Family Weekend

This past weekend, we were back out in Inverness for another of those great family weekends in the big rented house. This time, the family was even bigger, as My Beloved's brother and his wife were in town to see their granddaughter and both couples plus the baby came down to join in the fun. Then, we invited our newlywed cousin Sherry and her partner Kathy, and the fun swelled even further. We used every chair in the dining room - yes, all twelve - and part of the group was out on the deck as well. 

After the kids all went back to work and school, My Beloved and I had another night there to enjoy, then drove home to meet brother Ted and wife Kim at our house so they could survey the kitchen and bath plans and view the construction/destruction for themselves. In the afternoon, we took them into the city to a lovely little park for a stroll, and to Greens for an early dinner before pointing them in the direction of the airport for their flight home to Cape Cod.

In case you are ever in San Francisco, I can recommend a trip to Greens. It's a vegetarian restaurant but even I, who is a dedicated carnivore, never feel deprived when I go there. The dishes are creative, delicious, and worth making a special trip. This time, I had a cheese tasting plate as an opener and an asparagus pizza for my main dish. The cheeses were all delicious and quite different than the usual - Andante Dairy Picolo, Cowgirl Creamery St. Pat, and Bellwether Farms pepato - and was served with sweet pickled vegetables and a nice pile of baguette slices.

The pizza boasted some of the nicest crust it has ever been my pleasure to bite into - very thin and crisp but not dry, and was topped with spring onion, green garlic, pea pesto, pine nuts, goat cheese, and grana padano. 

Best Pizza Ever. 

Absolutely killer combination of fresh spring tastes and textures. It was too big to finish so I took the rest home and found to my delight that it warmed beautifully in a dry, open frying pan for lunch the next day. Win-win.

It is always good to have time with family, time to sip a glass of wine and catch up on their doings. And that meal was the perfect ending to a special family weekend.