San Francisco

I saw this article in San Francisco Magazine about teahouses in SF. I am thinking of going to some of them....
THE GLOBAL BLEND
Samovar Tea Lounge—named for the Russian contraption that boils water—honors the traditions of all the world's tea capitals (Moroccan, Indian, Japanese, and Russian meals are paired with complementary teas from each region), but the three-tiered British service is the shop's specialty. And there's no need to guess your tea's pedigree-Samovar serves primarily organic and Fair Trade goods. Each tea is grown by family artisans whose names are printed right on the menu. 498 SAN- CHEZST(AT18THST), S.F, 415-626-4700; YERBA BUENA GARDENS, UPPER TERRACE, Sf, 415-227-9400, SAMOVARTEA.COM

THE OLD WORLD
The most formal of these teahouses, the three Lisa's Tea Treasures,
all located in the South Bay, are styled to resemble traditional Victorian tearooms-right down to their servers, who wear full 19th-century garb. Tea sandwiches in appetizing varieties like egg salad supreme or pesto nut are served, and creative custom blends like Champagne Raspberry and Spiced Plum are available for sipping and purchase. 377 santana ROW SAN JOSE, 408-247-3613,-1175 MERRILL ST, MENLO PARK, 650-322-5544; 1875 S. BASCOM AVE. #165, CAMPBELL, 408-371-7377

THE GARDEN PARTY
Even with a tea menu that includes black, green, fruit, and herbal varieties, Tal-Y-Tara Tea and Polo Shoppe maintains its strictly British charm. The fact that the teahouse doubles as an equestrian shop only adds to your sense of having hopped the pond. If polo paraphernalia isn't your cup of tea, grab a table in the charming outdoor garden. Be sure to try the Motorloaf, a turn-of-the-20th-century specialty bread that tea sandwiches are cut from before they're nestled back into their crust for serving (or, back in the day, for safekeeping while motoring). 6439 California St. (AT 27TH AVE), S.F, 415-751-9275

THE DOLLHOUSE
Secret Garden Tea House in the Inner Richmond is the perfect rainy-day diversion. This Victorian-inspired gem lets you sit, sip, and gaze straight into Golden Gate Park from the cozy nooks inside. The Bedford's Delight tea service includes six finger sandwiches in varieties like mango chutney with English sharp Cheddar, and curried egg with spring onion and fresh cilantro, in addition to scones and dessert. 721 Lincoln way
(BET. 8TH AND 9TH AVES.), S.F., 415-566-8834, SECRETGARDENTEAHOUSE.COM

THE TREASURE TROVE
The preeminent San Francisco teahouse is undoubtedly Lovejoy's Tea Room in Noe Valley. A quirky space with mismatched china and bottomless pots of tea, Lovejoy's books up far in advance for its weekend tea service. Opened in the early 1990s as an antiques shop that happened to serve a good cuppa, it soon blossomed into a full-fledged teahouse—and should you fall in love with a certain cup, pot, or type of tea during your visit, they're available for purchase at Lovejoy's Attic, just across the street. 1351
CHURCH ST (AT CLIPPER ST.), S.F, 415-648-5895,

Fish Fillet with Lemon Tarragon Butter

This is a recipe that I found on the back of an O Organic Tarragon box:

Fish Fillet with Lemon Tarragon Butter
Tarragon pairs beautifully with any white fish fillets, such as Sole, Orange Roughy, Cod or Mahi Mahi.
Ingredients:
• ¾ lb. white fish fillets
• 3 tablespoons OT" Organics Butter, divided
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh O™ Organics Tarragon Cooking Instructions:
Salt and pepper tops of fish. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch skillet. Add fish, top side down, and cook over high heat until brown on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook until done when flaked, about 3 minutes. Timing depends on thickness of fish. Remove to a platter. Over low heat, add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Stir in lemon juice and tarragon. Spoon over fish.
Makes 2 to 3 servings.

The chocolate and wine pairing was interesting however the chocolates were made in Cellar 360 and the results therefore were not exactly applicable to other situations, however the one thing Lily Peterson from Copia emphasizes was that the wine should be as sweet as the chocolate you are having,


Some webpages


Wine and Chocolate pairing from About.com

Tastebuds!

After attending the Wine and Chocolate pairing class by Lily Peterson from Copia at Cellar 360 and hearing about the SF Gate's article about taste buds, I got determined to figure out the number of taste buds I have, here are pictures of Steve's tongue and my tongue. The research did not yield very acurate results...the good news is no matter how many tastebuds one has; there are other factors that have an effect on how one percieves tastes, among them are the temprature of the food, it's smell, it's looks and it's color. Plus that one can train oneself to sharpen their sense of taste


These are the links to webpages about taste buds...
Taste Perception


Test your tastebuds


Tastebuds and wine

Also BBC has an interesting page about Psychology tests


Here is a link to an article about olfactory(sense of smell)Sense of Smell

Spice Toaster

Spice Roaster or Toaster

According to http://www.mccormick.com Some spices toast better than others. For ideal results, experiment with these spices:

- chili powder - ground
- coriander - whole or ground
- cumin - whole or ground
- curry powder - ground
- dill seed - whole
- fennel seed - whole
- mustard - ground
- sesame - whole
- white peppercorns - whole or ground
- avoid toasting poppy and mustard seeds or ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Copied from: http://www.mccormick.com

Spices have an interesting way of maximizing flavors. When paired with the right foods, spices can tease the senses with an inviting aroma, tickle the palate with a newly discovered taste, and linger pleasantly after a satiating bite. Toasting spices before adding them to a comforting dish enhances the flavor sensation, as heat helps spices release their volatile oils, where their flavor essence resides. Top chefs from around the world often use this technique to add another layer of flavor to their dishes. Toasting spices is so easy to do (it takes less than a minute!), you can enjoy the flavor benefits right at home.
Dry Toasting - Simply place a dry skillet over medium heat. When the pan gets hot, pour in the desired amount of spice. Always toast only the amount of spice called for in the recipe. Using a spatula, stir the spice in the pan until it begins to release its aroma, approximately 30 seconds.

The Daily Grind - To extract maximum flavor from toasted spices, toast them whole and then grind or crush them directly before use. To grind, use a mortar-and-pestle or to crush, use the back of a skillet or a rolling pin. Place toasted spices in a self-closing plastic bag before crushing. You can also use a coffee grinder to grind spices. However, use a separate grinder for your coffee. To minimize any odor left behind from grinding toasted spices, grind raw white rice in the grinder. Rice absorbs odors left behind from grinding spices.

Wet Toasting - Wet toasting is essentially a way of sautéing a spice. Simply heat oil in a skillet and toast the spice for 20-30 seconds before adding other ingredients.

Winter Greens Salad with candied garlic

There was a very good class at Sur la Table. Tanya teaches really well. I learned a lot about seasoning and the salad dish was excellent.

Recipies I want to make:

I want to make this dishStuffed Turkey Tenderloins
This slide show has some cool recipies: slide show
These Soups from Cooking.com: Soups
This sounds like a great appetizer:Cheese log
Slide Show for Chicken Dishes, many of them sound wonderful: Winter Chicken Dishes
Some great ideas for kid's sandwiches:Incredible Sandwiches for Kids

Cake Decorating

I attended the cake decorating class at JCCSF. The focus was on creating architectural cakes. Zemmy(brown cat at the left) is interested in looking at the cake I created.

cooking calendars

My recipies has published these cooking calendars on the web. My favorites are the 100 calories dishes and the festive drink ones:
100 calorie or less snacks and thespirits of the season