July 31, 2009

Berkeley Bowl

Welcome to Berkeley Bowl West. There is another location as well,but this is the newer one that I am now going to. Why is it called Berkeley Bowl? Some might think it has to do with the produce,and they are referring to a salad bowl. Well, actually the name comes from the fact that the very original Berkeley Bowl set up shop many years ago in an old bowling ally. It was located on Shattuck Ave. My friend took me to that one way back in 1991, and I was smitten with it ever since. It was a very old funky Berkeley location with tons of characters,and by no means fancy. The produce however, was amazing! The prices were always way below the supermarkets , and they had produce that you would never in a million years find any where but there. It was my weekly destination,and the kids loved going. I would walk out of there with three packed bags, for roughly $25.00. Fast forward a few years.....They out grew the location,and built a new building across the street from the old location. I continued going,but parking was a huge issue, and still is. When I moved back from France, I went a few times, but stopped, because they used that location for the show "Top Chef" on Bravo TV. Needless to say, the secret was out and you couldn't find a parking spot to save your live. I was pretty sad about it, since it carried so many wonderful memories. Well, a month or so ago, my friend calls me up, and tells me about this new location. I was shocked, because I really thought I was current with the food goings on in this area. I blasted over there as soon as I could, and I'm now smitten once again,and happy that there isn't the huge parking issue that the other location continues to have. Lets take a peek inside shall we.
Click on all the pictures to get maximum food eye candy! Love the variety of vinegars and oils.
This is usually much more filled up, but you can see they also have some very nice pastries.
This is only one side of the cheese counter,
here is the other side!
Fish counter, and they do also have a meat counter on the other side of this.
But this is what they are mostly known for, their wonderful produce,that is priced so low.

Any kind of radish,carrot, or cauliflower you could want. If you click on this, you can see the purple cauliflower,and the yellow/orange cauliflower.
All the years I have been going to Berkeley Bowl, the lettuce is so cheap! Back in the 90's it was 39 cents, you can see that it really hasn't gone up that much!
These are just the plums and peaches, so many varieties that you don't know what to choose from.
Off to the right, there are many varieties of string beans, mushrooms and other things you have probably never seen. This section always sparks my imagination.
The bins of apples and pears even in the dead of summer, is something else! In the fall, it doubles in variety.
This little area is the organic section. Their prices here are comparable to Whole Foods, so I tend to skip it.
Bulk spices,cereal, snacks, grains...... You name it, it is there. I even found ground almonds to make some of the French desserts that I love.
Peeking over the lettuce to the main part of the produce.

This store is the reason that I tend not to go to our farmers market. It's all here,and many things are local. The prices cannot be beat,and they have a wonderful cafe as well.
Hope you enjoyed the visit to my favorite place.
Now, I better go and use the things I just bought from here to make some dinner.
Have a great weekend everyone!

July 27, 2009

When you recieve a gift like this.....

Caitlin's boyfriend, Cyrous, brought over some peaches from his families tree the other day, and I made the pie you see below. They always taste better just picked off the tree!
This is my favorite recipe for peach pie........




Peach vanilla cardamom pie



2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom

3 3/4 pounds firm but ripe unpeeled peaches, halved,pitted, each half cut into 4 slices (about 10 cups)


For the pie crust, use what you like, I always make the pate brisse dough

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean in processor;blend until vanilla bean is very finely minced. Sift vanilla sugar through strainer into large bowl; discard any large bits in strainer. Mix flour and cardamom into vanilla sugar. Add peaches to flour-sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.

Roll out your dough and you know what to do from here. I like to give it a wash of half and half to get that nice color.

Any questions let me know. I love this recipe, because of the vanilla bean and cardamom combination. It was a recipe from July 2007 Bon Appetit.
So if you want to look it up on Epicurious.com for more detail i.e their crust etc... go to their web site and put in the title of the pie.

Happy peach pie eating!

July 22, 2009

The simple dress that took forever!

This dress was a simple little design that took a while, only because of the fact that a. I stopped working on it right before our trip, and b. I had problems with the original design of the collar area. The pattern number is Simplicity #2725. It was one of the new "Project Runway" designs. The original design had a ruffle starting in the middle of the front collar, going straight down. I decided that it kind of looked too clownish, and so did Caitlin. ( You can see her boyfriend waiting patiently in the mirror )
Detail of one of the many pleated petals. The edges are deconstructed, so it should be interesting how it holds up when it gets washed.
The little red felt heart, will be tinkered with as the days go. I want to put a permanent brooch pin on the back. I bought these felt hearts in Paris, in the craft section of Le Bon Marche.

So, this it the little dress that was holding me up and making me go crazy! Now that it is done, I feel like a huge creative weight has been lifted. It felt like sewers block, and by no means was this dress difficult to make. I guess it is just one of those things!

July 20, 2009

Projects that are in the queue

I have been so desperately trying to motivate myself to cut this dress out and get it sewn. What is stopping me? Well, there is another dress that is not quite finished, and I just can't start this one until the other is done. I put the other one down when we went on vacation,and it is truly almost done. I'm tired of complaining about it now,and today is the day!! I will finish that dress, so that I can cut this one out and move on. I bought this pattern last year,and they no longer sell it anymore. I went to look it up, because I forgot to bring the pattern with me for reference, to buy some notions. To my dismay,they dropped it! I always wonder why they keep really ugly dated ones,and then cute ones like this, seem to just vanish! The sales women at the fabric store seems to think that the pattern is more difficult than most,and maybe didn't sell. The bodice has boning in it, and that may be the problem.
The fabric I'm using is from Anna Sui, and it is kind of a heavy weight thick cotton, with the above as a border on the bottom. I think it will be real cute. Send me good vibes everyone, so that I can complete the other project today!
I bought this cute little pattern last week at a quilt shop. I can't wait to make some of the pin cushions. There is a cute strawberry pattern that I really want to make. As you can see it is from the adorable Heather Bailey at "Hello, My Name Is Heather."
I know this picture doesn't fit in with the sewing post that this is, but I couldn't resist showing you these appetizer plates that I got at CB2 this weekend. I think I may duplicate the image and embroider them on to some cocktail napkins that I have. I think they are hilarious.

I had a very special day on Friday, where I got to meet, in person ,Valerie from "Un arc -en-ciel dans le lavabo." We met in San Francisco for a few hours,and we had the most delightful conversation. I got to meet her adorable little girl, whom she was vacationing with. I forgot to bring my camera to take a photo of ourselves. Perhaps one day I will go visit her in France and I will have my camera this time!! Go to her blog and check out how talented she is.....She sells her goodies too.

July 13, 2009

Farmers Market

A couple of weekends ago, I went to our farmers market and bought lots and lots of flowers. Our farmers market is year round, and I have been too lazy to go. I decided that I should start going to at least buy flowers every week for the house. I've blogged before about how I think having cut flowers in the house is so good for your well being,and how much life it brings to your home. As of now, I have been just picking up bouquets at Whole Foods,where I shop, and not taking advantage of the wonderful farmers market that we have in our town. I didn't get to go this past Sunday, but this is what I got last week. They have faded since,but I had so much fun arranging them. The bachelor button flowers and sweet William flower arrangement was simple in this cute vase with a screw top metal grid of sorts. Instant dome with no fuss.
I love lavender and the scent always reminds me of freshly washed white linen. So, I bought three bunches,and decided to make a wreath out of them. I haven't made a wreath in many years, so I'm a bit rusty. I should have bought a fourth bunch to make this fuller, but it was still fun to make.
Start with making little bundles like the one above....
Then begin attaching them with the same wire. I always wrap the bundle, and then continue wrapping it on the form, with out making a cut in between.
Finished result. Like I said, it could be a bit fuller, but I love the smell and it is nice to have fresh lavender in the house.

As for my sewing, I've had a few distractions lately and I hope to get to it this week,and have something to show for it on here. Stay tuned.............

July 7, 2009

Summer fun

Decided to go up and visit my sister yesterday,and spend the afternoon with her. Caitlin and her boyfriend, Cyrous, decided to join me. Who could resist taking a dip in the crystal clean pool!
My posts have been pretty random, just like my summer so far. Just thought I'd share a little of what is going on with our lazy days. The picture above is of my nephew Matthew, doing a cannon ball into the pool, with Caitlin and Cyrous looking on.
Caitlin being a ham, with her boyfriend and my niece Isabella looking on.
The cutie pie dog is named "Ella." She was bugging them non stop to throw her little ball.
She kept dropping it in the pool to get someones attention!
I made another pie! This time blueberry.
Into the oven......It turned out yummy, but since I made it later in the evening, I didn't take a picture of the finished product. It's gone now, so you will have to trust me that it turned out pretty :)

I will be sewing most of the day today, and I have this really cool fabric that I will be working with. I'll share photos soon.