Food, on tables and paper

Last night we had my sister-in-law and her (dare I say it... what the heck, she doesn't read this...) boyfriend over for dinner, and we had the best time laughing around our new table. I had a couple of issues of Food and Wine sitting around unopened, and upon finally reading them found myself incredibly inspired by the August issue, which focuses quite a bit on local produce and regional food customs. Here's what we ate (and nope, I was having way too much fun to get out the camera):

• Grilled Swordfish Steaks with Basil-Caper Butter. I was going to make the August issue's lima bean version of this dish, but couldn't find any fresh beans, so this basil-caper preparation subbed in wonderfully. It truly was delicious, and I'm so thankful I now have a huge mound of this butter sitting in my freezer. Fair warning: if you're coming over to dinner any time soon, chances are good you'll be eating this fish.
• Braised Cucumbers with Dill. I'd never served warm cucumbers before, but you can bet I'm on board now. (It also helps that we're dill freaks over here.)
• Israeli Couscous with Arugula Pesto. I went less heavy on the tomatoes to suit T's taste buds and added in some roasted red peppers. Sooo happy that I have leftovers waiting for me for lunch today!
• Grilled Corn with Smoked Salt and Black Pepper. How much do I love smoked salt? Let me count the ways...
• Strawberry and Peach Crisp. My sister-in-law's favorite.

I picked up most of the ingredients for dinner over at Eastern Market, my very-favorite thing about my neighborhood. Speaking of Eastern Market, it serves as the inspiration for today's guest-post over at Oh So Beautiful Paper. I have market and food prints from Seattle, California, Knoxville, and more, so come on over and check them out!

Oh So Beautiful Paper: Local Food Paper Love

Produce notecards from Yee Haw Industries