Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Art in Public Places


One of my favorites in our little village.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Big Tomato Sandwich


We still have lots of tomatoes in the garden so tonight we had this.

I used a recipe from Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison. It is such an inspiration. Each picture just makes you want to try it.

I started with a 1 lb. loaf ciabatta. You want a crusty, strong-textured bread. In the book she shows a round loaf which looks lovely. I sliced off the top third of the loaf and pulled out the inside to make room for the filling. I "painted" the inside of the bottom of the loaf with an herb vinaigrette (1/4 c. basil leaves; 1 T. chopped oregano (she suggests marjoram but I had none in the garden); 1 T. chopped parsley; 1 small clove garlic, minced; 1/3 c. EVOO; 4 t. aged red wine vinegar; 1/4 t. Salt, and freshly ground pepper.)

I alternated layers of sliced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and 4 oz. fresh sliced mozzarella, on the bottom 2/3 of the loaf. After adding each layer I "painted" the vinaigrette on and seasoned with S&P.

Delicious!

Friday, September 11, 2009

September 11, 2009


Whaler's Cove, Pigeon Point, San Mateo County Coast, California.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Got Tomatoes?


Tonite I made the Pasta Primavera from this cookbook
http://tinyurl.com/lbvjps

The authors indicate that "this is the authentic Italian recipe for Pasta Primavera, which is called spring pasta because it utilizes the first tomatoes that come in." I love this recipe, even though I've been picking tomatoes for several weeks.


Here's the recipe:

4 c. coarsely chopped fresh, garden-ripe, never-been-refrigerated tomatoes
4 T. EVOO
4 T. fresh basil, chopped
1 T. Italian parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped, or more, to taste
S&P (freshly ground P)
1 lb. spaghetti
EVOO, for garnish

In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, oil, basil, parsley, garlic, and S&P to taste; pulse to blend.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook. Drain the pasta and toss it in a serving bowl with the raw sauce. Garnish each portion with a dribble of EVOO and serve immediately. Serves 6.

I made fettucine dough in the food processor this afternoon and let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. (1 c. unbleached AP flour; good pinch of salt; 1 large egg; 1 t. olive oil; a few drops of water). While the water was coming up to a boil, I cut the pasta with the pasta machine and tossed it with semolina flour to prevent it from sticking together. It was so quick. I made about 7 oz. of fresh pasta for two of us and I halved the above sauce recipe. The fresh pasta takes about a minute to cook. If you have the tomatoes and basil and garlic and parsley chopped, the sauce comes together in a flash.

I wish I would have made a loaf of bread to sop up the leftover sauce. That would have been great! I'll have to get my bread baking back in gear.

I served this with Janine's Bean Salad. I'll post the recipe for that later this week.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Pelicans, and harbor seals, and tide pools, oh my!


I don't know who this guy is but I love the flags lining the walkway to the lighthouse at Pigeon Point.

Wonderful day on the San Mateo Coast: more than 20 brown pelicans working or playing the waters of Whaler's Cove and harbor seals cavorting in groups of threes and fives. Then, we were off to Bean Hollow State Beach and more inquisitive-seeming harbor seals and tide pools. Sunny but breezy.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

The view from "my" lane


These are the waning days of summer and this is the big oak at the end of lane 1 on the shady side of the pool.