. we wandered around sutro baths, which was covered in tourists, but i would so have loved to come down there when it was in full swing and bathed and enjoyed the rides and the musee mecanique games. its a very different time and its interesting to see how a place evolves especially when its destroyed by fire and earthquake and rebuilt every few years. we left the crowds behind and walked along the cliff taking in the views. our lighthouse stood out across the golden gate and we saw dolphins swimming and diving for food. there were a couple close calls with renegade bicycle tourists but we made it along the path unscathed.



as the sun set we decided to try bill's burgers on clement st. it was very quaint with chandeliers and a plate collection on the wall. they served our burgers straight off the grill and the carmelized red onions were perfection but the best part was their fountain coke, they didn't short us on syrup and you could tell. A-mazing. i love exploring the city together.

the blue hour

i love this blog of photographs, food, and music, not least because,he lives in london, my favorite. check it out.

lentils

jacob and i made an amazing dinner from How to Cook. Its called smoky brown lentils with balsamic vinegar and pancetta/bacon. it was delectable. savory and sweet and very satisfying.

it served four but i'm going to halve the recipe here for you because that's what we made.
2 1/2 red bell peppers quartered lengthwise and seeded
1 lg red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups brown lentils, rinsed ( you can also buy a package of steamed lentils from tj's which is the perfect amount and even easier)
1 1/2 tbls balsamic vinegar
3 unpeeled garlic cloves
2 oz pancetta or bacon, we did bacon, diced
salt and blac pepper

preheat the oven to 400 F
Put the peppers and onions onto a baking sheet or roasting pan. pour over 1 1/2 tbls of the oil and add salt and pepper. roast in the preheated oven for 30 min.

Meanwhile to cook the lentils, put them into a large saucepan and add 4 cups cold water. bring to a boil, remove the lid, and cook at a fast simmer until the water has been absorbed and the lentils are tender about 20-25 min.

Put the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar into a small bowl and beat well. add the garlic and bacon to the onions and peppers and roast for 15 min more or until golden. remove from the oven.

Squeeze the insides of the roasted garlic out of their skins into the balsamic dressing and mix. drain the cooked lentils and put them into a large bowl. pour in the dressing, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir through.

Add half the roasted veggies and bacon to the lentils. stir gently, then transfer to a serving dish. spoon remaining vegetables and bacon on the top and serve.

you'll love it, trust me. i also made gorgonzola and walnut bread to accompany it. no yeast here so it wasn't too tricky so we had a delicious simplish {it was messy} meal.

i thought it might be tasty to roast tomatoes as well, there's lots of potential here.

the big book sale

one more reason why i love my job at reader's cafe is that it made me aware of the big book sale. this is the 46th annual big book sale and its in the festival pavilion at fort mason center. so its huge, the largest on the west coast apparently. old books, new books, in between books, on every subject imaginable. its incredible and its only this weekend so you should hit it up, especially since all the proceeds go to benefit the san francisco public library. and if you bring a receipt from the sale into readers cafe you get 10% off your purchase. coffee and books, the best combination

cooking

i found* a new cookbook called How to Cook by Lesley Waters. its amazingly simple but is something i've been lacking, fundamentals. it has sections on everything from boiling to braising and poaching. i've been winging it and wondering why my rice comes out crispy when apparently you're supposed to cook it with the lid off. no one ever told me these things. upstairs, at my job, i often found myself googling recipes such as stir fry, when i initially got started, to try and figure out how to "make it" as a personal assistant. i said i had cooked before okay, i didn't mean i was a chef or even truly comfortable in the kitchen. i made it work mind you, but i think i will now feel confident. i made steamed carrots for the first time with an orange, butter sauce, which made them amazing and tonight i'm attempting gorgonzola and walnut bread.

*at the book store connected to the Readers Cafe, i'll be posting about the Big Book Sale happening this weekend.

cloud atlas

elissa recommended this one to me. its intersecting and interlocking stories was beautifully done but what i loved most was the ending with its emphasis on the world being what you make it. while the book doesn't seem to hold much hope for people actually making a world worth living in, i think there is the possibility and that's what makes life worthwhile.

holga film

even though i got my film in may, around my birthday, i just now developed the pictures. it was great to see shots from that time of birthdays, the wedding and our honeymoon. most of them are very blurry but a couple really turned out well, i think. i can't wait to see what happens with my next set.

*these are iphone pics of film pics. i'll work on getting them put on a cd