Coffee and noodles, noodles and coffee

Today, I went for a drive. 

It was a beautiful day, perfect temperature for a non air-conditioned car, windows cracked just a bit. 

By the way, one twin can't stand having wind in his hair and the other one would stick her whole head out the window like a dog (tongue flapping and all) if she weren't strapped down so tight.  Yep, they're twins all right!

I asked the wee ones where they wanted to go - big mistake.  They wanted timbits.  Ach!  Well, I dared ask.  So we started at Tim Horton's where the two middle kids got one timbit each.  Done.  I won't ask them again today what they want.  The story gets much better, bear with me.

I decided that because I ran out of coffee that I should go get more.  I also decided I should go buy it straight from the roaster so they can stamp my frequent-buyer card.  ROAD TRIP!  The Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op is in Grand-Pré, an hour if you just drive there on the highway and without kids.

But who does that?!

I took the "old road", the #1 highway.  I love, love, love this drive.  The whole thing, once I "get out of town".  I love the Valley in it's entirety.  I could melt there.  I love the views, the smells ("it smell cowwww" today, they said), the tall trees, the houses, the history, the view, did I mention the views?

So, only the wee-est one slept on the way there.  We stopped and got banana bread at Irving and played in a park.  Finally, we arrived in Grand-Pré.  We all pile out and order tuna sandwiches, a coffee in a travel mug (another stamp) and a bag of Espresso Blend, my favourite right now.  We took a seat in the sun room to chow down.  Then we went outside and romped in their garden.  The kids picked so many dandelion bouquets for me and I threw them up in the air so it could rain flowers on us.  They chased two butterflies, they watched the clouds, watched a couple of eagles, they did summersaults.  The counted the tulips.  Four minutes later, they were done in the garden.  Phew!  I *almost* relaxed!

Back into the car, I pulled out of the parking lot not in the direction of our house and the boy twin noticed and said that was okay.  I explained that I wanted to find fresh pasta.  I knew there was a place and I could picture it in my mind so I was going to find it.  Just past the gorgeous town of Wolfville lies a village called Port Williams.  Oh my.  Gorgeous.  I told you, I love the Valley.

I found the Pasta Studio no problem.  AH!  I've never shopped here before!  I was so excited.  I asked what they had in the fridge today and tasted two kinds to see what I thought the kids would like, I would've eaten anything from them.  I decided on the cracked black pepper tagliatelle.  I wanted so much to try everything.

With my treasures of fairly traded, organic coffee and hand-made-with-local-ingredients pasta, both companies with a mind for the future, our bodies and the environment, I started for home.  The kids slept the whole way home, good for them and for me.

I tell you, they gobbled up that pasta so quickly and with gusto.  They absolutely loved it.  "More", "more"!  Awesome!  I cut up a chicken breast sliced very thinly and fried it quickly in a pan with a touch of salt and turned off the burner and added the pasta just to heat (it comes cooked and tossed in a bit of EVOO, heat and eat, baby!).  I served it with yellow pepper strips and milk.

My camera is on vacation so I can't give you any pictures today.  Please click on the links in the text above to visit the sites of the products I mentioned.