Rub-A-Dub-Dub

When Luisa sent me to David for his recipe for a sage-rosemary-garlic-salt rub for just about any food, I went happily, as I always enjoy reading with envy about David's life in Paris. (I'm so casual with their first names that you'd be forgiven for thinking I actually know these people, instead of just being a groupie lurker). They are friends I've never met.

It just so happened that my sage plant and my neighbor's rosemary plant were in desperate need of pruning, so the timing was perfect. I used the chopping attachment for the wonderful stick blender that My Beloved's daughters gave me for my birthday, and it worked a treat for rendering those woody and wooly herbs to near-dust condition. Blended with minced garlic and coarse salt, it smelled wonderfully pungent.

I sprinkled some all over and in an organic, pastured chicken and roasted it in the usual way. The result was really tasty but, at the first bite, I was already dreaming of embellishments. Next time, I'll add lemon peel to the chopper for a citrus lift. I'd also push the mixture under the skin instead of sprinkling it on top so the flavors have a better chance to infuse the meat - chicken stubbornly tastes like, well, chicken, unless you do something forceful to it. I might also add some flat-leaf parsley next time to coax the flavors out of winter and into the summer a bit.

All in all, however, I'd recommend this simple rub. I was too excited to await the drying process and just used it fresh, but I think I will prune again later and dry it for little Christmas gifts. It would be especially welcome for someone who is still working and needs a quick way to add flavor and pizzazz to a weekday meal.

Garlic and Green Beans

As you must know by now, I'm not a fancy cook - I like to describe myself as producing good, plain food. I'm generally content to cook veggies simply and to adorn them with nothing more than a wisp of butter and perhaps a light shake of salt. In my view, it's hard to improve on the flavor of good, fresh vegetables.

Every now and then, however, I do embellish. I had some green beans in the fridge and some garlic; that reminded me of a recent Sunset recipe that sautéed fresh green beans with garlic and fresh thyme (I used lemon thyme as that is currently booming along in my pot garden - no, not that kind of pot!) for a little flavor boost. I used olive oil, just a drizzle, and minced the garlic and herbs. Once the beans were just starting to brown lightly, I added the rest for a moment or two to just warm the garlic and release the scent from the lemon thyme. Off the heat, added a squeeze of lemon juice.

I don't like the word "nice." So namby-pamby. But, in this case, it was appropriate. The dish was nice. Not offensive, not spectacular, but happily, tastily - nice.

California Style Crab

Off on my birthday adventure, which had been postponed due to My Beloved's sore throat, we stopped at the Sea Breeze Market and Deli in Berkeley for a quick lunch on our way to Carmel Valley.

The Sea Breeze is a great place to enjoy on a pretty day; it's one of the first places My Beloved took me when I moved to California, and it's one of the reasons why I wanted to stay. Not only do they have good food, the extremely casual style typifies to me what is best about California, the laid-back, laissez faire vibe.

At the Sea Breeze, it's okay to bring your dog, to dress casually, to lean back in the sunshine and just chill for a few minutes. All ages are represented from grandmothers strolling their grandchildren to punk rockers with dangling chains and shiny zippers to workmen on a break - and everyone is having a good time, enjoying the sunshine and their favorite foods.

I usually order the fried oysters when I go to the Sea Breeze - they are always plump, juicy and fresh - but this time I spied on the menu board something called "Garlic Crab." Okay, so, garlic and crab being two of the highest deities in my personal hierarchy, I asked for half a crab.

I should have ordered a whole crab.

When I unwrapped the silver foil, I found steamed, cracked, fresh Dungeness crab with garlic butter poured over it, pooling in the bottom, and lemon wedges at the ready. OMG. It was simply a wonderful way to present the crab. MB and I shared like good little children but it wasn't easy. Our fingers were smeared with lemony, buttery, crabby goodness and we both had serious garlic breath by the time we finished. MB discovered that he could dip the leftover bread from his meal in the garlic butter to prolong the feast. I dipped, too.

For sheer California bliss, I can't imagine anything that could top a pretty day, garlic crab at the Sea Breeze, and an adventure with My Beloved in the offing.

Green Garlic Aside

A little advice from sad experience; green garlic is better steamed than roasted. When roasted alongside our rack of lamb, the outer layers turn crisp and stringy, rather than relaxing and turning tender. You can still strip off the outer layers and find the tender middle but when I butter steamed it a week or so ago, it was tender all the way through.

Just an aside. Butter steaming. Yes.