The Most Legendary Pie You Will Ever Meet (and Eat)

Who doesn’t like pie, honestly? Fruity sweetness. Buttery crust. Whipped cream or ice cream. Yum yum.
My favorites are Apple, Peach Sour Cream and Blueberry.

But honestly, I had never truly had real blueberry pie until my dad brought me a huge, fresh, amazing blueberry pie from downeast Maine. Oh. My. God. Amazing. This thing was legendary: huge, uber-fresh-burst-in-your-mouth wild Maine blueberries in a perfect, buttery crust, piled high with a miraculous whipped cream that always seemed to hold its shape despite the summer heat. Legendary, I tell you. Abso-f*cking-lutely unforgettable. But sadly, when I went wheat-free four years ago, that meant no more legendary pie for me on summer Maine visits. It was heartbreaking.

Belated CSA Booty and an Improv Salad Adventure…

I’m a little late in showing off the CSA week #3 goods, but they’re so pretty, I figure late is better than never…

CSA #3!

That’s a gorgeous pile of Red Lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Mizuna, Garlic Scapes, Bright Lights Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Arugala, Garlic Scapes and the biggest Cucumber ever! This glorious stash of green meant another week of salads was in my future…

It’s like a mini, mid-year Christmas…

As some may remember, I joined a CSA this winter to ensure a steady supply of farm-fresh, organic produce for the summer, and earn a little good community karma by supporting a sustainable local farm. Ever since hitting the “Sign Up” button on the farm’s website, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first CSA pickup day, when I could take home my first brood of pretty little veggies.

And, it’s here at last! The long wait is finally over, and I was not disappointed with the booty:

The First 2012 CSA Pickup!

I got to take home Red Flame Lettuce, Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choy, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Sorrel, Rhubarb and Garlic Scapes!

The Bok Choy, Mizuna, Mustard and Garlic Scapes have already been steamed into a yummy tofu stir-fry, which was amazingly fresh, crunchy and delicious! For me, there is honestly nothing more mind-blowing than the flavor experience that super fresh food brings to the table. I can’t WAIT to make a super fresh salad with the lettuces tonight!

And, bonus, I got to take home my first pickings from the garden:

The first pickings from the Garden

Six still-warm-from-the-sun-and-sweet-from-the-rain strawberries!

What a promising start to the prettiest (tasting) time of year.

**Update: I joined a link party of CSA geeks, hosted by InHerChucks! Head on over to check out their out their weekly booty.

What’s Growing: May

Duh duh duh DAHHHH! May I present, the big unveiling of my get-your-hands-dirty project for the summer: the veggie garden.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I managed to get my paws on a last minute plot in my city’s community garden at Fodor Farm. I think someone must have backed out at the last minute, because two days before the sign-up deadline, I received an email asking if I was still interested in the plot. “Of course!!!” I replied, and immediately wrote out my $15 check so I could scamper down to city hall to wait in line for my plot assignment.

Yo Quiero Gordo Lele’s

I introduce…

…the best tacos ever, no joke, from a tiny little hole in the wall called Gordo Lele’s Tacos y Tortas, nestled on a nameless street in downtown Cabo San Lucas.

Over the years, I have become the princess of plan-making, so in my obsessing pre-trip planning, I figured that I should probably include some reputable restaurant choices in my over-prepared pre-trip research. Honestly, there’s nothing worse than wandering around aimlessly on hungry evenings, easy prey for the pushy, haggling restauranteurs that roam the streets of Cabo. Mi Casa, a Cabo classic, was a given, but I turned to my favorite trip planning site, TripAdvisor to guide me to other palatable places.

Ranked #10 out of #222, Gordo Lele’s Tacos y Tortas caught my eye: small, local, unknown, authentic and appallingly cheap! Perfect for a quick, real bite to eat for lunch one day. I scribbled it down on my restaurant card, and man, am I so glad I did: Honestly, one of the best tacos I’ve ever had! Here’s a little story telling to capture our experience:

It’s Burger Time…

I’ve had several recipe requests for the turkey burger photo I posted on instagram recently (@tastingpretty – follow me!), and with the warm, sunny long weekend ahead, I don’t blame you. It certainly feels like the beginning of burger season.

Normally, turkey burgers kind of turn me off: tasteless, fatless, boring, blah. But, I had a pound of frozen ground turkey in my freezer, bought on sale (I’m a sucker for low-priced, qualitymeat), so I figured it was time to give turkey burgers another shot. I searched for a recipe, and this one caught my eye; I love all the flavors it mentions, and the combination seemed pretty enough to overpower the turkey blahs.

The resulting burgers were a total success: savory, sweet, salty, tangy, cheesy. I think they might even be up there with the grass-fed local beef burgers I’m so fond of come summer time.

A Food-Geek Moment (and some preaching)…

Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Look what I’m getting this year: It’s so pretty!!!

Ok, ok. I know you’re looking at this like, “What? This chick is crazy! Is she seriously excited about vegetables?”.  Yes, I am. And here’s why:

More Fishes…

I went chasing bluefish again; one last trip to enjoy the sunshine and sea breeze before I begin hunkering down for winter hibernation. Here are some quick snaps from the day:

Say Goodbye to Summer Cakes

Although autumn may officially be here, it’s been so damn hot and sticky lately that I figure summer isn’t going out without a fight. To honor that valiant effort, I thought I’d bake up one last summery treat to say farewell to my second favorite season.

I spotted this recipe it in some spare copy of Food & Wine back in July and when I saw St. Germain listed in the ingredients, I just had to make these (A little note: if you’re my friend and don’t know about St. Germain yet, we may need to reconsider our friendship…). My little kitchen is currently lacking a food processor, so I kept putting this recipe back in my “to make” pile. But, this weekend I think the humidity was giving me crazier ideas than usual, and I thought I’d improvise by trying this recipe out in the margarita blender instead. And guess what?

IT WORKED; they were delicious. Even the overcooked ones were amazing bites of spongey, sweet, citrusy, cool awesome. They were so good, I maaaay have licked the icing drippings and crumbs off the counter as I cleaned up. And bonus: they are wheat free (just make sure you get a wheat free almond paste!!).

Since I don’t want to pick up bad blog karma early on, I feel that I should send you here to pick up the recipe before we go further. Did you click on the here, yet? Good.