Teatro Zinzanni

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http://love.zinzanni.org/

Ron and I had a fabulous time at Teatro Zinzanni. A generous donor gave our workplace some free tickets and I happened to be one of the winners for the raffle. The vouchers had to be used before the end of October so we finally found an evening free to go.

We were lucky to find street parking and paid 4 hours at one of the meters, it was only about $3.50 versus the $15 for the parking lot next to the the show. We arrived a bit before 6:30pm and the doors were already open (they open at 6pm) and there were lots of people inside the tent already starting on drinks. We went to the maitre d’ to redeem our vouchers for our table number, #14.

While we were waiting, we had a drink and took a quick scan of the boutique. While at the boutique, a lady came to offer us face painting so Ron agreed to pay for it for me ($10). I was amazed she was so quick, it took less than 10 minutes as I stood there and all I asked her to do was match my outfit. After she finished, we made our way inside to be lead to our seats. We weren’t supposed to take pictures inside but Ron took this one before the show started. I’m a bit tired from the long day at work.

Since we weren’t allowed to take photos inside, I can summarize by saying the show was fabulous and worth the visit. The five-course meal was tasty, although served a little slow as each course was part of the act. The acts included singing, dancing, juggling, trapeze, acting, audience participation, and more. It was really hilarious and Ron and I were busting up laughing during most parts of the show. We’d love to go again sometime, especially with a big group of friends.

At the end of the show, we headed back out to the lobby and I felt like having “Tsarbucks” (part of the show)…

Outside the tents:

Presenting “Under the Gypsy Moon”, showing until January 2010:

At the boutique, I bought myself a cute headband to wear to work tomorrow. I’m going to see if I can save my face painting until tomorrow so am sleeping on my right side. Here’s a close-up before it gets smeared…

I feel very lucky to have won those tickets or else who knows when we would have gone. We’ve driven by it so many times but just never found the time to buy tickets to see it. I hope to send the donor a well-deserved thank you for giving us all such a generous gift.

Teatro Zinzanni
Pier 29

Red Velvet Cupcakes (made to look like eyeballs!)

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http://www.marthastewart….velvet-cupcakes

We had a Halloween pot luck at work so I wanted to make something appropriate for the occasion. I just saw a repeat of the cupcakes episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay where they make red velvet cupcakes. I didn’t realize they had the actual recipe on the Food Network’s website so instead went to Martha Stewart for her red velvet cupcake recipe.

Then from Epicurious, I followed their directions for decorating Eyeball Cupcakes. I used store bought cream cheese frosting and red icing. The tip on the icing can was a bit thick so it didn’t quite come out the same. Gummi savers with chocolate chips are the irises.

The entire platter:

A close-up of two eyes:

It’s best to use the paper cupcake liners as I made some in silicone molds without them and they stuck and the cupcakes broke in half. The cupcake is so moist that it breaks apart easily.

Cako Bakery

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http://www.cakobakery.com/main/index.html

Our friends brought us some cupcakes from a new bakery in Union Square: Cako Bakery. They have a simple, cute logo.

The cupcake on the left was some sort of carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. Ron ate the cake with only about half the frosting. I believe the one I ate was a red velvet cupcake, also a bit too much frosting so I only ate half of the frosting, but without it, the cake was a bit dry.

They’re worth a try while they’re having a buy one get one free offer when you mention Yelp but I prefer my cupcakes a bit more moist with less frosting (or at least frosting that isn’t so sweet).

Cako Bakery
211 O’Farrell St

Harvest at Captain Vineyards in Lamorinda

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http://www.captainvineyards.com/

We were invited again this year for the harvest at Captain Vineyards. See here for last year’s harvest. It’s a bit later this year due to the weather.

I wasn’t very useful this year since they were harvesting grapes at the lowest part of their backyard so it was hard for me to climb up and down and also difficult for me to lean down to try to cut off the clusters. But here are some pictures to share.

These are their petit sirah that are still waiting to be harvested. Due to the heavy rain (6 inches) last week, the sugar content of the grapes have been diluted so they are watching and waiting to see if their will be some warmth to concentrate the sugar again to the desired level. It’s wrapped in netting to be protect them from birds.

There were 8 lanes of cabernet franc that were harvested first thing in the morning.

Here is Susan Captain giving directions to the volunteers as she requested that only the clusters from the main vines were to be picked as the secondary clusters were not as sweet and wouldn’t be good for the wine.

Our friends Eun & Virginia starting their first lane.

I’m always in awe when we visit their vineyard… the rows and rows of vines.

Since I couldn’t really help with the harvest, I explored the rest of the property so found they also have citrus, pomelo, tomatoes, and pomegranates.

A deer showed up at the ridge, hung out for a while, then jumped over the fence to another open space (but not into their vineyard).

Their new wine cellar for storing their barrels. Next door is also a tasting room.

The first “lugs” being carried up. I didn’t know they were called “lugs” until today, apparently nicknamed because you “lug” them up the hill.

The cabernet franc ready to be de-stemmed and crushed.

Where the crushed grapes are store, these huge plastic vats.

1272 pounds!

The results of the de-stemming and crushing.

Ron dumping about 30 lbs of grapes into the de-stemmer/crusher.

The machine at work.

First step to becoming wine.

Wild turkeys made their presence known by shrieking “gobble gobble”. Anyone need a turkey for Thanksgiving? Unfortunately, these wild turkeys are protected so they can’t be hunted and are allowed to run amuck unless they harm your crop.

This is the first year that Captain Vineyards has become a bonded winery so that they can make and sell their own wine. In past years, they had another winery make and bottle their wine so all volunteers had a taste of some of their wines after they finished the harvest.

As always, we had a great BBQ after the harvest. I always enjoy visiting their home and vineyard. Read more about it on their website: Captain Vineyards.

Viking’s Giant Submarine

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http://www.yelp.com/biz/v…san-francisco-2

I tried Viking’s Giant Submarine sandwiches for the first time this afternoon. I tried the beef teriyaki sub.

The bread was freshly toasted and oh so yummy with the sesame seeds. They have a special sauce, kind of like thousand island dressing but not quite as tangy and a bit more runny. The teriyaki beef was well marinated and tender. A very yummy and filling submarine sandwich.


Viking’s Giant Submarine
1418 Lombard Street