Tuesday, May 11, 2010

It's good to be home.

It's good to be home.

My bed, my kitchen, Caffe Trieste's coffee, and my market. Returning to them reminds me how special they are to me.

After a delayed flight and a late night, I woke up a little crabby today. A morning walk with Chris, a little sunshine, and a nice cup of my favorite coffee helped.

Next, I walked over to the Tuesday Market at the Ferry Plaza. Sometimes I forget just how good I have it--a market full of beautiful produce 3 days per week. It's truly incredible. I brought home peas, leeks, chard, lemons, strawberries, and such. To top it all off, I discovered Il Cane Rosso just started serving weekday breakfast from 9-10:45am. I thanked them by eating their housemade yogurt with roasted strawberries and granola--all with a view of the bay. It was creamy luscious good.

Then I came home to my own sweet kitchen and gave Erin's apricots a go. I love this simple yet inventive idea. They are now resting in a small jar on the counter and softening. Oh, the anticipation...

I have so much to do, but my mind keeps drifting toward my grand plan for the 2 pints of strawberries I brought home with me. I woke up this morning thinking about this plan, before I even laid eyes on these berries. Is it odd that I often wake up with half hatched recipes I've been creating in my sleep?

I want to make a cheesecake of sorts. The idea is to make some homemade ricotta, sprinkle some strawberries with a little sugar (orange zest?), and then somehow combine the two inside a gingersnap pecan crust.

We'll see how it goes. I better get started (on something).

It's good to be home.

21 comments:

  1. Welcome home Denise and thanks for the shout out!

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  2. Welcome home! It's good to go away, but always great to come home! Hope you had a fantastic time.

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  3. Home. It feels so good. I just coated too tart strawberries with honey to go into tomorrows lunch. We'll see. I hope your plan hatches beautifully.

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  4. That is a great photo of this dish. It never occurred to me to shoot it like that for The Endive Chronicles.

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  5. Welcome home. I know we hardly know one another, but I have tagged you in the show us your 6th post game. I would love to go back in time with this blog.

    Play if you want to, either way enjoy this spring day.

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  6. hello. A walk in the sunshine with someone you love then nice coffee is the solution to many a thing. The apricots look wonderful - off to Erin now. Cheesecake sounds good. Welcome home

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  7. Hi Denise, another Denise here from across the country. Found you through FlwrJane. Totally enchanted by your blog. Looking forward to reading it all.

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  8. how wonderful and tender do those apricots look? I almost want to hug them!!!
    and of course home is home. welcome back.
    For the cheesecake idea, I have seen no-bake cheesecake invididually prepared in small glasses: really cute. Have to make. soon. :)

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  9. welcome back to our pretty cities by the bay. and i don't think it's strange that you wake up still dreaming-up recipes. what a lovely way to start the day...

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  10. Hope you had a wonderful time...and I couldn't agree with you more-it's good to be home.

    Your image looks so beautiful with the lovely color and texture.

    I'm thinking...Cheesecake.

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  11. It's worth going away to return to domestic pottering. There's nothing like domestic pottering to sooth the soul.

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  12. Erin, Thank you for your inspirational post.

    Jane, Thanks. It was a nice change of pace.

    Tracy, I hope your strawberries were good. My cheesecake is super tasty! I might have to have a second slice today. It won't be around for long.

    Phil, So nice to see you here! It seems so few men visit my blog. I liked your photo too. You two inspired me to make my own little jar of apricots.

    flwrjane, Sure, I'll play along. A little trip down memory lane. Coming soon.

    Rachel, I hope you enjoyed visiting Erin. Cheesecake tastes good too!

    Denise, Hello! I don't often meet other Denises, so this is a treat. Thank you for your note.

    Amelia, The apricots do look good. I'm still waiting. I made a small cheesecake and it was very tasty. I like the idea of using small glasses...next time.

    Katrina, Thank you. I guess it is a pretty good way to start a day.

    Camilla, Thank you. I highly recommend making a cheesecake of some sort. I'm happy I did.

    Mise, Why isn't my soul still feeling soothed today? I better get back to pottering. Love that word. I'm supposing your pottering is what we call puttering, yes?

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  13. Goodness me I was salivating at the sight of those apricots - seriously how good do they look!!!

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  14. Oh, my---I am entranced by those apricots---have all the right stuff here and now. thanks to you and erin!

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  15. Trips are good but coming home to the things that are special to you is even better. Those apricots are beautifully photographed and please, please give us a cheesecake recipe.

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  16. No, I don't think it's odd that you wake up with half hatched recipes. I think it's awesome.

    Oh, and the Ferry Building just rocks. Isn't California the greatest?

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  17. Love those apricots. And I always love getting back home.

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  18. Thanks, everyone!

    Vanessa, It really wasn't much of a recipe. In short 1) I made homemade ricotta 2) I sprinkled some sliced strawberries with sugar 3) I made a crumb crust with gingersnaps, pecans, and butter 4) I spooned ricotta over crumb crust 5) I spooned strawberries on top of ricotta 6) I ate messy, but good "cake"

    Joanna, Yes, CA is pretty sweet. Where else can you get a bacon, lettuce, and strawberry sandwich with a view of the bay? (Crissy Field, yesterday...)

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  19. Those apricots look so good!

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  20. I love that you dream of creating delicious food. I never do, but I love that you do... It sounds like a most soothing way to dream.

    Welcome home. Belated, I know. But maybe not so...? A new reminder of how good it feels to come back to the familiar and loved that makes our nests home..?

    xoxo,
    -maria

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  21. Aron, Thanks!

    Maria, I woke up today after trying to figure out a poem in my sleep. I felt all tense and then I forgot the poem. Sheesh.

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