**please keeping voting for homeroom to help us win $10,000 – only a few days left. It takes 5 seconds flat! You can vote BOTH through facebook here, AND through the DailyCandy site here. That’s 2 votes a day!**

Okay. Back to business (but really, please vote! This $10K can make the difference between us making our budget or not.)

Funny how things change. Isn’t it?

If you would have told me one year ago that I’d be opening a restaurant–a mac and cheese restaurant, with a girl I hardly knew–I would have laughed. Really, who does that?

And now it’s fall again, and I put an extra layer on when I walk Ema in the mornings. But I’m not sitting behind a desk. I’m sitting at a cafe, at 9:30am, trying to finish this post so I can continue my search for used equipment. Who would have thought…

Think about it. What aspect of your life did you not expect? Is there anything that makes you think, “Damn. I never saw that coming.”

No? Really? Well maybe that should be somewhat of a priority. Make a change, even a small one, and see how it feels. Plant a garden, start running, take up yoga–start anything that can grow and evolve, and see what happens one year from today. Who knows, maybe you have gift you never knew about.

There are constants in my life though. Things I can count on to stay the same. Alejandro, my most important constant . . . and this gravlax recipe. I have wanted to make this recipe for ages– since I first saw it in Saveur.

And now, a year later, I made gravlax. Damn good gravlax. And I’m opening a restaurant. Who knew?

How to Make Gravlax
(technique adapted from saveur magazine)

2 pounds, center-cut, wild, pacific salmon (debone with a tweezer. Makes life much easier.)
2/3 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons marash pepper
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons crushed black peppercorns

Combine all of the spices into a large bowl.

Cover a plate with plastic wrap, and pour half of the spices on top. Place the salmon on top of the spices, skin side down, and cover with the rest of the spice mixture.

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 48-72 hours. Every 12 hours, flip and redistribute the spices with your fingers. You’ll notice that it’ll be extremely wet–that’s okay. The brine is pulling the moisture out of the salmon.

The salmon will feel firm when fully cured. Unwrap, and throw out the brine. Rinse the salmon under cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a very sharp knife to thinly slice against the grain.

You can serve it many ways, but my favorite is on a toasted baguette with avocado, drizzled with good olive oil and course salt.

Where I Shopped:
Wild Salmon: Ver Brugge, Oakland

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It’s kinda clever, don’t you think?

At first I wasn’t sure how to go about this. How to ease into the big favor I wanted to ask all of you. Then Erin mentioned a candy recipe, and I thought, huh, maybe that is the way…

So here’s the favor. Homeroom–you know, the mac + cheese restaurant we’ve been trying to open for months and months–is up for an award by the website DailyCandy. They nominated us as one of the top four new food businesses in the US. Can you believe it? And if we win, we get $10,000 to put toward the restaurant, plus a trip to NYC for a small business seminar. And believe me, we really need the money (small business advice would be nice too).

But we can’t win without votes from you. So, as a favor to me, even if you’ve never had our mac and cheese, please vote for homeroom on the DailyCandy site, or through their facebook page. And in return, I promise to keep churning out creative recipes using all kinds of local, seasonal goods.

And if you live nearby, come to the next Underground Market because if we win this thing, we’ll be giving away 200 free portions of mac and cheese. Kind of like a thank you for voting for us.

I know what you’re thinking. Who am I ask to ask a favor, when I haven’t posted a new recipe since August 18th? You’re right. Please don’t hate me. I love writing local lemons, and wish I could spend more time here. But I keep getting this feeling, you know, the one you get when things pile up around you, when everyone needs something from you, when everything is due all on the same day. It’s been happening to me a lot lately. My head spins round and round and I just can’t get things done quick enough. I hate it. I hate feeling unproductive…

But I will keep plugging away, and although I may not post as often as days past, it makes me happy to know you’re still here. Listening to my rantings, taking down my recipes, and giving me your support as I open my first restaurant. So please vote, and leave a comment below letting me know you did.  You don’t have to leave a comment, but if you do, it’ll make my day that much sweeter.

Speaking of sweet, I made this crazy concoction of honey-sweet caramel corn. The caramel recipe is from Chez Pim. There are loads of caramel recipes out there, but this one uses honey, and doesn’t require light corn syrup. Score. Summer’s sweet corn melts into the caramel and crunchy course fleur de sel adds just the right amount of savory.

When the caramel sets, cut it into small squares, wrap in parchment paper, and eat one every day from now until September 29th.  Why? Because every time you eat a piece of candy you’ll remember to vote for homeroom in DailyCandy’s small business contest (yes, you can vote once per day!)

Thanks everyone, I owe you one!

Honey-Sweet Caramel Corn

1 ear of corn, kernels cut off the cob  *make sure the corn is completely dry!
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
4oz unsalted butter, room temperature and diced
fleur de sel

Add sugar and honey into a large pot. I used enameled cast iron. Turn on the heat and let the sugar and honey melt and cook until caramelized. It should be a dark brown color. This takes about 7 minutes. Shake the pot if necessary to get all the sugar crystals to melt, but don’t stir.

While the sugar is cooking, bring the cream to a simmer.

When the sugar reaches the color you like, whisk in the butter until well mixed, then add the warmed cream, whisk until smooth. Let the mixture cook until the temperature reaches 260F or 125C – about 10 minutes. (You will need a thermometer for this.)

Pour the hot caramel onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a Silpad. Sprinkle the corn and fleur de sel on top (again, don’t forget to make sure the corn is dry). Let cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. Cut into small squares and wrap in packets of parchment or waxed paper.

Where I Shopped:
Corn and honey: Temescal farmers’ market, Oakland
Fleur de sel: Star Grocery, Berkeley

Vote Homeroom!

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I can’t stop eating tomatoes.

Really. I can’t. Maybe you’ve figured that out since they’ve been featured in my last three posts. But this time of year, tomatoes taste like tomatoes. A tangy punch, a juicy crunch, and an aroma that is just as sweet as a peach.

So now I’m having tomatoes for breakfast, and I’m topping them with farm eggs and sweet habaneros. Yes, they are habaneros. And yes, they are sweet. Seriously! They smell spicy, but you can bite into one like an apple. If you live in the Bay Area, get them at the farmers’ market from Quetzal Farms. Last year I chopped them up and set them in the sun with some course salt for an incredible spice that adds intensity to any dish. I also picked up some fresh sourdough from Phoenix Pastifico and toasted it under the tomatoes, so it would soak up all of the delicious juice. Such an easy breakfast for a lazy Saturday.

Though my routine is now slightly changing. I’ve become accustomed to waking up early on Saturday, going to spin class, and arriving at the market right when they open. But now I have to subtract spin class, because I quit the gym. It was time. Pretty soon (hopefully) the restaurant will open and I won’t have time anyway. But for now, there are many other ways I should be spending the money I pay in monthly dues. Oh well. Maybe I’ll train for something, like a half marathon or triathlon or something equally as scary. Anything to keep me motivated and active.

But anyway, on to the restaurant, because I have some exciting updates. We made a kickstarter video! Kickstarter is this great site that helps people raise funds for creative projects. We have already raised 24% of our funding goal. Check out our video, but don’t laugh too hard. We obviously have no idea how to take good video:

And, we’ll be cooking mac and cheese at the Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square on August 28-29. This just may be the biggest Bay Area food event of the year. They’re expecting over 100,000 people! And we’re expecting to serve 1800 portions of mac and cheese, which means about 180 pounds of cheese and 160 pounds of mac. Not to mention roux, hot dogs and potato chips for our trailer mac, and pounds of marash pepper for our spicy mac. Craziness.

Anyway, try out tomatoes for breakfast while they’re still in season, but not on the morning of Eat Real. You’ll need a completely empty stomach to try a taste from each of the 60 local food vendors.

Tomatoes, Eggs and Sweet Habaneros

4 organic eggs
2 fresh tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 slices of bacon, chopped
1/3 cup of sharp cheddar, grated
2 sweet habanero peppers
A few thick slices of sourdough
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Lightly toast sourdough slices under the broiler, and remove from the oven. Top bread with grated cheese, sliced tomatoes and chopped bacon, and place under the broiler again (toward the middle of your oven). Cook until bacon gets crispy, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, grate the habaneros using a microplane.

When bacon is cooked, remove from the oven. Heat up a drizzle of olive oil in a cast iron skillet. When hot, crack eggs into the pan and top with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until whites have set. Slide eggs on top of tomatoes, and broil again for about 30 seconds. Top with grated peppers and serve.

Where I Shopped:

Organic Eggs: Temescal Farmers’ Market, Oakland
Tomatoes, sweet habanero peppers, sourdough: Berkeley Farmers’ Market
House-made bacon, Flagship cheddar: Star Meats, Berkeley

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**homeroom update: We’ll be cooking mac and cheese at the Underground Farmers’ Market in Oakland this Saturday from 5pm-11pm. Live music, beer, and 40 food vendors! Details at homeroom510.com.**

An interesting thing happened the other day. I was cooking, as usual, when I realized how long it was since Alejandro and I went out to dinner, or even ordered in.

It wasn’t that long ago. But for us, it was unusual. I guess with all the commotion and stress over homeroom lately, we just haven’t had time, energy or the money to go out much (gosh, and we’re not even open yet!) Anyway. It was two weeks.

Are you laughing at me? Do you think I’m ridiculous for saying two weeks is a long time?

I put the question out there on twitter: How often do you eat a meal out that costs more than $20 per person?

I was surprised by the response. I would say we spend more than $20 per person once every two weeks, with cheap bites out in between. But my twitter friends, they don’t eat out much. At all. Many people said only a couple of times a year. A couple of times a year? I’m guessing that means birthdays, anniversaries, and a few special occasions. Maybe because I live, and lived, in urban areas, I’m accustomed to eating out a lot. I knew people in New York who ate home a couple times a year!

But really, I love eating home. I love preparing dinner while catching up on the day with Alejandro, and sipping a glass of red wine. I love knowing where the ingredients come from, and exactly what’s in the food we’re about to eat. And most of all, I love spending a fraction of the cost on a meal that’s most likely better than what we’d eat out.

Take this soup for example. It’s bold, spicy, vibrant, made with all local ingredients, and it cost me a few dollars to make.

It’s like a gazpacho, but you eat it hot. There’s a bit of prep work to this soup, but dang, is it worth it. Don’t be tempted to plug in your food processor – this soup is all about the mortar and pestle, and the individual greatness of each and every ingredient.

So tell me, how often do you spend more than $20 at dinner? Once a week? A month? A year? Leave a comment, and let me know where you live too. I’m so curious!

Bright and Spicy Summer Soup
Makes 3 big bowls

3 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cob
2 pounds of tomatoes (I used a mix of early girls and heirloom)
2 1/2 tablespoons roasted garlic (recipe below)
1 red torpedo onion, peeled and chopped
2 poblano peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
Handful of chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons of butter
Sea salt
1 sliced avocado
1 cup water

Roast the poblano and jalapeno peppers under the broiler until the skins are blackened and blistered. Let cool. Remove the skins, seeds and white veins, and roughly chop. Set aside.

Submerge the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for 15 seconds. Drain and let cool. Using your hands, remove the skins and crush the tomatoes into a bowl.

Melt two tablespoons of butter into a large pot. With the heat on low, add the onions and gently cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and continue cooking on low.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash up the peppers until they break apart (do this in batches if you have a small mortar). Add the peppers to the pot.

Next, crush the corn kernels in the mortar until they too break apart. You should have some super sweet juice at the bottom of your mortar. Add the corn and the juices to the pot.

Increase the heat to medium-low and stir in the roasted garlic and a sprinkle of sea salt. Cook for 10 minutes. Taste again for salt.

Top with cilantro and sliced avocado before serving.

Where I shopped:
Corn, poblano peppers, jalepeno peppers, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, torpedo onion: Berkeley Farmers’ Market

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