For ten or twelve blocks, street vendors fill the road, people mill about and the beat of 7 stages of jazz music pulses through every vein, ever heart and every soul.  Everyone feels the urge to dance, and some (myself most definately included) actually get groovy on the pavement.

The jazz was excellent, but of of course I was captivated by the variety of culinary melodies, harmonies and symphonies that came in the form of the Indian bread naan cooked in a tandoor oven (a “melody”), fresh shucked oysters with butter (harmony) or the prefect afternoon sushi sampler at Yoshi’s Jazz Club.

Naan is the generic name for (delicious) bread from India and other south Asian countries.  It is quite old, the first recorded mention dates back to 1300 AD.  Traditionally, naan is stuck to the side of the Tandoor oven like in this picture, though it can be made in your oven at home.   Tandoori food gets its name from the tandoor oven and is more a method of cooking than anything else. The naan is ready to eat when it is just about to jump into the hot coals that have imparted their delicious smokey flavor into the bread.

Don’t they just look delicious?? I think the aphrodisiac effect of the oyster is increased with sultry tenor sax in the background….

Ooh, if that doesn’t make your mouth water you must be missing a gene (no I’m just kidding). From the left clockwise: Unagi (eel), whitefish, maguro (tuna), Hamachi (yellowtail), salmon, scallop and shrimp.  Addmitedly, I might be wrong about the hamachi and whitefish, maybe it is the other way around.  Scallop sushi is the most devinly soft and silky thing I have ever had on my tongue, it is like biting into the way a good pillow feels on your tired head: comforting, welcome, and almost sinfully perfect.

The expanse of cultural food at even the more commercial stands was refreshing in and of itself.  It made me love San Francisco even more: Mexico borders Hawaii bordering texas alongside the neighboring United Kingdom. Oh, and across the street? Vietnam, Puerto Rico and New York.  Quite excellent.

Over the forth of July weekend, I took a trip to San Francisco with two wonderful travel companions: My Parents.  The entire trip was a gastronomic experience…everywhere I turned there was something new to try.

We arrived on Friday evening around 10:00.  Now, that was actually 12:00 midnight my body time so we had an obligatory glass of California wine and went to bed.  But if 10=12 then 7:00am = 9:00am and we arrived at the renown Ferry Plaza Farmers Market by the opening bell at 8:00AM.

It was Ellie Heaven.

I am next to positive that I ate five or six nectarines, peaches, and plums from the samples I consumed.  That is not counting the stone fruit that I bought. Beautiful and juicy, I learned what an apricot really tastes like; velvety, and soft on my tongue, it is like being kissed–really well.

This was our first purchase: a Gwen Avocado. My father ate it right out of its shell. Gwen has a smoother yet very intense flavor and is less readily available than Haas outside the state.

This is one of our many courses for breakfast.  The lighter pink fish is Northwest king Salmon, a gentler, silkier flavor than its deeper Sockeye cousin sitting next to it. On the right is sturgeon, paired with capers and Meyer lemons.  This little spot also had tuna with beats and goat cheese to accentuate the fish’s natural sweetness. All sandwiches were on homemade bread with local cream cheese.  Everything was local at this place.  I love it.

Check these figs out! My Midwestern and produced deprived soul didn’t appreciate that there existed such beautiful figs (to be bought without breaking the bank.) The large brown are called Turkey Figs, the Black Missions are next to the Bright green Dakotas (the sign says Kadota. I think its a joke).  Sold in egg cartons, you’re sure to enjoy these soft and seductive without bruising. Yummy…

I could easily pass every Saturday here all summer, trying different things: grinding my own flour, eating peruvian chicken, opting for flavored salts and cucumbers or just sampling until content, full and ready to walk the hills of SF.

I should never have made a promise (or a statement) I couldn’t stick to.  I failed greatly at my blogging last week, which will hereby be known as the “Week of Bread.” But actually, the Week of Bread was something of a triumph, if  an undocumented one and from the looks of it this summer will be full of homemade boules.

In fact, my oven is beeping right now.  I just check, my semolina needs 3 more minutes.  The top is nicely brown and the diagonal score mark I cut just before baking has opened and allowed the loaf to rise.

I have always loved the concept of making my own bread for a lot of reasons.  First, it makes my house smell great, second, it’s incredible cheap and third it is therapeutic.  This all being said, it can be a time consuming activity.  Last summer I remember being late to an event or to meet a friend on more than on occasion due to rising or baking loaves.

Not so this year.  I’ve discovered a method developed by Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg in their book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”.  The central idea is bread making should be easy, fun, and non-intimidating. (My oven just went off again, the bread is done and cooling now.)

This summer, my family is not buying any artisan bread from the grocery store or a bakery.  Why would we? At $4.99 a loaf the “artisan breads aren’t’ worth it when I’m creating the same thing for about a $1.25. (yes, I did the calculations, and the yeast is the most expensive part.)

Thus far and the week of bread, we have eaten Italian Boule, Sourdough, Whole Wheat and Semolina. The semolina is my favorite. This loaf that came out today was cakey and delicious.  The only problem I am encountering (other than the stomach ache that follows eathing a whole loaf) is a slightly dough bottom.  I think I figured it out tonight: finer milled cornmeal to slide the dough into the hot oven. Tomorrow I’m giving it a go with flour instead.

This method is something I’m going to bring back to Northwestern in the fall.  When I’m not at home my baking stone goes unused so I’m taking it with me.  Talk about a way to make friends. Fresh bread anyone?

Sunday night and I am sunburned: a long day on the St Croix River thinking I was impervious to the glaring rays. But it was worth it, we ate really well this weekend.  Clancy’s thick cut pork tenderloin, MN corn and tonight a stir fry.

Man, I didn’t realize that I missed mushrooms quite so much until the velvety shiitakes with hot chili garlic sauce hit my tongue.  Those guys, plus asparagus, (again, I know) chicken and onions was an easy group effort. Justin cut the onions and mushrooms, Marshal snapped and trimmed the asparagus and I overheated in front of the wok.

NOTE TO READERS:  Unfortunately a technical snafu occurred and I lost my three most recent posts, so I am going to repost them. Sorry for the repeat…here we go

Though asparagus week is long behind me, it is worth mentioning the last recipe I made. Asparagus pesto turned out to be a gem.  The idea came from an old Gourmet but it needed a little doctoring. Soft and subtle, the asparagus soaks up the flavor of garlic, pine nuts and basil without being overwhelmed. I think it is best with whole wheat pasta–adds nutrition but also a good taste.

Asparagus Pesto with Fresh Tomatoes

1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
8-10 leaves fresh basil
2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
1 cup rough chopped tomatoes
Wheat penne pasta

Start boiling water for pasta. Snap off woody ends of asparagus.  Cut asparagus in two inch pieces and steam over the boiling pasta water until bright green, about 4 minutes. Quickly remove from steam and run cold water (from the tap is fine) over the asparagus to stop the cooking. Discard water.

In a food processor, pulse in the pine nuts, garlic and salt until finely chopped.  Then add the asparagus, basil and oil until you like the texture.  Transfer this mixture to a bowl and mix in cheese.  Add the pepper and more salt to taste and finish it off with the tomatoes for a hit of brightness.

Somewhere along the line, cook your pasta, but the pesto keeps really well in the fridge for almost 2 weeks.  It is also very good on sandwiches and in scrambled eggs.

Finally, a few fun facts about asparagus. There are a lot of festivals that surround this vegetable, but one of the greatest that I found takes place in the UK and comes complete with an auction, songs, costumes and Shakespeare.

In past years the “famous” auctioneer Colin Jelfs has sold 100 rounds of “gras” for £1200. Its really worth taking a look at their website. I want to go to this shindig, what an experience….

Well, thats the last of the asparagus entries.  Next up, massive amounts of bread baking.