36 Hours in SF, A Pasta Making Demo, & My New Favorite Song
Female Foodie Friday Vol. 36
This week was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster.
I started my week in San Francisco, trying to finalize something BIG that’s been in the works for months.
It took hours of preparation and lots of late nights, and I’m really excited to (hopefully) share good news with you soon.
I hadn’t been to San Francisco in years, and it was fun to rediscover such a fun and vibrant city. With less than 36 hours to explore, I got busy and had some delicious eats.
After my whirlwind trip to the city, I was back home on Tuesday and felt the let-down of an intense couple of weeks come over me. In some ways it felt good to exhale, and in other ways it reminded me of all the things that had been neglected. Have you ever felt that way? It reminded me of my college days and how I always felt after finals week.
Cody was in peak husband mode yesterday, making sure I got a walk outside, a warm shower, and even a nap. He put all the kids to bed so I could go out to celebrate a girlfriend's birthday, and today I woke up like a completely different person.
Rest and fun.
These words complete my summer bucket list.
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10 Things That Made This Week Great
First things first: an SF food haul. And let’s just say that 4 meals and 36 hours certainly wasn’t enough. Started with dinner at Marufuku Ramen per our guide to the best restaurants in San Francisco, and was not disappointed. Strolled over to Philmore Creamery after for phenomenal 10/10 gelato and called it a night.
A view of the city, Marufuku Ramen, and sorbetto from Philmore Creamery. Missed breakfast the next morning but made up for it with the most delicious chicken salad from Souvla (also on our SF guide) and a jambon beurre from the most adorable French Cheese shop next door that I proceeded to snack on all day. A visit to Tartine Bakery was a non-negotiable, and I happily stowed away a couple of loaves for home after inhaling some of their olive focaccia.
The salad from Souvla was so good—let me know if you'd like me to take a stab at recreating the recipe! It had rotisserie chicken, citrus, a greek yogurt ranch, pickled red onion, and mizithra cheese. For dinner, I met up with my dear friend and former Female Foodie food writer Ashlyn Hertzberg at Che Fico, which was not only a total vibe but also served wonderful Italian cuisine. The stonefruit salad, truffle gnocchi, and our server Adam stole the show.
There are so many things I’d forgotten about SF that make it wonderful: the insane rolling hills (that totally made my shins sore—no regrets), the beautiful flowers everywhere, the buildings with decades of character, and the food scene that would require weeks to barely scratch the surface. It’s been 8 years since I’d visited, but I’m determined that my next visit will be much sooner.
Summer flowers + a clever bday card that I found for my friend. The cooking YouTube webisode I filmed with Shea McGee last month went live on her channel yesterday! I truly had such a fun time filming the episode with Shea and was so impressed by the caliber of her team and the entire production. Give it a watch and let me know if it inspires you to make homemade pasta. :)
If you’re looking for the recipes, we made this handmade pasta recipe and this pomodoro sauce.
I can’t tell if this reel was staged or not, but I loooooved this song and even added it to my Spotify favorites.
Sometimes, breakfast is my best meal of the day, and this toasted bagel with cream cheese, perfectly soft scrambled eggs, and a sprinkle of chives from the garden was honest perfection.
Explored Portland with my long-time friend Amanda Proudfit (who also wrote for Female Foodie for years!) and devoured amazing chive cakes and rice noodles from Yaowarat, and the best gourmet froyo from Eb & Bean.
Summer on a plate. I’ll be here for several weeks if you need me.
Picked berries with my kids yesterday at my favorite berry picking spot in the PNW (Columbia Farms on Sauvie Island), and even though my youngest is the most exhausting toddler we’ve had by a landslide (she was booking it for the street almos the entire time 💀), it was still so much fun. I can’t wait to go back one more time for Marionberries.
And speaking of berries. My brand new Berries & Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe was an absolute labor of love, but after 4 batches and several little tweaks, I’m super happy with where we landed: a pillowy soft sugar cookie with the dreamiest whipped cream frosting to house peak summer berries, all in one cookie. If you make it, send me a pic! I’ll repost here on The Foodletter. :)
Have a wonderful, lovely weekend! I so appreciate you being a part of this community. Dreaming up summer recipes for the month of July. Let me know if you have any specific requests!