9 January Monday

It was six minutes after one in the morning when I awakened to the sound of heavy rain hittting my bedroom window. I laid in bed, at least half awake listening to it, and instead of being lulled back to sleep, enlivened me. I got up, grabbed a sparkling water, went to the front room and looked out the window. My beloved 18th St. had/has (it´s only 1:28 now), turned into a minor river flowing east. It made me wonder if some day my little food blog would be like Samuel Pepys’ diary, and this deluge would be my Great Fire. Who knows?

Anyway, it got me to thinking about the Mission and what a great neighborhood it is, how much it sparkles in the rain light, and other things that can only be appreciated from a warm and well appointed apartment. Furlenghetti wrote about the light of San Francisco, but I think the city is most magical and itself when it is raining. Is there any place more wonderful? So, with all this romantical thinking, and CA loving-on, I thought about one of my favorite cookbook discoveries of all time, West Coast Cookbook by Helen Evans Brown.

What an interesting choice for the cover design. What do you think she´s holding in her left hand? I first read about Helen in a book by James Beard. He praised her very highly, and gave a recipe from her West Coast Book. Indeed, when I discovered this book in the local thrift shop for the princely sum of seventy five cents, well, I just had to splurge!! She lived much of her life in CA, and is often credited with defining and popularizing California Cuisine, and introducing the wider public to a variety of produce, which included rarities for the time, like avocados, mangoes, guavas, cilantro, garlic, and all sorts of other stuff. It´s a really fun book because she writes about the origin of the foods and the towns of association; she also describes Quesadillas and Guacamole as though the reader had never heard of or tasted them, which was true for the time.

Speaking of which, her Quesadilla recipe is extra. You bake a cornmeal dough filled with cheese. It definitely takes it to the next level and makes it worthy of a dinner party. Hmmmm….dinner party. Sounds fun. It´s time to try some crazy new things. Here are some from this book.

Cowpuncher´s Sandwich – red onions mixed with oregano, ice water, vinegar, and salt overnight on the counter. Next day, drain and put between two pieces of buttered bread. There ya go.

OK, this sounds amazing. Cassoulet Carpinteria. Just like another cassoulet, except adapted for Carpinteria, I guess. Beans, meat, sausage, white wine, parsley, garlic, breadcrumbs, herbs, butter. I did a quick google search for what the origins of this recipe are and how it came to be associated with Carpinteria, and well, there was absolutely nothing. Maybe Mrs. Brown had simply eaten this dish there, and remembered the recipe by the town. Who knows?