craft: seaweed pressing + santa cruz

Last weekend, I persuaded a friend, Cybil to take a seaweed pressing class at Cabrillo College. She and I got up early on a Saturday morning and drove to Davenport Landing Beach, and we had time enough beforehand to eat a pancake breakfast at Whale City Bakery. The beach was glorious, surfers showed up even if the waves were flat, and Cybil and I managed to gather some interesting eel grass as well as get drenched from the knees down by a wave. We had a ton of time before meeting up in the classroom, and aargh had I known, we would have eaten breakfast at Gayle's Bakery, but we went there anyway to buy Patrick's $100 worth of cookies and a loaf of their sourdough. And even though I wasn't hungry, I bought an Italian ficelle sandwich because their baguettes are that good. I guess the rack on the beach was unusually scarce because the instructor then went to Cowells to gather giant sea kelp and more rack. The giant kelp is my favorite plant life, which I'd been intending to draw and water color.

 

The instructor also shared a little marine biology with us and also gave us this slimy seaweed at the below left. I particularly love the red fronds I collected at Davenport at the below right.

 

And then I pressed the variety I had collected on the beach to dry on one sheet of watercolor paper. I'll find a sea plant identification book later to write what each plant's genus and species name is.

 

In the meantime, I'll continue letting the seaweed dry and maybe hunt for tiny frames at thrift shops in order to display them. After the class, Cybil asked to go to Bookshop Santa Cruz. Of course, I wanted too. I debated buying the two below but did not.

 

And I love the concept below, which I'll need to do some day at my school library.

I also perused the latest America's Test Kitchen even thou we still have ours from almost 20 years ago. I took a pic of the macaroni salad as I want to make it to go with brisket and coleslaw if I have any after making curtido.

Afterward Cybil and I walked downtown Santa Cruz, where I bought flip flops from a surf shop, frozen custard from the vegan burger place for her, and even more cookies from Pacific Cookie Company. Oh and she said I needed to bring Patrick here for dinner some time.

Chocolate is not my thing, but it is my husband's passion.

For Patrick, I would take him here for dinner. However, I looked at the menu, and the only chocolate items for dinner are mole plates of chicken and shrimp and a chocolate bbq pork. Kind of underwhelming, and so I'm leery.

Back at home, I just cooked and cooked. First though I stopped at Feliz's house because she had a bunch of kumquats to give me. The plan today is to make marmalade. I would've yesterday, but frankly I was fatigued from  outrigger canoe paddling (my first practice for the new season). I trimmed the pots I threw in my frustration with frost and then grocery shopping in Redwood City.

But last week and weekend, I had time to cook Tuscan salmon and buttered garlic pasta after my day in Santa Cruz.

T'was a fine meal.

Last Sunday was also leisure time enough to make Ina Garten's French baked eggs in the morning. The large brown organic eggs I found at the Business Costco are gloriously orange, and I'm gonna return there from now on to buy those eggs.

And that Sunday was time to clean out my freezer and cook ravioli and an Italian sausage marinara to top them and cook the purple cauliflower Patrick brought home.

My other shopping that weekend was for soap. Not. Amazon. I've never bought those plastic pods for either laundry or dishwasher machine cleaning. Recently I bought Earth Breeze sheets that turn into soap in the washing machine and these tablets for the dishwasher. 

Yah and I've never used oily dryer fabric softener sheets in the dryer. I'm trying as much possible to not shop for anything but what is needed and just groceries. Either I make it or buy at the thrift shop.