I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region well-known for food, but not of the traditional sort – or rather, the tradition is creating and integrating new traditions. So this theme is a bit difficult to grasp.
At first I thought about what the Ohlone people ate–but Wikipedia states that their “staple diet consisted of crushed acorns, nuts, grass seeds, and berries, although other vegetation, hunted and trapped game, fish and seafood (including mussels and abalone from the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean), were also important to their diet.” I was unable to find any other references to Ohlone cuisine or popular dishes to inspire me. (Troubling, but moving on…)
So I considered the idea of “California cuisine,” which broadly represents a number of cooking styles made popular by restaurateurs in the Bay Area. Among their many contributions to modern cooking you’ll find San Francisco sourdough bread and Green Goddess salad dressing… both things that sounded like a pretty good lunch to me. So I picked up a sour loaf from popular local bakery Acme and picked up the ingredients to make a veganized goddess dressing.
I used the recipe from Appetite for Reduction, although it’s doesn’t seem to adhere closely to the original. So what? Herbs, garlic, creaminess (from tahini in this case)…
…blend, blend, blend…
…enjoy with fresh, local salad greens, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and baked tofu. Plus, oh yeah–that bread! Toasted with some Kite Hill cheese and more tomatoes. Yum.
