Blossoming

Cherry TreeThere’s a non fruiting cherry tree that in our yard just outside the home office window that bursts into bloom once a year with a level of exuberance that cannot be ignored.piecedgoods Cherry Tree

Flowers  135 It’s enjoyed by every visitor and resident of the house including the dogs.  (Schnap is being showered with petals and is trying to get a wayward petal off of her tongue.  )piecedgoods Schnap and PetalsStanding under the tree while it’s in bloom is not only an aromatic delight, but an aural one too.  There are hundreds if not thousands of bees working every blossom, humming while industriously collecting for an unknown hive (You can  see a few of them in action in the first picture).
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Ephemeral petals fly in the wind across the yard and cover the garden.Flowers  136

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Showing Off

Life in the Balance by Tim Reuss

Life in the Balance by Tim Reuss

Piecedgoods SF Garden Show 2013The 2013 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show started this week and runs through this weekend.  I wander through each year hunting for tubers, plants, tools, seeds and ideas. (Previous year’s postings on the Garden Show are here and here.)

SF Flower and Garden Show 2013  - Glade

Glade by Andrea Hurd and John Greenlee

Every year I’m a little awestruck by the work that goes into very ephemeral displays. These were put up earlier this week and will be taken down this Sunday evening.  What happens to them?

The theme I saw while ambling around looked like ‘balance’ with things stacked and balanced on each other.

Piecedgoods SF Flower and Garden Show  120The show site says the theme is “Gardens make the World Go Round”.  They made their point with a gigantic rotating succulent globe. There are over 30,000 succulents planted in it. How the heck did they get this thing into the building?

SF Flower and Garden Show

Succulent Gardens Globe at the SF Garden Show

Here’s video of it in action.

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Fat Tuesday at Outerlands

piecedgoods Outerlands Door
The Fat Tuesday group headed off to the hinterlands of San Francisco, taking a respite from daily chores for our group food fest. This time we went to a restaurant called Outerlands, located out by the Ocean Beach on Judah Street.Outerlands  110
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The reknowned SF fog is ferocious and pernicious out in where Outerlands lives, but we and everyone there lucked out with the weather.  Clear skies, warm sun.Outerlands  095All the happening things in SF are here.  There’s a parklet installed along the curb of the store; a cool sea urchin mural; chalkboard menu over the bar; recycled and driftwood boards on the walls; super cute waitstaff;

Outerlands  096 bike parking with a cool bike with quilted cover;  Outerlands  097 vintage hand crocheted throws to borrow on chilly days in a salvaged box holding the hand painted door open;piecedgoods Outerlands Lunch Scenepiecedgoods Outerlands jarsspices in clamp top canning jars;  you get the drift, right?Outerlands  098

Outerlands  Twig wreath

I kind of want to hate a place with so darn much going for it, but I couldn’t.Outerlands  099

Because this is what we do, we ordered one of everything on the menu.  The only thing we passed on was the mixed green salad. Who needs more greens with all those sandwiches? And as it turned out salad came with practically every sandwich anyway.Outerlands  100

We will be attempting to duplicate at home the Hot Ginger Lemon Apple Cider at home.  We ordered it without the optional Bourbon and it was delicious.  The home version may need to include a little spill of bourbon.

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The citrus avocado salad was both beautiful and delicious.Outerlands  102

And the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a stunner.  If you like crispy melted onto the griddle bits of sharp cheese on house made bread brushed with garlic oil (or was it butter), this is the sandwich for you.Outerlands  103

The Fried Egg and Bacon sandwich had melted cheese harnessing the bacon onto the house made levain slice.  The Asparagus and Portobello Mushroom sandwich had cheese melted onto it made by a local purveyor that only sells to restaurants she deems worthy.

Outerlands  Asparagus Portobello Sandwich

I personally liked the hot sandwiches better than the cold ones, but they were all quite extraordinary, each with complex sauces, chutneys, aiolis, veggies, and all on thick slices of homemade bread.Outerlands  104
Outerlands  105 Dessert consisted of a salted caramel for each of us, and a brownie, ‘Oreo’, and chocolate chip cookie to share.

They were all great, though I think the delicious salted caramel might have tipped me over the edge on full.  I’d particularly recommend the chocolate chip cookie, and the ‘Oreo’.
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Outerlands  115Michael Bauer, the SF Chronicle food critic calls this place a ‘phenomenon’, reviewing it here, but for dinner.  We thought lunch was pretty great.

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