Author Archives: Renate Valencia

Matt’s first brew

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matthew valencia having his first beer at pyramid brewery in berkeley in 2008

Matt’s first beer in a restaurant today!  Matthew ordered the brewer’s rack at Pyramid Alehouse (901 Gilman, Berkeley) this evening and was very pleased to show his ID to the server.  I captured his first sip with my cell phone – and was more than happy to help drink the beer.  Paul treated to a nice meal, including a new mussel appetizer — served in a beer broth with fries and crostini on the side — which was very good.  I am also happy to report that Pyramid brought back their cheese soup and gave the old heave-ho to that terrible soup they had for awhile….which I believe was squash, but I may be wrong.  Whatever it was, it was a thin and tasteless affair.

Salmon in parchment

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Salmon fillets in parchment packs ready for the oven

Salmon fillets in parchment packs ready for the oven

Salmon fishing on the West Coast will be drastically reduced soon, so I made some tonight as sort of a “last hurrah,” since I won’t be buying it much if it goes significantly up in price.  As a nod to lighter fare I cut a side into smaller fillets and then baked them en papillote — in parchment paper.  You can, too.  Cut folded parchment sheets into hearts which, when opened, exceed the area of the salmon – which should be placed flat on one side of the heart – by about two inches.  Be sure to salt and pepper the fish first, and then add to the top some fresh herbs or a slice of orange.  Whatever you like.  Then fold the salmon-less side of your parchment heart over the top of the salmon and start sealing the packet, tucking the two layers of parchment under, beginning at the top.  When you reach the point at the bottom of the heart you need to do a “tuck under” with your last “fold ‘n crimp.”  Bake them on a sheet pan at a preheated 350 F. for no more than 15 minutes or so for 5-ounce fillets.  It depends on your oven, but if you dry them out you’ll be really sorry.  Make an x-shaped cut in the parchment with a sharp paring knife without getting a steam burn and serve in the paper with sides.

tomato feta salad

The really fabulous thing about this meal was my famous tomato-feta salad – always a hit here.  This is so easy to make, but relies on one expensive ingredient:  hazelnut, almond or walnut oil.  In my opinion you should have one of these on hand at all times to add a little special zip now and again.  A few rich ingredients like this allow you to pull off some classy last-minute meals.  Costco sometimes sells these oils in trio packs for about $17, and you can keep them for about two years.  I don’t care what anyone says, when I store mine in the back of the fridge I have seen no rancidity for 24 months; my fridge is at a steady 37 F.  What you need to have on hand is:  good tomatoes cut into eights.  Feta cheese – the real thing – in small cubes.  Use about 1/3 of the volume of your tomatoes.  Orange juice.  Lemon juice.  Onion powder.  Sliced red onion – as much as you like, but not too much.  Whole Calamata olives, which you can buy without pits in a jar, if you don’t want to deal with pits.  Use the same volume of olives as you do cheese.  If you buy a huge jar at Costco (where else?) it’ll keep for ages.  One of the oils I mention above.  Salt and pepper.  Make a vinaigrette out of the oil and orange juice by simply whisking them together, using proportions you like but heavier on the oil, something like 1/2 cup oil for every 1/4 cup OJ.  Add a splash of lemon juice and a shake of onion powder.  Whisk again.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk.  Correct seasoning and oil/acid ratio.  Whisk – whisk – whisk.  Set aside.  Mix the rest of the stuff gently in a large bowl.  Add as much dressing as you like, reserving the rest for future use.  Toss gently and allow to sit at room temperature for a half hour before serving, but pop in the fridge if it’ll be longer.  You will not believe how good this salad tastes.

I also roasted some French string beans (yes, this is a no-no and you should only roast big, bad string beans, but I was dealing with leftovers and had to do something different).

roasted green beans

Koreana in Richmond

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koerana restaurant in richmond ca in 2008

Koreana in Richmond, California, in 2008

We tried Koreana, the new Korean place in Pacific East Mall in Richmond.  (You know where the mall is, right?  It’s on Pierce not far from Central.  Central is the street Costco is on.  The intersection of Central and Pierce is the one with all those gas stations.  It serves as the gateway to many, many freeway on-ramps.  If you think you’ll be killed instead of reaching Costco when driving west on Central– particularly if you dare to stay in the lane on the right when all those people behind you want to go right on red and onto route 80 — then you know the intersection.)  I have to admit that I never much liked Korean food, but I think the availability up until the last few years has not been representative of the cuisine, so I don’t have much to go on.  At Koreana, they have lots of photos of the dishes outside on the glass wall to give you an idea of what some of the dishes look like, so I settled on a special that came with bibimbap, which is a rice bowl topped with strips of meat and veggies arranged nicely in a circle with a fried egg atop the whole thing, and assorted tofu soup.  The bibimbap, which is eaten with chili sauce, was pretty good, I have to admit.  The tofu soup, served in a hot iron casserole, contained soft tofu in a broth along with a few tiny crustaceans.  I think there was soybean paste in the broth but I can’t swear to it.  The soup contained only a tiny bit of seafood, which proved to be more of an annoyance than anything else, so next time I’ll get it plain.  I don’t need one tiny shell-on shrimp, to be honest with you, since the thing was more eye than meat.  If you like silken tofu you’ll like this soup as it was chock full of it.  I was a little pissed off that they did not include the raw egg.  When I asked about it at the end of the meal I was told I had to request it.  It would have been nice if they mentioned this when they took my order.  My special also came with a number of condiments, like kimchee and cellophane noodles, which were a Godsend to Steve, whose beef rib soup was an anemic affair.  Next time he’ll look at the photos before he orders a soup  We’ll go back, and I’ll be sure to request a raw egg.

Iced tea on the cheap

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Heat wave.  You might not think that 80-something Fahrenheit is all that bad, but to wimps like us in the Berkeley area, it’s pretty hard to take.  We have no insulation in our houses, no AC and not enough room for a pool in the backyard – not that we would have one if we could, since residential pools are a waste of resources, but it’s nice to fantasize about a dip.  What is easily attainable, though, is a never-ending container of iced tea on the kitchen counter.  Go get one of those gallon-size so-called “sun tea” makers.  They are of glass and often have some kind of horrible motif painted on them, like beach balls.  There’s a spout so you can serve yourself all day long by simply having the thing on the edge of your counter.  Spend about $5.  Next, get a big box of 1 ounce tea bags at a restaurant food supplier like Smart and Final, which sells a box of 24 for about $4, last I checked.  Throw a tea bag in the jug and fill it up with cold tap water.  Start drinking it in about two hours.  I don’t add sugar but I often toss in a cut-up lemon.  If you are so damned spoiled that you can’t drink iced tea at room temperature, then add ice, but then you might want to make your brew with two tea bags.