There are so many wonderful things that we San Francisco residents get to enjoy: exciting cultural events, breathtaking views, and a general indescribable pride, to name just a few. Depending on how you look at it, an added bonus—or the price we have to pay—is opening our sofa-beds and playing tour guide to more than the national average of out-of-town visitors.

It’s always been a great source of joy to me that my hometown is a world-class city that people spend their hard-earned money and precious vacation days to visit. I never scoff at the shorts-wearing, map-consulting tourists that I see downtown; I never feel irritated with the slow-pedaling sightseers on their rented mountain bikes. Instead, they fill me with great affection, and provide me with a huge jolt of gratitude that breaks through my daily urban crankiness. And when those tourists happen to be my very own—that is, my personal friends who have come to visit—I love to see the sights along with them, getting to re-enjoy the city’s treasures with a fresh and invigorated perspective.

Tourist hot spots can be great fun—I absolutely adore walking across the bridge, exploring Chinatown, and taking ferry rides—but personally, I’ve always been even more drawn to the less-traveled path. So as a San Francisco native, a food-lover, and a seeker of quirky adventures, I decided to put together a list of my favorite local foodie events, activities, classes, stores, and restaurants to share with visitors and locals alike. I hope you’ll enjoy checking out these tasty resources.

You can read my Top Ten list here: Top Ten Things for Foodie Tourists to Do in San Francisco.

If you’re familiar with San Francisco, please tell me, what are your favorite local foodie adventures? I’m already planning Part II of this post, and would love to discover some hidden treasures that I don’t yet know about myself. Please share your two cents in the comments section!

Healthy eating does not mean a lot of extra time in the kitchen. In fact, this healthy lunch (lunch!) only took about 20 minutes. The halibut steaks and kale came from Trader Joe’s, and the carrots came from Whole Foods (though I could’ve one-stop-shopped those at TJ’s if I’d wanted to).

You don’t need anything fancy to make this super flavorful, either. I used extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and some dried herbs.

How’d I do it? The carrots were drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, wrapped in aluminum foil, and baked in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes (do this first). The halibut cooked about 5-6 minutes per side (and were seasoned the same way), and the kale sauteed on the stovetop while the stuff in the oven cooked.

Super, super easy. Relatively cheap (halibut’s a little spendy, but sooooo worth it). Come on, I know you can do this.

Is there anything better than the most delicious meal of your life that happens to leave you feeling like you can take on the world, rather than bloaty and sluggish and desperate for a food-coma-induced nap? There isn’t, actually, and while I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this recipe is that meal, it’s flavorful, indulgent, and colorful, and will also leave you feeling energetic and healthy.

I’m determined to develop a repertoire of meals that are packed with flavor and high in nutrients. This is one of those meals.

Recipe | Gluten-Free Poached Egg with Kale, Peppers, Cheese and Toast

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 piece of bread (I used Udi’s Gluten-Free White Bread)
• Cheese of choice (I used a raw milk cheddar cheese from Trader Joe’s)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped kale
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chopped red peppers and kale. Using tongs or a spatula, flip/saute to ensure even coating of olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt and cook until the kale begins to wilt just a little and the peppers are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, poach an egg (I have an egg poacher, which I highly recommend, but here’s a tutorial), or cook the egg however you prefer (if I’m not poaching it, I like mine scrambled or over-medium). Poaching, for me, takes about 10 minutes.

While the egg and veggies are doing their thing on the stove-top, toast your bread. Top the bread with cheese, veggies, and your egg (however you cooked it). Season with salt and pepper.

Pears are all over the place here in Oregon, and they’re a favorite of mine, especially for dessert! I think cooking peaches and pears really brings out the sweetness and flavor and makes for a better-for-you sweet treat, as well.

Pears also pair (ha…) well with cheese. And I love cheese, so here’s what I did:

Pears Halves with Bleu Cheese and Honey

Ingredients: 1 pear, 1 Tablespoon Bleu cheese, and a drizzle of honey and olive oil

I sliced a pear in half, hollowed out the center, drizzled a little olive oil on top, scooped in some Bleu cheese (Rogue Creamery makes a to-die-for Bleu that I am obsessed with), then drizzled with honey. Next, I popped the whole thing (cut side up!) in the oven for 10 minutes at 350, before finishing off with a two-minute broil session to slightly brown the outside.

If it’s summer where you are, grill the pears face-down first, then finish with bleu cheese and honey.

Amazing.

I eat kale all the time. My favorite way to eat kale is to sauté it, but I’ll eat it in a salad, with baked eggs, in soup, and will even drink it in Green Monster-style smoothie-form. Kale is a staple in this house, a regular grocery store item.

I spent the last two weeks visiting my extended family in Mobile and Huntsville, Alabama and most meals included any/all of the following: macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, corn bread, corn bread pudding, ham, potato salad, turnip greens (cooked with bacon fat), and pineapple casserole. I didn’t even know such a thing as pineapple casserole existed, but it does, it’s a side dish, and it’s surprisingly awesome.

However, while my typical Portland-farmers’-market diet definitely includes macaroni and cheese and I love me a good casserole, this menu does not a healthy lifestyle make! So, on one of a few grocery store runs, I picked up a few things for myself including apples, okra (so what if I planned to batter and fry it), and kale. Two beautiful, curly bunches of kale.

I figured these southern folk would *get* kale. They eat turnip greens, collard greens, and spinach, right? Surely, kale wasn’t so far out there.

But it was! No one had ever tried it, though my aunt did mention Dr. Oz’s endorsement of kale as a nutritious superfood, so they were all intrigued.

I sautéed it up my favorite way (with olive oil, salt and pepper) and let the masses decide. I was pleased that at least a couple of people liked it, including my sister, who I love for letting me make her sample new vegetables — you’re welcome for your newfound love of interest in brussels sprouts! I made kale with a few meals, because I’d be damned if I was going to turn down that macaroni and cheese so I might as well get some leafy greens to go with it.

Anyway, now that I’m back at home, to say that I’ve thrown off Southern-style eating is an understatement. I’m on day five of a fourteen-day* detox, which means, I am eatting a [metric] shit ton of kale. And here’s a delicious salad that brings that curly, leafy green right smack dab front and center.

Recipe | Kale Salad with Cabbage + Carrots

(adapted slightly from this recipe on WholeLiving.com)

Ingredients

For Salad

• 2 handfuls of chopped kale
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red cabbage
• 1/2 cup finely chopped (or shredded) carrots
• 1 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds (I found these at Whole Foods, with the supplements, not in the bulk aisle)

For Dressing

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon’s Country Dijon)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar, if you don’t have ACV on hand)
• squeeze of lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss together the kale with the cabbage and carrots. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard, vinegar, squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing and top with sunflower, hemp, and pumpkin seeds.

If you’re into salads, but you’re looking for something that packs a bigger punch (in flavor AND nutritional value) this is a super easy one that tastes amazing. I love that it introduced me to hemp seeds (which I’ve been sprinkling on just about everything) and made pumpkin seeds a new staple in my house.

*It’s supposed to be a 21-day cleanse, but days 15-21 happen when I’m in Boulder and I’m sorry I’m not sorry, but I fully plan to enjoy my way through some seriously tasty Boulder/Denver restaurants and wine while I’m there that week. In moderation, of course.

Speaking of Boulder, I can already promise I’ll at least pop into The Kitchen [NEXT DOOR] and The Bitter Bar (both known for excellence in fresh, local fare and cocktails). I do plan to adhere as closely as possible to this cleanse’s style of eating (fresh fruits and veggies, fats from nuts and oils, seafood) and not jump off the bandwagon. More on this in another post, but this detox is largely to help me learn new healthy meals, create time in my schedule for preparing them, and make smarter decisions while dining out.

Did you know that according to Whole Living Magazine (a new favorite of mine), drinking hot lemon water first thing in the morning helps promote good digestion by stimulating the liver and releasing digestive enzymes?

Yeah, I didn’t either. But I’m turning my daily routine and eating habits on their heads this month and have added hot lemon water to my morning routine. Bonus? The taste is bright and refreshing, a perfect morning wake-up and substitute for coffee, which I’m nixing for the next three weeks.

More on that later.

I like oysters. Here in Portland, we get a lot of great West Coast oysters from all over the Pacific Northwest. My favorites are kumamoto oysters, these cute little ones from right here in Oregon.

I’ve had plenty of West Coast oysters and I’ve had a few from the East Coast. What I’d never had before were Gulf Coast Oysters, though I knew that my dad and his dad had long-time tradition of going to Winzell’s Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama.

Grumpy, Mobile, and Gulf Coast Oysters

My grandfather passed away last Wednesday. We called him Grumpy, and while I realize that probably sounds weird to some to read that, it was a nickname that stuck a long time ago and that’s how we knew him.

Last Thursday, half the family was flying into town and the rest of us had already arrived. “The rest of us” included my dad, my sister, myself, and Chris. Wednesday evening, Dad had suggested showing Chris around town, since he’d never been to Mobile and we agreed, knowing it’d be good to get out of the house for a couple of hours and because downtown Mobile is historic, pretty, and sits right on the Mobile Bay.

The plan included a stop at Wintzell’s Oyster House in downtown Mobile on the way out across the bay. Fresh seafood? We’re all on board.

When we got to Wintzell’s, there were four seats right up at the Oyster Bar.

We settled in and were greeted with metal trays with little oyster forks, lemons, cocktail sauce, and horseradish.

There were baskets of saltine crackers scattered along the bar. I quickly started snapping photos of the quotes on the walls — they were everywhere! I especially liked this one.

Dad was lining up his saltines, waiting for the oysters and the rest of us sat there excited, though not sure what we were in for. We were then greeted by the guy who’d be shucking our live oysters for us — right there at the bar!

I was excited.

And then I was a little nervous. Turns out, Gulf Coast oysters are huge!

They’re also really, really good. Dad taught us how to prep the saltines with some cocktail sauce on top, place the oysters on the cracker and squeeze a little bit of lemon on the oyster.

Then? Chomp! The smaller ones I could eat in one bite, but others I had to bite in half and then shove the rest in my mouth. It’s not exactly polite-eating, but it sure is fun.

My dad always gets excited when he can show or teach us something, and as we continued to shove oysters in our face, I started getting the vibe that he was rather enjoying the process of showing us how to do this. It was when I heard a couple of “Grumpy and I used to… ” and “Grumpy and I did it this way…” phrases that I realized that we were sitting at the Oyster Bar at Wintzell’s Oyster House in downtown Mobile, Alabama, as an homage and tribute to my grandfather. My dad with his daughters and daughter’s boyfriend, teaching old traditions to the new generation of oyster-eaters.

I know that if Grumpy had been there with us that day, he’d have been proud of the dozens of oysters we ate and of how much fun we had. And that’s pretty cool.

The winter farmers’ market here in Portland is in full swing, and I found a couple of new veggies and some old favorites on the day that it opened.

Kale

Kale is my favorite vegetable. Maybe just for right now, maybe for all time, I’m not sure. But it’s so good, and so easy. I’m learning that it’s also a great winter green, and I’m seeing it everywhere right now.

Here’s a really basic way to make kale. It’s quick, and will likely only include things you already have in your kitchen.

Easy Sautéed Kale

You’ll need:

• 1 bunch kale, cut or torn into smaller pieces
• sea salt
• olive oil
• lemon wedge

Optional: crumbled (cooked) bacon, 1 garlic clove (minced), grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet on the stove. If you’re using crumbled bacon or minced garlic, add this to the oil and let it heat just briefly. Add the kale and using tongs, turn the kale frequently, making sure that all pieces are coated and that it cooks evenly. It will cook down and wilt a bit. Throughout this process, sprinkle sea salt and squeeze lemon juice onto the kale as it cooks.

Finish with any/all of the following: sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Chris and I have had the kale with baked chicken and roasted cauliflower puree, and my girlfriends and I have just eaten it out of a bowl with our bare fingers. So, you know. Whatever your thing is.

I promise, this is the easiest way to make kale (that I know of) and it’s so flavorful!

Purple Haze Carrots

Moving on, I also found these Purple Haze Carrots while strolling through the market. I’d never, ever seen carrots this color before and I was intrigued, so I grabbed just enough for Chris and I to taste them. My plans were to roast them, but I ended up shredding the carrots into turkey meatballs that I made last week. These definitely need a second appearance in my kitchen, but they did work nicely with the ground turkey.

Sunchokes

One of my favorite Portland restaurants is Veritable Quandary (VQ). VQ blows my mind every time I’m there with their creative, seasonal dishes and emphasis on local foods. Last time I was there, I ordered a cup of the Sunchoke soup, not really being sure what sunchokes actually are (and then remembered a guest blogger’s post here on the Jerusalem artichoke and that I learned sunchokes were the same thing!).

I set out to recreate the soup, and found some sunchokes at the winter market. They look like fat ginger roots, don’t they?

Winter produce shopping is fun, right? What’s in your market these days?

Content provided by Alex Summers.

I don’t know about you, but nothing excites me more than the prospect of cooking something new after weeks of uninspiring meals. This time, that something new was a delicious and exotic dish that subtly brought home some great flavors from Southeast Asia: Thai Lemongrass Chicken.

I had been planning this meal ever since I compulsively bought a couple stalks of lemongrass a couple weeks back (the plant is maybe the cheapest item at Whole Foods, so I wasn’t risking much). I quickly did some research and came across an intriguing recipe for Thai lemongrass chicken. I had eaten the dish once before – on a trip to Thailand, in fact – and remembered it as altogether unique, authentic, and highly tasteful. As I was to soon find out, it is also quite simple to make.

But a busy work schedule precluded me from trying out my recipe for a couple weeks. During that tim,e I ate a hearty diet of what could best be termed disaster food – foods such as beans, pasta, rice, and various other items that come mainly in a box or a can. That lemongrass stalk in my fridge grew only more enticing.

Finally I had a free and opportune evening to cook. I whipped together my supplies, relaxed for a short while as I cooked in the kitchen, and then enjoyed a delicious dinner.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1-2 stalks lemongrass
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tsp salt

And here’s what I did:

Cut the chicken breast into small pieces. Finely cut the onion and the lemongrass into small pieces. Heat oil at low heat in a frying pan. Add the minced onion and lemongrass to the pan, and saute for several minutes. Add the chicken and stir thoroughly. Pour broth, coconut milk, and honey into the pan. Let the dish simmer until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat and add salt to taste

I then mixed my chicken with a bed of white rice. As I ate and savored the delicious flavors, I felt myself being transported back to Thailand. The dish was fresh, minty, and far different from any other chicken recipe I’ve made. If you’re looking for something new, you really can’t go wrong giving Thai lemongrass chicken a try.

Enjoy!

Photo used with permission via Creative Commons license. Original photo here.

Chicken noodle soup, meet macaroni & cheese. Even before my culinary school days, I knew these classics would hit it off. The comfort they have brought me through breakups, stomach flus and hangovers could only multiply when combined. However, this wouldn’t be a typical romance between a steamy soup and a creamy noodle dish if a sexy, velvety French wildcard wasn’t thrown in the mix. It’s the man that our mothers warned us about. His accent almost as sharp as the indentations of his six pack, this foreign intruder is exactly what this story needs.

Ingredients

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken stock

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta (macaroni, rotini, penne….)

1 piece of whole wheat bread, toasted

¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Recipe | Baked Chicken Noodle Soup

In order to get this heavenly helping of soup done within thirty minutes, you definitely need to multitask!

Heat the chicken stock in one pot as you boil water for pasta in another. The water should taste as salty as the ocean! As you wait for your water to boil, go ahead and make your veloute. Melt butter* in a sauce pan over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour. Whisk this mixture until it becomes pasty in texture and blond in color. Whisk the hot stock into your roux (Congrats, you have made veloute!). In total, cook the veloute for twenty minutes in order to eliminate any raw flour taste. Once your water is boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente (the pasta will have a slight bite to it). Drain pasta thoroughly and add to veloute. Mix in half of your cheese and add pasta mixture to muffin tins that have been sprayed or buttered.  Crumble toasted bread over the pasta and sprinkle with leftover cheese. To finish, put pasta under the broiler on high and serve hot as a side** dish!

Mix it Up

If you’re counting calories, replace the butter with a whipped version or olive oil/butter combination AND/OR replace the whole milk cheese with a part skim version.

If you’re a vegetarian, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock. Add cooked diced vegetables (celery, carrots) or frozen veggies to the mix. To make a complete protein without meat, replace the bread crumbs with toasted nuts like pine nuts (whole grain pasta + pine nuts = complete protein).

*Yes, in the classic culinary world clarified butter is used to make a roux. However, for our purposes it’s not necessary. Plus who’s got time for that?

**If you’re making this as an entrée, add diced chicken or sliced ham and vegetables.