Strawberry and ricotta bruschetta - Meal, dessert or both

When strawberry season hits here on the farm, I am out in the fields all day. I pick on my hands and knees covered from head to toe in long pants to protect myself from the prickly straw that lines the rows,  socks pulled up over my pants to keep the prickly straw from creeping up my leg, a long sleeve  shirt for obvious reasons, and of course a huge wide brimmed sun hat. I wear all this in 90 degree weather not because I am crazy but because strawberries love being harvested in intense heat and I want protection.  I sell most of the berries but keep a good amount for me to make jam and to freeze. But there is nothing in this world like a fresh ripe sun heated berry picked from the plant and eaten that quickly. Although, I must say,  this recipe comes close.

Strawberry and ricotta bruschetta

Toast twelve thick slices of baguette brushed with olive oil

In a medium bowl toss 3/4 cup chopped strawberries with 11/2 tsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tsp of chopped fresh mint

In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup ricotta with 1TBS maple syrup and 1/4 tsp sea salt


Spread the ricotta mixture on each slice of baguette and top with the strawberry mixture.

That's eat...Enjoy!!

Jude

Spicy Sesame Pasta

Spicy sesame noodles with fresh garden asparagus

Spicy Sesame Pasta
I use this dressing on many of my noodle dishes, especially Al Dente's spicy sesame linguine. Delicious!!!

1/4 cup vegetable/olive oil
3 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS rice wine vinegar
1  tsp maple syrup
2 tsp toasted sesame oil ( I have made it with and without this ingredient and both ways are tasty)
1 TBS grated ginger

Mix these ingredients in bowl. Set aside until pasta is done. Drain pasta and toss with dressing.

Mix in cooked shrimp or whatever vegetables you like. I also sometimes add toasted almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts

I  liked this picture I took this morning so I thought I would share. Has absolutely nothing to do with noodles..

Seafood

SEAFOOD

SCALLOPS WITH APPLE PAN SAUCE

SPICED SALMON OR STEELHEAD TROUT  KABOBS

I can not even think of words to describe these two meals I made this week. But I can tell you this, I will be serving them all through the summer and sharing these two finds with friends, family and of course all of you. My salad with strawberries and my side dish of jasmine rice sprinkled with finely chopped lightly sauted asparagus went well with both entres and sent me straight to heaven. Enjoy and remember, we only post what we truly love. Click on the name to find recipe.

SCALLOPS WITH APPLE PAN SAUCE
As always, I come up with shortcuts. I totally skipped the blender part. All I did here was chop my apples really small with skin on and saute them slowly with the lemon and a bit of olive oil and butter. It worked for me.

SPICED SALMON OR STEELHEAD TROUT  KABOBS
This calls for salmon but I find steelhead trout more moist and less costly than salmon although I love my sockeye salmon. But next time. The secret here is the blend of these spices. WOW, especially the heat of the crushed red pepper flakes.

Hello Summer- Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Sunset view from our house

It's that time of year again - where I break out the ice cream maker.  We are in what seems to be an endless stretch of warm, sunny days.  There is a lavender plant in our greenhouse, and I really wanted to make a dessert with it.  At first I was thinking lavender shortbread, but don't really like shortbread, so why make it?  Instead, I decided on honey lavender ice cream.  I found a simple, six-ingredient recipe from here, but instead of using dried lavender, went for about a half a cup of the fresh stuff.  I've made it twice and it's great - not too floral but a really nice complex flavor.  I also made hot fudge to serve with it, and while that may sound like an unusual combo, it was quite good.  I read online that not all lavender is appropriate for cooking (I don't think any are toxic but don't take my word for it), but it might not be that tasty.  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what type of lavender we had but it smelled nice and I went for it.

Also, thanks for all the sweet comments on our cat.  He still hasn't returned and we are pretty sure he won't be coming home:(  Good-bye Bitty Boy.  Isis (our remaining cat) seems very lonely and appears to be trying to kill us - for example, by rubbing up against our feet as we are going down the stairs in the dark.

I also promised that I would share some happier stories of our adventures here.  The most recent highlight for me was seeing Mumford and Sons up in Taos last Thursday.  I've been moderately obsessed with this band for the past year and a half, and seeing them live was awesome.  They are even better live than on their albums - great vocals, phenomenal musicians, and good energy.  There wasn't a lot of dancing and special effects - it just wasn't needed because the music was so tight.  And, we were outside in a park surrounded by a beautiful NM sunset after a glorious thunderstorm.  What could be better?

One of the views from the Santa Fe Opera.

Me and my little buddy at the Farmer's Market.

Another sunset I enjoyed as I mulched the gardens.

Thunderstorm in Taos

Mumford and Sons

Rainier hanging out by the basketball courts near our house.

Good-bye Attila

Well, we landed in New Mexico in the beginning of May and two days later, Noah, his brother, and our two cats arrived.  The cats have really been the stars of this whole adventure.  Not only did they love every moment of packing and unpacking (boxes! paper! lots of things to climb on and in!), they weathered the journey better than we could have hoped for and love having a whole house to roam and explore.  It's like they always knew they were destined for more than a two room apartment, and here is the proof.

I wrote that paragraph last Thursday, right before one of our cats, Attila, disappeared.  We are living right outside Santa Fe in an area known as Canoncito.  It's not kind to cats.  There are coyotes, bobcats, and great horned owls.  One of our neighbors has lost five over the years.   The drought in New Mexico is stressing all the animals, so they are even more desperate for food.  Attila was not an outdoor cat; and he usually didn't like to leave the porch or front walkway whenever he snuck outside.

A door was accidentally left open, and both cats wandered out.  Isis is more adventurous, and she may have led Attila a little farther than he would ordinarily go.  They weren't outside for long - maybe 20 or 30 minutes, but it was enough time for him to get lost or eaten.   (I don't know why I didn't just delete that first paragraph I wrote, except that maybe I wanted to give Attila a posthumous shot-out for being such a brave and adventurous traveler.)

At first I felt only mildly sad that Attila was missing, and thought he may come back.  As the days have gone on though, his absence has become more profoundly painful.  It's unsettling to watch his (adopted) sister walk around by herself and for one food bowl to remain untouched.  I miss seeing him sleeping on the foot of our bed at night, and his easy purr whenever I had a spare moment to hold him or pet him.  He is/was one of those pets that comes along once in a while - a truly strange and unusual creature, who liked to play fetch, loved vegetable stems, and enjoyed eating wool, Smartwool socks being his favorite.

I wanted to give him one week before we say our official good-bye to him, but he chances of him making it back now are so slim I'm already mourning him.  I do have some happier stories to tell, and good recipes to share, but another day.