korean scallion pancake bento

 

Hi guys! Whew, crazy busy work week, glad to be staggering towards a three day holiday weekend! This bento with slices of Korean scallion pancake, pickled radish, avocado, spinach and tender green figs was for lunch today.

 

The tasty pancake, or Pajeon, was from a tasty dinner at Santa Rosa's Tov Tofu Korean Restaurant last night...

 

 

Banchan pickles

 

 

Jamison's bibimbap

 

 

 

 

 

I arranged a few slices of the pajeon with a palette of other green edibles: spinach, avocado, and local green figs for today's bento:

 

 

Speaking of colors, here are a couple of vibrant blooms seen and enjoyed on recent walks...

 

 

 

 

Happy bentoing and cooking, all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

veggie soba bento, a stroll through junior college

Hi guys! Today was a relaxed, take-it-easy kind of Sunday. Jamison and I went to the always upbeat and fun My Friend Joe, our favorite spot for coffee and browsing the paper on weekend mornings. I've become really fond of their spicy iced mocha with its cinnamon-pepper kick:

Magnetic poetry on the espresso machine

Some images from a stroll in the cozy and relaxed Junior College neighborhood, with its mix of Victorians, Tudors, Craftsman homes...and colorful gardens. We will be moving to this part of town in just a couple more weeks!

For Monday's lunch: soba noodles tossed with ginger, broccolini, carrots, golden squash and scallions, pretty striped green figs and cherries (flower accent from Goldie, our Meyer lemon tree..)

Happy cooking this week, friends!

st helena and salmon and cherries bento

Hi friends, how are things? Yesterday was a fun day, starting with a visit to King's Nursery, a color-rich oasis of growing things only a few blocks from our future home. Check out these iridescent purple morning glories!

  

 King's selection of tropical trees was outstanding, and I may need to make room in the garden for a "Mexicola" avocado tree:

A fig tree is already on the "must" list...

Jamison had the fun notion of visiting the pretty Napa Valley town of St Helena...and we drove through dry-green high hills and summer heat to get there

Interesting Victorian architecture in town: this old Mason's hall featured a nifty owl detail:

Discovering the eclectic, charming shop Muse was a treat. My eye was drawn in by the quilt Jamison is holding in this pic, which was part of a window display of soft "reconditioned" Indian saris-now-quilts...

Love that it has a 30's-yet-exotic feel and soft cheerful colors:

Stylish chocolates for sale, too. How fun would it be to run a little shop like this!

At Olivier Napa Valley, lots of olive oil selections and sun-rich condiments (loved the artichoke spread), and imported treats from Italy (this gorgeous pasta from Puglia) and France

For dinner, we baked salmon with crushed almonds and sauteed crimini mushrooms, and served with a fresh cherry relish (diced cherries, sugar, red wine vinegar) and felt the warm afternoon cool into deep blue evening, as it does most every night here...

In the bento: baby romaine, fennel, baked salmon, a blackberry macaron and local cherries:

Happy summer cooking in the week ahead!

breakfast at dierke's parkside cafe

We finally got around to trying a Santa Rosa favorite for breakfast/brunch/lunch today, Dierke's Parkside Diner, arriving early and relaxing in the cafe's artistic-quirky-casual vibe as while perusing a menu with creative twists on breakfast fare...

The cafe is owned by chef Mark A. Dierkhising and is dedicated to serving up tasty and very fresh meals, often with a seasonal lilt. Jamison's "Country Benedict" with rich hollandaise, bacon, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and mushrooms over a toasted baguette served with a lovely crisp outside/melting inside hash browns was very yum...

Soothing pancakes and sausage for me, with maple syrup and butter...

It was a good start to the day, one that set us up well for a few hours of browsing antiques shops. Some colorful flowers in bloom, seen on our outing:

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, friends!