Today is a summer day in San Francisco. I've decided that there is not really any such thing as a summer "season" in San Francisco, there are just a number of summer-like days that get sprinkled randomly throughout the year. So December 14th, when it was 85 degrees, that was summer. Today, when it is 70 with a light, cool breeze coming off the Bay, it is summer. Tomorrow might be winter again, or spring, or fall...you just never know. But actually, it looks like summer will stick around at least through the weekend - I have seen forecasted temps of 88. And I like it. Might be the time to be spontaneous and head to the beach! Because when you never know when summer might strike, you have to be ready to take advantage of it when it does!
Tonight is "Vernissage" which is French for, "Graduating SFAI Graduate Students Final Art Show". Actually, the real French for that would be, "Graduation SFAI Étudiant de troisième cycle exposition d'art finale" (thanks to Yahoo for the translation) or something like that. "Vernissage" rolls off the tongue a tad bit nicer. Interestingly, when I asked for the translation of Vernissage from French to English, it spit out the word "Varnishing". Hmm... Not nearly as fancy sounding, or applicable in any way, in English.
All appx. 100 graduating students will have all of their final pieces displayed in one huge warehouse down at Fort Mason (which is, if you recall, delightfully close to our house). From 5:00-7:00 tonight is the opening reception that you have to buy tickets to get into. I couldn't ever find a listed price for the tickets anywhere, but Neil assures me it's for the high rollers. I seem to recall him saying something about $800 a ticket. The rest of us peasants, who can't afford to pay that kind of moola to look at art will attend the reception from 7:00 - 9:00. Which hopefully will feature some excellent wine and hoer d'ouvres. It's always hard to look at art during an opening, everyone is schmoozing and drinking and yapping, and blocking the art. It's just an excuse for a big party. So I'll probably have to go back later to actually see the work.
Then, THEN, because I am the wife of a current grad student, this makes me eligible to attend the VERY exclusive after-party. Actually, I have absolutely no idea whether or not it is exclusive, but it's in OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!! And the reason I am so excited about this is that nothing ever happens in our neighborhood. None of our friends live there, events always happen elsewhere - we're always trekking all around the city to get to stuff. Well, this time, it came to us! Which means that I can stumble home at 11:30 ( hehe - yes I am 30 now) and only have to stumble for 6-8 blocks, instead of catching two buses and a train and arriving home an hour later. Fantastic. So, that will be interesting and probably a little crazy. 100 grad students who have had their nose to the grindstone for the past two years, finally cutting loose.
This weekend holds no firm plans whatsoever, which is kind of nice. Tomorrow there is the market and then my garden will need watering - beyond that, I might just pull up a patch of grass and enjoy the 87 degree weather we are scheduled to have. On Sunday, there's an event here in the City called Bay to Breakers - which is basically a 12K run/walk from the Bay side of the City to the Ocean. It's been going on for 98 years now, and has morphed (from what I understand) from just a race, to an all-out party. People dress up in costumes (San Franciscoites are always looking for an excuse to dress up in costume), there are floats, a lot of alcohol is consumed, and basically it's just one big party from the Bay to the Beach. Neil and I haven't completely decided whether or not to do it. If we do, we will probably join a group that is going to be dressing up in a Kentucky Derby theme - big hats and frilly dresses and whatnot. I've been suggesting that Neil also do a frilly dress and big hat, but he is resisting. I think he is envisioning old Kentucky gentleman, with tweed and a bowler hat. We'll see. However, it is still 12K, which is a long long way, and it's supposed to be 92 degrees in the City on Sunday - which is pretty unheard of here, really. So a beach somewhere is looking pretty tempting, also. I guess we'll see what wins out in the end, excercise or sloth. :)
Neil has been helping other students hang the show at Fort Mason, and so, consequently, I haven't been seeing much of him the last few days. Last night he came home at 2:00am. And I'm not usually very motivated to cook when he is not around to cook for. For example, last night, after our oyster bar get-together after work, I heated up some old Pad Thai in the micro, poached two eggs and finished it off with a large slice of 5-day old birthday cake. Not the most well-rounded meal. But, on Wednesday, I was just craving a good, home-cooked, healthy meal. So I put in the effort and had Lime-Ginger Salmon, Multi-grain pilaf with dried cherries and sauteed asparagus with lemon. It was just what the doctor ordered - my body thanked me profusely for giving it food it could do something with. Not to mention totally delicious.
So, here is the Ginger-Lime Salmon recipe. For all to enjoy... And if it is summer anywhere else in the country today, this would be a perfect dish!
Ginger-Lime Salmon
from Food to Live By
grated zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbl. fresh ginger (or 1-2 tsp. from a jar)
4.5 tsp. soy sauce
2 Tbl. canola oil
1 Tbl. sesame oil
1/4 cup fresh minced cilantro
4 salmon filets
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500F.
2. Combine the lime zest and juice, shallots, ginger, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, and 2 Tbl. of the cilantro, if using, in a shallow baking dish just large enough to comfortably hold the salmon filets in a single layer. Add the filets and turn them to coat all over, then arrange them skin side down, if any.
3. Bake the salmon filets, without turning, until the fish is just firm to the touch and the interior is nearly opaque but still moist, 6-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
4. Transfer the salmon filets to plates, drizzle some of the sauce from the pan over them, and garnish with the remaining 2 Tbl. of cilantro, if using.
No comments:
Post a Comment