Cheeseboard!

So I finally made my way to The Cheeseboard Collective. I have heard so much about their product: the cheese, the bread, and the pizza. I have often driven passed it and noticed a long string of customers waiting for their turn to buy the pizza of the day. There is only one type of pizza each day and everyday is different.

Cheeseboard, unlike many other restaurants, is worker owned, meaning that everyone has a say in the decision making process about how the business is run. It is a business that has been around since the late sixties and has been going strong ever since. There are two stores: one selling cheese and bread, and the other pizza.

I was helping a friend move out of her place and I was to stop by Cheeseboard Pizza while everyone finished up loading the truck. Unfortunately, I was a bit early for their dinner service so I just went two doors down for some savory bread. I picked up some bialys (sourdough bread with poppy seeds and onions), some pesto focaccia, and the focaccia with the tomato paste and green onions.

I was so excited to finally get a small taste of some Cheeseboard product that I didn't mind that we had to go without the pizza.

Next time, I definately want to make sure I get a chance to grab some of their pizza for dinner. (When they don't have feta on it, because B does not like feta.) Or, just pick up another bread to try.

Health Care

You go out for dinner on a Saturday night at a restaurant in San Francisco. You enjoy the ambiance, the service is great, and, best of all, the food is awesome. But, of course, you have to pay the price for your culinary experience. You get the bill and notice that there is a 2 % surcharge on top of the price of the dishes, the tax, and the tip. How would you feel?

But how would you feel knowing that the extra 2 % you have to pay goes to supporting health care for the restaurant employees. That includes your server who remembered the "dressing on the side" and the "water, no ice." That includes the prep cook who chopped up the cauliflower in your cauliflower gratin, the line cook who grilled your steak perfectly to your choice of medium rare, and the pastry cook who plated your chocolate espresso pot de creme.

San Francisco now has a health insurance ordinance which provides a way for the uninsured to get access to health care. Sounds like a great idea.

But, how does this affect your dining experience?

Restauranters were required earlier this year to find a way to provide coverage for their employees or pay a fee to the city for this health care program. In order to raise the funds to pay for health coverage, restaurants have to be creative such as: adding small fees to the bill, charging for items like bread (that would have otherwise been complimentary), etc.

Being a cook myself, it would be nice for everyone in the kitchen to receive health insurance. (I am fortunate to be covered by my husband's.) But the funds have to come from somewhere and I don't think that the general public would want to pay more taxes for this health ordinance. So it comes down to the employers.

Raising the prices on the menu would not be the tactful since prices at some restaurants have already been adjusted due to the rising cost of food.

So please, when you go out and see those small addition to your tab, understand that there is someone in the kitchen who endures long hours of standing, who been trained to cook your meal with precision. For a moment, think about those who after you have long finished your meal and have heading out to enjoy the rest of your evening, has still yet to finish the night over flaming stoves and hot ovens.

Think about us who are good at what we do and love it, who endure it whether or not we get the health care or not, who after a long day of busting in the kitchen can still find satisfaction in what we do.


You can find out more about the health care ordinance at SFGate or at Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

All Things Chocolate...

I have decided to write a series on different aspects of chocolate. And though I am not a huge fan of chocolate, there are so many things about this ingredient that intrigues me and, I feel, demands closer observation and attention.

So every few weeks or so, I will post something that I've learned or experienced about chocolate whether it is a new brand that I've tasted or a recipe that I have been working with...

Chocolate is complex. It has been a culinary luxury, historically, and it has been as rare as gold during times of war. It has delighted many from children, to foodies, to friends sharing a hot fudge sundae. It is one of the toughest ingredients to work with, giving you no mercy if you fight against it. But it can be your friend as it awakens the sense and tickles your palate.

Chocolate is choice. One may buy only bittersweet chocolate while others indulge in milk chocolate. One person will have it in any way shape or form while another prefers it as a simple bar of chocolate. Some like it as an indulgence as they order double chocolate cakes or fudgy brownies for their dessert. Others prefer chocolate in moderation like a chocolate chip cookies., once in a while.

Chocolate is diverse. It comes in the form of bars, powder, and nibs to name a few. It comes in hot drinks, cold drinks. It can be cheap, mix with unpronounceable ingredients. Or it can come expensive at almost eight dollars for a three ounces.

Chocolate is curiosity.

The Wonders of the Korean Market

It's been a while since we've been to the Korean market to get our staple Asian ingredients. The one we venture to is in Daly City. It is farther away from us that some other Asian markets, but it is along the way to visit my family.

First, pan chan, the assorted fermented and pickled side dishes at the Korean table, are found in vats and our bought by weight. B, my hubby, loves the shredded spicy cuttle fish and the black beans, while I usually go for the seaweed salad and pickled daikons and cucumbers. This time, I also picked up the fish cakes.


Strangely, we both dislike kim chee.

One thing to note about pan chan when dining at a Korean restaurant: If the pan chan at a restaurant does not taste good or if there isn't much variety, then you can forget about the restaurant because low quality side dishes reflects poorly on the restaurant.

And what is an Asian market without fresh meat? A huge part of any Asian market is the butchery. At this one, it pretty much takes up the whole back wall of the market. You can pick the cut of meat that you want or select your fish from the tank. At this one, they lay out whole fishes on beds of ice. Here is a monkfish:




Also, there is the rice. Here at the Korean market, there is an aisle dedicated to rice from sweet brown to a mix bag of varieties. Also, you can find tapioca pearls and dried beans. A whole new aisle is dedicated to noodles. There is the vermicelli that is made of mung beans (completely wheat free), the soba noodles, the rice noodles. the buckwheat noodles.... But we stick to our brown and white rice. (But $5.99 for a five pound bag of rice reflects the recent rise in cost for rice.)

And a favorite snack for both of us kim bop. Not to be mistaken for sushi. Rather than raw fish, there is usually egg or shredded beef.


And of course, an aisle for sweets: the pumpkin flavored chips, the red bean paste cakes, and the crunchy corn puffs. But my childhood favorite: Pocky, those chocolate covered cracker sticks. There were only two flavors of when I was a kid: chocolate and strawberry. Now there is a display of all of them by the register Men's Pocky? It's a dark chocolate one. I don't know what that is supposed to mean.

I was never into Korean food until we were married. My mother-in-law, makes the best Korean barbeque, kalbi, short ribs marinated in her own mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, and other ingredients. . We probably bring back about fifty pounds of frozen marinated meat every time we visit. And it make a great excuse to invite people over for a barbeque.

The Sweetest Tomato

I am not much of a gardener. But, I am learning.

I was given a potted gerbera daisy one year for my birthday. I went out of town for a couple weeks and had forgotten to ask my roommate to water my flower. I returned home to a shriveled, dead plant. The poor thing baked in the summer sun.

Last year, I was again given a plant for my birthday: a tomato plant. I had named it Mater as in the character from the Pixar movie, Cars. ("As in 'Ta-Mater'...") Determined not to make the same mistake, I kept a close eye on it, making sure that it received some TLC. It had grown to be taller than me. Not bad for a cherry tomato plant. The best part was that it had tomatoes! Proof that I can do some gardening. So I made a second attempt this year: I picked up a beefsteak tomato plant, Mater 2. It has not grown very tall, but I am proud to say that it has produced fruit. At first, there was only one, and it grew big. But I think the best part was watching it change color. It started out green. Then, there would be a patch of light orange and, before you know it, it has become plump, juicy, and red.

I decided to eat the first fruit of my labor one night. My husband had decided to make an enchilada bake for dinner, so I chopped it up to garnish. It was the sweetest tomato I have tasted. I mean sweet like a fruit, though botanically speaking a tomato is a fruit.

I have five more little guys on their way. Hopefully they will be just as good.

The Second Attempt

Defeated.
That is how I felt when I left work today. I attempted to make my chocolate cherry ice cream again today since the previous batch was possibly contaminated by broken glass. I had just finished spinning it and had scooped them into the sundae glasses. There were about nine glasses on the half sheet pan. As I loaded them into the freezer, I missed the shelf and the glasses toppled onto the floor in a big old chocolate mess.

Gah! I felt so frustrated as all that hard work lay on the floor. It sounds silly, but I wanted to cry. You start to feel like: "Why did I bother to make it if this was going to happen?" I was tired and just wanted my day to end. I also was not looking forward to the clean up.

I will not be making ice cream at work for a while.

Too bad because it was really yummy ice cream.