Biscotti with Lemon Curd and Fresh Blueberries

Hubby and I went for a long hike up in the hills this morning so we were able to justify dessert. We had a sweet tooth (rather we have a sweet tooth - every day) but nothing interesting in the house.

There was some biscotti in the pantry but knowing they had been there for about a month I perceived them to be stale and tasteless, even though I knew biscotti has a decent shelf life.

I was just about to inform my husband that we had nothing in the house and suggest to him that we travel to our favorite pastry shop, Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, CA (not far from our house). However, as soon as I thought about one of our favorite desserts at Fleur de Cocoa, the lemon & blueberry tart, I was inspired! I had fresh blueberries and some wonderful English lemon curd in the fridge... why not make my own version of that lemon & blueberry tart?

I spread the lemon curd on the biscotti, topped it with the fresh blueberries and voila! We suddenly had a tasty dessert to enjoy with our coffee without having to make the little trek to Los Gatos. Though it wasn't quite the same as Fleur de Cocoa's spectacular tart, I was happy to save the time and money today.

Coffee tidbits

While enjoying my afternoon coffee I read a local magazine called Eucalyptus which had some interesting tidbits about coffee that I thought would be fun to share. Did you know...

"North Americans use 130 billion disposable coffee cups per yr. Makting those cups destroys 50 million trees and uses 33 billions gallons of water. Adding to the problem, one person insulating his/her cup w/ one disposable coffee slever per day creates 5.5 pounds of garbage per year, not incl the cup. Shun the paper cup AND the sleeve. Bring your own reusable mug to your fav coffee house."

"Coffee is a tropical export that is produced almost exclusively the developing world, but consumed mostly in wealthier nations. One out of ever five cups of coffee worldwide is sipped in the U.S. On average, U.S. coffee drinkers consume 3.5 cups a day per person. To get your fix and wtill be earth-friendly, insist that your cup o' joe is shade-grown (good for wildlife), organic (no pesticides), and fair trade (assures a fair price to the farmer)." by Steve Scheifer
"Coffee grows on approximately 10% of the earth's surface. The amount of coffee traded internationally is 2nd only to the amount of crude oil. Brazil exports the most."

SHADE GROWN "The tree canopy under which shade coffee is grown provides a fefuge for birds that have lost habitat due to raiinforest destruction. As many as 150 speices of birds are found on shade coffee farms. In full-sun coffee plantations, the species count is reduced by half."

"The largest reltailer of coffee by the cup is Dunkin' Donuts- over 1 billion cups per year it its 6000 locations in 30 countries."

"Kopi Luwak: Coffee beans that re gathered from the droppings of a small tree-dwelling cat called the palm civet. The cat eats the ripest coffee berries which pass through its digestive tract, undergoing chemical changes. Kopi Luwak sells for about $200 per pound."

I really enjoy reading Eucalyptus every month - I look for it at my gym. If you want to check out the digital version of the magazine you can find it at http://www.eucalyptusmagazine.com/Eucalyptus-Magazine/.

Eating in Berkeley, CA

Yesterday we decided to take a mini road trip up to the Oakland-Berkeley area (about an hour north of where we live). We started the mid morning by taking a yoga class with our favorite instructor, Sean Michael Hall, at Namaste Yoga located in the quaint Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland.

We built up quite an appetite after that so after a brief stop at the Hudson Bay Cafe where I quenched my thirst with coconut water, and my husband with the best cappuccino he said he'd had in a very long time, we headed a few miles up the road to Berkeley to lunch at La Note.

We lucked out on having nice weather so La Note opened their lovely patio for outdoor seating, but after a 45 minute wait, we gave up and settled with a nice window seat.

I ordered the Salade Niçoise with grilled tuna which was very satisfying - I especially loved the dijon vinaigrette. Usually dressings are more of a background flavor but in this case, it definitely was one of the stars of the dish.

My main complaint is that there was a bit too much of the red beets, 1/2 the amount would have been great. Also the deep bowl made it difficult to eat out of. It made it difficult to cut the large pieces of lettuce underneath and I didn't like having to search for the olives in the deep bowl.

The restaurant ran out of bread so they warned us as we were eating the bread (prior to the meals arriving) that there would be no more coming and if we wanted to have bread with our meal that we should hold off. It was strange timing to tell us as we were just finishing the bread.

While we probably would not have ordered more of the delicious bread, I don't think it's right for a restaurant to run out of bread. There are many bakeries nearby and if I were the restaurant manager, I would have run out to get a few fresh loaves.

Anyway, Hubby ordered the Ratatouille avec Merguez - their traditional southern France vegetable stew, served with Merguez sausage (lamb). He was very satisfied with his meal and had no complaints.
I had to taste the Merguez sausage because I'd never had it before and it was quite tasty.

We were too full to order dessert right after our meal so we took a nice walk around Berkeley - up Shattuck and then down the beautiful Walnut Street which was like walking through a botanical garden in early spring, and then along the streets bordering the edge of UC Berkeley campus. Along the way we found a bakery (don't remember the name) where we came across some fresh looking cupcakes.

We ordered the Green Tea Matcha and Bunny Love (carrot) cupcakes to go and found another quaint coffee shop near the university where we sat by the window and enjoyed our tasty desserts.

All in all it was a lovely spring day - we've had a very wet winter so it was nice to get a break - full of sunshine, colorful flowers in bloom and good food.

Is coffee really that bad?

Bad Ass Coffee in Santa Cruz, CA
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

All the conflicting reports out there has me really confused. I choose what I want to believe (don't we all do that?)... but I'll keep reading the latest & greatest new studies in hopes there will be a definitive answer. Can anyone recommend some good recent studies or articles on caffeine and its effects on health?

What I want to believe...
That a moderate amount of coffee (without milk) helps digestion and therefore helps with detoxification. (yeah! I like this one.)

Unfortunately the caffeine jolt triggers the adrenals and stress hormones, and apparently, that encourages fat cells to be stored (in the form of love handles in my case - urgh!).

Ultimately I believe...
That (mostly) everything in moderation is ok. One 8-oz cup in the morning with about 4 oz. of soy milk does the trick and occasionally in the afternoon, but never past 3pm (or I won't be able to sleep).

I love the smell of coffee in the morning and love the little burst of "energy" it gives me, . And do I love the taste of this motivation juice, so why not start my morning in a pleasurable way?

About the photo
Bad Ass Coffee is one of my favorite coffee shops in Santa Cruz, CA. Their coffee is incredibly smooth and tasty - which conflicts with their name. :-)

Starting with a good breakfast

To start may day right, I need to have a good breakfast... a good foundation to help me feel good and be productive throughout the day.

I may not always have time to make a great meal, but I at least try to get some protein and whole grain carbs, plus a 1/2 cup of strong Italian coffee with a 1/2 cup of soy milk. Adequate protein gets me through the entire morning with lots of energy and able to think sharply.

Listen to your body...
to learn what the ideal breakfast is for you. It's strange that my husband doesn't need protein at all in the morning. His ideal breakfast is a bowl of steelcut oatmeal (McCann's is his favorite) with blueberries and coffee with milk. That gets him through to lunch, but when I eat that I'm totally starving my mid-morning and unable to think clearly until I eat.

In this photo the cheese on the rye/whole grains bread is Cowgirl Creamery's signature MT TAM cheese. The artisan cheesemakers are women and I visit their creamery in Pt Reyes Station, California, about once a year to taste and treat myself to some of the best local cheese in my area.