Guillermo's Progress; Something Green

Last Friday night, we went over to take dinner to Guillermo Payet, who had been released from the hospital a few days before. (If you haven't read about it, Guillermo was badly injured in a hit-and-run, suffering skull injuries and more earlier in April. You can read about that here.) In addition to his mother, Teresa, who'd traveled up from Peru, and his sister, Mariana, Guillermo's friend, Doug, was visiting. I'd made two pork tenderloins with the Lime Mojo and Latin spice rub, and cooked my last pound of Rancho Gordo cannellini beans. Knowing I would have an army of free hands, I brought over quite a lot of fava beans to be shelled and blanched. A last minute traipse through Epicurious for fava recipes turned up one that had some promise: Fava Bean, Asparagus, and Arugula with Shaved Pecorino.

But I hate arugula, and used pea shoots instead. I veered off the recipe in another regard: I blanched not only the favas and asparagus tips, but the asparagus stalks, as well. (I blanched them after cutting them into 1/4" wheels, another variation on the recipe.) Simply put: coarsely chop the pea shoots into thirds, approximately. Drizzle with your very best olive oil. (I used Balzana, which is made here in Santa Cruz.) Add the blanched asparagus and blanched/peeled favas. Drizzle a little more olive oil, and use fleur de sel or other salt with distinct grains. Top with pecorino or parmagiano-reggiano. I cannot emphasize enough: this salad is as April-y as April gets, as springy as can be.

Pea Shoots, Asparagus, & Fava Bean Salad with Pecorino

1 bag (2-3 ounces) pea shoots, chopped into thirds
2 lbs. asparagus, cut into 1/4" rounds and blanched for two minutes
3 lbs. fava beans, shelled, blanched for three minutes, and peeled
The very best quality extra-virgin olive oil you have
Pecorino or Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese (a couple of ounces or so)
High quality flake salt: no Morton's!
Fresh cracked black pepper

There was not a molecule of it left, nor of anything at the end of the meal. Well, a little leftover Mojo, which they loved because it's similar to a Peruvian marinade.

Guillermo is healing beautifully: as mentioned on his blog (linked on my initial post about his accident), the doctors told him that a normal person would take a year to accomplish what he'd managed in less than a week.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Eat Local Challenge last night: I'd visited Richard Alfaro, who gifted me with a bottle of Corralitos Cellars Chardonnay. I'll be getting a case of that: the grapes are grown less than 10 miles from my house. We had Rosie organic roasted chicken with leftover roasted vegetables (all local).

Hopefully up this afternoon: a visit to a farm with Logan. And this weekend, we'll return to Crystal Bay Farm, where Jeff and Lori Fiorovich are planning to participate as one of the organic farms in the Tour d'Organics bike event on July 23. Events are planned in Sebastopol, Santa Barbara, Austin, Texas, and Portland, Oregon.

Finally, did you catch Stephen Colbert's address at the White House Correspondents Dinner? To George and Laura Bush? Stephen, if you're reading this, will you marry me? Born and raised in South Carolina...be still my beating heart.

Curses. IMDB: married with three children.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Thought for the day: "Most of all, I believe in this president. Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32 percent approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in 'reality.' And reality has a well-known liberal bias. ... Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half-empty, because 32 percent means it's two-thirds empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash." — Stephen Colbert

Or this: "I stand by this man because he stands for things," Colbert said. "Not only for things, has he stood on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message: that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world." — Stephen Colbert

• • • • • • • • • • •

Thanks for visiting.

Technorati tags: asparagus aspirations

Comments

[kevin]

Now if I can just find some fresh fava beans...