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I just finished Christine Sismondo's Mondo Cocktail: A Shaken and Stirred History. It's a lively book with lots of interesting trivia and lore. Each chapter begins on the theme of a single cocktail and takes off from there. In a sense it's more a collection of essays than a history of the cocktail, so your mileage may vary. I enjoyed Ms. Sismondo's writing style and particularly literature centric cultural points of reference. Also, while cocktails are the book's ostensible theme, much of the its juiciest material is about famous alcoh..., errrrr..., drinkers through history. Well known 20th Century writers and cultural figures and their appetites, are especially featured. Hemingway, Faulkner, W.C. Fields, Roosevelt, and others, all get their moment in the sun. Since she often uses terms from pschology, I will say, she is a bit ambivalent about these figures, celebrating, and at the same time, decrying their legacies. I do disagree with some of her takes on cocktail recipes, particularly the Martini. Like Salvatore Calabrese, she comes down on the "frozen bottle of gin poured into a glass" side of that battle. While much of the cocktail history and lore she cites is perfectly fine for dinner party or bar conversation, if you were writing an article, I would recommend double checking recent, accepted, ideas, before quoting or citing her. It is also a bit irritating that the recipes and procedures for cocktails, such as they are, are spread through the chapters in text blobs, making them a bit difficult to track. If you wanted to actually follow one of her procedures, you'd have to either transcribe it, or start at the begining of the chapter, scan for the next italics, do the next part of the recipe, scan for the next italics. Certainly, not something you'd want to be doing while you had guests waiting for their drinks. In any case, while Sismondo's personal take on the subject matter may not endear her to every reader, I found it a fun, and thought provoking, read.

I really like Chayote, I make a similar recipe with a touch of tomato puree that is just outstanding. Though, the other members of my community garden prefer it cooked with a tomato-meat sauce.

One of my pet peeves is bad vegetarian food. For a while one of my best friends decided to be a vegetarian along with his then girlfriend. They were coming over during the summer and I wanted to grill. I had the idea to do a version of the typical midwestern summer meal. grilled corn = grilled corn (woo!) grilled steak = grilled portobello mushroom steak sauce = roasted red pepper puree baked beans = baked beans (mirepoix and extra garlic, no bacon) ice cream = home made ice cream I think there were a couple other things. It was fun and goofy. But, my the point is, none of these dishes is intrinsically less tasty than their meat including counterpart. If they are well made and seasoned, there's a pretty good chance they will be more tasty! Somehow a lot of Americans have got it into their heads that by skipping meat they are skipping flavor. That is just not the case.

Hmmm... Well, if it is unopened and packed with an inert gas, it might still be ok. I would open it, warm some in a pan, and see what it smells like. Rancid olive oil is usually pretty obvious to the nose. If it still just smells like olive oil, use it up quickly.

Oh, good, someone else noticed that too! I once used one of those multi-purpose (butane?) lighters, and did not like the smell at all. I've seen bartenders on tv use a lighter for this sort of thing and thought I might have been being over picky. Quickly switched back to matches.

As a relocated Wisconsinite, I would dearly love to see this adventure documented for posterity. Sorel boots and wooly socks are the only way to go.

hint: If using match, let the head burn out before warming/flaming peel. Can have an unpleasant flavor.

Some Spice Pages links re: Anise/Fennel. As far as I know the only one of these which is ever sold as a vegetable is Fennel. So, most likely, if you are buying it at a market, in the produce section, it is Fennel. Anise (Pimpinella anisum) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Star Anise (Illicium verum)

I thought Marrowfat Peas, in the English "Mushy Pea" sense, were just large, whole, dried (or canned) green peas. ??

!!! I've been searching for this! Has a method or recipe been here on eG somewheres all along? Local poms are cracking ripe. I like your local market... it is an incomparable gift, one's local market being a good one. ← Priscilla, Was just going through looking for unanswered questions. Here's the eGullet thread about home made grenadine. Real Grenadine

I was surprised to see Bluecoat behind a bar here in California! Haven't seen it in liquor stores, so I suspect it might have been a suitcase import. If it is still there when I get back, I'll have to ask for a martini.

I dunno if I'd pick gin for peach collins. I'd have to give it a try, though, to find out. Might lean towards brandy/cognac. I've been meaning to try and locate some other editions of the Savoy Cocktail book myself. I'm curious to compare the drink recipes/receipts between the new edition and the original. But, I haven't been able to get much exact info on the printing history, and originals tend to be a bit out of my price range.

I don't believe they have an online store or anything. I would call them and ask about fruit cake. Holiday Boutique Website (It seems like their webmaster messed up parts website a bit with the last update. But, the contact information is there.)

Well, thanks to everyone for reading! It's been a gas taking you on a tour of some of the highlights of what I consider "My San Francisco". The idea for "A week of Porridge" was for it to be just a regular week and see what I could squeeze in. I hope you've enjoyed it, and someday come visit us here in the City by the Bay. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Good night, or good morning to you all.

Thanks for reading! I believe that was one my Mom found for us at an antique store. Yes, I've read Feijoas are common in Austrailia and New Zealand. Originally from South America, though. The trees are said to bear heavily and require little care, as long as the conditions are good. Drought tolerant and all that. Some day I hope to have one in my yard. The flowers are quite unusual. Important hint I discovered was true today. Ripe and over-ripe ones look pretty similar externally. The clue is that the flesh around the seeds starts darkens. Under-ripe is better than over ripe. The over-ripe ones tend a bit towards bitter and lose the sour component. Definitely to be avoided.

Thanks Katie! It's my theory, that almost any fruit smashed with sugar and lime, and shaken with the delicious Mae de Ouro Cachaca will make a fine cocktail. I have yet to have it disproved.

One last ice cream treat, this week. Oof, I think I have eaten more ice cream this week than any I can remember! But, it wouldn't be a San Francisco Foodblog without an It's It!

Our Sunday night dinner is typically soup noodles. It's good to have something healthy and warming and "reset" before starting a new week. It's usually an Asian style broth with ginger, garlic, rice wine, and soy sauce. We add baked tofu, mushrooms, bok choy, and spinach. Or whatever is handy and looks good. Plenty of "Rooster Sauce" is very important!

The same weekend every year, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose have a Holiday Boutique to raise money. We first read about them in an article about Olive Oil. Some of the first European settlers of California were Spanish Missionaries. They created a string of settlements (Missions) along a road they called "El Camino Real". The farthest north was San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, California (1823), and the farthest south, San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego (1769). When they came, they brought everything they would need, importantly, grape vines for wine, and olive trees. Some of the Olive trees at the Missions may be the same olive trees planted by those initial Spanish settlers. The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose (in Fremont) had always made olive oil. But, it wasn't until a local Olive Oil merchant realized the potential gold in those trees, that they started selling it as a fund raiser. A few years ago, after reading an article about the sisters and their olive oil, we travelled down to get some. We discovered that the sisters also sold baked goods, craft items, and donated produce. Now, every year I buy hachiya persimmons from the sisters and make a persimmon pudding from them. This sister is selling their famous Bourbon Balls. They also sell a fruitcake. We happened to buy a fruit cake one year and bring it home to my in-laws, almost as a joke. My father-in-law exclaimed, "this is the only fruit cake I've ever had that tastes like my Mom's!" So now, we have a responsibility to bring or send home fruit cake every year. One year, an elderly gentleman, who was helping package the fruit cake, explained the secret to enjoying it. "Get a slice of fruitcake and a glass of brandy. Alternate between them. It's the only way." Olives are becoming a theme on the Foodblogs of late! By, the way, if you want to help out with the Olive harvest this year, it is planned for December 2nd. Some of the trees. The sisters convent. The Mission San Jose was founded in 1797. Unfortunately, the original mission was severly damaged by an earthquake in 1868 and fell into disrepair. Some of the building were restored shortly thereafter; but, the church was was not rebuilt until 1985. This is the restored altar. Here are our spoils, 2 fruit cakes, Olive Oil, bourbon balls, persimmons and cookies.

We've never been real good at the brunch thing. My feeling is, I had to work enough of them, for long enough, that I am still getting back hours of sleep by sleeping in. However, in the interest of Foodblog cinema, we roused ourself out of the house before noon, and headed to brunch. First, however, we were getting low on coffee. It is very bad if we run out of coffee. Headaches, crabbiness, the whole nine yards. You may have noticed, at the begining of the week, that I get coffee from Sweet Maria's. They mostly sell green beans and supplies to roast your own beans; but, they also have a sort of roasting subscription subscription that I belong to. It's a little like the Bonnie Doon Distinctive and Estoteric Wine club, where you don't know what you'll get until it is at your door. But, we were in a bit of a rut with a single coffee from a certain supplier, so it's been a good change. Great deals on exceptional coffees. Unfortunately, we sometimes run out before the new coffee arrives. So it's back to our old stand by. Peet's Kenyan. Then we were off to a neighborhood called "Dogpatch" to hit up one of our favorite brunch spots. Mabel's Just for You Cafe used to be in a tiny space on Potrero Hill. A few years back they moved over to bigger digs in Dogpatch. There can be a significant wait; but, they are usually pretty good about turning tables and getting parties in and out. The space is decorated with rock posters from various venues in San Francisco, like the Bottom of the Hill or the Fillmore. The vibe is a bit tattooed hipster; but, it's not snobby. They do serve beignets on the weekend. They were not as fluffy this time as they are some times (or as fluffy as other tables were); but, they were fried and covered in powdered sugar. I pretty much always get the "Cowgirl Breakfast". Two eggs (medium), two pancakes (buttermilk), two sausages. Simple stuff. Simple stuff to screw up. The eggs at Just For You are almost always cooked correctly. The pancakes are from scratch, fluffy, and have a delicious buttermilk tang. And the pork sausages are cooked on a griddle. It really is the way this sort of breakfast should be everywhere in America. It almost never is, though. My wife got the "Sweet Scramble" with biscuits and fruit salad. Look! The biscuits are from scratch and the fruit salad cut to order. Ripe strawberries, pears, and kiwi! You don't get that at Denny's.

I do like their oil. It is fairly mellow and buttery in style. Can't claim to be an expert about olive oil though. I do know they sometimes sell two styles of Olive Oil, one that they say reflects a particular region of Italy and another that is slightly more expensive and reflects another. It seems to me that the guy said the price difference was just about the amount of oil that they got out of their olives. I also seem to remember, he said that one of the oil styles used riper olives and another less ripe. I've never tried both of the styles side by side, though. I do like that it seems to be an honest well made product, which they obviously take great pride in.

Today's porridge was Scottish style oats, walnuts, raisins, and raspberries. Whew, that was a lot of writing. Off to accumulate some real life experiences.

Tonight our friends Dr. and Mrs. Virus have elected to meet us for dinner at The Blue Plate. It's another restaurant we have been frequenting for years and are seldom disappointed with. There is a tiny open kitchen in front. The wine was a reasonable and quite tasty California Barbera from Kathryn Kennedy. Mrs. Virus opted for a bacon and escarole soup. Dr. Virus (and I warned him this would be posted) was quite enthusiastic about his seared scallops. My wife chose the persimmon, butter lettuce, radicchio salad. I got the Macaroni and cheese made with drunken spanish goat cheese. My main course was a Fred Flintstone size pork chop served with a cranberry chutney, baked beans and braised kale. I couldn't even come close to finishing this. It will make a couple good sandwiches next week. Mrs. Virus opted for the butternut squash soup with brussel sprouts, pecans, and fried sage leaves. My wife opted for the wine poached local lingcod served with spaghetti squash and some bitter green we were uncertain about. Dr. Virus strongly approved of his meat loaf served with mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. Bacon was somehow also involved. We opted to skip dessert at the restaurant and instead go to... Mitchell's Ice Cream. This is about 9 PM, and as you can see there is a significant wait, even on a somewhat chilly San Francisco evening. Mitchell's is well known for its tropical and South American flavors. It's not uncommon to see Kalamansi sorbet or lucuma ice cream on the list. They also do a version of the Filipino frozen dessert called Halo Halo. We opted for Mexican Chocolate (there ya go Jen) and Cinnamon Snap (crushed ginger snaps in cinnamon ice cream). Mrs. Virus opted for peppermint. John and Sandy like to decorate. edit - oops! Jen not Jay!

re: Pineapple Guava This website over on the Hort.purdue.edu webserver suggests the following uses! Feijoa Facts "The flesh and pulp (with seeds) are eaten raw as dessert or in salads, or are cooked in puddings, pastry fillings, fritters, dumplings, fruit-sponge-cake, pies or tarts, or employed as flavoring for ice cream or soft drinks. Surplus fruits may be peeled, halved and preserved in sirup in glass jars, or sliced and crystallized, or made into chutney, jam, jelly, conserve, relish, sauce or sparkling wine."

Pineapple Guava (Feijoa) are odd little fruits. They ripen in the late fall. Feijoa Fruit Info (California Rare Fruit Growers Association) Like all guava, they are incredibly fragrant. But, the smell is a bit like, oh, bubblegum and bananas. The flavor is somewhat pineapple-ish, and the texture a bit grainy. Seeds are small. Overall, they remind me a bit of a childhood candy somewhere between a sweet-tart and pastille. But there is also a piney/minty component, similar to a mango. On the whole, it's pretty much it's own thing. When I have guests at the Farmers' Market in the fall, it is one of my favorite things to give them a sample of Pineapple Guava, and watch their face. First they make a face like, "what the heck?" and then they usually say, "that's really weird!" or "that's kind of good." Aside from eating out of hand, I know of no use for them. Here's a picture of a large-ish one cut in half: