There are only a few things (okay, maybe a few more) that drive me nuts on the internet. I’ve decided to catalogue these items in hopes that they will resolve themselves.

While you may catch meat touching my lips while dining out, we eat vegetarian at home which makes us flexi-tarians, but let’s not get too technical. When searching recipe sites for planning our dinners for the week, I tend to automatically select the “vegetarian” filter and go from there. This is where the real issue occurs. Most recipe databases group desserts and meaningless sides into the vegetarian category.

News flash: Your popcorn trail mix and pumpkin doughnuts are, in fact, vegetarian, but they are primarily a dessert, snack, or breakfast item. The pumpkin doughnuts do look tasty, but unless they include bacon (and even if they do) please categorize them as a dessert or snack. You’re messing with my dinner menu.

On a more positive note, if you haven’t already, I highly suggest purusing Gojee – one of the most beautifully curated recipes sites I’ve seen in a while.

One of my highlights of the weekend is spending time on Sunday selecting produce for the week at the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market. Located in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, you’re always ensured a grand mixture of fun, crazy, and just plain weird.

Without fail, there are always a few musicians around. It can range from young guys on a honky tonk piano and drum set, to a classical cellist, to an old man on a 2-stringed Chinese violin playing Jingle Bells. It’s pure bliss.

Sounds of the Weekend: Civic Center Farmer’s Market from Brooke Francesi on Vimeo.

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder waiting on images for over a month. Maybe its time to just publish and post more delicious food images later? Below are heirloom tomatoes from  Farm Fresh to You located in the Ferry Building Marketplace.

Disclaimer: I don’t consider myself a food snob or a foodie. I just like to know what I’m eating.

Growing up with a mother who made amazing food (specifically English toffee at Christmas-time) and a father as a food scientist, Velveeta cheese didn’t have a chance in our home. In fact, not many processed foods did.

Because of this, I’ve always been conscious of the food I eat, but since moving to San Francisco, a place where everyone is a foodie in some sense, I’ve become particularly obsessed with eating food in it’s most natural state. Moving from the midwest to California, it’s been a pleasant surprise to realize how easy it is to buy seasonal vegetables at one of the many of farmers markets during almost any week of the year.

While it used to feel like chore to pick out a menu and food for the week (I’m a budget-y type person) it’s become especially fun to head to the store or farmers market, select the most seasonal produce, and make a menu from there.

So what’s the point? I’ve discovered an incredible sense of self-satisfaction just by knowing that my food didn’t travel 2,000 miles to my mouth when it could have traveled less than 50.

We’ll be moving to San Francisco in just 2 weeks and plan to sell our car, so on Monday, Vince and I took advantage of still having a car and ventured out on a day trip down scenic Highway 1.

We made no specific plans and had a blast stopping at random road-side stands, getting close up to sea lions, taking 17 Mile Drive, wandering through Monterey and Carmel, and of course, eating delicious food.

I’m not a photo person. I enjoy taking pictures for and of other people but am ridiculously bad at taking snapshots of my own life. After moving away from friends and family, my husband and I decided we needed to put more effort into documenting our lives, so I’ve decided to make a concentrated effort to take a few pictures each week.

Here’s a peek into our weekend.

We’re obsessed with the selection of fresh food at the Mountain View farmer’s market. Why buy fruit and veggies at the store when you have access to locally grown, fresh, organic produce?

If there is one image that could sum up our free time, it would be this. *Bonus* You get a sneak peak into my next hand drawn type series to be announced tomorrow!

While frozen yogurt is our go-to sweet treat lately, we’ve had fun trying other things too. Krunchy Kale is a delicious snack we found at the farmer’s market. Forget potato chips — this is healthy and crunchy and surprisingly flavorful.

I’ve finally tasted the only food smell I’ve had since my bike incident a week ago. Oddly enough, it’s quiche! Not sure, but I think I’ve found a favorite new food. (Or at least until this smell / taste deficiency goes away).

and hopefully many more of both to come!

Image credit: SFStation.com

This weekend, my husband and I marked our 5 year wedding anniversary. Being the traditional couple we are (not!) we celebrated by attending a cooking class on Friday evening. What a blast!

Image credit: SFStation.com

I can honestly say, I’ve never had so much fun spending 3 hours with 15-20 other people I’ve never met. Everyone had a great attitude and we even became fast friends with another couple who worked with us to make our portion of the dinner (Italian meatballs).

Whether you’re an amateur looking for a few cooking tips, or a seasoned professional, I highly recommend a cooking class. If nothing else, you’ll come away with a belly full of delicious food…right? You can see more of our fun evening at SFStation.com

Image credit: SFStation.com

After a short, unannounced hiatus on the Commute Design Project, I’m ready to go again. Admittedly, last week and most of this week I’ve been tired and uninspired on the commute home. Maybe it had something to do with the cold rainy weather?

But that’s so yesterday. Today the sun is shining, I’m bursting with motivation, and am loving me some bright color.

Today is a quirky leftover from my Sketchbook Project drawings, then next week, I’ll be announcing my new challenge for March. If you have any challenge ideas, I’m taking suggestions!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the different sensory triggers we experience at any given time during the day. It’s pretty incredible if you think about it.

I was riding my bike from work to the train station this evening — it was windy, rainy, and cold. A pretty miserable ride actually. However while the rain was pelting my face, my sense of smell was on over-drive from a tantalizing aroma wafting from a nearby cafe.

This made me wonder if it’s possible to incorporate such a wide variety of triggers (good, bad, or both) into a design. The goal isn’t to create a physical reaction, because sensory triggers don’t always cause a physical reaction. In fact, we don’t even notice most of them.

Such an interesting subject. I’ve got a feeling I may be exploring more of this in the near future.

I’m one of those extraordinarily lucky people in the U.S. that got President’s Day off work, which also means there is no commute for me today. However, this morning I was feeling productive and whipped (pun intended) up a design for you to enjoy. Doesn’t white whipped cream have a nice ring?

Here’s to the Presidents!