Today we got back from our 5th annual UFO FEST in McMinnville (it was actually the 12th year of the festival though). The festival is sponsored by McMenamins, & is the product of so much hard work & planning by many people, especially Tim Hills. <3 <3 <3
The festival is in honor of Evelyn & Paul Trent, local farmers who (reluctantly!) witnessed a UFO on May 11, 1950.
We always camp in Champoeg State Park, then head into McMinnville for the guest speakers & events. So much fun!
And it's beautiful too!
We camped in our tent Friday night, then had to pack up early Saturday morning, since we had different arrangements for Saturday. On the way into McMinnville, we stopped at the Goodwill & I found this Finel mushroom bowl. I'm embarrassed to say that I had a serious shopping high after finding it; I've wanted one for years & they're always WAY overpriced on Etsy!
The guest speaker on Friday night was Robert Salas, a teacher & former air force captain who, while working at Malmstrom Air Force Base in 1967, experienced a systematic shut-down of 10 nuclear missiles. This occurred as guards sighted a UFO outside the gates! This presentation was amazing. Mr. Salas believes the aliens did not intend anything harmful, but were sending us a message about the dangers of nuclear weaponry. This was not the only time missiles were shut down, nor was it an "accident" of engineering. So fascinating! He is a proponent of disclosure, & does a lot of research through FOIA & interviews of military personnel.
The next morning, we heard from Stan Gordon, who shared a wealth of info about UFO incidents around the Pennsylvania area, and specifically the Kecksburg Incident. He also talked about the prevalence of Bigfoot sightings in the area, & how they often go hand in hand with UFO activity. He was a great speaker & had a ton of eyewitness accounts & photographic evidence. I could have listened to him all day!
Saturday afternoon, we staked out a perfect spot to see the UFO Costume Parade down Third Street. We were going to wait in front of Third Street Books, but moved up to another spot where we could get closer to the road.
The turnout was huge! Everyone gets into it---even babies & pets!
Emcee Peter Davenport, from NUFORC, greeted local fans!
Stan Gordon too!
The final speaker was Paola Harris, an amazing teacher, researcher, & journalist, who has worked with pretty much every well-known ufologist out there. She is adamant about young people getting into ufology, as well as interviewing our elders before they pass on. Many of them have witnessed things that they were hesitant to come forward about, especially if their families or employers swore them to secrecy. She believes we need to unite as a species & develop a method of exopolitics, in order to peacefully welcome alien visitors.
I got a shot of Stan Gordon, visiting people after Paola Harris' presentation. All the speakers are down-to-earth (ha ha) & are very approachable. Of course I'm too chicken to do so, but Ethan has!
After listening to Ms. Harris, we headed back to Champoeg & stayed in a cabin for the night. It was our first time renting a cabin there; we usually camp in a tent, but thank goodness we got the cabin for Saturday---it POURED rain all night & morning. :)
My sister checked on Yoda & gave him some snugglin' while we were gone, but he was so thankful & affectionate when we got home. Poor behbeh.
For my Globalization class, we were assigned small groups & were asked to visually depict the Development Project. Our group (Matt, Travis & moi) made a stop-motion animation of the Green Revolution. We tried to contrast two farmers, one of whom accepts HYV seeds, while the other remains traditional. The short, thick, HYV wheat demands more water and chemical fertilizers, while the natural variety is more resistant to pests, weeds & flooding.
We had to take over 500 pictures, & I guess I didn't let the camera auto-focus each time, so there are some blurry parts. It's pretty cool for first-timers though! Our class enjoyed it. :)
This is what we came up with...
This weekend, I don't have any major projects looming over me, so I hope to have a crafty night with the ladies! I've gotten my dress pattern, so I just need to pick which fabric I'll use & get going. Fun!
Oh, I found these cute Spring cookie cutters @ Goodwill the other day. I love the mushroom one sooooooo much!
We also found a mug rack...finally! Ethan gets annoyed with all my mugs. Whatever, dewd.
I'd only had lasagna made w/fresh pasta ONCE, & that was when a hilarious Italian man I worked with made it. It was epic---so tender, gooey, & rich.
A couple weeks ago, when I made fresh pasta, I reserved some of the plain sheets, & rolled them up in parchment for lasagna. I try not to use too much parchment/plastic bags, but I'll be re-using these, & just rolled them back into the freezer for my next pasta-making extravaganza.
Here's the pasta peeking out:
I don't usually follow a recipe for lasagna, but use whatever we've got floating around here. This time we had some veggies from Ethan's parents & it just worked out really well. I wrote down the general recipe here though, just in case it was worth repeating. I think it was! :)
Lasagna w/Mushrooms & Rainbow Chard
fresh lasagna (I used about 6 sheets---they're irregular, so yeah)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound mushrooms, diced
2 large handfuls of chopped baby rainbow chard
salt & pepper to taste
2 pounds ricotta
1 large handful of chopped fresh chives
4 ounces of grated Parmesan, divided
garlic powder (I was out of fresh!), salt & pepper to taste
1 pound grated mozzarella
1 jar pasta sauce---I used Paul Newman Tomato/Basil or something
Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a large pan, saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms & cook until tender, then add the chard. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the chard is tender, but not mushy. Season with salt & pepper as you're stirring.
Steamy veggies:
In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, chives, & about half the Parmesan (save the rest for the top), then season with garlic powder & salt & pepper.
In a 9X13-inch pan, place a thin layer of sauce, then top that with a layer of pasta, then a thin layer of the ricotta mixture.
Try to use a delicate touch here, but even if you butcher the layers, it will taste great & no sane person will complain!
Top the ricotta with a little mozzarella, then sauteed veggies, then sauce. Keep layering until you run out of ingredients. Make sure to have enough sauce & mozzarella for a little sprinkling on the top. Sprinkle with the remaining half of the Parmesan too.
Bake for about 45 minutes or so, until bubbly. If the top begins to brown too much, cover with foil or a lid, if you have one. Let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes (if you can!), as it will aid the cutting process.
Serve with garlic bread or whatever you wish. Eth made some garlic bread with Dave's Killer Bread & it was tastay. You could also serve a salad or some side veggies, but this had a bunch inside, so we just rolled with it.
Also, check out this cute egg holder I found at Goodwill! I love, love, love it!
I've got this big list of goals & fun things I want to do before school starts back up, & making fresh pasta was one of them. Little did I know that my mom would spot this awesome Ampia pasta machine at Goodwill! It's really heavy-duty.
We think that the ravioli attachment, on the right, doesn't actually go with the base part, since there is no way to attach it---it was just sort of piled on top of the pasta maker, so we got it. Maybe another brand? It doesn't say Ampia on it...oh well. I may try to use it as is, but didn't attempt ravioli this time. I'm going camping tomorrow & don't have a lot of tasty filling options on hand.
I used the recipes from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman & they worked really well. I ended up making 6 pounds of pasta---24 main course servings! I figured I might as well make as much as I could, since I had the house to myself & could freeze it all.
First I made spinach pasta:
It wanted to become fettuccine, so I obliged:
Then I made black pepper fettuccine, which I'm super excited to try:
Next, I made some plain ol' spaghetti:
I froze some of the plain pasta sheets for lasagna, then made tomato fettuccine, flavored with tomato paste:
The only kind I've tried so far was the tomato. I put a little pesto on it (not the best color combo!) & it was heavenly---so light & tender. I'll post some pictures when I make something that looks somewhat appetizing!
Traditional Egg Pasta Dough
10 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
a few drops of water, if needed
You basically just mix these ingredients together, adding a little water, if necessary, then knead for 1-2 minutes. If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour. For best results, let rest for at least an hour. Divide dough into 6 pieces, then roll it out according to your pasta machine.
*Spinach Variation---use 2 more ounces of flour (12 ounces total), add 1/4 pound frozen chopped spinach (cook, mince, & squeeze out all water)
*Black Pepper Variation---add 1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper
