safety first

nothing makes you feel safer while waiting on a street corner in oakland than the bart cop across the street loading his gun and testing the siren. now i'm not quite sure how this works. do the bart police drive their cars behind bart? 'cause i don't think that would work. it's not like back in the olden days when cops and robbers rode their horses along trains and all. or maybe they protect the area around bart, to make it safe for those of us who don't carry firearms or mace or a big, mangy dog around with them. somehow this made me feel all warm and comforted inside, until they drove off and i was stuck in the middle of oakland with a boyfriend and an empty water bottle to shield me from danger.

San Francisco Ballet's "Sylvia"

A Slight Error in Eros
San Francisco Ballet’s Sylvia
Saturday, April 22, 2006, 8PM

Last year when I heard that Mark Morris’ Sylvia wouldn’t be presented during San Francisco Ballet’s 2004-2005 Season, I was bummed. Was it the orgy in the woods, the confusion of nymphs with potential nymphos, or the drunken topless slaves that did Sylvia” in? After 30 seconds of debate, I came up empty and moved on with life as I knew it. But luckily a year later, SF Ballet decided to bring the shirtless minions and story of female empowerment back to the stage.

For more, go here.

let's all jump on the couch now

just when you thought tom cruise couldn't get any crazier... (well, i'm sure he can!) the manly male intern at gofugyourself.com and a "celebrity mindreader"put together a great little "what-if" starring the actors/director of the new mi:3 movie while on press junket duty. totally made my day. enjoy.

stop... hammer time!

i have a little soft spot for mc hammer. maybe it's because i ran into him (and got his autograph on my program) at the racetrack right before his gambling addiction went all public (more about the evils of horseracing some other time). or perhaps it's because he pulled off those silly-looking big print hammer pants much, much, much better than my dad. but mc hammer prooves that anything is possible, especially when he has two blogs: one that's a "personal" blog and another that's housed at mlblogs.

guess his former oakland a's batboy status qualifies him to write about the game. now, i may not be a batboy, but i sort of know one, and i'm an unofficial bullpen baker. does that count? can i get an mlblog? please, pretty please, with an organic cherry on top?

new hobbies for me, pt.1

so now that i'm sitting at my computer at work and not doing much else except nodding my head, applying to jobs, and scratching my a$$, i figure i need some new hobbies. for example, today i can:

1) make a map of all SF ben and jerry's for your free cone-nibbling pleasure, complete with satellite images of length of lines and size of scoopage report. note that the haight-ashbury shop is being very generous.

2) listen to the weekly potter-cast compliments of mugglenet.

3) read danny haren's blog. he loves lost. what could be better?

4) research individual health plans. determine, in the event of an emergency or freak cookie-baking incident, who is likely to screw up the least. apply.

5) rearrange all my files so my soon-to-be ex-boss can't find anything. at all. except haight street lunch menus and avery 5160 labels.

a confession of sorts

yes, i confess, my blog has been virtually non-existant lately. after being let go from my job, yet being kept on for another 4 weeks in order to gain some additional pay (as apparently severance wasn't on their to-do list) and finish up some "projects," i haven't been in a blogging mood. so i cooked. or baked. or slept. or watched the amazing return of alias and michael vartan *sigh*. or a's games. or yelled at comcast when we didn't get the a's games. or stalked our down-the-street neighbor's small puppy, appropriately named tofu. but i promise you, the old becca you know and love (or don't) will be back soon.

piece of (cup)cake

today's attempt at destressing: cupcakes. and not just any cupcakes from a box, but homemade almost-flourless melt-in-your mouth cupcakes with kumquat, tangerine, and grapefruit cream cheese frosting. these are easy to make, which qualifies them as becca-friendly, and they make most worries go away, at least for 10 minutes, which makes them anyone-friendly. go ahead, take a bite. you know you wanna.

mmm, shrooms

when i'm frustrated or upset, i tend to bake. last night, i created these mushroom tarts with spinach and sweet peppers in puff pastry. delicious: yes. stress-reducing: also a yes.


Becca's Mushroom Tartlet
Ingredients
1 pastry puff, dethawed
2 pints mushrooms
couple handfuls of spinach
1/2 cup tomato sauce
4 small sweet peppers, sliced width-wise
grated parmasen cheese

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Saute mushrooms over medium heat until soft.
• Add spinach (or other greens) and saute until warm.
• Add 1/4 cup (add more if needed) tomato sauce and remove from heat.
• Cut pastry puff dough into 3 columns.
• Roll out each column until thin.
• Cut each column into 4 squares (or semi-rectangles).
• Spray muffin tin with Pam.
• Place each square in the tin and curl edges.
• Place two spoonfuls of mushroom mixture into each square.
• Add a small dab of tomato sauce to each and top with 2 slices of sweet pepper.
• Sprinkle parmesean cheese on top.
• Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.

bobble to the right, bobble to the left

sunday is huston street bobblehead day! this is so exciting; he gets his own bobblehead, complete with tongue curl. sigh. think huston will sign mine? i probably have a greater chance of him eating my cookies.

eating feats

trader joe's made my day last month with their new dried hibiscus flowers. perfect for snacking, not too sweet, yum yum yum. after i devoured my first bag, i dilligently returned, hoping to stock up on this floral treat. but oh no! they've been out of stock ever since the first shipment. seems they didn't realize the hibiscus flowers were going to revolutionize the dried edible flower world! keep your eyes out for some, and if you see them, buy. in bulk. lots.



trader joe's new cornmeal crust pizza dough is also a solid new product. with ours, i made a tasty deep dish pie, complete with eggplant, spinach, and mushrooms. zesty and zinful.



last on my food list of the day: savory cheese and spring onion scones. the recipe calls for scallions, but i had spring onions, and they worked out just find. these are perfect for a cool morning or in addition to a hearty dinner. next time, i may try substituting cheddar cheese for the feta to get a little more "punch."

Varone and Company Rise to the Occasion

Varone and Company Rise to the Occasion
Doug Varone and Dancers
April 7, 2006 8PM
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

15 years in the making, and Doug Varone and Dancers have returned to San Francisco. I wasn’t here the first time, as I was in middle school and probably off at a slumber party order pizza and talking about first kisses. But last night’s performance inspired me to hopefully catch the company again before another 15 years goes by. Presented at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts by San Francisco Performances, the company of nine dancers (including Varone himself) swept in for the first night of a three-performance run featuring three West Coast premieres, all focusing somewhat steadily on relationships and couplings.

For more, go here.

unravel that travel

my sister and i are planning a trip to ye old midwest at the end of june. we're going to hit 3 grandparents in approx. 4 days, no small feat when you consider one grandmother has already scheduled us for a show downtown, meal at their favorite indian restaurant (and probably the only one in dayton, oh), shopping for plaid and all things red, dinner with "some friends," and some driving around time. thankfully, we don't be there for church. she did, though, mention that we'd have to eat out all the time, and when i asked why, she said it's because i don't eat "anything real." um. no. i don't eat anything that's been conscious, running, swimming, or squirming. there's a diference. *sigh*

so we've got the airline reservations just about taken care of and the hotel in cincinnati. guess it's time to move onto my other vacation planning: germany, prague, and other fun, exciting, and romantic areas of europe! i spent a good deal of my morning pouring over guidebooks: frommer, foders, let's go, see it, lonely planet, hostels of europe, you name it, i grazed it. i'm even more confused now, but hopefully ready to tackle it soon. the u-bahn, though... i need more information, and books just aren't helping. perhaps i have to take that step we all dread and call - gasp - a travel agent. dum-dee-dum!

dear barry zito

dear barry,

sure, last night was a bummer. getting pummeled by the yankees to where you left the game in the 2nd inning, well, that must be heartbreaking. but walking 4 batters in 1 1/3 innings? and then being down 7-0? i'm a little disappointed? is it the pressure, the rain, the fact that i couldn't afford the $5k to be there, cheering my little pounding heart out? because i cheered on the couch, loud and hard, and i'm sure the butt imprint is still there to prove it.

always (sigh),
becca

photo (c) becca 2005

what's the 415?

after much debate and hoo-hah, we went and tried the new restaurant in the jcc over the weekend, and what better way to celebrate jewishness than with an asian restaurant dedicated to fusion and sake?

(415) has sprung up where the never-promising sydney's once splat, and while there's lots of hype, there be gripes.

• if you're going to offer food tapas-style, make sure your tables are big enough. if you can't fit water glasses, sake glasses, 2 tapas plates, and some chopsticks on your table, send out the red alert.
• as much as tomatoes in veggie sushi sounds good, it's not. so don't. ever again.
• you're an upscale restaurant with some space issues, and this is a windy, rainy city. please offer to check our coats.
• kosher and sushi sometimes don't go together- our dining neighbors, a cute elderly foursome who all belong to the jcc and spent 30 minutes comparing their individual membership rates, seemed upset that their california rolls wouldn't contain actual crab, that there was no real shellfish on the menu, and that (415)'s margaritas don't contain tequila but sake. is anything in this place authentic? from the taste of the food, probably not.

*now i will say, the service was impeccable: frequently refilled water glasses, a peppy server, and lots of smiles. too bad the food wasn't as good as the help.