Shrooms, hops and Social Studies

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: "Dark Autumn Hour" by Frontier Ruckus and "Ain't Lookin' Back" by Band of Annuals (Greg, no worries, it is totally 'a killer tune that needed to be passed on.')

Yesterday marked the official end of Sashadan, which the president of our board at work was partially responsible for coining, though he doesn't know it. I cheated on my non-cleanse with a glorious cup of coffee in the morning, a brew festival all afternoon, a tri-tip lunch, a lamb stew dinner with a glass of wine (courtesy of Carrie and Bethany) and a Racer 5 aperitif with a concert at the Hemlock – The Donkeys, Parson Redheads and Social Studies. I have to say, Social Studies (pictured above) blew my mind and not just because the lead singer is Jeani's tall bizarro twin. The band's sound rests somewhere in the Metric/Pretty Girls Make Graves/You Say Party! We Say Die! camp with angular hooks and staccato rhythms collapsing into lovely harmonies and back again. After the first song, I was not surprised to that the Hemlock's back room was packed for their opening set (seriously, no ever shows up for the opening act in SF). Of course, I don't think I need to espouse my love of the Parson Redheads right now... or do I... I won't

The Brewing Network's Winter Brews Festival at Linden Street Brewery in Oakland yesterday was most excellent and my favorite beers of the day were (in order starting with THE one I enjoyed the most): Russian River's Rejection (brewed for Valentine's Day!), Green Flash's Grand Cru, Ninkasi's Believer Double Red and Uncommon Brewers' Rubidus Maple Red. The latter was an serendipitous coincidence: containing the odd ingredient of Candy Cap mushrooms – the very mushrooms that Adam and I went hunting up last weekend in the East Bay hills.

The weather has had me feeling a bit like a mushroom lately, though that didn't stop me last weekend from getting one more step closer to my goal of brewing beer by the end of the year – Billy and Michelle hosted a open invite brew day and I finally was able to put all the steps together into one coherent time line (I've helped Adam before but in disconnected steps: bottling and capping, transferring wort and pitching yeast). Needless to say, the brew fest only inspired me more (there was a whole home brew tasting section).

And now, for the first of what may be many (or one), a song... that I wrote! I think I'm going to adopt the moniker "The Messy Endings." I was inspired by Carrie's voracious song writing (and encouragement), as well as the Castanets' (above) show back two weeks ago at Hemlock (with Massachusetts/Maine singer-songwriter Tiger Saw and angsty Australian Alps of South Wales). So here you are: "First Communion." Oh, and yes, I know I can't sing worth a damn.

Bread, Chocolate and "Many Lives"

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: BwGN#4 It's Cold and "Blown-Out Joy from Heaven's Mercied Hole" by A Silver Mt. Zion

On Tuesday, I baked my second loaf of pain au levain from the starter I made on Saturday. It was almost a bigger disaster than my freak upside-down bread – I started making a full dough recipe from a half recipe of starter. Hoo-hooo! Thanks to Reinhart's advice for dough texture (the previous link has the best pages in the book – esp. regarding the "stretch-fold" method of kneading/mixing and what I find most difficult – shaping), it was still a success in the end:

Last night, I made my third loaf from a new starter: sandwich loaf style in a pan. This time, no goofs or oops. It is the best loaf so far – crusty on outside like the others, but softer on the inside – and I'm looking forward to baking off the rest of the dough this week. My roomy says that I'm obsessed, but that she doesn't mind as long as there's fresh bread around – even though we usually have fresh bread around anyways, even if it's not homemade. I'm finding that my loafs made in this style with only natural leaven (wild yeast that I have captured a la sourdough culture), have much better oven spring if they sit in fridge at least overnight. However, that doesn't mean that the denser bread like the one I made yesterday isn't hella tasty.

On another note entirely, Final Fantasy/Owen Pallett's new album Heartland is brilliant.

Zoe and I saw him perform on Thursday at Bottom of the Hill. Live, Pallet is stunning. Compared to his other loop obsessed brethren, only Juana Molina is an equal in virtuosity using that technology on stage. (Sorry Andrew Bird, but your formula's getting old, though all the more marketable to the NPR set... you know who you are). My favorite part of the show was the one song Pallett played his violin without help from his rows of pedals (well until the very end): "Many Lives –> 49 mp." I also enjoyed "The Butcher" which is apparently on the EP Spectrum, 14th Century that I really need to go hunt up. His voice is so perfect for a rainy Sunday like today.

And what should you drink on a cold stormy day like today, perhaps while listening to Owen Pallett?

Sasha's Stupidly Decadent Vegan Hot Chocolate

1 cup water

Rooibos tea bag (plain, no crazy spices)

1 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk substitute)

3 tsp. sugar (or try agave syrup)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. coconut butter

Pinch of salt

2-3 heaping teaspoons of unsweetened dutched chocolate

Optional zest of orange peel and/or nutmeg.

1: In a saucepan, bring water and tea bag to a boil.

2: Fish out tea bag. Add soy milk. Turn heat down to medium low.

3: Add sugar, vanilla, coconut butter and salt. Whisk.

4: When liquid begins to simmer, add chocolate one spoon at time while whisking.

5: Finish with zest of orange and/or nutmeg (or not). Serve.

Makes 2 cups, one for you and one for you... I mean to share.

Vegan Soup for the Lymbyc Systym

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: "Contemporary Art" by Lymbyc Systym and "This One Or That One?" by The Six Parts Seven

Saturday I went with Zoe to Café Du Nord to see one of favorite acts for fourth or fifth time: the Lymbyc Systym – comprised of brothers Jared (keys, guitar) and Michael (drums, laptop, xylophones) – pictured left... no not a recent photo. They were joined by a violinist, whose name escapes me at the moment, but may have been Chris Tignor, who supported on the new album Shutter Release, which, if you don't own yet, you should stop reading, head out to your nearest record store, purchase said album, and then thank me later. It was great to see them in the venue where I first heard them, opening for the Album Leaf in July of 2006. I was on vacation (I still lived in Boston at the time) and Zoe (who was "home" from school for the summer) had found out about the show and had gotten us tickets. I remember a kid, who was underage and with his father, trying desperately to get in at the door (they let him in) – they had driven up from Phoenix just to see the Lymbyc Systym and, needless to say, I took notice. The show was made only more beautiful by opener Helios from Portland (one more reason to pick up and move there...).

Of course, this is not the real reason I'm posting. I'm posting about the fooood I made while all this music was still lulling my brain on Sunday. I baked my first bread from my sourdough culture! And, no, I will not post a picture of the monstrosity. My pain au levain (.pdf – scroll down to levain) may not have won any beauty pageants, but it was hella tasty. My poor guy was rather sticky and, rather than sliding onto my new pizza stone, he plopped on (oops!). Lesson learned. Use parchment paper! And what did this bread accompany? Well, a rather large meal that I shared with Jeani and Marc that featured my favorite soup... which I finally wrote down so that I could share (especially with my former boss Cindi, who was always bugging me for recipes):

WHITE WINTER SOUP

This soup was inspired by the winter Farmer's Market in Berkeley last year. I didn't write it down initially, but I think this is a good approximation. This is a very creamy vegan soup that tastes as though there were cream, milk or butter in it. This version has a slight tang to it thanks to the parsnip and turnip (I vaguely remember not having one of these ingredients last year, or maybe not, who knows).

1 Med.-Lg. Onion (Cut into 4-8 wedges)

1/2 "White Part" of a Lg. Leek (Cut into 3/4 inch rings)

3 "White Parts" of Green Garlic (Slice lengthwise)

1 Lg. Cauliflower (Remove stalk and leaves)

1 Med.-Lg. Celery Root (Peeled)

1 Med.-Lg. Turnip (In this case, I had a Purple Top Turnip – remove root and top)

1 Med.-Lg. Parsnip (Remove top)

Cut the above four veggies into large pieces (but small enough that your food processor or blender can handle them)

Juice of Half of a Lg. Lemon

2-3 Tbsp. of Apple Juice

3 Cups Veggie Stock

3 Cups Water

1 1/2-2 Tbs. of Fresh Rosemary

1: Put 2 Tbsp. of Olive Oil in a Med.-Lg. Stock Pot and out on Med. Low Heat.

2: Preheat Oven to 350º.

3: Pour 1 Tbsp. of Olive Oil in a Lg. Bowl with Cauliflower, Celery Root, Turnip and Parsnip. Toss.

4: Add Onion to Pot. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes...

5: Spread the Tossed Vegetables on a Sheet Pan. Put in Oven for 10-20 minutes. Shake Sheet Pan occasionally.

6: Add Leeks to Pot. Stir. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes...

7: When Leeks and Onions almost translucent, add Green Garlic. Stir. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes.

8: Deglaze Pot with Lemon Juice. Stir. Cook for 2 minutes.

9: Add Veggie Stock (I make my own, but a mild low-sodium brand from the store works fine too) and water. Turn heat to High and bring to boil.

10: When you can start to smell the roasting Veggies in the Oven caramelizing (you want them to start, but not get to brown), pull the Sheet Pan. Add the Veggies to the broth. Deglaze the pan with Apple Juice, pour into broth while scraping the pan with a plastic/rubber spatula.

11: When Soup comes to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Cook for 1.5-3 hours, adding water if need be (liquid should not drop below solids).

12: Near the end of the cooking period, add Rosemary.

13: When Vegetables are soft, blend! I used an Immersion Blender (thank you Santa Claus), but you could use a Blender or Food Processor). Blend until smooth and the surface gets a slight sheen. You should not need to strain.

14: Season with salt, pepper and lemon. Garnish with a zest of nutmeg. EAT!

Makes about 6-12 servings.

Enjoy!

Where'd the year go...

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: "Committed to memory" by Tom Brosseau.

This is a statement I have made more than once in the past month and I know more than a few friends who have too. Well, luckily a personified New York Times was wondering the same thing.

Speaking of time passing, my sourdough seed culture entered phase 3 today. It's the little things.

And It Begins...

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: "Parliament Square" by Stina Nordenstam and "Never Coming Out" by Or, the Whale Curses that I did not attend OTW's show at GAMH – now I have to wait 'til friggin' March to see them again!

For the last two years, I have been doing the same... friends have called it a "cleanse" and I don't care for the term, because I don't change my consumption patterns as some simple control-alt-delete for my body. For four weeks in January, I consume no caffeine, no alcohol and try to stick to a pure vegetarian diet (some may call it vegan). I do this to re-ground, to analyze what's important to me and why I choose to eat and drink what (and how) I do. If I am what I eat, what am I?

For the four weeks, I also try to keep my sugar intake at a normal level (a hard thing to do, I have learned, when you give up even moderate consumption of le booze). To mark the occasion, I also don't shave for the duration and grow what has been appropriately deemed "The Hobo Beard" (see the atrocity, circa 2008, to the left).

I kicked off the third annual whatchamacallit today with a macrobiotic bowl of kale, sea vegetables, quinoa, kim chee and sprouts at Café Gratitude (mmmm... I don't care what most folks say, they do do some dishes right). This first week I dread – the week of the caffeine withdrawal. Last year, I had particularly debilitating migraines (damn you excess adenosine receptors!).

Last year, I made a resolution of sorts to start exercising more and started playing soccer again regularly. Will I start doing a little more than that this year, perhaps a regular schedule of running or biking? Good question.

This year, my addition to the "cleanse" (another resolution, if you will) is to make more time to read at home: I've got a lot to get through if I want become a better bread baker and a home brewer, not to mention satisfy my usual fiction fetish. This means less TV, to which I may be more addicted to than caffeine. When your drogas of choice is Chuck (to name one of many), it's hard to say no!

Wish me luck (but not too loudly please)!

A New Start

Boy with Girl's Name recommends: "Last Year" by Akron/Family; "Gobbledigook" by Sigur Rós

Although the final night of the first decade of the 21st century is swathed in a metaphorical San Francisco fog that was more convivial than precipitable, I did accomplish a cathartic feat of cookery during the day – beginning a seed culture (orange juice & rye flour) for a sour dough starter.

It may not be much to look at, but I hope that I'll soon have a bowl teeming with wild yeast secreting carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol, not to mention the bacteria secreting lactic and acetic acid that makes sourdough so tasty. I'm working from Peter Reinharts' brand new bread book Artisan Breads Every Day.

"Last year was hard year,/for such a long time/this year's gonna be ours."