High Tea

9:40 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments



I had the pleasure of going to High Tea last weekend with my Mother. High tea is a big treat for me. I have many fond memories of when my mom and I both worked in San Francisco and we would save up all our breaks and take a long lunch. We would walk to one of the most exclusive hotels and be waited on hand and foot for an hour. I do not know if I enjoy it just a little bit extra having had high tea in beautiful cottage towns in England but it is a wonderful experience for anyone.
It was a wet, cold, rainy day in San Francisco. The bf was kind enough to chafferer us into the City and right to the doorstep of the hotel. I love the City, even when it is raining, specially if I am not the one driving in it.

San Francisco in the rain.

There are several places to have tea in San Francisco. There are some that are just like an English tea room and there are some that are a lot fancier. We were going to the latter. If you want to have a more sophisticated tea your best bets are The Garden Court at the Palace Hotel, The Lobby Lounge at the Ritz and the Laurel Court at the Fairmont.

Garden Court at the Palace Hotel

Tea at the Ritz

The Laurel Court at the Fairmont

High tea usually includes tea (of course) and three layers of things to eat. I call it layers because it is often served on a three tiered serving dish. First you eat the savory sandwiches. This particular time we had five different sandwiches. There was a smoked salmon on pumpernickel pinwheel, a crab salad in a hollowed out corn muffin, a traditional cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, a curry chicken salad and a fillet mignon sandwich.

Our sandwiches.

The next layer is usually scones. In our case, we had one huge scone each. They had yummy, chewy dried cranberries in them and came with clotted cream, lemon curd and pears in vanilla syrup. We asked for extra clotted cream because it is so tasty!

Our tea's second and third layers

The third layer is where you will find the sweets. We were given five different confections. I was so full after eating the other two layers that I was unable to sample the third but the bf said they were the best sweets he has ever had.

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Food, Glorious Food!

7:22 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 1 Comments

Hawaii is in 29 days and I am nowhere near where I wanted to be weight-wise. But for some reason this really doesn't concern me this year! Yes, I would rather be instantly 10 pounds less but I am not sure if I would trade it for the wonderful food I have been eating! I thought that rather than condemn myself for my eating without abandon I would celebrate it by sharing some of my meals in this blog.

Let's go back to mid-September. I was in the middle of the end of Harvest so still eating my wonderful free pizzas and chili rellenos. The bf and I are huge sushi lovers and we go out for sushi often. Our favorite place to go is SushiHolic in Novato where they have the option of whole grain rice instead of plain white rice. Great place. When we go to sushi we like to get some sake with it. We were reading a bottle's label when we discovered there was a sake brewery right here in the Bay Area. We decided to take a tour. It was fantastic! The Takara Sake company is just off the freeway in Oakland.
The front door

They have a lovely tasting room, a 20 minute video that is quite interesting and informative as well as a free museum. The tasting is $5 and for that you get to try SEVEN different sakes and flavored wines. Since the bf was driving I got a little more than that.
Some of what you can taste

It was so fun and I highly recommend a visit there. We were inspired after to grab some sushi at SushiHolic after. Did I mind gaining a little weight after that? Not at all, besides, sushi is good for you, right?

A few days later my parents threw me a birthday party with an Oktoberfest theme. We had giant pretzels, spaetzel, and three kinds of sausages among other German fare.
Giant pretzel

Sausages and sauerkraut.

And of course, beer, lots and lots of different beers as well as Gewürztraminer and Riesling. My birthday cake was a fabulous homemade Black Forest Cake made using the recipe used by the original creator of the cake whose grandson my parents encountered in Germany and retrieved the recipe from. Did I do a long work out after this wunderbar evening? Nein, unless you consider the Chicken Dance a workout. It can get pretty intense!

Just a couple days following the Oktoberfest party my company treated me to a Masters of Wine Champagne tasting in San Francisco. This is a rare event where you are allowed to taste the top of the line champagnes out there.
One of hundreds of champagnes

I walked around the room with my glass and poured myself sips of the most expensive wines on the market for three hours. Afterwards we were all treated to unlimited oysters, grilled cheeses, wine and chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co. How can anyone pass that up? It was a beautifully balmy San Francisco evening and we ate outside within the view of the Bay Bridge. Do I regret gaining a pound that night. No way, Jose, this stuff was too good!!

Next came my actual birthday and it was a great one. First, because I work with several different departments I got a cake from each one. I ended up having FIVE cakes that day.
One of my five cakes

When I was young there was this Moroccan restaurant near where I lived and I thought it was the greatest place in the world. It looked like you were in a tent when you entered with fabric on the walls. They seated you on cushions on the floor and washed your hands with warm, scented water. You ate with no utensils and shared your food. That place realized how great it was and moved to the city and since gained a Michelin Star.
Mansour Resturant

I recently found a restaurant that was similar to the one from my youth. I made reservations and me and ten of my friends celebrated my birthday there. It was the best! There was a belly dancer who taught my bf to dance, there was a guy who poured mint tea from above his own head and the food was insane good.

Chicken stuffed pastry. Nom.

Lamb with honey and almonds.

I think I gained a good two pounds that day but that must be the cost to relive a childhood memory.

Then it was my dog's birthday and he got a cake too. Carrot cake.
Doggy birthday cake

Next came my family's annual fancy dinner excursion. Every October my father goes on a fishing trip and my brother, mother and I go out to a nice dinner at a restaurant. This year was Acquerello in San Francisco. Sure the bill just for my dinner alone was $200, it was worth every penny. With the amuse bouches we had about 8 courses. I had beef cannelloni, truffled steak tartate, Italian cheeses, Kobe steak, oxtail stuffed squash and two desserts. I also enjoyed three different delectable wines. The dinner and service were well worth the money and the extra ounces I might have gained.
One of the desserts

The very next morning my friends had stayed the night so we went out and got Denny's breakfasts. This one, I am not so sure I don't regret but it was fun at the time! Grits are delicious when they are smothered in cheese.

Denny's

So as you can see...I simply do not have the time to diet!

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Spice up your Metabolism

9:08 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments



Harvest has ended. I did not do the things I said I would do as far as trying to lose weight during that crazy time. I am not saddened by it though because I managed to maintain the same weight when I usually gain a few pounds. I hope to be back on track starting now and heading forward. I would like to start losing weight again. Hawaii is in 39 days so it's time to suck it up and get serious.

I have not had much time to do research or make a plan but I learned some more tips on how to increase your metabolism by adding some spices to your diet. Below is a list of yummy spices you can use in your recipes to add flavor and to boost your metabolism.


Cayenne Pepper:
I have mentioned this spice before. It has actually been proven to help boost your metabolism by heating up your body and increasing your circulation. Cayenne has a chemical in it called capsaicin which is known to be a thermogenic chemical. It speeds up your metabolism and decreases your appetite for up to three hours after ingesting it. Cayenne is known to also help maintain a healthy blood pressure, increase your blood flow, promote a healthy digestive tract and can even increase your sex drive. Hey-O! Why would you NOT increase your cayenne pepper intake?

Have about a teaspoon a day. You can get capsules if you do not like the spice. You can also mix one teaspoon with one glass of water and drink it once a day. I like to just add it to one of my meals because I love spicy foods anyways.


Cinnamon:
This is a versatile spice because you can add it to your sweet or savory foods. Cinnamon is known to reduce your blood sugar and promote the processing of carbohydrates thereby boosting the body's weight loss ability. It is also thought to be good for arthritis, heart health, type 2 diabetes and blood pressure.

Have a half to a whole teaspoon a day. You can mix it into your oatmeal or some unsweetened applesauce. You can even sprinkle it on ground turkey for an exotic flavor.

Ginger:
Ginger contains a substance that stimulates the gastric enzymes which can boost your metabolism. Ginger is also known to help lower cholesterol and improve gastric mobility. It is very good for digestion which can soothe your stomach when you are trying to diet. It keeps uncomfortable gas out of your body and reduces the acid in your stomach.

I like to use fresh ginger in my dinners or you can use it in powdered form. There are also supplement pills and ginger teas you can take to get more ginger into your diet.
Mustard Seed:
Mustard, like cayenne, is a thermogenic spice that can increase your circulation and boost your metabolism. Mustard is packed with nutrients like iron, manganese, zinc, protein and calcium.

You can get more mustard seeds in your diet by eating more mustard. You can also sprinkle the seeds on salads. Mustard powder can be used in many recipes as well.
Green Tea and White Tea
These teas have caffeine in them which is known to boost metabolism and calorie burning. Then why not drink coffee instead? Coffee has the caffeine but it lacks the antioxidants that tea has. It is the antioxidents WITH the caffeine that really gives your metabolism a kick in the pants. Most people know about how good green tea is for you but I am also mentioning white tea. White tea has as much as three times the amount of antioxidants in it than green tea but it has less caffeine. This makes white tea a fantastic alternative for people like me who are sensitive to caffeine.

These spices and herbs are all great for giving your metabolism a good boost but, of course, they will not do it alone. You must combine these supplements with a healthy diet and some exercise for them to work. Otherwise you are just left with your mouth on fire and funny smelling breath.

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