Sunday Cooking: Salad Days

It's been dang hot lately, so slaving over a hot stove hasn't been at the top of my "to do" list in recent weeks. That said, it doesn't mean that I haven't been eating quite well.

Last night I whipped up this simple and delicious beet greens, beet and goat cheese salad. Most people waste those veiny, dense leafs on the stems of the beets, which are actually pretty tasty. I'd say the flavor falls somewhere between arugula and spinach; a little peppery, with that hearty spinach texture.

I simply roasted the beets in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes (drizzle with olive oil and sea salt before baking). Then I ripped up the greens and added a splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper and good olive oil and tossed. Crumble up some goat cheese and toss in the cooled beets and you've got yourself a hearty and tasty salad.

San Francisco: Market Bar Lunch

Welcome to Market Bar

Everyone has an idea of what "the good life" means to them. When I used to live in San Francisco, I experienced little bursts of the good life on a regular basis. I'd be sitting at an outdoor cafe, with a cocktail in my hand listening to a street performer playing the saxophone and I'd think to myself, "Life is good."

Don't get me wrong, I love living in Los Angeles. But with all the driving and smog and too-hot weather, those moments seem fewer in SoCal. So I took full advantage of my free time during adtech to venture outside of the stuffy conference hall and get back into San Francisco mode.

My "Little Gem Lettuces" salad

The Ferry Building has always been one of those places that, at least for me, captures the essence of a perfect San Francisco day. The ocean breeze; the farm-fresh produce and artisan breads and cheeses in every nook and corner; and the curious children and happy, healthy adults taking it all in. So on our first day at the conference, I gave co-worker Joey a tour of the building then chose the Market Bar cafe for a quick lunch.

Joey's salad with shaved goat cheese

Joey ordered the garden salad with shaved Cypress Grove goat cheese. I have to say I've never seen shaved goat cheese before - only crumbles. I had the Little Gem Lettuces with anchovy vinaigrette. Both were excellent, as was their fabulous French bread.

For our entree, we shared the cold seafood platter which consisted of oysters, Dungeness crab, lobster and shrimp with three sauces. Joey doesn't like oysters (yay!), so I had the pleasure of slurping down every single one. No words could possibly relay how good this utterly simple and fresh array of seafood really was. As I cracked the crunchy legs of the crab and wiggled out chunks of fresh meat, and after I squirted a bit of lemon juice on and savored every bite of the buttery crab flesh, the only thing that was going through my mind was, "Life is good."