Summer’s End Foodie Pen Pal Package

Well, it’s official. The end of August is here and summer is over. Sigh.

I would have been dreading it a lot more if it hadn’t been for one thing, a package from my Foodie Pen Pal.

Padron Pepper love.

I have a confession. I’m in love. My new love is green, small and occasionally a bit spicy. No, not a leprechaun, wrong season and country, but the padron pepper from Spain.

It boggles my mind that not only have I never really eaten them before, but that I haven’t been growing them myself. Don’t worry, I’ve already made a note to plant some next year. Thankfully, this year, my local farmers market has had lots for me to try. And try them I have.

Grilled summer fruit.

As I write this it is early morning and I’m sitting on my back porch with a coffee. The sun is creeping its way over the trees, the birds are singing and the garden is still dripping from the dew. I may change locations soon but only to get a fresh peach for breakfast, weed the garden and plot my next preserving adventure.

It’s summer and the livin’ is easy.

Basic Freezer Pesto.

There aren’t many things I am sure of in my life. Change is constant. There are a few though. Music, books, sunshine and that I adore pretty much all things Italian. Especially Italian food. ti adoro. The simplicity, the rich flavours, the seasonality. Closely related is the other thing I know for sure. That there is no way I could ever possibly grow enough basil to satisfy my love for it. So imagine my happiness when one of my greatest friends who is studying at The Richmond Farm School gave me a tour and showed me their basil greenhouse. What a deliciously happy and odiferous place.

The day kept getting better when I learned that they operated a farm stand with The Sharing Farm Society. I bought bunch after bunch. We’ve been eating it now, but most of it is being saved for later in the form of pesto. It might sounds cliche, but when the cold weather hits and summer is a very far off memory, having a stash of pesto made from high summer basil can be a sanity saver.

Simple summer blueberry sipping.

I’m a summer girl. There is no way around it. Summer is my season.

To be fair, fall clothes suit me better, but when the sun is high in the sky and the days are sticky and long, I’m at my best. The most me.

The other day I realized that I get more done in one hot afternoon than I do in a week of cold weather. Heck, if I lived somewhere that was warm full time I would probably be unbearable because I’d be the most insufferable achieving optimist.

Summer just makes being happy so simple.

Cook(those)books. Summer Edition.

Summer is an easy time to entertain. Food is fresh, nights are sultry and most people aren’t craving the heavy rich meals of the colder months. Summer also means more casual and outdoor dining. It couldn’t be simpler than to light up the barbeque, make some salads and serve fruit for dessert. Perfect.

If you’re looking to celebrate this August long weekend here is my cook(those)books roundup of a few of my recent favourite finds from cookbooks and magazines. Packed in a picnic basket, spread on the picnic table or schlepped to the cottage, these three recipes are absolutely easy and delectable.