Who would have known that you can experience so much by concentrating on doing nothing at all.
We could tell you a million stories about this week. About how crazy beautiful the weather has been, how many great places we have found in our neighborhood, how we have been taking long walks up and down and up and down and up and down (phew) the hills of San Francisco, how Elsa made the funniest face ever with fresh sprouts all over her mouth. Or the story about when David was helping a sweet old granny by carrying her blanket to her car from Dolores Park, and was offered a bag of pot! as thank you (it’s a true story).
But the story we will focus on this time is when we on a beautiful day decided to have a picnic at the beach.
As we wrote in our recent post, our kitchen is very simple. We found salt and black pepper when we moved in, any other spices we have had to buy. And since we are only staying here for another week we have been cutting corners, making it easy for ourselves and been trying to use the same ingredients in several dishes.
On this picnic we made a salad with brown rice leftovers from yesterdays dinner, adding a bag of trail mix and fresh pomegranate that we also use on our breakfast yogurt, and seasoning it with organic peanut butter that you apparently can’t live without in the U.S. Even though it’s kind of simple, this salad is really nourishing and tasty.
15 Yum.
Ocean beach is not like most other beaches. It’s kind of windy, at times it can be quite foggy, and honestly, as soon as the sun starts to set it becomes really cold.
Still, it’s a 4 mile long and beautiful beach that you during October can have almost for yourself. Take bus #5 way out west (they will let you bring the stroller if you beg the drivers nicely). Bring a sweater. Bring a friend. Be there while it is sunny. Watch the brave surfers (the currents are strong, the water is ice cold). And have a picnic.
Brown Rice & Pomegranate Salad
Serves two persons
3 handfuls mixed baby leaf salad (rinsed)
2 small leaves green kale (chopped)
1 cup brown rice (cooked and mixed with olive oil and chopped parsley)
1/2 fennel (sliced)
1/2 cucumber (chopped)
4 small plum tomatoes (sliced)
2 avocados (chopped)
2 carrots (sliced)
1 pomegranate (seeds)
1/2 bag trail mix (seeds, nuts and dried fruit)
2 eggs (hard boiled)
4 tbsp peanut butter
Put salad and kale in the bottom of a box. Pour over the rice and top it with cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and carrots. Drizzle over the pomegranate seeds and the trail mix. Toss it around lightly with your hands. Cut the eggs into quarters and put them in one corner and the peanut butter in another or in a little box.
Frozen Fruitsticks with Chocolate & Pistachio
1 block of 80% dark chocolate
mixed fruit, like bananas, plums, berries and persimmon)
1 small handful raw pistachio nuts or shredded coconut
Cut the fruit in large pieces. Put fruit on toothpicks and place in the freezer. Meanwhile melt the chocolate by using a waterbath or in a small pot over very low heat. Remove the fruit from the freezer and dip each fruit in the melted chocolate, drizzle with chopped pistachio and place on wax paper to set. Serve right away or place back in the freezer until you are packing for the picnic.
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