Black Market Hippie Food, Pies Galore, and the Alpine Wonderland

On Saturday we picked up our first ever local pickup of an order of fresh, organic, “black market” produce trucked straight from Cali, Arizona, N. Mexico. Well, not really black market, but it’s ripened on the vine and no herbicides or pesticides are used on them and you pre-order it online and pick it up on Saturdays at Merlin Olsen Park. We were testing it out this month, but now that we’ve seen and tasted it, we are soooo sold! It tastes like we just picked it from our garden. Take a look at the stash!

We had a Valentine retreat this weekend, but not one like you’d expect. Adam’s cousin Sueanne (famed creator of the Pie of the Month Club: www.pieofthemonthclub.org) was visiting from Scotland, so we went and stayed with Sam (Adam’s brother) and Kristen in Alpine from Saturday to Monday, hence the day-late entry. At the family gathering on Sunday we sampled some seriously delicious pies! Yum.

Hanging with Sam and Kristen was fun, as usual. How could it not be fun when they have something close to an amusement park in their basement? Olivia and Ruby had a blast on the climbing wall, the rings, the ladder, the swings (three of them), drawing on the chalkboard wall, the giant beanbag, and playing with toys…and that was just the basement. We loved their company and are grateful for their hospitality. It was really great to get away for a while to reconnect with family and enter slightly warmer temperatures.

Adam ran 13.5 miles today. He wants to make sure he is ready for the half-marathon race in 6 weeks. Looks like he is. He picked a random spot appx 7 miles from Sam’s house and took off. Turned out the exact turn-around point was a random running store called 26.2 mile Running Store. He said he was just pondering whether he’d run a full marathon this fall. Hmm.

Recipe of the week: Spaghettini with Checca Sauce

One of the few Italian recipies Adam didn’t learn during his glory days in Itay … but rather on the Food Network. It’s fantastic!

Ingredients

•                8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta

•                4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

•                3 garlic cloves, crushed

•                1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved

•                1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped

•                8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

•                3 tablespoons olive oil

•                4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.