Monday, August 30, 2010

Pasta with Fresh Corn and Snow Pea Pesto

More corn! It's just so hard to top Michigan sweet corn, I can't get enough of it! (Don't forget to check Real Time Farms to see where you can pick up some corn for yourself!)


Pasta with Fresh Corn and Snow Pea Pesto
(adapted slightly from Lottie + Doof, who adapted it from the August 2010 issue of Bon Appétit)
  • soysage of choice (I used half a package of Gimme Lean! Ground Sausage Style)
  • 4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)
  • 1 cup chopped snow peas
  • 2 - 4 large garlic cloves, minced (When it comes to garlic, I'm a big believer in "go big or go home!")
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used about half of this, go by what tastes good to you)
  • 8 ounces pasta
Cook soysage in large nonstick skillet over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil until browned, stirring often. Remove soysage from the pan and set aside. Add corn, snow peas, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 4 minutes.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the corn and snow pea mixture to a small bowl and reserve. Scrape remaining corn and snow pea mixture into processor. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and pine nuts. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add corn and snow pea pesto, soysage, and the reserved corn and snow peas. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper, and top with additional grated Parmesan.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Blueberry Corn Salad


Before blueberries are completely gone for the season, I'd recommend making this refreshing summery Blueberry Corn Salad from Shutterbean. I served it with salt and pepper pan-fried tofu, lime sour cream, and a dollop of guac.

And I've been absent for so long that I missed my 2 year blogiversary! Sigh. Happy belated birthday Herban Girl!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Make Your Veggies Famous with Real Time Farms!


Today marks the launch of our "Make Your Veggies Famous" video! Please take a couple of minutes to click the link and watch it, after all, when is the last time you saw a skateboarding watermelon?!

This video kicks off our 5 photo campaign to get 5 photos of every farmers' market and farm across the country, and we'd love your help! We'd really appreciate it if you would share this video with your friends and family so we can get everyone involved in building a nationwide, LIVE, local food guide full of colorful, engaging photos of what's fresh now!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Good News!

Nagoya is slightly less expensive than it was last year! Among the world's most expensive cities, it has moved down one whole spot to #4! Perhaps it's time to go back for a visit?? 

(Photo and info courtesy of BusinessWeek)