Sunday night already! This weekend flew by, as these past few weeks have been flying by. Yesterday I had my Linguistics class from 10-3, so that took up a big chunk of the day. Luckily, halfway through our lecture, the teacher gave us an hour for lunch...and how fortuitous it was that the Berkeley Farmer's Market was happening only a block away :)

It's now the season for corn, apples, pears, persimmons and pomegranates. The tomatoes are still going strong, as are the bell peppers and basil, and pumpkins and squash are coloring the stalls with their characteristic autumn hues.

On Tuesday, I volunteered at the Fall Fruit Tasting at the Berkeley market and had tasted a multitude of pears and persimmons and apples. I came away with two favorites: the Frog Hollow Farm Warren Pear and the Gabriel Farm Olympic Asian Pear.

I learned, while I was volunteering, that the Asian pears from China and Japan had been brought to California during the Gold Rush, and that they are *meant* to be eaten crisp and juicy. Ignorance admitted, I'd never really paid attention to Asian pears to know what they were supposed to taste like. I just saw them in the grocery stores, all caged up in their special little styrofoam hammocks and thought, 'why bother?' I should have bothered! The Olympic is rather large, its color a mixture of orange and pea-greeen, and it's deliciously crisp and sweet. The Warren, on the other hand, is a variety that originated in the southern USA. It's sweeter and more smooth (like honey, Frog Hollow says) than the Asian varieties, and it's delicious in an entirely unique way.

That said, on Saturday, I purchased a few of these pears along with a pomegranate and a Hachiya persimmon. I bought these last two out of curiosity; I'd never really tasted a Hachiya, but I'd heard wonderful things, and the pomegranate was just beautiful.

There are two kinds of persimmons, the Fuyu, which you can eat right away, and the Hachiya, which must be soft and ripe before using.

The Hachiya (above), I was told, is a big mess when you cut it open and it also needs to be peeled, so it's best to use it in custards or cookies or cakes. I want to make muffins with mine :)

The Fuyu (above), on the other hand, can be eaten as is, just like an apple, and can pretty much do anything that an apple can in terms of being part of a cake, etc.

The pomegranate (more on this with foto later).

After a long day of syntax and morphology and language trees, I was ready to get out on my bike and ree-laxxx!! Alicia and I rode up to Berkeley (nearly getting killed a few times along the way) to meet Kerli at Fellini, a spot with tasty vegan and non-vegan food alike. I first went to there many months ago for breakfast and was sorely disappointed with the service, and the food wasn't too good either. But I figured, last weekend, that I ought to give it another try, and so I had breakfast there. Maybe it was the Mimosa's fault, but I was really pleased. The service was great, the food came quickly and it was delicious! So last night we went there for some dinner, and, again, I was pleased. It's a nice place to go for a quick bite to eat with a diverse group of picky eaters; almost everyone can find something to eat, it has a great atmospohere, and...you don't have to wait long for a table!

After we filled our bellies, Kerli had to go home, but Alicia and I hopped onto our bikes and did a little tour of the area's more uppety pubs. We started at Jupiter so that we could have some of their pomegranate cider, and then we headed to Cato's to plan our 'Thanks-go-Vegan' meal with the help of some ale. It was a beautiful night and seeing friends and shooting the breeze made it all the better. When I got home, I literally fell into bed.

Today, I had one plan and one plan only...and that was to go to the Day of the Dead celebration at the Oakland Museum. Of course, I ended up adding in some delicious food activities...and I'm just getting started *now* (at 7 pm) with what I need to do for the week. Oops!

Alicia met me around noon at my apartment and, both starving, we decided to get food and caffeine pronto. An Ethiopian restaurant opened recently about two doors down from my apartment, and naturally, we had to try it. We walked into a restaurant empty of guests...which concerned us. We asked to see a menu, though, and despite the fact that it was a rather limited offering, we saw vegetarian options and asked if they could make us a special combination of all the choices for us to share (we were both used to this type of eating in Ethiopian restaurants, so we thought they might not mind). The waitress seemed a little miffed that we didn't want to order more, but we stuck to our guns, and boy were we right! A few minutes later, the waitress came out with a big plate full of all sorts of spicy and tasty concoctions, including Yesmir Wat (spicy lentils) and Tikil Gomen (cabbage, potato and carrots), and a basket full of Injera. After one bite, we were both convinced that the food was to die for...and we stayed convinced until almost every last morsel of food was consumed.

I've always been intrigued by Injera, the spongy and sour flatbread that accompanies Ethiopian food. It's not merely a bread; it's also an eating utensil. Apparently, one is to scoop up the food (using the right hand) with the Injera, then roll it up jelly-roll style (still, only with the right hand) and then pop it in her mouth...not licking her fingers afterwards. I love eating with my hands and I love feeling like there's some sort 'correct way' to eat a certain type of food...so I had a blast. The bread is clearly unleavened, but it's full of holes, like a sponge. It turns out that Injera is made with teff, a grain native to the Ethiopian highlands. Teff contains very little gluten, which essentially holds in the air bubbles that are created when yeast is added, resulting in a leavened bread. Injera does, however, take advantage of the yeast nonetheless, and a short period of fermentation creates the air bubbles and the characteristic sour yeasty flavor.

Anyhow, the restaurant is called Enssaro and it's delicious, and I will definitely be back. Our plateful of food cost us each only $5.50. Amazing!

After our feast, we rode over to the *free* Day of the Dead Festival at the Oakland Museum of California. I had no idea how cool this event would be. Tons of people were there, and it was just a feast for the eyes:

black and white skeletal faces on everyone from babies to adults; altars set up all over the grounds; sap from a special Mexican tree burning and filling the air with an amazing heaviness; golden carnations being sold by the bundle;

little kids decorating sugar skulls; all of us cutting and pasting together little altars out of clay and glue; embossing foil and cutting out hearts...it was a lot of fun. It's a wonderful idea, really. It's an occassion to celebrate the memory of deceased ancestors...a festive time to honor the lives of the deceased and celebrate the continuation of life.

I'm so thankful that the museum offered this event free to any and everyone; it was really cool.

Okay, time to work!!