Friday, August 19, 2011

Good eats.


It was beautiful out today, so I took advantage of the weather and spent some time wandering around a little local farmer's market. Everyone was so friendly and personable! I guess I'm used to the farmer's market back up at Penn State, which is usually mobbed and leaves little time for vendors to really stop and chat. This new one was small and uncrowded (unsurprising for mid-afternoon on a week day), and literally every vendor I strolled past gave a big smile and a hello plus a little chit-chat. It was an interesting array of people - some bubbly ma-and-pop types, a very intense and formal Asian woman, and a few strapping young vegetable-selling lads who could almost pass for "bros," to name a few. For $13 I got: a big ear of corn, a humungous tomato, a cluster of basil, a basket of white peaches, and some absurdly delicious banana-coconut-pineapple stuff called "aloha bread." Between my good haul at the farmer's market, my light and early lunch, and the fact that I spent the rest of the day vigorously cleaning my apartment (with all the back and forth between here, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and D.C., it was getting more than a bit chaotic around here), by the time I looked at the clock and realized it was 6:45 I was famished. Not to mention craving the basil, which was (and is) making my whole apartment smell divine. The solution: a feast fit to celebrate my last "real" day of vacation! Bon appétit!

{Light and pretty. A perfect summer drink.}

I wasn't in the mood for wine, and once I decided on Italian I couldn't help dreaming of limoncello! I didn't have vodka, so I improvised for this lemon-inspired cocktail. It's one part Bacardi Limón, two parts diet tonic water, and a little splash of pink lemonade for color and taste.

{Heating up some plain tomato sauce before adding the chopped basil.}
{I like the chopped leaves medium-large. So tasty!} 

{Almost finished, with the sauce poured over whole wheat pasta.}
{Pasta with tomato sauce and fresh basil, spring mix salad with balsamic, and my lemon concoction. So delicious.}
{If only I had room for dessert...}
Above is the aloha bread. I chopped the loaf into eight smaller sections and wrapped them - all the better to take to lunch with me next week when I start my student teaching! Not sure if you can see the grated coconut on top in this picture, but trust me...it's there, and it's amazing. I may or may not have sampled some while repackaging it this afternoon.

As for the rest of my evening? I have a date with George Orwell.

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