by Sam Tackeff | Sep 30, 2012 | Uncategorized
Saturdays are usually errand days around our house. My plan was to wake up and head into CrossFit, but I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and had my doubts. At 7:15 I contemplated making coffee but lay staring at the ceiling. At 7:45 it was pouring out and grey, and by 8:00 I had already covered my head with the pillow and that was the end of that.
Instead, I woke up late, and reluctantly walked the two miles to the bank with a podcast in order to make my gym-pact for the week. It was overcast but no longer raining, and the trees were bright enough to perk me right up.
Devon met me at the bank, and we proceeded to do some semi-complicated banking while learning about how the teller was the accidental fourth child, even though her mother had been about to tie her tubes. For some reason, we inspire complete strangers to tell us the most amazing stories.
My favorite of these tell-all’s was when the 20-something teller in San Francisco mentioned to us that she had recently gotten the dinosaur tattoo on her cleavage, and was excited to have a child in the future so that it would be wallpaper when he breastfeeds.
When we got home, I put together a lunch of leftover roast cauliflower with lemon, and some Za’atar chicken thighs.
Za’atar is a wonderful spice blend from the Middle East. There is no one za’atar recipe, each family has their own special mixes, and the herbs and spices vary widely in different regions and cultures. Most za’atar blends I like have a lot of thyme and oregano, some cumin, and sesame seeds. You’ll also see it with lemony red sumac, sage or mint.
I love sprinkling it on eggs, in salad dressing, baked onto pita, or liberally coating chicken thighs with the stuff before frying them up. While I’ve made my own in the past, I picked up this particular za’atar blend at Sofra, Ana Sortun’s wonderful Middle Eastern cafe in Watertown. They sell it for $4, which, frankly is a little steep for something I can make myself, but I really do enjoy the blend.
In the late afternoon, I was hungry again, and made myself a bowl of pumpkin eggs with pumpkin pie spice, topped with almond and coconut butter. This is one of my favorite fall treats, but admittedly tastes a heck of a lot better with a large dose of maple syrup in it. (Soon!)
By eight, we were both hungry for dinner, but I hadn’t quite gotten my act together. Leftovers to the rescue! I cooked up some fresh chorizo, with cumin, cinnamon, and a good dose of chile from M.F. Dulock, added the last bit of meaty tomato sauce and carrots from our beef stew, served it all over a bowl of steamed cauliflower, and pretended that we were in Spain.
After dinner, we turned on the tv and watched the most amazing show on television – Jackson Galaxy: The Cat Daddy. You might be skeptical, but this guy is a genius.
No seriously. It’s on Animal Planet, and features a tattooed gentleman who is a guitar player by night, cat behaviorist by day. He goes around with a guitar case filled with cat toys. Pretty much every episode features slightly deranged pet owners who make excuses for their pets’ bad behavior. And then Jackson comes in and does his thing, and the cats turn into well-behaved, happy animals, and their owners become slightly more likeable at the end. Enjoyable, every single episode.
(Photo via Jackson’s Instagram)
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 13, 2012 | Challenge, Uncategorized
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Things are shifting, and they’ll be looking a little bit different around here. For the next two months I’m participating in a challenge at my gym. Yes, that’s right, cue the crazy-alarm, I’ve gone ahead and lost my mind. The challenge is based on both fitness and nutrition, and boy am I looking forward to it. We’ll eat healthy, unprocessed foods (okay, so minimally processed – I don’t have a larder of canned foods to draw from, nor do I have a 12 cup food processor, so I’m okay with things like canned coconut milk, and frankly Rao’s tomato sauce is better than what I can make even from the best tomatoes) and each week we participate in new fitness challenges, with benchmarks at the beginning and end in power and endurance.
There are a few great things I love about this challenge. First, that I’m doing it with a team (and there are over 50 people participating). Doing anything with a team is fun. I wasn’t really a team gal in school, but now that I’ve been going to the gym on a regular basis and working out with people, I get it. Second, everyone is required to use a food journal. I’m a strong believe in using journaling to help you attain your goals. This is also good because I have a blog, and I plan on using it as my own accountability. Daily meals, inspiration, lists, and even yes, some workouts. Which means lots of posts over here – I hope you don’t get sick of me.
My focus for this challenge is on whole foods, cooking, improving my fitness, and general happiness. I haven’t hashed it all out yet, but, for now here’s what I’ve come up with in addition to the challenge rules:
My major nutrition goals for this challenge include: planning my meals and share my meal planning, eating at home as often as possible, eating a rainbow of colors and taking advantage of seasonal produce, and drinking a hell of a lot more water.
My major fitness goals for this challenge include: running a race, and then another one. I’m signed up for the first, in a little over a week. Yeesh! And, a 200 lb. deadlift. We’ll work on that one. I have a little ways to go.
Happiness goals include: Sticking to my kitchen resolutions, doing more to make my house into a home, being a better partner, daughter, sister and friend.
This won’t be about preaching, it’s a personal reset. But, I do hope to see you around. Have you ever done a challenge before?
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
A few weeks ago, we got it in our heads to look at apartments in Boston. The two months of living with my parents was surprisingly calm, but we both enjoy having our own space. I missed cooking for two, instead of cooking for four. I missed sweet, blissful silence. We looked at apartments online, and visited a few outrageously expensive small spaces. More expensive than our apartment in San Francisco? The size of a padded cell with sloping ceilings that even I was sure to hit my head on? “But it’s right in Harvard Square…” I tried to rationalize, ignoring the fact the oven was half size. It’s a good thing Devon has more sense than I do about these things.
And then….
We found “the one”. The knee-buckling, makes you feel wobbly, teen movie first love, “one”.
The top floor of an 1890 Victorian home in Newton, a suburb of Boston. There were no photos on Craigslist, and the description seemed too good to be true. The house had all the charm we both wanted:three bedrooms, a living room with a turret, a large eat in kitchen, two bathrooms, and a clawfoot tub. A small balcony off my office. Three parking spaces. Heat and hot water included. Exactly what we were paying in San Francisco, but double the size. Better yet, the house needed a little bit of love – not the big stuff, but painting, little projects, upkeep, and the landlord would be willing to fund our “This Old House” fantasies.
The landlord emailed us the next morning to let us know that he was planning on showing the place again, but if we wanted it, it was ours.
What did we do? Turn it down.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to move yet. I loved spending so much time with my mom. Devon and I were both working freelance. And I was scared of ghosts in an old house. Yes, ghosts. Living in Newton was too “adult”. Turning down that house seemed stupid and I regretted it. And then three weeks later the landlord sent us another email. The people he had shown it to had jumped at the apartment (we knew they would), but failed the credit check. The place was still ours if we wanted it.
By that time, Devon had a new job at creative agency doing what he is really good at. I was ready. We brought my mom along. We tactfully asked if anyone had complained about hauntings. The landlord looked at us and laughed out loud. I took that as a good sign.
And now, we are here.
We sold almost everything we owned in San Francisco larger than my cookbooks and his guitars, so we are starting from scratch in a house that has more space than either of us could have hoped for. We’ve been working on the necessities. We have our internet set up. I have a new library card. We have a bed, our TV, and one single chair. I’ll be back in the kitchen, writing long to-do lists, choosing color swatches, patching up walls, having people over, and keeping you all updated. It feels exquisite.
And, I’ll finally have a place to put these:
by Sam Tackeff | Mar 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
Tonight I got whisked away on a romantic date….. to AD HOC!!! (Yet again, an Ad Hoc trip…. yes… we decided at 6:45 that we were going to drive to Yountville to dinner.)
Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller’s casual eatery, is one of my absolute favorite restaurants, ever since I had my first blissful meal there, and a subsequent wonderful meal there on Christmas (Chicken and Waffles!). There are many wonderful things about Ad Hoc, but the things that come to mind are:
a) delicious food
b) cozy relaxed atmosphere, jovial staff
and
c) oh wait… more delicious food.
After meeting Thomas Keller and his head chef at Ad Hoc David Cruz, the food tastes even better knowing how gracious and wonderful these people are.
Tonight we had:
Salad of Escarole Hearts, and romaine lettuce with shaved radish, candied walnuts, kalamata olives, asian pears, utterly crispy and buttery garlic croutons, and white anchovy dressing. (The dressing was so good that I was offered a little dish of it after the waiter noticed me desperately wiping the plate clean with bread… I politely declined slightly shamed, because asking for more dressing after you’ve finished your salad is the true sign of a glutton.)
Devon was quite fond of the candied walnuts, which I plan on making in the near future.
Herb Crusted Colorado Lamb Sirloin, with broccoli rabe from the French Laundry garden, roasted cauliflower, the creamiest polenta topped with a golden raisin and caper relish. [The broccoli rabe was crisped like kale chips, and the lamb was painfully delicious and absolutely beautifully cooked.]
To be honest, it was so rich that I neither one of us could finish – so it got packaged up for tomorrows breakfast – I’m planning on lamb hash.
The cheese course was one of my favorites: Tumalo Farm’s Pondhopper, from Bend, Oregon, with roasted peppers, arugula and a sweet onion soffrito.
The cheese reminds me a little bit of Turkish Kaser, and these red peppers were stellar. I ended up eating the second half of Devon’s cheese, because he understands moderation, and I, well, sometimes I just can’t help myself. We make a good team.
And for dessert:
Some blissful Tiramisu with homemade lady fingers, and this lovely and light mascarpone cream. It was mighty tasty, although I must admit not nearly as boozy as if I were to make it myself…. Then again, I don’t have very much restraint, so this is a more refined version.
I finished with a cup of french press coffee, and a permanent smile on my face that might not go away for the next two weeks.
A perfect evening.
by Sam Tackeff | Dec 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
Doesn’t this fruit look absolutely delicious? Alice Waters brought it to us at Omnivore Books, and my god they were good.
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