nobr akes

Yep, rice paper baklava is a real thing, and a plate of it is currently adorning

my kitchen counter.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Baklava:

~8 sheets dry rice paper (the rounds you can buy in Chinatown to make fresh

spring rolls)

1/2 c ground pistachios (grind to desired chunkiness. also, like me, you may

accidentally make pistachio butter, which is unbelievably delicious) (For nut-

free version, use sunflower seeds and sesame seeds!)

cinnamon

coconut oil, melted

3-5 T honey

dried rose petals (optional)

Have a bowl/shallow plate of warm water handy, big enough to soak the rice

paper in.

To melt the coconut oil, either heat it in a saucepan or submerge the jar in a

bowl of warm/hot water.

Soak the rice paper one sheet at a time and lay out on a work surface.

Coat generously with coconut oil (for the first sheet, coat bottom too so it won't

stick. I soaked the paper until it was wet, but didn't wait for it to get flexible.

Layer 4 sheets like this. After the 4th sheet, spoon on your ground pistachio and

some cinnamon (optional).

Repeat with the remaining 4 sheets.

Use a sharp knife to cut the whole thing into diamons/squares/whatever shape

your heart desires, and transfer to a greased pan.

Bake at 350 until the rice paper has puffed up and gotten crunchy. I think it was

about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile. dissolve honey in some water in a saucepan and heat. I added

cinnamon and rose petals to this to give it a little something, but just honey is

delicious too.

When the baklava come out of the oven, transfer to a plate (or if they are baked

in a dish with walls, leave them there) and spoon your (strained) honey over all

of them. Let them sit and absorb the honey (not for long) before serving. I cracked

the top layer and put honey inside the shell for extra absorbability.

Enjoy (before they get soggy)!

the verdict?

Peanut butter and banana mochi with sesame seeds,

a collabo with SF vegan foodie Francisco Grajales.

Also, we found corn and cheese ice cream at the Chinese supermarket, and

a full report is coming as soon as I am man enough to purchase it.

out of practice

Hello hello, my apologies for neglecting to update.

We'll start from the top, which sees me and some good folks on a steady

and beautiful climb in the Oakland hills yesterday. The ride was long and

sunny and picturesque, except for a spill I took when we started our

descent. Lesson learned: braking on turns is all bad. Thankfully, I made it

out with only a few bruises and scrapes, didn't even scuff my handlebar

tape (or my helmet!). One of the teeth on my large chain ring is bent

slightly, as I hit a pole. Anyway, I am sore as anything, but feeling well.

The route (about a 19 mile loop):

After the ride was an amazing dinner at Jesse's (and it's not just the low

blood sugar talking like it was for my post-fall Clif bar), involving

everything we could think of eating: white AND brown rice, roasted spicy

tomatillo-avocado-white peach salsa, homemade tortilla chips (cut tortillas

into 6 chip shaped wedges, fry. for softer chewy chips like I prefer, fry one

side. for crunchy ones, fry two), baked chicken with gouda cheese and

peaches (so damn good), and baked plantain strips with dried figs and

honey, all washed down with plenty of water and a little bit of wine to

kick the headaches. The best part of this huge and eclectic meal was that

somehow, everything tasted good piled on top of everything else, including

the plantain dessert. Jesse gets the credit for this one; I made chips and

salsa and sat down to stare at my bloody elbow while he labored away.

The previous evening saw a small trial batch of wasabi truffles, made with

the last of the TCHO chocolate from Star (on our last excursion to the

dumpster, Jesse and I were sorry to see there was no dumpster. we'll keep

checking back, as truffles are a-calling). Anyway, horseradish and dark

chocolate: not a terrible idea.

Before the truffles, in a horrendous blurring of cultural cuisines, I discovered

the kaffir lime leaf, a must-have from now on.

Miso and kaffir lime soup:

Boil water

add a healthy amount of miso paste

add chopped lemongrass and a few lime leaves

let this simmer for as long as you can stand.

I boiled Japanese sweet potatoes in it, as well as daikon radish and tofu,

which I used in another dish. The tofu picked up the flavors really well.

That's all for now. Will be hitting the drawings again shortly. Tonight's

experiments may or may not involve rice paper baklava, savory cornbread

twinkies, sweet rice fruishi and apricot-glazed baby bok choi.

Stay tuned!

Show number 2 is hanging proudly at Socha Cafe on Mission St. at Valencia!

If you are in the area, please stop in, and also swing by Luv-a-Java for show #1.

I'm onto paper-for-pens-pad # 3 (#2 was not as fruitful as #1, we'll see where

this one goes). I also invested in a 12.5 x 24 " drawings pad, which is extremely

exciting except that it's really hard to bike with (although it's come about 4

miles with me home from the store in the wind so anything is possible).

For now it's wet, and I will be carrying my portable paper.

Stay tuned!

sorry for the delay

Unpacking is harder than I thought it would be. So I've been spending

my hours out of the house with the few sheets of paper left in this

sketchpad, scribbling contentedly and augmenting my pile.

Color coming, someday soon.

My show is now hung at Luv-a-Java, 26th x Dolores

Please go check it out!

kitchen-breaking

well I'm moved if not unpacked. I scrubbed the hood on the stove, top

and bottom, fans and all for an hour today, scraping off years of green

and yellow grease with the end of a spoon handle. For some reason I

felt that cleaning the kitchen would set me at ease for living here.

Followed up the scrubbing with a trip to the humongous Chinese

supermarket 2 blocks East. Ahh, dinner.

Cold Soba noodle salad:

[1]

soba noodles (for a gluten-free salad, use any GF pasta, or this would be

awesome with quinoa, sushi rice, or no grain at all!)

[2]

ginger

garlic

chinese eggplant

soft tofu

thai basil

bragg's aminos or soy sauce

honey or maple syrup or agave

[3]

cucumber

fuji apple

avocado

ginger

green onion

[4]

sesame oil

chili oil and/or chili flakes

miso paste

coconut milk

salt

bragg's aminos or soy sauce

[1] boil soba noodles, strain, run under cold water

[2] soak eggplant, sliced, in salt water until ready to cook. saute with

garlic and ginger with a lid in any medium-high heat oil. let it crisp up,

add sweet and salt, add tofu, adjust sweet and salt, cover and keep

crisping. add some thai basil leaves

[3] chop for salad

[4] mix all together to taste as a dressing, pour on cold noodles. add [3]

and [4] mix together, sprinkle with chili flake and sesame seeds, and add

a little extra chili oil and sesame oil

tastes better eaten out of wooden bowls with new roommates.

enjoy.