How to mend a stressed mind

My brain hurts and I'm stressed. It can only mean one thing . . . midterms. Well, actually, I think midterms were a couple of weeks ago. I'm still feeling residual stress from it all though and with grad school the stress never goes away until the semester is over.

So, where some people get baked to relieve their stress, I bake. (As in batter, parchment paper, oven . . .) Today it was banana nut bread because there were some bruised bananas begging to be turned into something other than compost items.

I feel less stressed right now . . . but we'll see how long that lasts.

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I will always leave my heart here.

So, now that it's official and the Giants are going to the World Series, I had to show just how much I hella heart my hometown despite the fog, the steep hills, and the overpriced rents. Yay Area por vida!

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See and download the full gallery on posterous

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Things I try not to take for granted . . .

It never occured to me how awesome the sunsets are in Sonoma, until Saturday evening when all my city friends ran outside to my deck in awe of the amazing sight, took pictures and immediately Tweeted about it. At one point we got this notion of how ridiculous it all was when someone said, "I'm going to take a picture of you all taking pictures."

I'm actually happy someone took pictures though because as amazing as it was to see live, it actually looks more surreal in a photograph. Yet another snap-shot to remind me of a certain moment in life.

The fact that I hardly ever step outside to see the sunset, or at least as often as I should, got me thinking of all the things I happen to take for granted.

I've always been too focused on the things I don't have; the things I want. And it's made me miserable. I've tried to mold my friendships, relationships and things around this perfect image of what life should be. Instead of making things better, I just ended pissing off people and getting all depressed. 

It's good to want things and be ambitious, but sometimes it's better to just sit, turn your brain off for a bit and let all the things you have sink in. 

There's nothing like being around a great group of people and good conversation to get you back on the right track and the state of mind where you realize that spending some time looking at a sunset is pretty much what it's all about.

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Life Unplugged.

Yesterday I crossed about six out of the eight counties in the Bay Area. I've given in to the reality that my car will eventually run out of miles by the time I finish paying it off.

Nontheless, it was an awesomely warm Fall day in the Bay, so I didn't m   ind the extra miles if it meant seeing the sights. It's not every day you can wear a sleeveless top in San Francisco, especially by the bay.

Heading back toward the Golden Gate, I decided to stop off at Crissy Field, my fave beach path for a quick stroll and photo opp before I headed back to Sonoma.

San Francisco is a different animal entirely when it's warm out. People actually seem happy to be alive. You see families with children out at the beach, people having picnics, strolling, riding their bikes or just playing a game of touch football.

I've also recently found that unplugging actually makes my life a lot less stressful. By that I mean updating less about where I am and what I'm doing, taking the earbuds out of my ears and just being in the moment. You never know what you're going to hear, especially coming out of strangers.

Getting a call from an old friend, I decided to head over to the East Bay for some conversation and a promise of beer. I talked him into going to my all-time favorite hipster-dive bar, The Missouri Lounge, on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. It's pretty much always awesome weather in Berkeley, but yesterday was exceptionally nice weather to sit outside and enjoy a Trumer Pils.

I never realized how un-East Bay I've become until I went back. I guess I assimiliate really easily to wherever I am, but it was kind of a culture shock in a strange way. Having lived out there for so long and then moving to the North Bay -well, it's like crossing state lines, or going to another country, almost. I always forget how chill people in the EB are.

I was feeling a little self-conscious about my friend's smoking in the little cabana we were sharing with some tattooed, pierced and purple haired chick. So, I apologized and told her that I hope it wasn't bothering her. She looked at me like I came from another planet and said: "Dude, I was gonna light up anyways." I felt stupid and told her. "I guess I've been out in Marin too long." She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about it, I know I used to work in San Rafael and had to go smoke in the parking lot."

I was a long way away from San Rafael, that's for sure. Heading back to 80 I discovered the new Berkeley Bowl West. Heaven for sure. Since my new obsession is specialty markets, and I used to shop at the original location back when I lived in North Oakland, this was awesome. Of course, I was a little tipsy from having two beers and no food in my system, so that didn't really make for an awesome experience. But I will definitely have to go back soon.

The East Bay is a magical place. My cousin Nikki described it best. "You can see the City from here, without being in the City."

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Murder is messy, these songs aren't.

When I don't feel like burying the evidence of a homicide, or hacking up body parts into a billion little pieces after a long day of bad shit, I listen to these songs.

Beck is almost as good as a Beck's at the end of a whacked out day. This song is like beer to my heart. Wait, that didn't sound right. Whatever. Figure it out. I actually felt like hanging myself with a guitar string or waiting for some thugs to cap me with a drive by body-pierce. But no luck.

"I hate people when they're not polite." 'Nuff said.

Where have they gone? I think all the dancers in the videos stole them all.

Dude, don't get pulled over by the karma police cuz you're fucked. True story.

This song helped me make it through high school, it'll get me through grad school too. "I'm so ugly, it's ok cuz so are you." Oh, Kurt, why did you shoot yourself so early in my life?

 

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I leave my heart here on a regular basis.

I use art school as an excuse for randomly snapping pics of my favorite city. But the truth is I'd probably take pictures of SF even if I were an accountant.

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Fiesta Time

I love going to the Latin food store when it's hot outside because I feel like I'm actually south of the border instead of East San Mateo at the Fiesta Latina store. This, of course is the Argentine aisle because I needed some more alfajores, dulce de leche, dulce de batata con chocolate, yerba mate and other goodies. Plus, it's fun going to a store where it's almost expected that you speak Spanish.

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The Best Coast

Today I took the road less traveled, which is not easy to do in California since there always seems to be someone on the road with you. (Usually tailgating your ass.) But today I had the road all to myself. And that rocked.

Since the Bay Area was under a severe heat advisory, I decided I needed to get as far away from my inland home as possible. It was time to head out to the coast again. (Because here you can only do that on really hot days or September.)

I had a mission to accomplish. Well, a few, actually. The first one was to carjack my cousin's BMW coupe with sunroof for my joyride down the coast with my favorite iTunes playlist. Oh, yeah, and enjoying some oysters.

Mission accomplished. After a few detours and slow traffic thanks to Caltrans and our state's necessity to constantly improve its logistical infrastructure, I made it down Highway 1 and into Point Reyes Station ready to get my grub on. 

Since I was completely lost and my iPhone was sans 3G (again!), I went to the first dining establishment I could find.

The Pine Cone Diner seemed like one of those little coffee shops that screams "Americana" if Americana was organic. It's too cute for words. I like sitting at the booths in those kind of places just because I can eavesdrop on local gossip. Not that I really care, but it can be pretty entertaining.

I ordered the fried oyster sandwich with fries - a.k.a. Oyster Po' Boy. Yummy. But deep fried rich mollusks aren't really my thing when it's 90 degrees outside.

So, I decided to explore the rest of the three block town in search of Cow Girl Creamery. While I was exploring, I got an iced latte at Toby's, an awesome little general store with gourmet foods and cool little gift items. I then headed toward Bovine Bakery (odd name for a bread place) to buy a whole wheat roll with the cheese I would be getting.

I did find the creamery, but it just so happens that they're closed on Tuesdays. Fail.  So, it was on to fulfill my other mission of making it to the ocean.

Driving down Highway 1 and through Inverness, I made it to Point Reyes National Seashore. Talk about awesomeness. After driving through five "historic" ranches that have been around since the 1850s and an infinite number of cows, I finally made it to the Lighthouse only to find out it was also closed on Tuesdays. (Duuuuude! Tuesday haters!)

But the view alone was worth it. Beating a bunch of European tourists, I made it to the edge of the cliff first to see all of Drakes Bay and the Pacific past it. It wasn't the clearest of days but I was still able to see the Farallon Islands and all the way down to San Francisco and San Bruno Mountain.

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On the way back out of the park through more fields of stinky bovines, I veered off to a little dirt road that lead to Drakes Oyster Company.

They were farming some oysters and dealing with some annoying tourists. But good news: I was finally able to purchase some Cow Girl Creamery cheese. No oysters though since they weren't going to make it back home with me.The cheese stunk up my handbag but made it home ok. It totally smelled like cow, but tasted like heaven, so I guess it's all paid off in the long run.

Day trips give you a sense of appreciation for nearby areas close to home. Needless to say, I was also able to reconnect with the road. Considering that I normally commute about 100 miles a day, I've realized that driving someone else's car, and a manual one, at that, makes you appreciate the road a whole lot more. I was finally Sunday driving on a Tuesday. And that made all the difference.

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Who's your Padron?

In Spanish, a Patron is a boss of some sort. But what is a Padron? This was the subject of at least ten minutes debate during our family dinner conversation this evening. Even our guest of honor, my cousin from Barcelona, couldn't fathom what it meant.

Padron, as it turns out is a county in Galicia (Spain), where the most awesomnest of peppers grow. The Pimentos de Padron are definitely something I look forward to every summer. I get them from work, and of course, we get them from Happy Quail Farms in East Palo Alto. (San Mateo County represent!)

These little peppers are so fun to prepare and eat. You basically sautee them in olive oil, sprinkle some course salt on them and serve. (You can also deep fry them, grill them, etc.) But I prefer the traditional method. I got about five 1/4 pound bags, so I ended up putting them all on my griddle.

Although, I could probably eat only Padrons and be happy with just that for dinner, I had six other people over for dinner, so that wasn't going to cut it. I opted for a Catalunyan treat such as pan amb tomaquete, which is basically bread with garlic, olive oil and tomato slathered all over it. This of course goes really well with some Jamon Serrano, or ham and Spanish chorizo. (Yes, there is a difference between Spanish and Mexican chorizo.)

And of course, some Dulce de Mebrillo (quince paste) with Manchego cheese and dates.

I tend to get carried away with my tapas. So, I had to remember to let everyone save some room for the main course. I made two different paellas. The first was a chicken and chorizo with asparagus, baby corns, and sherry.

The second was of course a seafood paella with shrimp, mussels, clams, artichoke hearts and baby corns and served with some saffron alioli (aioli).

Somewhere along the way there were some roasted aspagus and a frisee salad with a lemon vinegrette and parmesan cheese. And sangria! But my absolute success of the evening was the lemon and marcona almond torte with dulce de leche served with a side of cherry compote in a port reduction and some spicy chocolate sprinkled on top. (Even grandma liked it.) Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pics of that before it was gone. 

But all in all a success, which makes me happy because it's tough cooking Spanish food for actual Spaniards. I mean, I cook it all the time, but we're all Argentine, so of course we're not really Spanish. However, now I am convinced that if necessary, I can move to Spain and work at a restaurant. I consider it good to have these skills because one never knows where life will take you.

 

 

 

 

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Empty Stomach Required

To say that I like food is a huge understatement. It's like saying a fashionista just likes clothes.

Not to sound like the total spoiled brat that I can be sometimes, but I have to declare here and now that I've become accustomed to finer things in life. So, if that means a $60 bottle of wine, designer handbags and artisan cuisine, so be it.

However, since I am on a grad student budget these days, I will refrane from purchasing expensive bottles of wine and brand named fashion accessories. Yet, I will never skimp on the good stuff: FOOD.

I think this year that I have spent in the North Bay has managed to make me even more of a food snob than I was before. Maybe it's because I sell specialty foods and wine, or maybe it's just because I'm surrounded by so much good, fresh, local and organic stuff everywhere I turn. 

I'm lucky enough to live in Sonoma where I can get farm fresh eggs and produce just down the street, or I can drive up to Napa, only 15 minutes away, at Oxbow Public Market for what I can only refer to as "Foodie Heaven". (And even that doesn't do it justice.)

I like to consider myself a connoisseur of public markets. They are my absolute favorite place to play. (Aside from Sephora, of course.) I'm well acquainted with Pike's Place Market in Seattle, The Ferry Plaza in SF, and the largest public market in the southern hemisphere - Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia.

Oxbow is fairly new compared to the others I just mentioned, but can definitely compete in the same category. Since today was Tuesday, they had their morning farmer's market until noon, which of course rocked my world. It's certainly not the largest farmer's market I've ever been to, or even the most extensive one. (I think Ferry Plaza has everyone beat there.) However, it did have plenty of fresh produce from both the Napa and Sonoma. They also had samples, which just makes eating your way through a market so much more affordable. They're also a great way to get kids interested in eating fruits and veggies, as I've noticed. There were tons of children running around clutching giant bags of kettle corn and sampling fresh ripe strawberries from Watsonville. Mmmmmm.

After sampling enough fruits to meet our daily intake requirements, my cousin and I headed inside the market. This is where the fun starts. Empty stomachs are highly recommended. Inside we walked around the Oxbow Produce and Grocery where we cringed at overpriced artisan pastas for the pesto macaroni and cheese that I am planning to make tomorrow.

Moving on, we headed to the wine and cheese section, where joy of joys I found butter from New Zealand. Not that I really eat butter, but I had to get some even if it wasn't local because I love anything that comes from Kiwi country. We then realized we hadn't yet had our daily dose of coffee and made a pit stop at Ritual Roasters where they totally glamorized my latte, followed by a stop at Kara's Cupcakes for a Fleur de Sal chocolate cupcake with caramel goodness in the middle. I'm a total coffee snob, so I take my espresso seriously and Ritual passes the test with flying colors - smooth, rich and complex flavors without being too strong or heavy. (Plus, they make the little design in the foam, which always makes me happy.)

 

 

Oxbow also has an Olive Press, where you can try all kinds of olive oils from Arbequina to Sevillana with Mission thrown in there somewhere. Eating lunch there is a tough choice especially when you're hungry. I had originally headed over there for some Gott's Roadside, which of course one can never get enough of considering I had just had some on Saturday in St. Helena between spa time at Calistoga and Dean & Deluca. There's just so much to choose from. I was really tempted to forgo the Gott's for some empandas and arepas at Pica Pica Maize Kitchen. But my cousin had already gotten psyched up for the delectible sweet potato fries with aioli ranch dressing at Gott's and I only had room for a vanilla coke and grilled cheese sandwich in my tummy. (Not the monstrousity I had on Saturday.)

There is too much good stuff to see all in one trip, which means, I'm going to have to head back up to Napa ASAP to finish this culinary adventure.

 

 

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I love the Fourth of July. It's my all-time favorite holiday, next to Christmas, of course. I was glad I had the day off today to actually enjoy the festivities in town. Sonoma had it's annual "Down-home Parade". (Yes, they actually do call it that.) I'm not a huge fan of parades, in general, because I think they're stupid and useless. However, I will go to a parade if there is food at the end of it. I mean, I'm not a fan of standing for hours when it's already getting hot in the shade. It's nice to be able to see what's going on in town, all the people wearing red, white and blue, the classic cars, and marching bands. Plus, it's nice to be rewarded with a 1/4 lb. hot dog and beer after the whole thing. (A cake from Whole Foods made of raspberries and blueberries . . . mmm.)

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