comment icon 75 more comments It’s summer and one of my favorite things about summer is basil. My other favorite thing is the farmer’s market. Grab me a latte, put on my shades, pick out some pretty looking veggies, take a few pictures, enjoy the smell of freshly baked stuff, and drive right on home in my air conditioned SUV. Yep. I loooove the farmer’s market. My market experience here could not be more opposite. I go at 5:45am (it’s become a pit stop on my morning run, because I stand NO chance of walking that far in the heat anytime after 7am), so you can imagine what a jewel I look like: no trendy shades, no latte, no nice camera. Just me and my stinky, sweaty self trying to dig a few coins out of the pocket of my running shorts. I secretly plug my nose as I walk through because the smells are overwhelming: raw fish, raw meat (and I mean raw, whole-animal meat), some kind of egg smell, and my own mid-run smell. I keep a sharp eye out for cockroaches and try not to walk within 10 feet of a butcher. On a typical day, I get hit in the head by a few massive falling shade umbrellas. I wipe streams of sweat out of my eyes as I pay for my produce, which I then run home with {cute} and bleach. Honest truth: I sorely miss my old farmer’s market. But hey. In place of freshly baked treats, I can buy sticky coconut rice wrapped in banana leaves, and in place of my cozy latte, I have new market vendor friends. Sort of. In place of my fancy camera, I can use my eyes and my memory, and in place of the comfort my SUV, I have my own two feet that can carry me home just fine. Every day feels a little more normal. Not to change the subject or anything, but I’m starting to turn into a full-blown tomato because I can’t.stop.eating.the.cheese. I mean, the tomatoes. I mean, the whole thing. The whole cheesy shebang of saucy rigatoni, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and ch-ch-ch-ch-cheese in this baked caprese rigatoni. By now, I hope that you have not read any of this post and you have been scrolling straight down to the recipe. I don’t really hope that, but please. Put this on your table. ASAP. One thing that holds true in my Filipino life: I LOVE FRIDAYS. Oh, happy day. 4.7 from 9 reviews
