List 96

Love: Having the prospect of a dinner out at Oakland's brand-spanking new Ramen Shop to look forward to when I emerge from my January Clean Program.  It was started by some Chez Panisse vets and is apparently already racking up 90 minute wait times.

Like: The idea of getting an indoor fiddle leaf fig tree, maybe for a corner of our sunny, West-facing dining room.  I saw this example on  Pinterest and like its wide, green leaves.  Plus it would be nice to harvest plump figs later this year without the problem of birds getting to the ripe fruit first.

Discovery: Barrel-aging cocktails without the barrel. Negronis have been off the menu for me this month, which meant it was the perfect time to barrel age a couple in this cool 2-cup glass jar with a bit of barrel wood inside, a very thoughtful gift from my friend Ralph.

barrel-aged cocktail kit found here

Obsession: Healthy grains and vegetables have been my constant companions during this experimental month of strictly clean eating, and I've come to feel satisfied by them in ways I simply wasn't before. So even though I don't have to, next week I imagine making things like roasted vegetable salads with lentils or quinoa, and spaghetti squash instead of pasta, and continuing to crave my new favorite daytime drink, the Energizer from The Plant Cafe - carrots, beets, parsley and ginger.  Clean January will yield to Cleanish February.

Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa recipe

Roasted Fall Vegetables with Lentils recipe

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs recipe

Complaint: That I haven't yet been able to cook from Charles Phan's gorgeous cookbook, which I got for Christmas, because nearly every recipe that catches my eye contains a few verboten ingredients. Still, it was a treat to flip through it this month and dream of things to try come February.

List 95

Love: Our new, honest-to-goodness, non-reproduction 1960s Eames wire bikini chair, successfully won on ebay in December. It's the perfect partner for the mid-century style desk we have in the living room, and gave us a head start on our 2013 house resolution, which is to continue to replace and update some of our living room furnishings, particularly the pieces that Fritz, Clara and their claws have done a number on.

Like: These blank cards from one of my all-time favorite etsy shops, girlscantell.  Having a bunch of them and stamps in my desk drawer at the ready should help me deliver on my 2013 resolution to be better about sending thoughtful thank you notes rather than emails.

Shop link

Discovery: That I have a number of terrific, unread books just waiting for me on my kindle iPad.  Beautiful Ruins was one I bought early last summer and never got around to. Hearing it named the #1 fiction title of 2012 on NPR's Fresh Air the other day prompted me to finally give it a go, and it's completely living up to all expectations so far.  I resolve to read books I already have before buying new ones - especially new ones of the disposable YA dystopian ilk. Gone Girl, that means you're next. 

Obsession: Cleansing and juicing are all the rage, judging by the office refrigerator which is bursting with bottles of green juices and tupperware containers full of quinoa salads. For my part, in 2013, I intend to keep making my morning kale smoothies 5+ days a week, to try out the occasional 3-day juice cleanse, and even kick-off what I hope to be a year of more moderation (but still lots of good food and restaurants) with the 21-Day Clean Program.  William-Sonoma's juicing feature, which is pretty to look at and features roll-over recipes for juices of all colors under the sun, made from seemingly endless combinations of a fruits and vegetables, is bonus inspiration.  Meatballs, Negronis, and ice cream, I'll see you in February.

The Plant Cafe's Dino Kale Salad, a 2013 Staple

Complaint: I've lost count of the number of our friends and relatives in the past couple of years who've expressed shock and disappointment that we, who pretty much have never met a prestige cable show we didn't love, have never. ever. watched. Breaking. Bad.  Well, shut your mouth.  We got box sets for Christmas from my brother and I resolve that we will be hitting it hard over the next few months.  Because we don't live under a rock, we couldn't help but pick up the gist of Walter White's arc, but can't wait to experience how it all happened. 

List 94

Love: My friend Lisa's idea, from her blog Picnic, for inexpensive, stylish present wrapping:  brown paper bag + binder clip + any wintery Instagram picture. This is especially brilliant for people like myself whose presents tend to look like they were wrapped by a small child, or perhaps even an animal lacking opposable thumbs. 

Like: This always reliable, always delicious Smoked Salmon Dip from Bon Appetit, for any holiday cocktail party.

Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe

Discovery: Some of my favorite gift ideas for the year...

For the geek, any (all?) of these Star Wars prints from etsy's CONCEPCIONSTUDIOS. 

For ladies/readers, these lovely versions of the chick canon, sold at Anthropologie.

For the entertainer, monogrammed cocktail napkins from Mark & Graham, in the typewriter font.

For me (hopefully), some new rain gear: a Pendleton umbrella and L.L. Bean Maine hunting boots, based on their original 1912 model.

Obsession: My new favorite weeknight dinner - Eggs with Chickpeas, Spinach and Tomato - which is as easy as it is comforting during this hectic holiday month. Bonus: it's healthy too.

Recipe here.

Complaint: Stella's, not mine: that we only have "totally, completely not-exciting" strands of white lights decorating the trees in front of our house.  She is deeply disappointed that we haven't gone full Christmas Wonderland like the houses on Alameda's Thompson Ave, who've been putting on a show every December since 1938 (save for during World War II mandatory blackouts), and where we went to walk around and mail her Santa letter last weekend.  For my part, I'm glad that other people go for it, so I don't have to.

List 93

Love: The Meatball Shop in New York - and especially their terrific cookbook that lets you easily recreate their many different kinds of balls at home. For a birthday dinner for Erich this past Friday, I was feeling ambitious and made three different balls (classic beef, spicy pork, and chicken) and three different sauces (classic tomato, mushroom gravy, and parmesan cream) for a group of friends.  I'm tempted to compare my efforts with the real thing by attending The Meatball Shop's pop up at Oakland's Hopscotch tonight, but have a bit of a meatball hangover still. 

Like: Speaking of meatballs, a meatball shaper is one of those kitchen gadgets that could prove to be a lame waste of money (I'm thinking about you, mango slicer) but is actually massively useful, letting you create consistent, perfectly shaped balls.

Discovery: West Elm MARKET which sells well-designed utilitarian goods.  Almost makes me want to iron.

Obsession: Friends turned us onto early 1970s Detroit musician Rodriguez, subject of the well-reviewed documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which is about how some obsessed fans from South Africa (where Rodriguez had become a cult favorite) tried to determine if he was still alive and track him down. His song "I Think of You" is stuck in my head like crazy.

Complaint: That Syfy didn't order a full series of Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood and Chrome, which focuses on young Bill Adama during the first cylon war.  I'm watching the webisodes - new ones are released every Friday - and will tune in for the full movie when it airs in February, but think it had potential to be more.

List 92

Love: I ♥ NY. What a crazy time to be there for a vacation.

There were the expected highs, like spending a wonderful Saturday in Brooklyn, perusing the flea market and ogling brownstones in Fort Greene and Carroll Gardens.  

There were the silver linings, like riding out Hurricane Sandy in the cozy Bowery Hotel, where strangers bonded and the staff kept us all safe, warm and well-looked after, even pouring champagne for everyone when the power failed as the storm raged outside. And getting to spend quality time with friends David and Tia in Brooklyn, who took us in when we were forced to leave Lower Manhattan, as well as with my brother. 

And, of course, there were the lows: seeing such a great city brought to its knees, dark, flooded, and scarred by destruction, and seeing so many peoples' lives upended. New York City will come back - and so will we. 

Blackout as seen from our 12th floor room at The Bowery

Like: Perla's calamari - narrow winner of this trip's best bite food bracket.  No picture (when you eat dinner at 11 pm you're too hungry to pause for photos) but it was delicious, pan fried in much larger pieces than you normally see, and served atop a bright lemon-basil sauce.

Discovery: ISH Premium Horseradish, sold at various green markets and food fairs around New York, as well as a handful of shops.  They make a citrus variety with fresh oranges and lemons that is to die for, and unexpectedly perfect on a cracker spread with blue cheese.

Obsession: Making my own punch, after having a glass of the daily special at Prime Meats.  It was so good I was inspired to track down this vintage mid-century Dorothy Thorpe-style punch bowl set on Etsy, and to find a few recipes, like Prime Meat's "Rosemary, Baby", to try out at our holiday party this year.

Complaint: Depressing but true: sometimes even the restaurant bathrooms in NYC restaurants have cooler interior designs than 98% of the restaurants in the Bay Area. Every place we went to had me pea green with envy that it's not in my town.  The manager of Perla gave me his theory: in general, restaurants here are dealing with smaller but more expensive spaces, and that forces them to be creative in a resourceful way (versus a hire-a-fancy-designer-to-come-up-with-a-theme way), plus they have the benefit of great bones and character to build upon - tin ceilings, brick walls, old mouldings, etc.  And, even when their interiors are the result of more effort and study, ala Keith McNally, they just look damn good, like they've been around forever.

Walter Foods:

Flatbush Farm and BarN:

Prime Meats:

Peels:

Perla:

Pulino's - including their bathroom