good eats lately

I made carrot cake cupcakes for my Dad's birthday on August 22, happy bday dad! they were amazing, the recipe i use is from barefoot contessa, and that bitch can bake! I do everything that she says, except i add a bit of nutmeg, and just use whatever oil i have around the house, whether it be vegetable or extra virgin, i dont seem to taste a difference. I cut down the frosting to at least half and its a perfect amount... i dont know what she is doing with all that frosting that the recipe calls for (maybe eating it, she is kinda a big lady, hehhehe).

Chandra came over to help, and make sure the cupcakes were up to eating standards, i think they were, she had like 3. but i am not judging, i think i had at least 2.

I secured two bananas that were aging fast from my mom after dad's birthday weekend. I rarely ever buy bananas, i am not a huge fan, and only force feed them to myself if I am 1. hungover or 2. no other fruit is available. alas, i am a fan of banana bread and this loaf turned out GREAT! I coulda used one more banana (i only had 2), but thats just me being picky..

YUM!

outside lands awesome-ness

                  some really rad iron artwork! i love these things, i feel like there is some dude that just makes these for festivals, because the past 3 or so festivals i have been to, these things have been there... well ok, not exactly the same things, but same concept. BUT i am not complaining, they are pretty gnarley.

 the strokes

 WolfMother

edward sharp and the magnetic zeros

 Chillin out at the Damian Marley and Nas show. I think this was my favorite show, pretty sure it was sam's too. the vibe at their set was just so uplifting and positive, i think i was smiling the whole time. :)

 kings of leon. they were the last band of the night on sunday, we stayed for a while, but were so beat by the time they went on that we only ended up staying for a few songs.

fleshly amusment for wordless wednesday, sorta

giants v. cubs, game 4

  kinda a rad shot, mid pitch

manic monday

August 1 marked the day that North Korea killed it in Beer Olympics. It turned out to be a beautiful day and Kim Jong Il (Sam) being the fearless leader he is, helped clench first place in beer pong. Below is our team, Kim Jong Il on the far right, and the P.O.W's to the left

 

And also, THE SUN came out! its been a while since we have seen it here in San Francisco, so it was good for him to hang while the games were going on.

Some pur-dy flowers in the massive back-yard. Flowers always make everything more awesome, and also, they make me happy. :)

HAPPY FRIDAY the 13th!!

Its gonna be a great weekend, OUTSIDE LANDS is Saturday and Sunday and I cant wait! Have a fantastical Friday everyone! 

first harvest!

OMG, omg, omg you guys! I had my first harvest last week! ok, so it was only 2-3 cherry tomatoes and a plate full of lettuce, but shoot, a harvest is a harvest, no matter how small! 

the tomatoes are struggling, as I have said before, but they are actually starting to come along and turn red now. Not sure if this is a combination of me backing off on all the attention i am giving them or if it is the weather has turned a bit more humid... therefore creating a warmer environment them...

my plate of lettuce! I am really excited about this, I always buy a head of lettuce at the produce market, and pretty much always end up throwing some away due to soggy moldy grossness... now I am not wasting and I know exactly where it comes from, no pesticides, no weirdshit added, its all my growing and love. kinda awesome. cant wait til my lemon cucumber gives me some goodness to add to the party.

strawberry guy, 1 - me, 0

A few weekends back I got suckered into buying a half crate of strawberries from some dude on a street corner in the lower haight area. I had to just run into a costume store to complete our P.O.W outfits for Beer Olympics (more on that later) and so on my way into the store and upon exiting the conversation went like this:

Dude on the Corner: Hey, fresh strawberries here! 

Me: No thanks. Have a good day though (but my mind says, hmm... that would be good in a pie, but i dont i feel like that kind of commitment tonight...)

DotC: ok, thanks.

DotC: (upon me coming out of the costume store) hey, fresh strawberries, $10 for the large crate.

Me: Shit. well how much for just half? 

DotC: $5, and i will add a few extra for you. 

Me: Damn. Ok. I will take them. Thanks!

So the damn strawberry guy prevailed and a pie was created. The crust was for sure one of the best ones so far... HOWEVER! i did not bake the fucker long enough to really get a true grasp on the amazball-ness of it. it was a little toooooo doughy on the bottom. also to note on strawberry only pies, its too damn liquidy, even with excess amounts of cornstarch. The next strawberry pie will have to have friends, such as blackberry, raspberry and/or blueberry.

just sayin

trials and tribulations

My city garden is progressing quite nicely.. things are growing well, but I for sure could use more sun on my tomato plant, and i am sure the lemon cucumber too...but all in all, things have been quite successful

Lemon cucumber close up on the left here. he was grown quite a bit since the first round of photos

And above is the most sad of them all, I planted about 10 seeds6 of chives in this pot and nothing has sprouted... the packet says about 60 days til they are ready to eat, but at this rate i am not getting anything... i suppose its the trials and tribulations of flora.

My mixed lettuce is coming along well too! today i used my first bit of lettuce for a sandwich. YAH! how great is that? fresh lettuce at a whim!

And last but not least, my cherry tomatoes. i feel like they have been taking a while to turn red, betty gave me great advice to put mulch on the top of the soil to keep it warm and therefor speed up the reddening process. i love garden talk. :)