To make and eat now

While out in the eastern townships over the long weekend, I brought home two bags of peaches and cream corn (among many other eat-able, drink-able items). And inspired by the gorgeous shots of fresh corn pesto pasta on Lottie + Doof, I knew that this exactly what I wanted to eat. I mean, duh, corn pesto… seems so obvious, why didn't I think of this before?

I didn't have tagliatelle or fettuccine, so I used a skinnier egg pasta, which was still fantastic. My photo isn't as pretty as Tim's from Lottie + Doof, but here it is:

And to drink? I finally opened up a bottle of Cab Sauv that my friend Bo brought me from a trip to Israel. Corn from Quebéc, basil from my balcony, wine from Israel. A nice combination indeed.

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Last night's dinner

This was not made by me but thoroughly enjoyed by me. Prepared by Maurizio, C's cousin, we had brisket with gravy, rice and beans, a crispy non-mayonnaisey coleslaw and fantastic potato salad. You too can enjoy Maurizio's homecooking very soon with the launch of his ready-to-eat organic dinners, prepared using locally sourced meat. Check it out here.

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Flagstaff, Arizona– more than just Route 66

When you're in the middle of the desert, on your way to the Grand Canyon, and it's 43 degrees by 1pm, it only makes sense you just go with the flow and have dinner at a joint called diablo burger. We just happened to stumble upon this place while wandering around downtown Flagstaff, and I'm so glad we did. Their tagline is "All about Local". And as the menu says: "Every diablo burger is made of 100% local, open range-raised, antibiotic-free and growth-hormone free beef from the Diablo Trust ranches…" Most of their produce is also locally sourced within a 250 mile radius. All this, and the food is fantastic. The branded buns are actually english muffins and the burgers were mouthwateringly juicy. I had the Vitamin B burger, which came with bacon, beets and blue cheese. An unusual combo which I wouldn't have normally chosen had I been in Toronto, but when you're on vacation in the desert, surrounded by hippies, maybe your tastebuds want something different. We had the Scrimshaw Pilsner and the Acme IPA from North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg, California to quench our thirst. Aaaaah!

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Cherries and other berries

This weekend was all about the fresh local fruit, namely berries. We arrived at the E.D. Smith cherry farm bright and early at 8:30am and picked 36 lbs of cherries– 2 buckets each. After that, on a whim, we ended up driving all the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a picnic lunch. But on the way back we stopped at a fruit shack and bought local raspberries, saskatoons, strawberries and apricots. Oh, and I also got a jar of local honey made in Beamsville. Just so you know, we didn't keep all 36 lbs of cherries for ourselves!

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What's in the CSA box

C and I got a CSA subscription this year with Triple Cord CSA, a Mennonite farm in Aylmer, Ontario. We signed up for and are splitting a half share of fresh, seasonal, organic produce which is enough to feed two adults. Every Tuesday, C goes to pick up the box and it's like Christmas, wondering what we'll get this week. Here's a peek into last week's box:

- Boston lettuce
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Rhubarb
- Radish
- Green onion
- Bok Choy
- Strawberries (check out the mutant octo-strawberry!)
- Red leaf lettuce
- Spinach
- Kohlrabi
- Beets

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