Being at home from our San Francisco Food Tour of North Beach\Little Italy, we??re enjoying being at home as much as I can. At the same time, as much as I try to avoid it, sometimes cabin fever sets in. Fortunately, having a dog, I have to walk the dog outside. The good news is that I can do and still practice social distancing. It also gives me a chance to notice the little things, things like the sun coming up over the ocean, something different about a tree in the neighborhood or something as simple as a new plant coming out.
It is similar to cooking food at home or some of the foods on our San Francisco Food Tours. It??s the subtle flavors of foods that can make all of the difference. It??s like the background flavor in some dish. For example, yesterday I was making some omelets and I used some white vanilla in the omelet. White vanilla is different from the typical vanilla that you might find in a store. It is made from the flower of the vanilla plant, so it has a really nice flavor, almost like a lavender flavor. It??s adds a really nice background flavor. It??s easy to miss when you??re eating something, unless you take the time to slow down and enjoy the subtle flavors. When you notice it, it??s really nice. It??s similar to noticing the small changes around you, that new plant, the way the sun sets, or something else that can really brighten up your day.