The Ardent Epicure

If you had a chance to see our "Part One" road trip to the Central Coast,
you got to see some of the gorgeous produce that we found at
The Avila Valley Barn. 

This charming barn offers a wonderful variety of treats aside from their
local produce. Personally I could spend hours just playing with
the kitchen gadgets :) 

There is also an on site bakery so the pies, cakes, breads and cookies
are fresh from the oven. And if that were not enough, there is an
additional building reserved for hand made candy and ice cream...
sorry no pictures guys as we were running out of time.

As I mentioned in the first post, they have a U-Pick seasonal offering
for families to enjoy. Along with a small petting zoo and hay rides.

You can visit their website to see all of the seasonal treats available
through out the year.

We of of course did not come home empty handed. Aside from
our fresh produce we picked up a few sauces and condiments,  habanero
 flavored garlic stuffed olives and a bottle of roasted garlic juice.

I threw together a quick chilled pasta salad that can

be served as either a main or side dish. The pasta is
another find from the barn and is a handmade tri-color
angel hair. And since I had a few ripe and ready goodies
in the garden, I threw a few in as well.

What you will need:
12 ounces tri-color angel hair pasta
6-8 teaspoons roasted garlic juice
(each teaspoon = 1 clove)
1/4 th cup grapeseed oil
2-3 limes, juiced
2-3 bell peppers, chopped
(I used yellow, red and orange)
3 medium sizes fresh tomatoes, chopped
4-6 lemon cucumbers
4 ounces habanero garlic olives, sliced
1/2 ounce dried wild mushrooms, reconstituted
1 small bunch fresh basil, torn

Garnish with
Grated Toscano and black pepper cheese, to taste
Ground Himalayan pink salt, to taste
Ground flower pepper, to taste
(black peppercorns with dried edible flowers)

Let's get cooking:
Prepare pasta according to directions, drain and run under cold water.
Note: I prepared each color separately, but you can mix if desired.
Place pasta in a large bowl and toss with roasted garlic juice, grapeseed
 oil and lime juice. Add chopped tomato, peppers, lemon cucumbers,
olives, mushrooms and basil, then toss until incorporated.

Add flower pepper and salt, toss adding more to taste.
Serve with a side of grated cheese.
Serves 4 main dishes