Salt of the earth

Tuesday morning I had an hour to breathe in the glory that is the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Positioned right on the bay, the seagulls, fog and ships make it all the more alluring. http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/ The FB is a place I go back to on each trip to the Bay Area. I am always drawn in with great anticipation to the Ferry Building. In fact, it is somehow like going home for me--and when I say "home" I mean somewhere deep inside myself. This trip I found myself focused on salt. The night before at Farralon,http://www.farallonrestaurant.com/ I experience crunchy chunks of red Hawaiian sea salt on butter that was a new culinary experience for me. Simple and exquisite. At home I have a few kinds of salt in my pantry, Fleur de Sel, Pink Himalayan, Kosher and Sea Salt to name a few. But I had never bitten into the glorious red crystals and was intrigued. As I went from shop to shop, I searched for salts and I wasn't disappointed. I found every kind you can imagine and more. At the mushroom shop, Far West Fungi, there were tiny salt shakers of mushroom infused salts that were a whole new world for me. Black truffle oil infused salt was another I couldn't resist. At the Boulette's Larder, a French Cafe with a common table in the kitchen, they had all sorts of salts that they had infused with various herbs like Rosemary or Thyme or Fennel. They were packaged in little cups with lids and hand written labels. Who can resist? I tasted a fleur de sel caramel at Miette (means tiny morsel in French) and was renewed in my commitment to make hand made caramels this year (mom's recipe) but with a bit of special salt. I did find a small tin of the red salt at Prather Ranch Meat Co. but not before sampling Filipino salt that is actually hollow and has a nice little crunch to it. There is something just natural and good about salt. It is unassuming. It comes from the earth. It has been relied upon for centuries by every society on the planet. It reminds us that we part of something bigger, more resilient than ourselves. It is god's little gift to us. Something tells me that my salt adventure has just begun.