These are the best meatballs I have ever tasted!
Mix peppers with red onion, cilantro and lime juice:
Shred meat, serve on fried tortillas with salsa, lettuce and cheese.
This weekend was a cooking marathon. I wanted to get a few meals made in advance for our trip out to the islands with Sarah, Jeff & Marco next weekend. Working in my galley is not a chore, I think it's a treat. I have a beautiful view of the marina and Ventura hills, my neighbors stop and talk to me through the open door as they walk down the dock - I love it!
Cool for a couple of minutes and then unmold on plate:
These were delicious, but John & I both agreed the caramel was a little too sweet. 
In the oven, roast tomatillos, onions, jalapenos and garlic:
Put all the roasted vegetables in a food processor, add oregano, cumin and ground coriander. Brown 1" pieces of pork shoulder in olive oil. Add the pureed vegetables to the pork with chicken stock and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. I'm picturing this yummy pork in enchiladas next week.
Then roast at 225 degrees for another 3 to 4 hours.
Saute a small onion, cut in strips, and garlic for a few minutes. Add strips of red pepper, cook for another couple of minutes, then add zucchini and eggplant strips and cook about 5 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes and juice, set aside to cool.
Sarah, when you're looking for a vegetarian dish (if cheese is ok), this would be a good alternative to the mushroom pasta - your dad & I both liked it.
Now I'm not sure if Lorraine peeled the rhubarb, or maybe it wasn't ripe, but I have never seen rhubarb like this before. Strawberry-Rhubarb pie is made with uncooked rhubarb and this had obviously already been cooked - BUT I promised Dad I would bake him a pie so this is what I did. First I made the pie dough. My Grandma Parson taught me how to make pies and every time I roll out a pie crust I think of her. I truly feel her standing next to me guiding me along the way. While the pie dough was chilling, I drained the rhubarb in a sieve, added quartered strawberries, sugar and a little cornstarch to thicken the juices. Here's what they looked like before I added the top crust:
Dad didn't want a big pie because it would go to waste, so I made three little pies. He was kind enough to share one with Lorraine. I assembled the pies, brushed them with milk and sprinkled them with a little sugar. Here's one before being popped into the oven:
And here's the finished product:
A couple of hours after Dad picked up the pies I received this e-mail:
Dear Daughter:
Scrumptious!!!I I fainted twice from ecstasy. The crust was just like my mother used to bake.
A blue ribbon effort......thank you
Love from your father
Dad, I'll make you a pie anytime!
These are female squash blossoms. They form at the end of the buds that grow into a squash. The male blossoms appear at the end of thin stems and can be harvested without curtailing production of the squash. The male blossoms are larger and better if you're going to stuff them. I've never seen the male blossoms at our Farmer's Market. They're pretty hard to get unless you have your own garden. Since I don't think John is going to turn our foredeck into a zuchinni garden anytime soon, I will continue to be happy when we find female blossoms.
They are so yummy!
Recipe:
First boil 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to 1/4 cup by boiling for about 10 minutes, until syrupy. Grill nectarine halves cut side down for about five minutes. Cut the nectarines in half again. Place a basil leaf on a nectarine quarter, top with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and wrap in a prosciutto slice. Drizzle with balsamic syrup. So very good!
For dinner we had grilled steaks, grilled eggplant and Potatoes "Da Delfina". Shirley's job was to smash the potatoes:
I forgot to take a picture of the finished potato dish, so scanned this picture from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking:
Recipe:
Boil small creamer potatoes for about 20 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle, give them a smash. Cook the smashed potatoes in olive oil in a large skillet until well browned. Drain and season with salt and pepper. Saute garlic in olive until browned. Toss potatoes with garlic, chopped parsley and lemon zest.
The girls go fishing while the guys take naps:
Joe asked if there would be time for a bread lesson while we were out-woohoo, way to win my heart - let's start baking! Shirley joined in too and they both left with my starter. I think that means my grape fermentation now lives in seven homes. We timed the bread to come out of the oven at happy hour and ate the two loaves within minutes.
Shirley and Joe graduate from bread-making school:
Jeri (fresh from the shower - we love watermakers!) assembles grilled chile rellenos:
First we grilled and peeled poblanos. Then stuffed with Queso Fresco and Cheddar cheese, closed with toothpicks and back on the grill. Served with carnitas, fresh flour tortillas, salsa and guacamole (both made from ingredients from Joe & Jeri's garden.)
Carnitas Recipe:
Cook pork shoulder, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves and thyme covered in water for about 2 hours. Transfer pork to oven-proof pan, cover with 1/2 cup milk and cook until browned for about an hour. Meanwhile reduce strained pork juices for about 45 minutes. Break up pieces of pork and add 1 cup of pork juices, bake until juice is evaporated, (about 20 minutes), repeat. Add orange juice to pork and bake for another 20 minutes. Season with salt.
A very special weekend with very special friends - topped off with the Bounty pulling into the anchorage:
With Grandpa John:
Selena and spiral fries. Yes, that was a single order and yes, they were as disgusting as they look. Guess I'm not a fair food fan.
In non-food related news, Ma & Laura both won blue ribbons again this year. Laura had four counted cross stitch entries. She won first place for a Christmas tree skirt and another for a picture of Venice. She also placed second for a tablecloth and third place for an original picture. And this wasn't just about the glory of a ribbon, she also received a whopping $11.00!!
Mom received first place for some Christmas coasters, second place for a sweater (she was robbed - the first place sweater couldn't compare to hers), and second place for a quilted Christmas tree skirt.
Congratulations to both of you!
And here's a close-up pic to show Jeff what a good job we did forming them free-hand:
To cook them, we heated some oil in a non-stick frying pan. Put the potstickers in seam side up and browned for about 3 minutes. Then added some water, covered the skillet and cooked over low heat for another 3 minutes.
We were pretty proud of our results:
Grilled small beef patties and topped with cheddar cheese:
Selena assembled the burgers, added secret sauce (ok, it was Bob Big Boy's Thousand Island Dressing) and topped them with gherkins held in place with toothpicks:
That's Keith, visiting from Oklahoma, in the background:
Our finished product after sliding around the platter on the walk up the dock:
Jeri trying to eat the burger without getting the toothpick up her nose:
Shirley left her forty-seven chickens in Oklahoma and came to visit. John asked if she was raising the chickens to eat, she said no, she just likes looking at chickens! Here she is with Janie:
Part of this weeks motley bocce crew:
