Ode to delicata squash.

Beautiful, buttery delicata, how I love thee. Shall I count the ways?  Neigh, that would take a lifetime. For now I shall provide one of many recipes as tribute to your bounty.

Stuffed Delicata, #122 (since there are a bazillion ways!)                                                                                                                                                          I call this the Simply Decadent, Yet Healthy and High Protein. Serves 2.

One delicata squash

Splash of olive oil

Filling:

Two cups black-eyed peas (or two cans)

Splash of olive oil

1 1/2 cup chopped tomatillos (I used about 7 small tomatillos. If you don’t have tomatillos, tomatoes are fine)

1 medium tomato, chopped

Half of an onion

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Roast tomatillos and tomato for 10-15 minutes

3. Prepare ye delicata. Cut in half Hot-dog style. Remove seeds save and roast ‘em if you like!

4. Rub down with splash of olive oil. Add to pan of roasting tomatillos and tomatoes. Roast for 10-15 minutes more.

5. Meanwhile, on stovetop over medium-high heat, cook black-eyed peas with chopped onion, 1/4 cup water, spash of olive oil, and salt until beans are soft, about 15 minutes (more of you are using dried beans. I used sprouted, so they cook quicker.)

6. Once beans are soft, smash them down with a fork and add red wine vinegar.

7. Remove pan of roasting veggies. Add tomatillos and tomato to black-eyed pea mixture. Mix well.

8. Fill delicata halves with black-eyed pea deliciousness. Return to oven for 10 minutes.

9. Remove, serve with fresh greens, and ENJOY!!!!

What is your favorite way to stuff these autumn beauties?

A long and vivid dream

“It’s like I’m falling out of bed
From a long, weary dream
The sweetest flowers and fruits hang from the trees
Falling off the giant bird that’s been carrying me
It’s like I’m falling out of bed from a long and vivid dream”

-Radiohead, Separator

After returning from my trip and being home for a few weeks, it truly does feel like I have awoken from a beautiful dream. I am missing the simplicity of the life on the farm. Awaking to the sounds of the birds in the forest, working in the garden and eating food from mate, like so:
Y tambien, yo echo de menos hablando en espanol. Entonces, voy a escribir pocos partes de mi blog en espanol. Estoy pensando de los dias que tuvimos la misma comida todos los dias: arroz, frijoles, y ensalada. Al tiempo, estaba cansada de la misma cosas, pero ahora, me encantaria un almuerzo de comida tan simple.

And then I bought a new camera

Don’t let the styrofoam plates throw you off, this is pure Ecuadorian decadence. Choclo (a more mature and heartier corn) and smooth queso are a perfect combo. And the empanada oozing with plantains added just the right amount of sweetness. I ate this mini meal below the mighty Volcan Pichincha, just above Quito.

El volcano!                                                                               

                                                                                                            El view!

To the @$$&;*#! that stole my camera

Dear (insert foul word here),

I know you are enjoying the excellent zoom and color quality of my recently purchased Canon camera. I hope that you felt a sharp pain of guilt as you erased my collection of photos.

Like the ones from the organic farm of Maria Jose and her family in central Panama. Her rice patties nestled in the mountainous rainforest; rivers and mist in the distance. Wild tomatoes and chili peppers popping out red against all of the lush greens. I bet the photos of our lunch plate made you drool- the freshest chicken I have ever tasted served with fresh-picked cilantro, golden fried patacones (plantains), a salad of green beans, yucca, wild tomatoes, and onions. And how could you possibly delete the photo of Maria Jose in her pride-and-joy orchid garden? She was the Panamanian version of Mrs. Claus- plump, jolly, and happy to give. This was one of my favorite days during my travels: following Maria Jose on the tour of her farm, harvesting and preparing food together, and hearing her stories about love and life.

And then there were the snapshots from the sailboat on the journey from Panama to Colombia. Fish so fresh you could taste the aquamarine of the warm Caribbean Sea. Paella chock-full of mussels, clams, calamari, and the sweetest lobster I have ever tasted. Our Captain, Fritz-the-Cat’s specialty- sweet crepes for dinner smothered in rum and lime, served up with a crude comment with an Austrian accent and an unforegettable laugh that sounded like “ah! ah-haaaaa- owww!”.

And oh! All of the street food! Empanadas de frijoles at a bus-stop cafe in Panama. Arepas con queso in the cobblestone streets of Cartagena with salsa music playing in the background. Ceviche de concha from Panama City’s Mercado de Mariscos with colorful fishing boats on the distance. Much needed snow cones topped with condensed milk in a plaza as the humid sun beat down apon my midday stroll through the ruins of the old city. Warm pan de yucca from a sweet old man with a sparkle in his eye and three-tooth grin.

So indeed, you stole my camera, but you didn’t steal my fond memories and experiences. And this post recalls just a few. Now I shall have to tell the many tales the old-fashioned way, through the written and spoken word. Perhaps in the end, I should thank you for making me realize the importance and power of ye old storyteller and imagination!

Costa Rica

I arrived on June 23 to embark on a journey. To try unique ingredients. To meet new people. To learn to grow food. For inspiration. Follow along as I leave this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And arrive here:

 

This is just the beginning. I will try to post as often as I can, and as a good computer is hard to come by at times, there may not always be pictures. But there will always be good food and stories!

The next post will be all about Hostel Home Cookin… coming soon!

Din-Din #1 (featuring salad wraps and experimental chocolate cake)

Behold folks: my first post with images and all! Supper #1 included delicious cream of asparagus soup, home-baked bread, and of course an amazing salad, but I will highlight salad wraps and chocolate cake gone perfectly well. 

SALAD WRAPS

I want to encourage you to make said salad wraps as displayed above. Perfect as the weather is warming up, these are simple, fresh and healthy. And you can take them to go (hello beach munchies!!) 

Here’s what we used:

- Butter (or bib) lettuce from Suzie’s Farm for the wrap

-Inside- Any spread of your choice- hummus, guacamole, etc. Sprouts of your choice. Sliced radishes. Zuchinni spears (let’s get creative- any veggie would be great in these)

-Wrap ‘em up and secure with toothpicks

-Enjoy!

BAKING POWDER VS BAKING SODA (and what will happen to the cake?)

Now onto something a bit more complicated. I wanted to make a chocolate cake from scratch and found this recipe on Vanilla Sugar: How good does THAT sound? Mmm hmm.

As Lacey and I prepped the ingredients with smiling faces, we realized that we didn’t have baking powder, BUT we did have baking soda. So what’s the diff, really?? Can we sub one for the other? Being the rebel that I am, I added some very large pinches of baking soda into the batter and figured that even if the cake doesn’t turn out, it’s still a fun experiment, right? For your reference, here’s the deal: How do I Substitute Between Baking Powder and Baking Soda? 

A little worried that it would end up as flat as a pancake or tasting bitter, we put it in to a perfeclty pre-heated oven and hoped for the best. The batter tasted divine, and really, how could it be so bad when it started with this (Foodie-photo description: slow melting Ghirardelli 80% cacao bars. You know you love it):

The result?  It actually turned out well, we couldn’t detect a difference. It had the perfect texture one wants in a cake and most importantly- it tasted good. Especially adorned with chocolate whipped cream and Suzie’s Farm organic strawberries:

 

 

So there it is- when you don’t have something you think you need, you can make it work. (Kind of like how the photo of the finshed cake will not post- I’ll make it work. Until then, I am not going to stress it, I am going to enjoy a beer, go to bed, and figure it out soon.)

Thank you Jamie, Heather, John, Lacey, Jeremy and Brian for a scrumptious dinner!

Supper #2 coming very soon……

Word.

Music n’ cooking go together like strawberries n’ cream, so here’s a little tune to kick off the weekend. And do not fret- the first official Supper will be posted soon- recipes and photos galore! Until then, let these words inspire your food choices this weekend: “you are what you eat so I strive to eat healthy, my goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy- true wealth comes from good health and wise ways…” Thank you Dead Prez.

Click n’ listen:

Be Healthy

What is a ‘foodie’?

Most people hear the word ‘foodie’ and cringe because it sounds a little pretentious. Let’s forget all preconceived notions and get down to what it really means: to love food- from start to finish. This blog will embrace that. Fruit and vegetables from local, organic farms will be used. Dishes will be prepared from scratch- with or without a recipe. Kitchens will get messy. Mistakes will be made. But over all, we will enjoy the process- together. Welcome to the Foodie Supper Club, where sharing a meal is where it all begins….