Technically it is a new season. Technically I am a new age. Technically I live in a new city. Technically I should be able to get a job and create a life in this wonderful crazy Californian mecca of free love called San Francisco. Technically, I'm scared to death. This place is so foreign! I mean, come on, they sell beer, wine AND booze in supermarkets! There are 12 different types of Mexican and Asian food within a 3 block radius from my new apartment. No one knows what I mean when I say "I'm all set." They eye me crazily and then ask again if I need anything else. The Fog, and I mean it like it's a person with a personality and identifiable character traits, is everywhere. Next weekend there are two festivals going on simultaneously. A chill Bluegrass music festival and the German inspired Love Fest, an all day, all night homage to techno at it's rave-tastic finest. What kind of crazy land is this?

I know, I know, nowhere will be quiet like anywhere else. It's true. Last night my cousin brought me to a dinner party at her friends house where we ate breaded and pan fried abalone. Which, having just looked it up, I find to be large SEA SNAILS! HA! Whatever, it was breaded and fried. It tasted like breaded and fried. And now I can add that to the list. My cousin and her friends go deep sea diving for these suckers. I know, a whole new world.

I find in the midst of all this new transition I need to bring it back to something a little familiar. What is more familiar than risotto? To me, at least. Yet, as with all good staple dishes, this one has a twist. My classic risotto fell in love with a tomato and some basil. It's love child is what we call, tomato basil risotto. Excellente!


Fresh picked basil from the wonderful downstairs neighbors. Picture perfect.(hehe)


The finished product, replete with peas and muchos amounts of pecorino romano. I didn't follow a specific recipe. I simply used a can of good quality crushed tomatoes, although pureed fresh ones are wonderful, too. Cut that with a mixture of half water and half chicken broth and added it to the arborio rice until al dente. Seasoned it with salt and pepper, tossed in the basil chiffonade (thin little strips) and some peas. And voila, deliciousness in a bowl.