Best Ever Greens Kale with cheddar and a hint of heat

At a recent party, I was parked near the buffet table and watched people take a tiny bit of a vegetable dish --and then come back for a lot more. I had to try it. It was creamy good with just a hint of heat. The dish was made from this recipe
and really what's not to like a stick of butter and a pound of cheddar cheese for two pounds of greens.

The woman who made the dish for the party said she had made it on other occasions using half the cheese and in my version I used even less plus I sauteed the greens in olive oil and used a couple of tablespoons of butter instead of a quarter pound. And it is still as good! I used kale from Ortiz Bros. Farms and a sage/cheddar from Spring Hill and it was a good.

For a special occasion use all the butter and all the cheese and it is the main course.

Nopales at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market

Hector of Hector's Honey had fresh nopales and he and Jill of Crescent Moon farms were quick to offer cooking tips. They look very intimating but it turns out if you think of them like an armed zucchini they are easy to use. Raw they taste tart a bit citrusy and cooked the flavor is mellower. Either way quite good. Epicurious has some interesting recipes

Fried Cauliflower

A recap from foobooz
Food and Wine magazine featured a restaurant in Philadelphia serving fried cauliflower. I found a couple of recipes and tried two different methods one cooks the cauliflower and then fries it and the other is one step. There is not any difference in the final outcome. So just heat up some oil, break the cauliflower in florettes and fry away.

This is a recipe from the Leftover queen for a oven fried version.

Whatever method you use -it's good. I served mine with hot sauce. It's good hot or cold. I got my cauliflower from Triple T Ranch at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market

Morels

Morels from Oyster Creek Mushrooms at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market

These are wild morels picked on Mt Shasta. So far, I have had them sauteed and today I'm thinking about a cream based pasta sauce.

"Two mushroom hunters, Pat McConnell and her husband Owen McConnell, a retired psychology professor, helped found the Triangle Area Mushroom Club. They've eaten 20 to 30 different types of wild mushrooms, but the morels are their favorites. Owen is often called upon to identify wild mushrooms for the group.

"I can't tell you what a morel tastes like," Pat says. "It's absolutely delicious." The McConnells like to sauté their morels in butter with a dash of salt. She says they keep it simple because "the flavor is so fantastic, you don't want to miss it."

"I'm often asked what it tastes like," Burk says. "Well, it tastes like a morel because there's absolutely nothing else that tastes like a morel." from A Taste of the Woods