Hedonia

Black Spanish radish

The problem with being a food blogger is that people assume you know what to do with all kinds of crazy ingredients. The upside is that you occasionally end up with crazy ingredients to figure out what to do with.

Such was the case this past weekend when we inherited a black Spanish radish from her CSA box, along with some kale and bok choy. "If anyone knows what to do with it," she said, "you two would." Why, of course we do.

OK, no we don't, or didn't. Admittedly, at first I was intimidated by this new creature, this charcoal-black, apostrophic, striated monster the size of both fists. But it's just a radish, right?

As a matter of fact, yes, it sort of is. A big, black radish. That it's also evidently Spanish is beside the point. But a quick Googling uncovered a trove of recipes for said radish, from Mariquita Farms, no doubt where this beast came from in the first place.

Where to buy produce

I know, I know. The obvious conclusion to that title is the farmer's market. But the reality is that the farmer's markets in town are profoundly inconvenient for me. When I do get to go to them, it's as a field trip, and excursion, a lark. It's not sustainable for me, pardon the pun.

Luckily, in a place like San Francisco, good fruit and veg is readily available at good markets all over town. No one store satisfies every need, but there are four spots that I frequent most often. Not coincidentally, they form a nearly straight line along a north-south corridor that limns my transportation options.

1. Golden Produce, 172 Church St @ Market
Why anyone would bother to buy one single vegetable at Church Street Safeway when Golden Produce is literally across the street is beyond me. Golden has pretty much everything you need, plus a little more, and a healthy dose of exotic/ethnic produce in there for good measure.

2. Bi-Rite, 3639 18th St btwn Dolores/Guerrero
Sure, you pay dearly for the privelege of shopping there, but Bi-Rite's produce, in particular anything that comes from the owners' family's Balaikan Farms is unbeatable. Local, fresh, ripe and close to the source.

3. Valencia Farmer's Market, 1229 Valencia St @ 24th
Not a farmer's market at all, but a good little hippie dippie market with good produce and a goodly amount of tofu and other health food staples. Excellent fruit here, and often at better prices than other places even within the Mission.

4. Nameless produce market, 1798 Church St @ 30th
I honestly have no idea what the name of this market is, but it never ceases to amaze me. They sport a constantly changing array of fresh produce, sometimes rather boutiquey. A couple of weeks ago I passed by and they had a box full of gorgeous tiny purple artichokes. Last week we found plump Romano beans, and for our anniversary dinner on Friday we got adorable baby zucchini smaller than your pinky. Considering how woeful the market situation is in Noe Valley generally, this place is a pure godsend. Plus, it's close to Drewe's, which makes for one two-stop shopping.

Edit: Just found a receipt. It's called Church Produce. Original.

Dear Safeway

Get bent.

Today was meant to be the one-kajillionth time we've ordered groceries from you. We lovingly selected the items we needed, carefully checking the right options so we didn't get any surprise substitutions that make no sense to the sane and rational home economist. We even chose the one available time slot we could possibly accept, two days nigh: 5-7 pm Wednesday, September 6, which would still necessitate a certain amount of hightailing from the office early.

So why, exactly, did you think it appropriate to call us 30 minutes into the delivery window -- and not, say, anytime during the previous 48 hours -- to alert us that you were unable to find a driver and therefore were simply not going to fulfill your commitment to us, your misguidedly loyal customers?

Your slogan is "Ingredients for life." As you did not deliver the ingredients I so desperately need, do you want me to die? Is this what you want from me, Safeway?

Well that's just too darn bad. I will survive, Safeway, and I will survive without you. Your loss is Whole Foods' gain, and BiRite's, and dozens of other markets. Even Bell. *shudder*

So thanks, Safeway. Thanks for making me realize how little we need you, since you so obviously don't need us.

Stalking the wily tamarind paste

So yesterday I had it in my head -- and once I have something in my head, I will move the heavens and earth to make it so -- to make the always-satisfying Salad of Pain. I've made it a few times before, and it has established itself as a mainstay in our mid-week menus. I've found it to be quick, easy and tasty -- all qualifiers of good weeknight fare.

Now, in the past, I've foregone the tamarind paste because I was too damned lazy to go out and get it. I've just subbed in some lime juice for tartness and astringency. This time, however, I decided to try to stick to the actual recipe, so I was hell bent for leather to find the stuff. A quick consultation with my friend Anita, who cooks a fair amount of Thai food, prompted me to make an excursion to the fabled 99 Ranch.

I've never been to 99 Ranch before. I expected a kaleidoscopic array of magnificently foreign and indecipherable product labels; unidentifiable smells both appetizing and otherwise; and the occasional glance askance at the lone guailo staring with unusual intensity at shelves full of obviously mundane product. I was not disappointed.

The Butterfly Effect, part 1

I've been tagged by Ilva, she of the fabulous Lucullian Delights, on this intriguing meme. Ilva never fails to amaze me with her gorgeous photography and delicious recipes. Of course, I'm a staunch Italophile, and as she's based in Pistoia, Tuscany, she's got my undivided attention.

The meme, The Butterfly Effect, originated at Dan Perlman's Salt Shaker, with the following proposition:

My thought in this meme is food items or events that changed your foodie life. Not some “oh, it’s the first time I didn’t put jelly on a peanut butter sandwich and used bananas instead” sort of change, unless you truly feel that affected you profoundly. That’s the key - it affected you profoundly, in some manner. A moment you can look back at and say “that was a defining moment”. The questions are simple, the answers might be harder - an item, person, event, or place that had that effect on you, and why. They don’t have to be big splashy things - sometimes it’s something very small and simple that changes the way we view the world - the famed “butterfly effect” (and I’m not talking about the Aston Kutcher movie). So, to those who want to participate, copy this and pass it on (and, if you’re so inclined, do a trackback to the originating post). Here are your categories:

1. An ingredient
2. A dish, a recipe
3. A meal (in a restaurant, a home, or elsewhere)
4. A cookbook or other written work
5. A food “personality” (chef, writer, etc.)
6. Another person in your life

Like Ilva, and Tana before her, I will take on this challenge in six separate posts. And to spread the love, I am tagging the following food bloggers to cogitate over the same things: Garrett at Vanilla Garlic, Martha at 2 Tasty Ladies (though she's just left on vacation...), Sam at Becks & Posh (as fodder for her upcoming Blogathon), Adam at Bloghungry and Anni at Life Is a Banquet. I very much look forward to everyone's postings! My first after the jump.