Saturday, 5/2/26

 Happy Pride! Started the day with tasty brunch items (kudos to whomever brought that tater tot and sausage casserole), walked down to watch the parade, Jen ordered pizza for a late lunch, and then we stuck around to have dinner. 3 Blue Aprons! One didn't have its instructions, but "chili chicken verde" seemed pretty obvious and if I didn't do it as planned, I still made a damned tasty stew. Also a Moroccan chicken with carrots, couscous and dates, plus a Lebanese-ish ground beef situation on pita with yogurt and tomato-cucumber salad. all delicious as always. Tried to make it a fairly early night so we were home before 10. 

Friday, 5/1/26

 I was not excited to eat some frozen enchiladas from the freezer, since I hadn't really liked them the first time around. However, Jason and I were both pleasantly surprised that they had somehow improved? Soggy, yes, but far more flavorful. Maybe it was all the extra pepperjack I added? Anyway, it was actually a good dinner. We may or may not have eater a pint of ice cream after.

Thursday, 4/30/26

 We found a bag of barley at Deals & Steals for only 99 cents, and we had some sweet potatoes that were on death's door, so barley bowls for dinner. Roasted the sweet potatoes, and sauteed some zucchini with garlic and canned green chiles. Served with some cotija cheese and some quick pickled radish (also saved from a certain death), jalapenos, and red onions. Both satisfying and yet not too heavy.

Wednesday, 4/29/26

 Jason and Jodi had some project they were working on, so I cooked dinner from the cans of beans and tomatoes and a box of pasta that Jodi provided. I decided to go in a Mexican direction, so I sauteed up onion and garlic, added the black beans and tomatoes, and seasoned with lime juice, cumin, coriander and chile powder. I tossed the pasta in and it was a bit chili pasta thing? Served with hot sauce and grated cheese and it wasn't half bad. Jason brought over some farm lettuce but I couldn't be bothered to try it (Jodi never has good dressings) even though it looked nice.

Tuesday, 4/28/26

Tried out a new tofu recipe from the NYT: Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini. Well, I didn't have chickpeas, but they weren't missed. I also found the directions overly complicated (maybe I was still tired from my trip?) so I streamlined it by marinating the tofu for a few hours and then roasting it along with the cherry tomatoes (note: use lots of tomatoes!). I used some of the marinade as a dressing for spinach, and then served everything over rice. So tasty, even if I did forget the garlic in the tahini (also thought the tahini would have benefited from a little yogurt or sour cream). A keeper.

Monday, 4/27/26

 Straggled home. I fell asleep watching TV in the afternoon, but then rallied enough for a quick trip to the grocery store. Jason  (bless him) made pizza for dinner: provolone, pepperoni and pepperoncinis, semi deep dish. The last one was a tiny bit doughy, but we let this one cook as long as we dared and the results were worth it. Nice and crunchy. Early bed.

I feel like we made some really good eating decisions on my vacation. No super fancy places, which was fine. A couple of really good meals (Copra, Kuma Sushi, Kinara) and ate a few really good things (pastry from Parachute, I will never forget you). One slight tactical error was planning such early dinners most days, as it meant that we felt like we didn't have as much time during the day (the siren song of getting home early and relaxing was hard to ignore). I was also let down by having my knee hurt so much. I would have liked to explore more, especially at the beach, but stairs were dreadful, I missed being able to take a walk in the afternoons while Jessica napped. But overall an excellent trip.

Sunday, 4/26/26

 Even though I didn't have to leave for the airport until 8pm, it still felt like not a real full day. We had breakfast at Le Marais, a French cafe not too far away (they used to have a spot in the Ferry Building that we tried last time I was in town). I had a sweet crepe with butter and sugar, plus a croissant type thing with asparagus and goat cheese; Jessica had le Complete, which is a buckwheat crepe with egg, ham and cheese. My only mistake was ordering just a drip coffee--it was weak and they served it with milk instead of half & half. I needed to find a hat for Carter; we assumed we could find one in one of the many souvenir shops at Fisherman's Wharf, but no. You can buy hats for the 49ers and the Golden State Warriors but not the Giants? That is how we found ourselves in a Lyft on the way to Giants Stadium. On a game day. Bedlam, as you would expect. But they sure had plenty of hats! Mission accomplished, we did a few little errands: stopped for a snack of chips and guacamole at the Ferry Building (meh), picked up a little more candy from See's, and went to the library to pick up Jessica's hold. For dinner we tried a neighborhood place called Gusto Pinsa Romana, a cute little place specializing in Roman style pizza (very puffy and light crust). We shared a margherita and one with spicy salami, ricotta and hot honey. They were both very good, but it was too much; if I could rewind we would have split one pizza and a salad. I can honestly say I had enough pizza and sushi this trip. Then off to SFO for the dreaded overnight flight home.