Pizza Diavola

Things that made me happy on Friday:

1. AP was in town! We went for happy hour drinks at Cigar Bar and then went to dinner at La Mei Zi. Sadly, I was dizzy and sick; threw up at the bar; bailed in the middle of dinner; and upon arriving home, promptly ran for the bathroom and threw up everything I’d eaten that day. I am nothing if not thorough. However, when AP came to pick up her stuff from my apartment, she brought me leftovers of the fish from dinner! That was sweet of her.
2. Having the day off and sleeping in until 10:30 A.M.

Things that made me happy on Saturday:

1. Saw an absolutely gorgeous apartment in the morning. It literally took my breath away when I walked in!
2. Got a gallon-sized ziplock of blueberries at the farmers market for $10! Having spent May making a succession of rhubarb tarts, I wanted to branch out into other summer fruit baking:

   PD: How many cartons would I need for a pie? [little cartons are $2/ea]
   Blueberry Seller: 6-7
   PD: O_o
   Blueberry Seller: {hauls out gallon-size ziplock of blueberries} Or, this is $10! You could probably make two pies with it.
   PD: I’ll take it!

   The ziplock was full of reject blueberries: the overripe, the underripe, the squashed, the bestemmed. I wouldn’t use them for a dessert in which their natural flavor is the star, but they’re fine for boiling with sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and putting into a tart.

3. Went to a barbecue with some old high school acquaintances. It was fun seeing them again and it was nice to know that I could hang out with people I didn’t know well without being awkward. We had views of fireworks all over the East Bay.
4. The +1 called from Guatemala. I missed the call, but he left a message, and it was nice to hear his voice.
5. Sibling came home from vacation. Picked him up from the airport (where ‘picked up’ means ‘BARTed to SFO’ and ‘cabbed home’), fed him, and heard all about his adventures in Germany.

Things that made me happy on Sunday:

1. Sibling finished off the batch of dumplings I made in April. I was afraid they’d linger in my freezer forever! Now, I have room in the freezer for the chicken and beef stock I made this weekend.
2. Made the lemon cream from the Tartine cookbook, and filled a blueberry tart with it.
3. Went to another barbecue at Sahiya’s neighbors’ place, and had fun relaxing and hanging out with them. The white barbecues I’ve been to are very different from my parents’ barbecues, in terms of the food.
4. Made basmati rice according to the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s book on Indian cooking, and it turned out well! It’s the first time I’ve made palatable basmati rice.

Things that made me happy today:

1. After debating between two apartments for the entire weekend, I went to sign the lease on the first one I’d seen and liked, only to find out that I preferred the apartment I’d seen on Saturday. This is a happy item, though–I made up my mind to take the Saturday apartment, and I’m dropping off an application tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me! The place is simply gorgeous and literally took my breath away when I saw it. I can’t believe it’s still on the market, let alone for what the landlord’s asking for it.
2. Woke up early this morning to cook lentils for lunch. They were tasty, if not mouth-wateringly delicious, and it’s enough to be going on with. I want to replicate the awesome lentil curry that Shalimar serves, which I would happily eat for lunch for a week straight.