When I saw “Tartare to the Tune of International Roses” headline in the Wine Section of the Chronicle a couple weeks ago, I scanned the story and it’s accompanying recipe for Tartare of Ahi and wrote in the margin, “do this with that Rose from France.”

On our first visit to Brian’s new Montpellier abode, we took a day trip to Avignon, on the Rhone River to taste some Chateauneuf de Pape. Little did we know that across the river is the Tavel district, famous for its rose. After touring Avignon and tasting Chateauneuf de Pape, we crossed the river and found Domaine Les Trois Logis, a tiny winery in an addition to a suburban house. We stopped in, chatted up the winemaker and tasted his just bottled rose. It kicked ass! Wow, I bought two bottles, which, with the bottle of Chateauneuf de Pape and two bottles purchased in Languedoc near Montpellier, was the most we could possibly carry back on the plane. I had practically forgotten about it until I saw that headline.
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I’m out of peaches and fresh curd cheese (Monday and Wednesday breakfasts).

I finished my breakfast pizza yesterday (Tuesday and Thursday breakfasts).

What’s for breakfast? I opened the refrigerator and look what I found:

Y’know, leftovers has a bad connotation. There ought to be a snappy euphemism.
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Good Eatin’ vi

This is the sixth in an occasional series of Good Eatin’—kind of a sidebar often involving leftovers—where I will describe an easily put together meal that we enjoyed very recently, maybe yesterday.

I think of Sunday Dinner as early afternoon dinner of roast chicken or pot au feu, almost always with guests or extended family. Supper is late and simple, to my mind. On a weekday, dinner is the main meal, around seven o’clock.

Sunday is an active day or a lazy day… the end of a weekend or day-trip to wherever or a day like today where I vegged out on the New York Times and NASCAR from the road course at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma County. I can’t really explain the NASCAR, I never watch NASCAR. But this one is local and it’s like so many turns rather than a stupid oval with all turns left, and there are hills and stuff. Then there’s the five o’clock baseball game on ESPN with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, doesn’t matter who’s playing.
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Or not.

After the last A.C.T. play of the season, Happy End (A Melodrama with Songs, Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, Music by Kurt Weill), we repaired to Cortez for a drink and a bit of bar food. I like that room, long and narrow with a bar on one side and banquettes on the other, followed by clothed tables in the dining area to the rear. It’s subtly decorated and features strange and wonderful sculptural lights. And their small plates are unfailingly interesting and good.
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How to eat your peas after the joy of shelling.

One thinks of peas as being frozen. That’s how they come. And they’re pretty good, the best of the frozen vegetables. (When I was a child, milk was delivered by a man in a milk truck. It took several visits to my grandfather’s farm in Logan, Ohio to be convinced that milk came from a cow. I preferred “truck milk.”) Likewise, I didn’t discover the wonderfulness of fresh peas in a pod until I started shopping at the Farmers Market.

This time of year, fresh English peas are abundant at the Farmers Market, they ain’t cheap! They used to be $4 for a small bag, then they went up to $5 last year due to rising gasoline prices. This year they went up to $7 due to gasoline and our heavy and constant spring rains. The peas were late and the first bags were muddy, but the peas were good. Now the peas are big and fresh and yielding closer to 2 cups than 1 1/2.

I buy a bag nearly once a week and I’m constantly looking for ways to prepare them, other than “just peas.”
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Good Eatin’ v

This is the fifth in an occasional series of Good Eatin’, kind of a sidebar often involving leftovers (LO), where I will describe an easily put together meal that we enjoyed very recently, maybe yesterday.

I’m working on my “Texas Eats” post and my mind wanders to what’s-for-dinner. I dreamed about meatballs and there’s this Sardinian Meatball recipe by Joyce Goldstein that is interesting… but the Wednesday Chef says that its best the day after it’s made.

Well, Carol’s not feeling well… she stayed home from work, that means she’s really not feeling well. Right now she’s snoozing. I can make the meatballs for tomorrow and something mild for today. Fish, that’s mild. There’s a halibut recipe from a recent NY Times that looks good. So that makes a short list to take to Whole Food; ground pork, scallions, halibut, canned tomatoes. I added chicken soup to the bottom of the list, just in case.
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Beet Greens

The Saturday of KABOOM, I concocted this fabulous lunch.

I got a lovely bunch of beets at the Market, 4 large. I roasted them to make pickled beets for the KABOOM picnic. Had one beet left over.

The beets came with these lovely greens, and there they were on the counter. Those won’t keep for more than a day or so and then I’ll forget about them and they’ll get all slimy.

So I looked in Chez Panisse Vegetables for guidance. Alice does beet greens with pasta. She uses currents and stuff I don’t have or don’t want to mess with, but the key thing I was looking for in the recipe was “cook covered for 5 minutes.”
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Pacific Bell Park down… SBC up

Or, how to avoid Ballpark Food with,
Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad

Way back in February when Spring Training was about to begin, the Giants held a FanFest and part of the deal was a five ticket package for April and May games in View (that’s up top) Reserved for $58, they pick the seats and the games. That’s a deal, and the seats and the games have been good. But this is about the food.
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