Le Dîner en Blanc, SF style

I believe Le Dîner en Blanc started over 20 years ago in Paris, where guests dress in white and meet at a secret location to wine and dine and make new friends. It has since spread around the world, with SF holding their own last year. I saw it on Eye on the Bay and was eagerly awaiting its return this year.

When the announcement came out, I pounced on the tickets. And then awaited for the location, which was not revealed until 3 pm the day of the event. The weather all week had been spectacular in SF, but of course, the day of the event, Karl the Fog rolled back in. I guess it was appropriate that Le Diner en Blanc actually have a white foggy backdrop.

Honestly though, it was still quite beautiful! It was held on the Marina Green and to see everyone wearing white was such a pretty sight! And people went all out with their meals and table decor. I thought mine was all spiffy...

until I saw the chandeliers, tents, streamers, and amazing centerpieces. What the what?! So amazing!

Unfortunately, night photography is not my forte, so I couldn't capture the meal I made for my friends. We started out with a potato and leek soup with a bacon jam. I kept it in a thermos and it came out piping hot! Perfect to ease the chill of the night. 

The best I could get of the soup

For the main course, I made a butternut squash and spinach pie with pancetta. I remembered to take a quick photo of it before leaving the house. Unfortunately, I was initially going to use phyllo dough, but my stash in the freezer was not fresh and I had to toss it. So I made a quick crust with olive oil. I guess healthier, but it was dry. Still pretty though!

Also on the menu was a quinoa salad and chocolate cupcakes with a coconut buttercream frosting. No photos, boo.

Casualty of the evening suffered by my friend.
We MacGyvered a dressing with twine.

Overall, the evening was a success. The setting was such that most people brought a ton of friends, so getting to know each other was not really in the cards. But it was still fun and I would totally do it again!

Napkin Wave

A little blur on purpose 

Weeks 31 and 32, Woo hoo!

This week ended with a 2nd place win at a pie contest! Woo hoo indeed! More on that in a bit...

211: Sunday started with some red velvet cake, the dessert I never got to the day before. It was a mouthful of sugar, and not in a good way. Not going to that bakery again.
212: Another dinner at the desk, with some panini left over from lunch.
213: My favorite go to, noodles and broth, topped with a farm egg from Grandma's ranch
214: More soup, ran out of noodles though.
215: Dinner out, sushi! I could just eat this photo.
216: Happy hour! Oh, glorious happy hour. Pisco punch and apps at Le Mar.
217: Homemade strawberry and blueberry wheat pancakes for breakfast.
218: Had pizza the night before at Jake's, a high school hangout. Tastes good the next day too!
219: A huge plate of pasta with all the fixin's!
220: Made an eggplant zucchini parmesan. Not bad!
221: Enjoyed the tomatoes and basil from my garden. I need to do some homemade mozzarella since it is so much better than store-bought.
222: My favorite (well, my only) roasted chicken recipe from Emma. My dogs love it too.
224a: Missed a day! Thinking too much about pie, here's my entry for Omnivore Books pie contest.
224b: Celebrated my second place win with mango cheesecake. But could only stomach a mouthful after all the pie.

So I entered another food contest yesterday. Third time's a charm, and I tied for second place! Helps when 1/2 a dozen of your friends come by to root you on.

I made a version of Eat the Love's Cherry, Apricot and Plum pie. I had made it a few weeks ago, my first attempt at an old-fashioned pie. Thought I'd try it again, although this time, I had to go to the store for the fruit. No cherries in mine, and unfortunately most of the plums were not ripe. Plus I only had one pie pan, so I ended up making some pie "cupcakes" as well. It all seemed to turn out well in the end since there was barely a crumb left! (I think bringing ice cream helped too!)

So much fun! Thanks Omnivore Books and Eat the Love!

Exploring Golden Gate Park

Last weekend, I decided to get away from the computer and work and take a much needed exploration of the city.

My destination: Golden Gate Park. I've lived in the Bay Area for so many years, and I have been to bits and pieces of the park, but I don't really know it very well. So my goal: to walk from one end to the other, taking photos along the way.

Ha! It was not to be, especially in flip flops. I guess I figured I used to always do it in Central Park when I lived in NY, but GGP was a whole lot more vast than I expected.

Just made it a little over half way through

I started along the ocean side, walking along JFK Drive under foggy skies. Since I had gone for a run earlier in the day, my legs were already sore, so about 1/4 mile in, I had to take a break at Spreckles Lake. Made some friends with the seagulls.

Continued on, past the Bison Patch (had no idea there were bison in the park), taking another break at Lloyd Lake.

An abundance of seagulls, a few of which took a liking to me, despite the fact that I had no treats. Plus a pair of turkey ducks, which I don't think I've ever seen before.

Along with the bits of wildlife, I was enjoying the bounties of nature.

Then I came across the boat house and Stow Lake. Super cute area, with walking trails that took you up to the top with views of the city. 

A few more random creatures along the way. 

What a crayfish was doing in the grass, I haven't a clue. I picked him up to the glee of some kids, and they passed it around before placing him back in the lake down the road.

I was trying desperately to catch some hummingbirds in action. But alas, this is the only shot that I managed to get.

It was a wonderful little adventure, and I'm looking forward to more visits and more discoveries!

Hidden treasures

It's a rainy Monday here, which is fine because I'm working and can't be out enjoying the day. Sorry to those who have the day off, but at least the weekend was beautiful!

I've been exploring SF all week; it would be so lovely if I could have a house here. I would step out on the little balcony of this Victorian in the mornings...

Run off to the corner market for some bread...

Grab a latte at the cafe...

While staring out the large windows, daydreaming...

What a fantastic day that would be!

This past weekend, I headed over to Treasure Island, a treasure indeed. It's totally run down, but there is so much potential there.

This could be our Granville Island, with fresh produce markets, art galleries, and cute indie craft stores. I ended up buying a lot of wine and enjoying the Blue Angels. So much better here than the Marina.

Explored the area on foot, found a vegetable patch and enjoyed some freshly picked snap peas that may or not have been meant for the solo wanderer to pick.

Some other TI shots: