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It’s Fall here in Northern California. The weather is changing from warm sunny days to windy and sometimes cool and rainy days. Yesterday it was on the cooler side, but still nice enough to go on a day trip. I drove to Oakland which is about 25 minutes from my home in Walnut Creek California. I took a tour of Rockridge Market Hall on College Avenue. This venue is fun for any food lover, especially me. I walked from the Coffee bar with my 2 shot espresso and steamed milk over to the bakery to scan the goods. I’m usually a Peet’s kind of girl, but this will have to do.

This place was bustling with activity from the vendors scooping fresh hot baked chicken from the ovens, to the customers selecting which salad or side dish they wanted to buy. This place is like Heaven on earth to me. They have everything from the best cheese varieties in the world to special organic olive oils like Bondolio https://www.bondolio.com/ made in Winters California. (Bondolio gives tours and tastings on Sunday’s in December and if you have 10 people, I learned they will fire up the pizza oven on site.)

I was impressed by the knowledgeable staff like Wendy who took me for a tour of the marketplace. She introduced me to jars of honey from all over the world. There was one called “Miele” that was made in Tuscany and it was most beautiful and feminine painting of dainty flowers on the jar. I can only imagine how sweet and lovely it tastes. “Alemany of Spain” had an orange blossom honey made with orange peel that would be delicious in a cup of herbal tea, and a thyme honey that is wonderful in marinades. They had other varietals from New Zealand and even a special one grown in the USA in Savannah Georgia called “Verdant Kitchen” that was infused with ginger and bottled like a maple syrup with fancy packaging.

The Pasta Shop displayed the most beautiful cheeses like the pasteurized Taleggio from Italy, a speckled blue Stilton from England and not to be forgotten the Bay Blue variety from Pt. Reyes Farmstead in California which I have visited and so many more.  I drooled over the perfectly half wrapped perfect sized baguette with aged cheddar melted inside. It tasted even better after the bakery slid it in the oven for a few minutes for me. I got excited when I saw the roasted hazelnuts and marcona almonds that were screaming to be purchased and served with a slab of Tomme de Gascogne from France. This cheese was semi soft and would spread easily on a crispy sesame seed cracker.

The Market Hall also sells canned Octopus in olive oil, stuffed calamari, canned sardines and mackerel fillets packed in wine and mild spices. They recommend serving these delicacies in a sandwich, in pasta, in mashed potatoes, or over tomato and saffron rice.  I also spotted smoked salmon in a jar or can from Alaska. There were Italian anchovies packed in salt and spicy peppers or paste which would work well to flavor stews and sauces and give them an umami flavor.

The store was adorned in cookbooks galore. I fingered through Nick Haddow’s “Milk Made” a book about cheese. It has 71 recipes and is written about how to choose your cheese, serve it and eat it for the best dinner parties. Great gift set ideas for whoever hosts your Thanksgiving feast this year including “Jamnation” damn good jam, the very popular Leonardi’s Balsamico, or why not bring a beautifully purple checkered wrapped Fig and Chocolate Panettone. I wanted one of everything, no kidding.

I did break down and buy a bar of Oakland’s own Barlovento’s Dark Chocolate studded with dried cherries and ate half of it before the end of the day. In my mind this is the best end of meal kind of treat. It melted in my mouth and provided the best tart little bite after chewing the biggest dried cherry I’ve ever seen in my life. I call myself a pastry chef, but I am truly a candy maker loving what chocolate does with caramel, orange flavors and liqueurs.

Which brings me to finish off the visit by taking in the meat market and fish market and watching the chef grill whole trout and then top with an olive and pepper gremolata. It looked like the perfect dinner to serve to my husband who would be looking for something like this at the end of his long hard day. I purchased a package of oxtails that would become a hearty meal for my family this week. Of course they were selling huge turkeys that are ready to be brined and baked, but I am still waiting for my second fridge to be fixed so that will have to wait. A dehydrated bone for my doggie Baxter was my last expense, making sure he would be happy to see me come home from my adventure.

Market Hall had so many other areas of interest like the wine section, the fresh flower stand, and the dried pasta section. In the pasta area, I browsed some I had never heard of like Rustichella d’Abruzzo’s Torchio, Orecchiette, Rigatoncini, and refrigerated pastas.  Chestnut flour was new and interesting. I had to ask what a chef might use that for. Wendy wasn’t sure exactly, but guessed one could make a pasta or special bread with it. And if you are wondering if they sell fresh home-made soup, well then you won’t be disappointed. I discovered clam chowder, vegetable beef, chicken noodle, and many more made daily. How does one decide? This place was phenomenal. I thought I was in the best culinary dream of my life.

I haven’t even spoken of the bakery counter which holds fresh pizzas, focaccia’s, the most desired loafs of bread like Multigrain Batard, Levain, Whole Grain Sourdough, Sicilian Green Olive and Cranberry Walnut, just to name a few. I wanted one of everything. My family LOVES hot bread. Doesn’t everyone?

Let me just say that I will be back to Market Hall in Oakland, California. Not only to deliver Wendy a jar of my very own home made apricot jam that I make every June. I go to Wolfe Ranch’s in Brentwood http://www.peterwolfe.com/ and buy their very ripe and juicy apricots found only an hour from Walnut Creek. Here’s a link to my older blog with the recipe http://letsmakemudpies.blogspot.com/2014/07/blenheim-apricot-preserves-make-summer.html.

This marketplace is a fun excursion to take your mom or best friend to. I only wish I lived closer so that I could walk there and find the best breakfast pastry, specialty coffee, lunch and dinner all in one trip. You must go. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: http://www.rockridgemarkethall.com/

Here is a recipe for a nice hearty meal on a cold autumn day.

Teri’s Beouf a la Bourguignonne 

3 1lbs. Chuck Beef cut into 2×1 ½ in pieces removing fat

1 ½ C Red Wine (I prefer Cabernet Sauvignon)

2 C Chicken broth ( boil bones for 1 hr w garlic, onion, carrot, celery, lemon after baking chicken and then remove meat from bones. Save chicken meat for another meal)

1 C. tomato puree

1 shallot minced

3 cloves garlic sliced

4 T bacon fat (I save the fat after baking bacon on trays and keep in fridge in a sealed jar)

4 T Unsalted Butter

4 T flour combined w 1 t Kosher salt and ½ t ground pepper

4 sprigs of parsley from garden chopped fine

3 sprigs of fresh thyme from garden. Remove leaves and discard stem

1 C. Beef bouillon or beef stock

1 C pearl onions (Buy in frozen vegie section in store)

1 ½ C quartered fresh button mushrooms

1/4 cup cherry preserves

2 T Brandy

1 T Worcestershire

1 T Mushroom Soy Sauce

1 C fresh or frozen peas

6 med white or red potatoes left whole

 

Directions:

Marinate beef in red wine for a few hours or overnight if possible. Remove beef onto a dry towel or paper towel and dry. Put flour salt and pepper mixture into a large bowl and add the pieces of beef. Coat on all sides and fry in small batches in a Le Creuset or heavy pan in butter and bacon fat. As they are brown, turn occasionally to brown on all sides. Remove and place onto a sheet pan lined w foil. When all are brown, place sheet pan in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile sauté mushrooms in butter and bacon fat. Add frozen pearl onions and add wine that meat was marinating in and cook down adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Cut up carrots in chunks, put on a sheet pan w olive oil salt and pepper and roast for 15 min.

After baking for 15 min, add beef into mushroom and onion mixture. Add shallots, garlic, tomato puree, chicken broth, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, Worcestershire, mushroom soy sauce, cherry preserves, any leftover red wine and roasted carrots. Cook on med high heat on stove until boiling, then transfer to oven making sure to cover lid w foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hrs. Then add fresh peas and bake uncovered another 30 min.

Peel 6 white potatoes and boil on med high heat covered in H20 for 30 min until soft.

When serving, place 2 potatoes in a bowl. Add beef stew to cover potatoes.

Serves 6-8

Enjoy!

Teri

 

Revised recipe originally found in James Beard’s American Cookery. Also used ideas found on Julia Child’s recipe.

Recipes may not be republished without prior consent.

Okay. So I have been back to Market Hall several times in the past few years since I have written this blog. I’m still blown away by what foods they offer to the community. Today my good and long time friend Kathi and I had a day trip to Oakland. We had originally planned on driving to Healdsburg, but time constraints and long car rides aren’t our friend, so to Oakland/Berkeley we went. Kathi was ready to be picked up when I got to her house. She is a huge foodie like me and her specialty is BBQ and smoked meats. I have yet to taste her creations, since we barely see each other. We have made time to chat on the phone every week for the past 33 plus years. She and her husband Paul have been long time friends all of these years and for this I am grateful.

Off we went to #MarketHallFoods. Kathi was in heaven noticing all of the different vinegars and chili concoctions. She loved the cheese section as well. I asked it I could talk to Christine, who i had met previously last Saturday. Lucky for us, they sent out her sister Juliana who has worked at Market Hall for the past 25 plus years. Why can’t I remember exact numbers? In any case, Juliana shared she has survived breast cancer during Covid and was able to take off six months to recover and take care of herself. What a blessing. Covid has been brutal to the local businesses who have relied on people’s patronage. Many places in San Francisco have closed down since employees are working from home. It’s been a crazy world.

Good thing Market Hall Foods is in a residential neighborhood. They sell produce, meats and chicken from Marin Sun Farms, fresh flowers from Wildflower and Fern, Coffee from HighWire Coffee, Roasters, and Fish from Hapuku Fish Shop

I met one of the fish mongers on Saturday who taught me how to bake fresh Sea Bass with herbs, onion, and lemon. I even saw a chef grabbing many fennel to make fish stock with. Guess who bought fennel and dill? Me. They also sell fresh fish and chips daily until they run out. Can’t wait to try it.

I love the produce section of the Market Hall Produce. I always buy plenty of beets, kale and greens for my family and my chickens. Even though Lunardi’s donates boxes of their imperfect greens, I like to have them on hand just in case I run out.

I came home with Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters, Amargo Chuncho Bitters for a Pisco Sour which I have never tasted. Christine promised me there was a recipe on the bottle and I should have it in my cocktail cupboard at all times. This bitters is made from 30 various peels, herbs, roots, barks and flowers from the Peruvian forest including Sarrapia and Quina leaves that are macerated then rested for six months in oak barrels. I also left with Scalzo Conserve Dinamite, a spicy Calabrian Tapenade which will come in handy in marinades and BBQ sauces. 

I also bought Day Break Seaweed Company Soba Ichi’s Shichimi Togarashi, the Japanese Seven Flavour Spice Mix, heavy on the chili. The suggested method to put this spice mix in is in tempura batter, salad dressings, a marinade for seafood and vegetables, or for noodles or soups. It includes black and white sesame seeds, Nori, ground ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, orange peel and chili flakes. 

Besides Burlap and Barrel’s Flowering Hyssop Thyme which I can’t wait to add to my next beef stew, I purchased a couple of fancy vinegar and spices. I was eye balling the fresh pasta dishes, but we didn’t have a way to keep them cold on the drive home.

Today’s visit was mostly an educational shopping experience. Kathi and I were so hungry from all of the pasta, charcuterie from the deli counter and exquisite cheese counter, gorgeous fresh fish offerings, even chicken legs for your chicken stock! Oh my! The produce shop focuses on local farms within 90 minutes, seasonal and sustainable selections to choose from. We spied freshly picked three kinds of corn on ice, cherries, asparagus and more. I’m growing 4 kinds of corn at #SmythFamilyFarmWC.

Kathi and I ended up at Crepevine Restaurant where we shared an albacore tuna salad, french fries and a salad. We gobbled it up and took off to check out the local shops in the Rockridge BART neighborhood. We walked into Atomic Garden where I found a few scrap booking supplies like colorful washi tape and a really thin hemp string to wrap presents with. So fun. We noticed a cool restaurant named SOI 4 Bangkok Eatery which looked very exciting. They serve Bankok street food with a twist. I might have to go back with one of my son’s and or husband to check it out. And Father’s day is THIS weekend, so it may happen sooner than later.

Next we drove to Berkeley Bowl because Kathi has never experienced this store before. it was only fitting that we make a day of checking out foodie places. We ended up at the Oregon Street Store since it was closer to where we were. Kathi purchased specialty orange vinegar, strawberries and peaches. I came home with a yuzu vinegar, various colors of beets with greens and carrots with carrot tops for my chickens and maybe more. 

We stopped at Mike https://www.mikehessbrewing.com/walnut-creek/Hess Brewery on the way home. This place has a fun vibe. I love their Vietnamese Coffee Brew a double Milk Stout at 12%. So yummy. Kathi had their Spacy Lacy Pineapple sour and cider combo at 4.3%. I had to take half of my drink home in my water jug since it was so strong. Of course it was kept in the trunk. Is that legal? You can’t throw this stuff away. It’s like candy.

A great day overall was had by all. So grateful for long time friends who have days off to run around the Bay Area. Who knows? Maybe next time we will end up in Healdsburg like planned. Here is one of the blogs I wrote about Healdsburg a few years ago.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I am appreciative to all of my followers and can’t wait to share more with you next time

 

Kathi, Juliana and Me in the produce shop at Market Hall Foods

Fancy Foods from market Hall Foods in Oakland

 

Teaching Preschool and Making Pumpkin Cake

Today is the day. Today is the day I gain the courage to write another blog. For some reason I have been finding reasons not to write. Well, I was preoccupied with a full time job for the past year. From October until June I worked as a preschool teacher at a private school in Danville. It was a very exciting job. I worked alongside 2 other very talented and patient women who taught me how to take care of twenty-two 2-3 year olds five days a week. Some of them stayed all day from 7AM until 6PM and others only came half days from 8-12noon.

I taught music by singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “The Wheels on the Bus” to keep them entertained. We read books about outer space, transportation, Cat in The Hat books, books about summer vacations, books about a new baby brother or sister, and several others depending on the theme of the month.

I was challenged to come up with art ideas that looked cute on the wall for the parents to see and that also taught the kids how to paint, color, glue things, matching work sheets, and others. This was the hardest part of my job coming up with various ways to help the children learn art. I would search Pinterest for cute project ideas and spend hours preparing lessons. The trick was to get all 22 kids to do the project and we only had between 15 to 20 minutes to finish it. Try to get a 2 ½ year old interested in leaving the train table to sit and color something. Some could barely hold a crayon and a few of them would refuse and start to cry if we made them.

I loved watching these kids interact with their friends. There was always one or two that would interfere with circle time by yelling out something, laughing out loud, laying down, or taking off their shoes. These were usually boys and we had to sit them at a different table until they were ready to participate with the group. Two of them would work together to giggle across from one another (we could never allow them to sit together. That equaled TROUBLE). And during nap time these two boys couldn’t wait to wake up and make noises at each other so the others would wake up. It was constant chaos. They would try my patience day after day and yet they were only little guys so you couldn’t blame them. It was their job to make our lives miserable.

I would catch myself laughing out loud because it was hilarious trying to keep the class under control. Each student had their own personality. Some were extra smart and questions came easily to them. Others were delayed in their language and couldn’t speak. Some kids had strong accents and you could barely understand what they were saying. One girl would cry every morning when her mom dropped her off. And she didn’t just cry softly, she screamed. For 30 minutes! There was nothing anyone could do to keep her from screaming. She would stand at the window with her blankey and special stuffed animal and scream for her mom. It was horrible for everyone. It wasn’t until circle time would start when she would finally begin to settle in. But of course, she HAD to sit on the rainbow carpet square. You see each carpet square had a letter and a picture of something that began with that letter. Well this girl only liked that particular R rainbow carpet square and if she didn’t sit on it first and some other kid got it, she would start screaming again. And if I made another kid get off that rainbow so the girl would stop screaming, the other teachers would scold me and tell me she had to learn. She wasn’t allowed to get her way all the time. Oh boy, did that tork me in a big way. So what? Let the poor girl have the rainbow carpet. Big deal? It wasn’t easy to get along with how the other teachers wanted to run their classroom, but we did. We had to in order to keep the peace in front of the kids.

After circle time came snack time. We had things for them like apple juice, orange juice, milk or water to drink. We provided popcorn, graham crackers, French Toast sticks, Chex Mix, Cheerios, and other snack items like string cheese and yogurt. The kids were also offered orange slices, apple slices, bananas, apple sauce, canned peaches and canned pineapple. It was hard for some to stay in their chairs. One set of twins had to have their own gluten free snacks brought in, not because of a food allergy, but because the parents preferred it. These two didn’t sit for long and would run into the play room to play. We had to guide them back into their seats only to have to chase them around the tables after they got up again. One boy with special needs was never interested in eating snack. He would pour his juice or milk onto the table and then want more. The only time he was interested in food was when I brought in soup one day. I showed the kids how to make “Stone Soup” at circle time giving them opportunities to show their friends what celery, or what a carrot was. This boy sat at the table for over 30 minutes and ate the soup with a spoon. I was amazed, told his mother and she was happy about it.

After snack time, the kids lined up to go outside. Just getting these kids lined up was a chore in itself. The two trouble makers would climb into the playhouse, or onto a stack of chairs, or pull on the blinds. Others would push and shove or try to sneak out the door. We were only allowed to watch 12 children at a time by ourselves. One of us would be cleaning up snack and the other would be changing diapers and taking the kids to the bathroom. It was a hard to manage these youngsters and keep them safe. They couldn’t climb onto the changing table unless we were right there to catch them if they fell. We had to make sure they didn’t try to escape out the front door where they could easily run into the street parking lot. Many times I chased kids up the stairs into the library area because that was their favorite place to run away to. They would run up there during clean up time so they didn’t have to put away their toys.

I loved taking the kids outside. They wanted to ride their tricycles and police cars and fire engines. They wanted to climb the play structure and slip down the slide. The girls would hold hands with each other and play make believe with the toy dolls. Some would watch out the gate for their mommies and daddies and be sad. I was on a constant look out for keeping them safe from each other. Many would not watch where they were riding and almost hurt someone else. They would run at full speed not minding that there was a pole up ahead or a wall they could run into. Of course the mud puddles and wet grass were their favorite, but the parents never wanted them wet. One boy would love to play with chalk on the pavement, but would be covered with it by the end of the play period. He ruined his clothes by putting holes in the knees of his pants and tearing at them more when there was any site of a rip.

I remember having to help the kids pull up their pants after potty time cause the pants were one size too small. Many couldn’t button or snap either and would ask for help getting dressed. While outside we would search for lady bugs, or roly poly bugs, or airplanes flying high in the sky. We sang and danced “Mr Clown, Mr Clown, Who’s the funniest clown in town?” We had Easter egg hunts and collected the plastic eggs with paper bags that they personally decorated during art.

One of my students and his Mom

I could go on for days about my experiences teaching at Tassajara Learning Center, but I must get on with my day. It’s Halloween after all and I must prepare for the trick or treaters and get the dessert ready for our Octoberfest party tonight. I making a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting to bring and share. The recipe is originally used to make carrot cake, but substituting pumpkin works well too.

 

Be sure to follow my blog and comment. Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Pumpkin Cake

 

Ingredients

2 C granulated Sugar

1 Cup Canola Oil

4 eggs

 

2 ½ C fresh and roasted (Place huge chunks of cut pumpkin skin side up onto a sheet pan lined w parchment or foil and bake for @ 1 hour at 400 degrees and cool) or canned pumpkin

 

2 ½ C All Purpose Flour

2 t Baking Powder

1 t Cinnamon

1 t Ginger

½ t Cloves

2 t Baking Soda

½ t Maldon Salt

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz pkg room temp cream cheese

1 stick or ½ C room temp butter

2 C. Confectioners Sugar

1 t Vanilla

 

Blend cream cheese and butter in a mixer on med high until combined. Add sugar while mixer is on low until combined. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix in.

Directions:

 

Combine oil and sugar in mixer until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and mix on medium speed for @ 5 minutes.

Sift together flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt. If salt doesn’t fit through sifter, add to dry ingredients.

Alternately starting with the 1/3 flour mixture, add to oil, sugar and egg mixture, then adding 1/3 pureed pumpkin, then 1/3 more flour, and repeating with flour until mixture is combined.

Pour into a greased and floured bunt pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for @ 45-55 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Remove cake from pan onto a platter. When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting. Slice and serve. Serves @10.

Enjoy!

My husband and I and my son’s dog Hank dressed up for Halloween

Hank and my son Curtis hanging out to see the Trick or Treaters at our home.

My youngest son Andrew cane to Grace Cathedral

 

 

And in case you want to bake a pie. Try this one.

http://letsmakemudpies.blogspot.com/2016/10/lets-make-mud-pies-oh-no-you-didnt-just.html

 

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