The LifeArtDance of Liz Brent

A REAL SF Weekend

started on
my Thursday:
ink stains
darken
my pillow flesh
my writing callous

but
late afternoon sun
illuminates red
produce glows
lights up locals

then
in the Kitchen
bike grease
darkens
my manicure
what was the point?

love being both

quiet evenings
raucous afternoons
awake at
3 AM, 5 AM, sunrise

washing day:
shrouded in chill
day of the sun:
aptly named
a blaze on my skin

Dolores

soak it up:

good food + good friends
good food + good friends
good food + good friends

Earlier this week, my friends KokoraKara, Ms. Dyer (aka SeaCats) and I planned a craft night. I elected to host and we all agreed that there MUST be tasty snacks! But what to make? KokoraKara is vegan, and she had found a recipe that claimed to replicate the ever delicious Lara Bars. This amazing recipe from Enlightened Cooking, in fact!
I set out to attempt the basic bar.

However, because I was making for 3 hungry craft ladies, I increased my proportions. This is what I ended up using and doing:

Homemade Raw/Vegan/Sweet Tasty Snacks

1 Cup roughly chopped dates

1 Cup mixed raisins & dried cranberries

1/4 Cup whole raw almonds

1/8 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

Because my kitchen doesn’t have a food processor, I used our blender. I chopped the dates up as much as I could before putting them in. Chopping the raisins+cranberries seemed too troublesome, so they just went straight in.

Ok, now I’m positive that this recipe is easy breezy with a food processor. Using a blender works, but it takes a lot of muscle and ends up being extremely messy! I had to keep packing/mixing/mashing/scooping out goop to help the blender do its thing. It worked eventually, but it’s never a good sign when your roomie comes in and pours you a sympathy beer just because he’s been hearing you curse for an hour! Much appreciated, but still…

In the end, I had some lovely brown goop that was delicious when I licked it off my fingers. Dried fruits (especially dates) truly are nature’s candy! I decided to let the blender rest and hand chopped the raw almonds as finely as I could. I added those and the cinnamon and dove back in to get my hands sticky mixing everything up. You really have to use your hands. I cannot see how a spoon would ever work with the density of the goop!

I decided that instead of bars, I would make little round treats instead. I rolled them using my hands and placed them in a ziplock bag. The amount of ingredients I used resulted in 14 mini Lara “balls”  I stuck them in the fridge for about an hour.

They were extremely tasty, deemed a rousing success by the ladies, gave us energy to craft well into the night, and were worth the effort! I’m not sure when I’ll try it again, because again I say, a food processor is a must! Phew…

Yesterday morning I was looking through my roommate’s cook books looking for a good recipe to improve upon a classic I make all the time: pasta + sauce. Feeling inspired, I made an early morning bike trip to my favorite little market on Valencia & 24th to pick up a couple things. I ended up getting sweet little tomatoes and a huge bunch of basil. I realized there was no way I was going to use all the basil, so I mentioned it to my “master chef” roomie M, just in case he would have a use for it. He suggested making pesto, which I thought was pretty brilliant.

Midday, a burrito attack waylaid my desire for pasta, but I still wanted to make the pesto. I thought a little pesto and bread would be just right for late night dinner. And then M came up with another brilliant idea – “Want to learn how to make mojitos?”

WOULD I?!*

So M taught me how to pesto and mojitos and I documented the recipes and the process for posterity (which basically means I made him do all the work).

One disclaimer: Our measurements were all eye-balled and based on “what looks right” and more importantly, “what tastes right,” so they may not be completely accurate. That being said, here we go!

Rule of Thumb: The freshest, best, high quality ingredients = the best food & drinks!

Pesto:

5 cloves of garlic

1/2-3/4 cup of pine nuts (we had to improvise with raw almonds that we chopped and roasted and actually gave the pesto a really nice flavor)

3/4 bunch of basil (about 6 stems) – remove leaves from stems & toss stems

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of olive oil

* Add everything to a blender/food processor and mix until creamy. M likes his pesto with a punch (i.e. lots of garlic). If you need to mellow it out, add more cheese.

I toasted French baguette with a little butter and we spread the pesto on. We also dipped the bread in balsamic vinegar and olive oil with a little pepper and ate a lot of those little tomatoes on the side. Deliciousness!

Mojitos:

3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

4 tsps of sweetener (recommended: sucanat/evaporated cane juice/raw cane sugar)

2 shots per person of rum

1 really juicy lime per person (or 2 not-so-juicy limes)

Lots o’ ice

The secret ingredient: Italian soda lemonade!

* Using a muddler (or your closest equivalent) and a shaker tin, muddle together the mint and sweetener, making sure to get all the sweetener off the sides of the tin and infused with the mint. Add the rum to the mixture. Squeeze the limes into the glasses and add lots o’ ice. Pour the sweet mint rum mix over the ice. Top off with the Italian soda lemonade. Add more mint leaves for garnish/flavor, as you like. YUUUUUM!

*Mojitos are my favorite drink EVER.

Random Things I learned:

~ If using high heat, avoid using non stick pans

Next Adventure:

Basil Mojitos?!

I didn’t quite understand this comic by my friend Amy until today.

I woke up emotional and exhausted. Lately, I’ve been having these nights where I sleep deeply, but I have these crazy dreams that are so intense I wake up feeling like I’ve run a marathon. My brain isn’t resting even when it’s supposed to! Last night was vampires + ice skating + university graduation… WTF? Less amusing, my lower back and hips have been hurting a lot again in the last week. Towards the end of the day I’ll start feeling really sore and tight and then by the time I lie down, it’s painful.

Of course, all of this whining is following a really good Monday yesterday, when I got a TON done, saw friends, got ear acupuncture, so I feel bad for complaining.

Anyway, I went to my chiropractic appointment and almost burst into tears describing my chiropractor how my back and legs were feeling. Luckily, I have the BEST CHIROPRACTOR IN THE WORLD, and he really helped me talk it out, calmed me down, adjusted my spine and my soul, and sent me back into the world feeling so much better.

He reminded me that when I started treatments with him, I was injured and overly emotional about that. I’ve been doing so much better the last couple months really allowing myself to rest, which is hard for a dancer/athlete, but I AM healing. But now I’m on the other end of the spectrum – I’m going through a lot of changes which is emotionally difficult and now my body is reacting to that, asking me to continue to take it easy and be kind to myself. Why is that always the hardest thing to do? Why do I always run myself ragged?

When I got back from my appointment, my new roomie, M, asked me if I wanted to go get a torta with him down on 24th. It was a really simple gesture, but today, it meant a lot. And it was my first torta in the Mission and it was AMAZING. I definitely want to try all the torta places near our place now! Which means I will get increasingly chubby, but it will be sooooooo worth it…

Also, I picked up some flowers for the apartment, to brighten our kitchen. I’ve been missing sunny Colorado a lot these days, and sunflowers always remind me of Bear Creek Canyon in late summer/early fall, bright against that brilliant CO sky…

Maybe the CO vibe somehow inspired my CO BFF to contact me today… a long chat with the MQ is always a life saver!

Lastly, I’m quite pleased with how a new project is turning out… more to come, but here’s a little preview pic…

Now if only I could escape to a nearby mountain for a good hike, I would feel right as rain… hopefully soon! But until then, I really am grateful for the good people I have in my life.

Last night, Dr. M and I went out for dinner and drinks. We went to my neighborhood bar, which is literally around the corner from my apartment. Jay n’ Bee’s is quickly becoming a favorite. Last night I tried one of their pizzas, and become even more enamored. The #2 with garlic, Parmesan, and TONS of spinach was one reason. Delicious! But the enthusiasm and energy of the bartenders was the main reason. And it’s just so lovely to sit by the window and feel like, “This is my neighborhood.”

It’s true, 10 months of living in SF, and I’m just now starting to feel like I actually live here.

Next we went to El Rio, which I had never been to before, and loved it! It could’ve been the spacious back patio with wooden seats and trees, where we cuddled on a bench and gazed at the mini shrine festooned with fake flowers, Christmas lights, and various rusting odds and ends. It could’ve been the karaoke drifting on the night breeze. It could’ve been the dogs sitting with their owners, tail wagging excitement bubbling over at every new passerby. Or maybe it was my drink, “Purple Rain.” The special of the evening, the bartender scooped organic blueberries mashed into agave syrup from a mason jar on the counter into my glass, over ice, and added vodka and lemonade. “Only in San Francisco,” was my thought.

Whatever it was, I definitely was feeling in love with the city last night. Driving back home, I watched people crossing Bryant and realized I was no longer feeling like a tourist – a wannabe – in this town, but yes, like someone who lives here.