Quick Quark Chocolate Cheesecakes + Pasta with Clam Sauce

I said Quark cheese, which when I first heard it, made me think of what a quirky Quaker girl might make upon arrival in America hundreds of years ago.

Because quark cheese is a European cheese, similar to mascarpone, ricotta or cream cheese in texture, but so much better for you, and incredibly delicious.

I am the kind of girl who would beg, steal or borrow for good cheese. With grilled bread. And ripe figs.

The kids and I went to the farmers market last Friday, the hottest day of the year. This particular Friday afternoon market is constructed for three short hours in a parking lot, and I could feel the heat of the asphalt coming through my Payless flip-flops. My youngest daughter stayed in her stroller, but pulled the umbrella part of the stroller down when she wanted to sneak a second or third sample. My older children behaved, that is, until we met the chic, perky, get-your-dairy-on Cheese Lady.

The Cheese Lady was from a nearby organic cheese monger, and I had never seen her at this farmers market before. She wore dangly, sea foam green colored stone earrings that were probably made by hand, a jade colored cotton dress with a tailored waist, and her dusky but shiny brown hair was in a loose, carefree twist (invisible clips or pins were in there somewhere, I know it.) "Would you kids like a grilled cheese sandwich?" she asked, and those kids of mine were hers.

It was so hot, her goat's milk cheddar had begun to melt, but she had sliced baguettes in which she sandwiched three (generous) cubes of cheese, and applied pressure from her clean - but not over manicured - hands.

And the cheese was amazing. Uh-mayyyyyy-zeeeeng. "Can I have another?" my son asked. "Sure, but try this other variety too!" She was Mister Rogers friendly, and what she was selling, we were scarfing, and probably, buying.

"This is quark. I've heard someone say this has curative properties," now she's getting all alchemist, I thought.

She spread the quark onto a baguette slice, smooth like butter, but visually resembling cream cheese. We tried garlic quark and vanilla quark. The garlic quark had fresh herbs and the vanilla quark had vanilla beans.

I was eating cheese. I was happy. Cheese Lady was being patient with my kids and doling out sample after sample so for a delicious, indulgent moment I forgot the oppressive heat and zoned out into heaven and the clouds were little mounds of quark cheese, and it was raining baguettes and glasses of wines from the Rhone.

But I caught the tail end of this statement by Cheese Lady, who represented very well the cheese maker who employed her: "...having a dinner party Sunday night. Spread the vanilla quark into the bottom of a paper cupcake holder, then top with dark chocolate syrup and freeze. When they're frozen and you're ready to serve them, top with some fresh berries."

I love Cheese Lady and her quark from times past. And I did just as she instructed.

Here is the recipe for...

QUICK QUARK CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKES

quark cheese, plain or vanilla if you can find it

chocolate syrup, dark if you can find it, if not, regular old Hershey's will work

fresh, rinsed raspberries, blueberries, or any berry

paper cupcake holders

Warm a knife (the thick kind you use to spread mayo onto sandwiches) under hot running water. Separate and set out your paper cupcake holders.

Take about 1 tbsp. of quark per cupcake holder and spread into the bottom of the cupcake holder.

Top with about 1-2 tsp. of chocolate syrup.

Freeze for about 30 minutes.

Top with berries.

Do you like shellfish?

For some unknown reason, on Monday I stuck my hand into the sand at the beach and reached for something. I thought I saw sand dollar, but I must have seen the edge of a clam.

So I dug, and hit with my fingers what I thought was a rock. "Why am I digging for this rock, it's just a rock, why do I continue to barrel further into the sand when all I will come up with is a silly, grey, boring rock?" I asked myself.

I pulled up the clam you see above.

I thought I was a freaking New Englander wearing a navy blue and white striped sweater around my shoulders or something.

I was astonished - I don't know what other word to use - because I never thought I could "go clamming" in Southern California, grunnion running yes, but digging up clams in my own surf? Holy Pacific bivalve.

We, my friend Krissy, my kids and her kids, dug up more clams, found sand dollars, sea worms, and saw a seal. I saw a seagull dig up a clam, and that scrappy bird spent the rest of the afternoon dropping the clam onto the sand from mid-air over and over again, until it broke open.

But I didn't break open the clams we dug up, instead we watched them dig their way back into the sand, which was interesting to watch, since you have no idea how they do it. We almost applauded the shellfish, we felt so close to nature.

Krissy kept talking about cioppino, but I didn't have the right ingredients at home. So after a long day at the beach, I made a pantry clam sauce. We ate the remaining quark cheesecakes for dessert.

PASTA WITH CLAM SAUCE

12 oz. spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions

64 oz. can clam in juice (if you can't find that size, just get as close as you can)

2 shallots, sliced fine

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (you may want to add an add'l 1 tsp.)

1 tsp. cornstarch + 1 tsp. water

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

slice of butter

salt and pepper to taste

In a fine mesh strainer with a bowl beneath, strain clams from their juices.

RESERVE CLAM JUICE.

In a heavy saucepan, pour in olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sautee until soft, 2-3 minutes.

Add clam juice and bring to a boil.

Mix together cornstarch and water, whisk until lumps are gone.

Add cornstarch-water mixture to saucepan. Stir well and keep at low boil for about 1 minute.

Reduce to simmer.

Add lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, and reserved clams.

Mix well, turn heat to low, then add pasta, butter and parsley.

Season with salt and pepper as needed.