wilson silverleaf family

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

trip to ensenada

Someone at Larry's work organized a trip on July 14 to Ensenada, which is in Baja; the bus left at 7:30 am, it was a bit brutal. We stopped in Rosarita for a half an hour on the beach, we should have told them to leave us there, it was so beautiful and the sand was so fine. We found some barnacles to check out and a sand dollar.

Another stop on the way, it was a beautiful scenic lookout.

The rest of the day was anticlimactic, the food at the restaurant we ate at was mediocre, and the cheap crap on the tourist drag was depressingly...cheap. Lots of drunk people, and the water coconut we paid...I'm embarrassed to tell how much...for was soapy tasting. But it was a nice way to be able to go to Mexico with someone else driving and getting us over the border, which was a breeze and fairly quick, and we all slept in the bus on the way home. Nina was a real champ for pretty much the whole trip, long bus ride and all. We're totally keeping her.

lasagne

I love cooking with collard greens; I find that I can hide them in food and my family is none the wiser. They don't seem to have a strong taste to me, though I've heard people complain about it.

After I chiffonade the greens I put them in the food processor with the cheese layer for lasagne. I use cottage cheese because I don't care for store bought ricotta, and an egg or two. After a minute or two in the food processor, it turns out nice and smooth.

What a wonderful treat. We have been eating outside most nights, it's a real luxury. Though it's mostly shady in the afternoon, the back yard gets some fading sun(set)light at dinnertime that is fantastic for taking pictures.

stuffed patty pans

One of my favorite summer meals is stuffed patty pan squashes, these beauties came from the lovely people at La Milpa Organica Farm.

*patty pan squash (one per person if it's a side dish/two or three if it's the main course)
*half an onion/a whole onion, chopped
*olive oil, coconut oil, or butter, for sauteeing, be generous
*juice of half/whole lemon
*quarter/half of a bunch of parsley, chopped finely
*bread crumbs--not sure how much, I used six or eight slices of toast in this meal, made into crumbs in the food processor
*grated cheese, optional about a half a cup or so

Slice patty pans in half, along the place where it has the biggest circumfrence, so that the edges are wavy. If it will make them lie flatter, slice a little off of the top (where the squash was attached to the plant) and the bottom (where the blossom fell off). Scoop the seeds out of both halves with a tea or soup spoon, deep enough so that you make a big enough depression to stuff, but not so deep that you scoop out the bottom and make a hole in it (though if you make a hole, it's ok, use it anyway). Preheat oven to 350. Put all the halves in a steamer, and steam for about 10 minutes, until the squash are slightly soft, but not mushy. Sautee the onions and squash seeds, breaking up the seeds with a flipper (spatula?), stirring, until they are very soft, at least as long as the other parts are steaming. Season with salt, remove from heat, and add bread crumbs, lemon, parsley, and cheese. Stuff into squash halves loosely but firmly, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the cheese is slightly melted. Enjoy!