ART CAMP: DAY 2

Meet my roomies! That's Mary from Massachusetts on the left, and Kelley from Oklahoma on the right. They were just a hoot 'n a holler. I didn't tell anyone that I'd found out about my nephew's death midway through camp, and did my best to keep my happy face on, but they probably had their doubts about me. Don't worry girls. I promise to be a lot more fun next year! 

Day two at Lucky Star was Lisa Seger day -- for me anyway. Lisa and her hubby Christian abandoned their soul-sucking jobs in the corporate world about seven years back, bought a farm and some goats, and launched a successful cheese-making business, selling to restaurants and at farmers' markets in Houston. Unfortunately for Lisa, she fell and broke her ankle just a couple of days before she was due at camp, so she spent the whole time on crutches, or being whisked around in a golf cart.

For the first session that day, I had signed up for her "Food From Your Backyard" class, and we spent a delightful morning talking about goats and chickens and how to be more successful at growing your own veggies. After seeing all of her precious pictures, I sent a message to my hubby, telling him I thought we needed a goat. His reply? "Oh hay-ell no!"



Speaking of veggies, Waldemar just blew me away with the delicious veggies they served at every meal. Seriously -- they were amazing! The one that shocked me the most was a kale dish. I actually squealed when I took my first bite, and I don't even like kale! However, you can bet your booties I'll be heading over to King Feed, just as soon as this rain lets up, to get some kale seeds for my garden. I managed to get instructions for preparing this orgasmo-kale from the chef, and I will share them with you at the bottom of this post.

Anyhoo, after lunch it was time for cheese-making with Lisa!

Yes, that IS the river right behind us. Not a bad classroom, eh?

We made two different fresh cheeses, using milk from her own goats. Fresh cheeses don't need aging -- you eat them right away. The first was paneer, an Indian cheese which gets pressed into a flat round like this.

We then sauteed some veggies and added them, along with the cheese cubes, to a rich curry sauce.

Yum! Next we made an Italian ricotta, which we served with sliced pears and figs, all drizzled with a bit of local honey. Double yum!!

Lisa and her husband had been asked to present a TED talk, in San Antonio I think, this past weekend, so we ended the day gathered on the banks of the river, where Lisa gave us a sneak preview of their talk about the state of food production in the U.S.

It was a very good talk, and a very good day. But now, back to Orgasmo-Kale!

Crack Kale (that's what the Waldemar staff calls it)

Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto fresh kale and massage it into the leaves, then let it sit for about 30 minutes. Dress with a good olive oil and more lemon juice, to taste. Throw in some toasted almonds or pine nuts, dried currants, and top with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.