Barefoot Girl

When I was a child we wore our shoes as little as possible. We lived in the east county of San Diego. It was there we ran around our acres of avocado groves. Some days we would make a picnic of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. When our long day of fun came to an end we would gather up a bunch of peach scented wildflowers for our Mother.
Being barefooted in those groves could be treacherous at times. Especially if you did not pay attention to where those feet were stepping. Lots of trial and error with stubbed toes, a rusty nail and a cactus or two. Actually, I think twice was the number of times I stepped on one of those cacti. I can remember how hard it was to get the stickers out of my foot. The little fuzzy ones would just stay there until after a few days they seemed to have disappeared.
I also learned to listen for rattle snakes. In the stillness of long hot summer days, we could hear them off in the distance. Once, as I was just getting ready to step down with one little barefoot, I glanced down to see one slithering right under that foot. Rattler straight up, making that undeniable warning sound. The closest, that I know of, to ever being bitten. Since that not happen, I just went along my merry way. Thankful for what ever force saved me that day.
It was the carefree 1950's. The charmed life of this little girl will never be forgotten. Oh! It was not "Leave it to Beaver" perfect but what wonderful memories I have of that time.
My sister Anne-Marie and I were not all that well supervised. Someone was always around but they let us run around from sun up to sundown. We would go to our friends houses whenever we wanted. Some of those friends lived miles away. I have memories of hearing my friend's mother say to her, " be back in an hour". I often wondered why my Mom never said that to us. I did feel a bit jealous in odd sort of way but never knew why. A few words having a nice ring to them. It sounded more like, "Be back ina nower". "Nower" sounded so caring. Just a simple statement with some run-together words.
One of our favorite spots was what we called Rock Candy Mountain it was right near The Giant Foot. Oh! We had some fine times there. I will never forget the time my sister brought a box a Jell-O with her. She sprinkled it over the rocks and we licked it off....Hey, nobody died! We drank from garden hoses and chewed on black tar. Go figure.
We were well loved by our family and I never doubted that for a second. We were just little survivors walking through our childhood. We enjoyed that freedom. Now that I know what we lived through , I know we most certainly had angels on our shoulders.

In the Kitchen

What is going on in my kitchen today? It is still early morning but there is a half of a Chabatta bread that needs to be used up today. Else wise....it's croutons.
There is some leftover pesto, from the home made Potato Gnocchi I made the other night. Gnocchi was fabulous! Light as a Feather Gnocchi*
So, I sliced the Chabatta lengthwise. Spread it with the left over Pesto on one side. Other side, spread with a new recipe I found for Parsley Sunflower Seed Spread.* Opened a jar of Trader Joe's Caponata*....it is the best! Added a few spoonfuls of that with some chopped green olives and "mooshed" it all together with a fork. Spread the Caponata mixture over the parsley sunflower spread. Then I placed a few slices of Provolone cheese, some crumbled feta and thinly sliced red onion on top of that. Took the pesto side and placed it on top. I wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge for later. If you like a crispy crust you can use a Panini maker to toast the bread a bit but try not to heat the filling to much.

Parsley Sunflower Seed Spread

2 cups parsley leaves (1 bunch)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)
about 1/4 cup olive oil
1 mashed garlic clove
1/2 of a juiced lemon
pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper

Stem the parsley only using the leaves. Rinse and pat dry on paper towels.
In a food processor pulse parsley to a smooth even consistency, scraping down the sides. Add sunflower seed, garlic, lemon juice and half of the oil. Blend and add the rest of the olive oil and pulse until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread onto assorted Cru De Ta...sliced cucumber, celery, red bell pepper and best of all.....red cabbage leaves cut into bit size pieces. Extremely yummy!
I always wanted to make my own Gnocchi but was afraid it was out of my expertise. Wow! Was I wrong....it is soooo easy and you can freeze what you do not used.

Light as a Feather Gnocchi

2 large baking potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
about 2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt

I microwave my potatoes until a toothpick can pierce them easily. When they cool take off the skins and put them in the fridge. They must get very cold. I use the shredding side of a box grater to cut them.

When you grate the cold potatoes on a floured board keep them light and fluffy as possible. Beat the eggs cheese and salt together.
On your work surface gently spread out the shredded potatoes, sprinkle the flour all over like a light dusting of snow. Make a bit of a well for the egg mixture. Start to gather it together into a ball and knead it a bit. If it feels to sticky add another light dusting of flour. If it feels to dry, wet your finger tips. When you bring it all together in a ball divide into four smaller balls. Keep you board lightly covered in flour so it does not stick. Roll into long finger size logs. Place them side by side. You can use a Sharp knife to cut them into half inch pieces. I use a one of those flat stainless steel pastry scrapers to cut them.
Place the cut Gnocchi in a single layer onto a floured cookie sheet. Also, lightly sprinkle four on top, just so they won't stick together. Use or freeze right away. When freezing put the tray directly into the freezer. Once frozen, place the Gnocchi into plastic bags.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt. When Gnocchi floats to the top they are ALMOST done. Let them boil a few more minutes until they look nice and puffy. Contrary to popular belief, they are not done when they first float to the top. An underdone Gnocchi can be as heavy as a overcooked one.
Add any type of sauce you like. I made a Bechamel and added a little pesto to it. Sprinkle lots of Romano cheese on top and serve!