First dinner at Indian Lake: farfalle with tomatoes, basil, garlic, and feta

The tomatoes and garlic came from the farmers' market in Troy, NY, although the pasta, basil, and feta were from the supermarket in North Creek. When we found the Troy farmers' market, we decided to try to do our shopping there, so we had lunch and then looked around. Then, just as we were starting to buy things, the bell rang signaling the end of the market. We did manage to get some absolutely amazing romano-style goat cheese from Gillis Acres Farm to go on top of the pasta.

End-of-July travel

B and I have had a travel-full summer. At the end of July, we left for a three-leg journey "back east".

We began in Detroit, where B's mother lives. While there, we visited the Greenfield Village, part of The Henry Ford Museum, where Ford collected untold numbers of old houses and Americana artifacts, and the Detroit Institute of Art, which houses, among other things, a fantastic mural by Diego Rivera.

After Detroit, we flew to Mt Holyoke, in Western Massachusetts. Mt Holyoke was this summer's location for Canada/USA Mathcamp, with which I have been involved as a camper, staff, or visitor every summer since 2000. While I talked math at camp, B worked at the Mt Holyoke library, which houses, among other things, original issues of the Cherokee Phoenix.

After a week at camp, we drove to my grandmother's house on Indian Lake, in upstate NY, stopping at the farmers' market in Troy for lunch. We spent three fantastic days at the lake, kayaking and hiking and looking at old photo albums. I will post about our meals there separately; for now, I leave you with two slideshows of our trip. The first, about 175 photos, goes up through lunch in Troy. The second, about 125 photos, is from Indian Lake. As always, you can click on either slideshow to go to its Picasa Web Album, where you can navigate the photos with more ease (full screen, different timing, etc.).

Tuna ceviche

Cut sashimi-grade tuna or snapper as thin as possible, which for us is rather thick, and spread in a shallow pan. Top with diced fresh tomato, diced onion, fresh mint and basil, some salt, and lots of lemon and lime juice. Cover with plastic wrap, and let the fish "cook" in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Serve in shallow bowls with a dark red wine.

Lunch: caprese salad and cappuccino

Bean burgers

One trick to making good bean burgers is to serve them with home-made pickles and home-made buns. For the burgers themselves, first mix the dry ingredients well: salt and pepper, a little clove, a fair amount of curry, lots of nutritional yeast, and more than you think really necessary wheat gluten. Then add the wet ingredients: cooked beans (canned or soaked-and-boiled), cooked brown rice (processed in the food processor), and grated carrot. Work the batter a bit, probably adding more dry ingredients until the consistency is good and the gluten has made everything sticky. Coat in a little olive oil, and cook through (you don't really want any raw gluten left) on a hot grill.

Nicoise salad with grilled tuna

S came over shortly before leaving for Austin, where she has now started law school. We made Niçoise salad, one of our favorite dinners, as readers of this blog know well. This salad featured grilled tuna in the center, surrounded by cooked shrimp, hard boiled egg, grated carrot, olives and capers, and fava beans, cherry tomatoes, and green beans all from the garden. S brought a nice bottle of wine, the merlot by Butner Cellars. We finished dinner with a blackberry pie.

Pie time

With the last of the berries (and supplementing the olallieberries with blackberries from behind our house) we made pies. The two olallie/blackberry pies we shared with friends — they were delicious. The strawberry rhubarb is still in the freezer, waiting for a yummy winter evening. In the background in the picture you can also see a bowl of fava beans from our garden.

Pasta caprese

For a fantastic, simple pasta, mix al dente penne, fresh mozzarella, lots of basil, minced garlic, olive oil, and the very best tomatoes you can find. Serve with a grated parmesan or romano. Another nice dish, substitute feta for the mozzarella, and reduce or drop the basil.

Grilled onions, summer squash, and butterfish, with fresh onion and tomato salsa

Breakfast: poached eggs on lettuce, with croutons, strawberries, and olallieberry vinnaigrette