Beachy Keen

Hey yall.

I'm headed out of town... but wanted to tell each of you

to have a wonderful weekend.

And have some chilled

peaches in white wine (or champagne)

while you are at it. You deserve it.

Disco Squash.

When I glance at this photo, even I have to remind myself that these waxen-looking psychedelic flowers are in fact edible. Yes, I agree with you, they really do look like useless decorative trinkets straight from the 1970's. If you stare at the above photograph for too long you might find yourself having to resist the urge to slap on some bell bottoms and spin around your kitchen to Stayin' Alive. And when I say spin, I mean in your old rollerskates (you know you kept them). So why not. This recipe is radical. And it's so much fun to make that getting into character would only enhance the experience. My advice is to get your groove on while making a delicious meal and let the taste of it send you to your happy place. If that happened to be the 1970's... well, groovy.

Psychedelically Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

(adapted from THIS recipe)

4 Patty Pan Squash

1 onion, chopped

1/2 lb. lean sausage

3/4 lb. fresh parsley, chopped

*1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

pinch of goat or feta cheese for topping

serves 4

Preheat oven to 350. Halve squash horizontally and hollow out each slice with a spoon, as indicated in photo. Set aside. Crumble sausage into a pan and cook. While sausage is cooking, chop onion and parsely and blend In a food processor until finely mixed but not mealy. Remove sausage when cooked and drain. Over medium high heat, add onion/parsely mix to sausage fat and cook for two minutes or until softened. If there is an excess of grease in the pan scoop some out, you really just want some of the flavor mixed in with the onion and parsely.

In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sausage, onion/parsely and the water. Stir to mix very well. Set squash halves in a baking dish just big enough to hold all slices. If you have trouble with them toppling over trim the bottom with a knife. Divide the mixture among each squash and, using a spoon, scoop the mixture into each half. Tamp down the mixture into each squash half with the spoon so they are nicely packed and place in the dish. Pour 1/2 an inch of water into the dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the mixture is nicely browned and looks crisp. Remove from the oven and sprinkle preferred cheese atop each squash. Serve when cooled just a bit.

*Homemade breadcrumbs - In a food processor take rustic bread (I prefer sourdough) and chop or tear into 1 inch pieces. Blend until the crumbs are smaller than a dime. Pour crumbs into a pan lightly coated with olive oil (should be heated to medium/medium high) and cook the breadcrumbs over medium heat for about five minutes. Add sea salt as desired and shake the pan occasionally. Remove crumbs and let rest on a paper towel and leave them uncovered - they will get crispier the longer they are exposed to the air. Set aside until ready to use.

At Long Last.

Where were we? Ah, yes... parfait. It took me a little while to get my hands on the exact ingredients for you to recreate this summertime gem of a breakfast recipe, but at long last I have succeeded.

You see, there's this melon it requires, and it is so cool, crisp, perfect and popular that it's become kind of tricky to get your hands on. That's my excuse for being gone so long, but anyway... LOOK AT IT! It's beautiful, don't you think? Yes, of course it is, that must be why it is called a Sun Jewel Melon. Here before us is the reason why it is so captivating to shop directly from a farmer: they grow strange and delightful foods that are mysterious, unfamiliar and (drumroll please)... out-of-this-world delicious. When I see the cheery yellow of the Sun Jewel Melon, I am reminded of how dingy and droopy my own garden turned out this summer and I realize: not just anybody could grow this...

It's true. And especially not easily without Roundup or some other pesticides. Not only is this an Asian variety, but it was also grown organically - which is another way of saying "the hard way." So gratitude, awe and high praise for Sundance Farm is in order, but also genuine appreciation for the toil that is organic farming. It's easy to stroll into a grocery store and purchase foods without a second thought, but if you have ever tried to grow even a few tomatoes (much less a melon) then you know how difficult (and hot outside) it really is. But lucky for those of us who can't grow food very well, some genius nearby is doing it, and so I'm going to stop yakking and give them my money.

Then I'm going to run home with my special melon and hack it into juicy chunks and place those chunks atop the most genuine, rustic, fresh granola I can find (ahem, Mertie's), and I'm going to add whichever fruits I adore most (but raspberries and blueberries especially - because they are in season) and I am going to drizzle heavy cream over this pile of heavenly goodness and eat it up. After that I am going to feel as bright-eyed and special as a jewel sparkling in the sun.

That's the recipe.

So, if you can't find the Sun Jewel Melon I suggest you purchase a very fragrant cantaloupe as a substitute, but you are not allowed to skip out on the heavy cream, ya hear?

Bon Appetit!

Last evening, as promised, John took me to see Julie & Julia. We both loved it. Yes, you heard right… we both. How could we not? Meryl was as spot-on, hilarious and boisterous as ever, and Amy Adams was an accurate, melodramatic version of pretty much every woman in America, me included. The movie was adorable. So much so, that there was a surprising burst of applause from the theatre when it ended. My husband and I continued to chuckle over it as we walked to the car. Clearly, I can’t shut up about it, so… off you go.

In addition to your movie review, I wanted to say that my extended absence has been due to a lot of I don’t even know what. Insufficient though that answer is, it’s also true. Instead of trying to sit down and write I’ve been trying to figure out why I don’t seem to have any thoughts for the sharing. I’ve come to the conclusion that I have been too tired and too busy from the farm week(s) to put forth the energy. I guess I needed a little break. I wish I had the foresight to tell you that I am going to take a break but it never seems to work that way. I will sit down at my computer and desperately type senseless gobbledygook, and then bemoan my loss of talent before I will come to the conclusion that my brain needs a rest. That’s how the process apparently works. It is to both of our disadvantage, I assure you.

Anyway, I should remark on the fact that I have the most gracious, patient, understanding and thoughtful readers a blogger could ask for, and I want to thank you for sticking with me even when it seems I repeatedly abandon my TwinYolks post without so much as typing a “goodbye.”

But take heart! I have not abandoned my TwinYolks post. I am here to say, “Hello! I’m back!” and tell you once again, that local, farm fresh food is the most worthy food in the world, and that you are going to want to get cooking after you see Julie & Julia and you might as well surrender to purchasing local foods or else your Boeuf Bourguignon will forever be sub par.

So I can't prove it, because I have yet to make Boeuf Bourguignon, but if you don’t believe me, then just view my treasure trove of tiny little bejeweled Mexican Midgets – a type of small tomato. If these adorable beauties don’t appeal to you, I don’t know what will. I pop them into my mouth whenever I so desire, and when I do, I feel like I am eating shiny marbles that Willy Wonka turned into candy. They are that good.

Still unconvinced? Stick around. I’ll be back in no time with my tasty summer parfait recipe, as promised. Enjoy your weekend, and the movie.