Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Standing Ovation for Summer

Recipe
Farmer's Market Pesto Pasta

Hello, dear readers! I'm jumping back into blogging while there's still time to celebrate the best time of the year for fresh fruits and vegetables in Minnesota: both the farmer's market and my CSA box are still brimming with the bright colors and heady scents of sun-ripened vegetables that signify summer is taking its final bow until next year. What a glorious summer for eating and cooking it has been!

This pasta creation has been one of the best things I've come up with this summer...it's been a great way to use up all the vegetable odds and ends I seem to find when I get to the bottom of our CSA box each week. The basics are pasta (whole wheat at our house - yes, we've officially made the switch) and fragrant, bright green pesto (I've been enjoying pistachio nuts instead of pine nuts in my pesto this summer, in order to stay away from the odd pine mouth phenomenon)...followed by pretty much anything that strikes my fancy and/or I need to make use of. The photo above has been my favorite combination: roasted corn, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. It's a sweet-slightly smoky-slightly salty combination that epitomizes summer in a single, perfect bite. Don't have these ingredients on hand? The options are really only as limited as your imagination: broccoli, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, olives, peas, zucchini, spinach, arugula, shrimp, feta, chicken...whatever you want to include in your standing ovation for summer.

In other final days of summer cooking: Creamy Corn with Chives and Zucchini Spice Cake.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a gorgeous picture, za!
i am so happy you are back to blog!

kimita13 said...

Although I've never heard of "pine mouth" I often use walnuts instead of pine nuts in my pesto. I like the distinctive flavor and, if you're really feeling like a foodie, substitute walnut oil for some of your olive oil. : )

Anonymous said...

So glad you're back to blogging Liz! Now I'll know what to make for dinner again! :)
Julie

Anna said...

I have had this and it's fantastic. It has a more earthy taste than your standard pesto.

Elisabeth said...

Thanks! So nice to hear from everyone! Kim, I love walnut pesto, too - thanks for the suggestion.