Shoe Done It

make it hard for visitors to plan ahead. Yes, it’s supposed to rain in the winter but there are gorgeous dry warm days all year round. Rita is always prepared because she never knows what weather the day will bring. That’s why it’s so important for a girl to dress in layers. Another fun fact is that the weather changes from neighborhood to neighborhood. The wind sometimes blows cold air and fog in off the ocean while a few miles away there can be warm sun on Telegraph Hill where Rita lives. The only things she knows for sure is that the sunsets over the ocean are spectacular, the fog creeps in “on little cat feet” under the Golden Gate Bridge and it never (almost never) snows except in 1887 when four inches of snow fell in San Francisco according to Meera who says she was there then, and there are (hardly ever) any April showers. Rita’s advice to tourists—Come in the fall for the best weather and wear layers, layers, layers.

2. WATER—San Francisco is a city that’s surrounded on three sides by water. The Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Strait. Rita has a view of the Bay from her flat on Telegraph Hill. The beaches can be a bit chilly for sunbathing and the water downright cold even for the bravest swimmers, which Rita is not.

3. WALKING—San Francisco is a relatively small city, laid out over a grid of 40 hills, which makes it both challenging and exhilarating to walk around. Some of Rita’s favorite walking neighborhoods are Pacific Heights with its stately historic homes and spectacular views. She also takes out-of-town guests on a steep hike up to Coit Tower on Filbert or Greenwich Streets where they can get a peek into the gardens and lifestyles of the people who live on the hill. Rita has yet to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge but she wants to do that, ideally holding hands with one of the men in her life as they gaze at the beautiful city in the distance or the hills of Marin County to the north.

4. FREE STUFF—Rita is always looking for a bargain, whether it’s clothes, shoes, accessories or entertainment. Fortunately there is no entrance fee to the Golden Gate Park which was created in the late 1800s according to our resident wannabe vampire, Meera, who says she remembers when it was just sand dunes out there. The park is even bigger than Central Park in New York. Home to the DeYoung Art Museum, the California Academy of Sciences and the Japanese Tea Garden, the park is a great place for Rollerblading, bicycling or having a picnic. The museums require an entrance fee, so Rita likes taking advantage of the free stuff like the Botanical Garden, the Buffalo Paddock, Stow Lake, and the Shakespeare Garden. There are also occasional free Sunday concerts in the outdoor band shell.

5. FOOD—Rita didn’t come to San Francisco for the food, but like so many others she is eating her way through the city. She’s not much of a cook but she has a healthy appetite and the men she meets like to eat too. Obviously she came to the right place. Since she arrived, she’s been introduced to Romanian food thanks to Nick Petrescu and his aunt, Meera. She’s also eaten sushi, Vietnamese

pho

, cracked Dungeness crab, sourdough bread, clam chowder from a bread bowl, Korean tacos and much much more. It’s a wonder Rita can still fit into her favorite Lucky brand jeans; it must be all that walking up and down the hills that keeps her a perfect size 4.

Recipes

Meera’s Stuffed Cabbage Rolls—

Galumpkis

(With thanks to “Angelinaw”)

Serves 4 Romanians or 6 Americans

Meera learned to make galumpkis from her grandmother in the medieval town of Brasov, where her family lived near the historic castle of Bran, a Gothic fairy-tale kind of palace. No wonder Meera has the spirit of the vampires in her blood. (If not the real thing.) Grannie used to fill Meera’s head with tales of Vlad, the fifteenth-century prince who was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. No surprise that Meera is a selfdescribed vampire. Vampire or not, she’s a great cook!

This galumpkis is the perfect dish when the weather gets cold in Romania or wherever friends gather to eat and drink. The tomato sauce is often described as a sweet-sour sauce.

TOMATO SAUCE

1 ? quarts crushed tomatoes (or you can use 1 can of

tomato juice)

2 tablespoons white vinegar (apple cider vinegar will make

it more tart)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pesto

CABBAGE ROLLS

1 head cabbage

1 onion, chopped

1 pound meat (traditionally done with ? lb pork, ? lb

beef—but I use venison)

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 large egg

2 tablespoons parsley,chopped

1 ? cups white rice, cooked

salt and pepper to taste

Core and boil the cabbage first. You are boiling for about 5 minutes—just to make the cabbage leaves pliable.

While the cabbage is boiling, prepare the tomato sauce.

Saute the garlic and pesto in a skillet for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Add the vinegar and sugar and simmer until the sauce thickens (this is a good place to taste the sauce—we like ours a little tart).

Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

By now your cabbage should be done.

Take the cabbage out of the water, run under cold water, and gently start taking the leaves off of the head. (If you overboiled your cabbage this will result in the leaves shredding.)

Lay out the leaves flat (like sheets of paper).

Cut out the vein from the backside of the leaf (this will make it really pliable).

The bigger leaves will be used for the bottom of your pot and the top of your pot, so put those really big leaves aside.