Hello Again

So a teensy bit of a break there…I’ve been a bit busy!  What with meeting friends, visiting a farm, researching CSA’s and heading to the Farmer’s market, baking, baking and more baking it has been a busy couple of weeks!

As the summer season is beginning to unfurl I am so inspired by the amazing ingredients that are available to me.  So much fresh produce, so much yummy food to make and enjoy.  The last couple of weeks really have been all about the kitchen for me.  Amanda Soule really summed it up in her post about working in her kitchen and how it is the centre of her home and life.

When we were choosing a home to build I was drawn to a floorplan that put the kitchen right at the heart of our living space.   More and more I am finding peace and contentment in this room, working on the simple task of creating nourishing food for my family.  This would be a long post if I wrote down everything that has been going on but I will say that I am finally feeling that I have the capacity to begin nourishing my family in a way I’ve been thinking of for many years.   More posts to come this week!

For today I’ll content myself with sharing a recipe that I really enjoy in the summer, a way of enjoying those first Basil leaves as they send the signal to my nose and to my tummy that the summer season has arrived.

Summer Pasta

You’ll need:

Basil (a handful or two)

Pine Nuts

Parmesan

Olive Oil

Garlic

Spaghetti or other pasta

In boiling water cook your pasta of choice.  In another pan (a frying pan works well) toast the pine nuts – a few generous handfuls is good as they are so tasty.  It is important to stay with them and keep turning them as they can burn very quickly.  When they are brown set to one side.  In the same pan warm a good slug of oil and a minced garlic clove, do this just before the pasta is ready.  Add the pasta to the warm oil and garlic, stir in.  Add in pine nuts.  Add a generous amount of parmesan, I love to shave it rather than grate it.  At the end shred your Basil then add to your dish, the heat from the pasta will wilt it but not to excess.

Pop in a bowl and add a few more shavings of parmesan.  Make sure you get some pine nuts as they tend to fall to the bottom of the pan!

Eat.  Feel happy.