You just have to trust me....

...I know this sounds a little wackadoo, making pasta sauce from a cantaloupe, but it's tasty and so refreshing.  I made a version of this at a farmers' market demo last summer. When I was done, I walked over to talk to the melon guy and he had a huge line of people from the demo, all with cantaloupe in hand.  So don't just trust me...they ate it and were going home to make it!

Last weekend I bought a canary melon from Angie of Zuckerman's Farm.  It's a cross between a honeydew and a cantaloupe, and has bright yellow skin.  It's been a year since I made my melon pasta sauce, so I was ready.  I started with a little sliced onion, some of the Sweet Italian Long Peppers I bought at the farmers' market, and a banana pepper from my garden.  Just a few minutes to soften up.  Then hit it with a few garlic cloves.

Then comes the diced melon.  I cut them into bite sized pieces so they break down quickly.

Just let that hang out over medium heat for about 20 minutes or so, and watch all the natural juices come out, creating a wonderful sauce.  You've just got to stir it every once in a while.

The color of this melon is kind of bland, so I throw in a bit of smoked paprika, and look at how it's transformed:

And see how much juice it's giving up.  You can save a little of the starchy cooking water from your pasta to thin it out, if you'd like. I always reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid before I drain my pasta, because the starch in that water can extend a sauce and give it a creamy texture.  Today, however, I'm just going for good ol' cream!
This melon was really sweet, so I balanced that out with some Sirracha and a hit of red wine vinegar, and of course, sea salt.  Once you've tasted it and gotten your flavors in line, pull the skillet off the heat and slowly stir in a 1/4 cup of cream.  Then toss it with quinoa pasta (Ancient Harvest is my favorite brand), some chopped pecans (or walnuts) and a light sprinkling of parm.  Super tasty, super easy, super weird!  I like it!!

Canary Melon Pasta
Serves 6

1 package quinoa pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 Italian Long Peppers (or 1 large red bell), seeded and chopped
1 banana pepper (or Anahiem or pasilla), seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 canary melon (or cataloupe), peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Sirracha
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped or torn
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup shredded parmesan

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to directions.
• Melt butter and oil in large skillet and add onion.  Cook 2 minutes over medium high heat.
• Add peppers and garlic, and continue to cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add melon pieces and stir to combine.  Cook 5-10 minutes, and when juices start to appear, add smoked paprika.
• Continue cooking 5-10 minutes more, stirring occasionally, then add vinegar and Sirracha.
• After a total of about 20 minutes, you should have a rich sauce.  Remove from heat and slowly drizzle in the cream, stirring constantly, so it doesn't curdle.  Then fold in the basil leaves
• Toss with pasta and top with chopped nuts and cheese.

What's you favorite pasta to make????

Kidding Around

I have been really blessed since I made the choice to leave my corporate life and enter the world of cooking.  I have met some wonderful people along the way.  There are the people in my cooking classes who bring laughter and joy into my home; the "culinary guru" that I was lucky to spend some time with, who inspired the "intuitive" cook in me to look at the "science" side of cooking; the students at Bauman who teach me as much as (if not more than) I try to teach them; my social media "whiz kid" who refuses to let me believe "I'm too old for that stuff," and then there's Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery.

Last summer a woman named Karen Pavone, came to one of my cooking classes and asked if I minded her taking pictures, interviewing me a little bit and writing about my class.  Wishing I had spent a little more time doing my hair and makeup, I sheepishly agreed.   I began following her wonderful blog (and not just the post about me!) highlighting the farm to table movement in Marin & Sonoma County.  After a story she did on school gardens, we chatted about how I wanted to get involved in teaching kids not just about growing fresh veggies, but how to cook them in a way that they would actually eat them.  And she introduced me to Lisa Marvier, who at the time was just fixin' to open a farm/nursery.

Lisa and I met for the first time on a sunny April afternoon.  We walked through the farm, her sweet store where she sells books, starters and seeds, and I met all the farm animals: horses, ponies, chickens, roosters, goats, pigs.  My favorite remains the two little pigs that think they're dogs - they come when she calls them, just like her three pups. Although the new baby goats do tug at my heart.  Then she and I sat down to talk....and talk and talk.  We were kindred spirits from the get-go (so lucky when you find people like that in your life) and shared the same vision of teaching people how to eat and be healthy.  And we agreed that a great place to start was with kids.  And The Farm Girl Nursery Kids' Camp was formalized.  Lisa had been thinking about it for a while (she's got so many ideas jumping around in that head of hers!), but we decided to add a cooking class to the mix.

Today was our second camp together, possibly the last of the summer (though I think she's trying to figure out how to squeeze one more in while the weather's good).  The kids started the day learning from a bee keeper and a woman who raises chickens, and then after a bit of zip lining (yes, zip lining!) I take them into the gardens and we harvest fruit and veggies for lunch.  The little ones stay out on the porch to whip up a batch of ice cream (old-school style...with the ice, rock salt and a good old fashioned crank handle!), and the bigger kids come into the kitchen with me to cook.

My older little helpers, after a lesson on knife safety and under close supervision, chopped cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and basil for our quinoa pasta salad.  The younger ones, stripped rosemary sprigs to create skewers and scooped melon balls to create kebabs of watermelon and berries from the farm (great with the ice cream).  After showing them all how to quickly and easily to strip the kale leaves off the stem, I took on the task of making kale chips (big hit with my Kitchen Crew!).

Then it was time to eat!  It's so wonderful to see kids eat good stuff!  It's much easier to do it if they have a hand in growing it, picking it, and cooking it.  Give it a try.  My nephews aren't huge vegetable fans, and I never knew them to eat zucchini in their lives......until they grew some one year.  They were so proud that they couldn't wait to learn how to cook it.  No matter if you have a big yard or a balcony, you can grow something to eat.  Just look at these happy faces..... that's all the inspiration you need.

 

Cheezie Kale Chips
Serve 6-8

2 bunches dino (aka Lacinato) kale, rinsed, stemmed and ripped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Place kale on 2 parchment paper lined baking sheets.
• Divide olive oil between the two sheets, and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and salt.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until crispy.  Check occasionally to be sure they don't burn.

Yum It up! 
And see, no cheese; I used nutritional yeast to give the cheesy flavor.  Well, yes that was a little feta on the quinoa pasta salad, but Lisa made me do it!! :)

Super Pasta Salad

When I was in college (a thousand years ago) I made a lot of pasta salad.  It was cheap and easy; two essential college components. Pasta salad, ramen noodles and nachos were unfortunately my go-to meals.  I overdosed on them and haven't been able to eat them since.... yes, I know, I'm not missing out.

The past few weeks I've had to make lunch for the students in the culinary program, and every lunch includes a salad.  I'm not afraid to say that I make a mean salad, and the students have been very complimentary of each and every one, taking pictures and jotting down the ingredients... boy, I love their enthusiasm!  But I was really getting tired of greens, so yesterday I went back in time and whipped up a grown-up pasta salad....

I used quinoa pasta for starters; it's gluten-free and is a good source of protein.  My favorite brand is Ancient Harvest.  I picked the Garden Pagoda pasta; like radiatore, it has lots of grooves to hold sauce or, in this case, dressing. 

I blanched a bunch of asparagus and cut them into bite-sized pieces, chopped some radishes, carrots and kalamata olives, and tossed in frozen corn and toasted walnuts.  For the dressing I simply mixed cider vinegar, diced shallots, dijon mustard, a tiny bit of honey, salt and pepper and then slowly whisked in twice as much olive oil as vinegar.  Pour it over the salad and give it a good toss.  It's perfect for these hot days, travels well, and is great the next day.  And it looks pretty.....you know how I like food to be pretty!

Enjoy!