it's beautiful here

I race outside almost every evening to watch the sunset. The sky will fill with fog slowly rolling up and over the hills and hovering low above the water, or clouds shift and swirl with the sea wind, maybe the sky is clear with the last bit of the days sun shining bright above. San Francisco is beautiful in any light, but sunset is my favorite.

buds at the market

I spotted sunflower buds (above) at the farmers market. You can roast or steam them and eat like an artichoke. Carrots are always beautiful. 

summer light and seasonal juice

 The local farmers markets have been bursting with organic produce and flowers these days. Feeling inspired I've started a juice cleanse. I end up buying mostly what's in season at the market or organic and on sale at the health food store. Below is a sample of what I've been juicing lately. I've been juicing pineapple skin and then eating the rest as a snack. Melons are in season and full of juice, plus when you buy organic you can slice and juice the whole thing, seeds, skin and all.

and then I met Hillary Clinton!

 Hillary Rodham Clinton came to the San Francisco Ferry Building to sign her new book and inspire. I was beyond thrilled to see her, share a few brief words, and shake her hand! I nearly skipped to the streetcar with my signed book in hand. 

home again

Back home in SF. Perusing Instagram when I came across one of my camping photos featured on Williams Sonoma Instagram feed. Yay! There's a phone screen shot below or you can see it here. 

camping and wine tasting in Sonoma

Wine tasting at Banshee Wines in Healdsburg after cooling off with a shrub at The Shed. We grabbed a late lunch at Bravas and then paella for dinner at Vineyards Inn just a skip and a jump from our camping spot at Sugarloaf Ridge. I brought along fresh veggies from Happy Boy Farms, including these tiny tender potatoes. Bacon crisped up just fine on the camp stove and rendered more than enoug fat to cook the zuchini, tomatoes, and slices of polenta. 

Summer is officially here and there are so many good things in the works.

I went on a midweek camping trip at Sugarloaf near the Sonoma and Napa border. After wine tasting and then breakfast of farmers market bounty al fresco after sleeping under a blanket of stars I am thrilled for all the adventures that await. My website is being reworked now so I'll focus on a blog update over the next few days.