My First Easter in the Bay

 a "build-your-own Bloody Mary" bar

sour cream potato biscuits.  Recipe here 

finished biscuits

friends in Sundresses

hungry/hungover people - it was silent for about 5 minutes 

Nick with a full plate

Jason making some fresh-squeezed OJ for mimosas

carnation balls

Will loading up a plate

my first attempt at honey baked ham -  recipe courtesy of the Neeley's and my sister

Hunky Jesus Parade in Dolores Park

MC'd by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence - an order of queer nuns

Jesus to the right is actually not naked, he's wearing a burlap thong

festive Easter hats on dudes

funny man with winged shoes (photo taken right before he started pretending to have sex with a blow-up doll - thankfully no children were present!)

Hunky Jesus contestant parading around the park

Weekend Highlights

What a whirlwind!  It was a great weekend full of fun and sun.  And tons of good food.  And a musical love revival.  And a flash mob. And bocce.  Yes - it was one of those weekends where you're not quite sure how you did all that you did.

I met Nick and Oliver for lunch at Eiji - it's some of the best sushi I've had in my life.  And the tofu is made to order and absolutely delicious.  We ordered both the cold tofu and hot tofu in a delicate and savory broth to share.  Then each of us had the lunch special and the fish was so buttery it just melted in your mouth.

Saturday night a bunch of us headed to the bar Hotel Utah to see Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra.  They were wacky and colorful and full of knee-slapping funk and soul - just like you'd expect from the name.  They are actually playing as Jazz Fest in NOLA this year so we felt lucky to see them in such a small space where we could really get up close.

Sunday, or sun-day, we should call it, since it was incredible out, my roommates and some friends and some friends of friends all decided to head to Sausalito to soak up the sun.  We got to the Ferry Building when all of a sudden a flash mob in black militaristic uniforms gathered and started dancing to Janet Jackson.  It was a glorious moment that shall never be forgotten.  And luckily I got a few seconds of it on video!

We took the ferry out to Sausalito, and I have realized how much I've been missing the ferry and the ocean air and just being out on the water.  We walked through the super cute town until we got to Bar Bocce.  It's a bar/restaurant right on the beach and there are two bocce courts so you can play out in the sun while sipping on some beer or sangria while feeling the salty bay breeze.  People were very serious about their bocce.  They'd lick two of their fingers and hold them up to feel the direction of the breeze so they could better direct their shot.

We spent the day relaxing by the water in warm sun, drinking fruity wine, and eating yummy pizzas.  Around sunset, we caught the ferry back to the city and went home to make a grilled cheese and tomato soup dinner.  I used the 4 Bees Cafe recipe for cream of tomato soup, courtesy of Autumn, and it was as tasty as I remembered it being.

I hope everyone's weekends were also super relaxing and filled with friends and/or family and wonderful food.

Happy Monday!
Kimber

Beet Cake

Loving this video by tiger in a jar. Watching this 2 minute video was so restful.  In a time when cooking is often hurried and stressful, this beautifully shot mini-film reminds me that creating food can be peaceful and sensual, and there is much enjoyment to be had in the process, not just the finished result.

May your weekend be that relaxing.

-Kimber

Weird Wieners

I find these noodle wieners very intriguing and also slightly disturbing for some reason.  But it's a very interesting and creative idea!  Like part science project, part Halloween interactive decoration (like the blindfolded person putting their hands into bowls of jello and grapes)  Yeeech.

I hope that if you don't have much exciting going on this weekend that you take time to create these strange noodle wieners.  And I did re-name the jpeg "weirdnoodleywieners" so I expect my blog will start getting some increased traffic.  Whoo whoo!


Happy Friday!
Kimber


Photo found here (courtesy of Kristine)

A Goodbye, A Birthday and A Giant-Ass Wall Canvas

The title pretty much sums it up.  But since that would be a short post, I'll elaborate.

Friday we bid farewell to one of our nicest interns, Freddy.  He came to us by way of Germany and did a lot of great work on Mozilla's security team.  We went for some drinks at 21st Amendment, a bar & brewery with many amazing beers, including a watermelon beer in the summer.  We had some dinner, more tasty drinks, and then saw Freddy off to the train.

On Saturday, my friend Priya came up from South Bay and we went to our friend and colleague Jason's birthday gala at the W.  It was a fancy, disco, drag queen, diva-filled affair.  The gala was to benefit AIDS patients who need housing to live out the last day's of their lives with dignity.  Jason sort of piggy-backed his birthday celebration on to the event and it was a great idea.  We danced, enjoyed the company of some beautiful drag queens, and danced some more. 

Sunday I made my way across the bay to hit up West Elm and Ikea.  I figured they would be less crazy since most normal people were watching the Superbowl.  I bought a bunch of things I'd been needing for my room and also came across a giant, nearly six foot long canvas of a beautiful blue wave in Hawaii.  It's so large that standing in front of it, you feel the wave is about to come crashing over you.  It's strangely intense and yet calming because of all the lovely ocean blues and greens.  It now dominates an entire wall of my room - I love it.  And HUGE kudos to my fantastic roommate, Saunders, for spending almost two hours to help me hang this giant-ass thing.  We moved it up two inches, down 1, up one and a half, and it was still crooked so we repeated this process about twenty more times until it was just right!