Leah has an Iron Chef event in her new home. She recently bought a home in an Oakland area she really wanted to live in: walk to BART, shopping, and dining.
Leah and Finley picked me up at OAK. We dropped the car and Finley off at her new home and walked to a restaurant to meet Damien. We had a great conversation and dinner.
The home is beautiful and sooo Leah. The huge kitchen has an opening to the dining area which has an opening to the living room. Of course, any older home will need some renovation. First on the list was gutting and putting in a new bathroom.
Saturday started with a hike at the Sequoia Bayview Trail.
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| Finley, Damien, and Leah |
Beautiful view of the bay and San Francisco, and mighty redwoods. Later, Leah had to travel for provisioning cupcakes so Damien and I walked around RockRidge.
Saturday night’s event was the Iron Chef event. Frankly, I did not know what an Iron Chef event was so I had googled it. I was to go to Sophia’s place to join my team. I whined enough claiming I did not know how to get around this area (quite true) so Damien dropped me off.
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| The Team: Jim, Hannah, Sophia, and Vandana |
Sophia was running late and showed up with her dad, John.
Our cooking mission was to create a main and side dish using asparagus. While killing time waiting on Sophia we bantered and searched for recipes. Sophia arrived and some of us took off to provision. Hannah received a call while we were provisioning and the main dish was changed to a frittata. We arrived back at Sophia’s and I made a comment that frittata was simple to make. Presto, I was the alpha chef.
And it was simple to make. With side and main dishes completed, we cleaned up the kitchen and were the first to arrive at Leah’s. People and food arrived, and wine and beer were opened.
I started with coffee.
By popular vote, my team’s side and main dish won. Tough competition from an asparagus soup to pork loin with pureed asparagus. One team had a song for their dish introduction: The Age of Asparagus (sung to The Age of Aquarius).
Ellen must have had a bit too much to drink, and asked about my ‘long-term partner’. Huh? Leah overheard the conversation and later said I played it well saying to Ellen, ‘I think you have me mixed up with someone else’. I could have gone Castanza on Ellen. Right here, right now!
The next morning, Leah, Damien, Finley, and I took off to Santa Cruz starting at Pacifica. Onshore wind was howling at the beach but did not stop the surfing classes. One of the surfers said the water temp was about 50F. Finley made friends with several 4 legged friends, running everywhere on the beach. We stopped at the Moss Beach Distillery for brunch. Great view and w-a-y too much food.
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| View from Moss Beach Distillery parking lot |
I needed a nap but that would have to wait for the flight.
We found parking in Santa Cruz and walked the strip. Damien finally found a fine wood store that contained impressive pieces.
It was smart to have packed my stuff since we were driving past OAK on the return trip. It was a great trip to see Leah, her new home, and to meet Damien.
