When Laundry, Cleaning, Errands, and Work Sound Fun
I’m just about back to my own normal normal: laundry, cleaning, errands, and writing.
Over the past month, while recovering from my recent surgery, I have read a lot, about two books a week, and watched more television than I ever wanted to see.
The best thing of all about getting back to normal is going to the supermarket and the farmers’ markets. On my Facebook feed last week, there was a picture from my local farm stand of Silver Queen corn. This tiny crisp blond sweet corn was my husband’s favorite, so I usually bought a dozen—six butter and sugar for me and six Silver Queen for him. This day I visited the farm stand with my next-door neighbor, and we shared a dozen butter and sugar. We got a bakers’ dozen, since the lady behind the counter said they were a bit small.
When I got home, I took my half-dozen, husked them, and dumped them in boiling water for four minutes. When they were done, I dropped them in a big bowl of ice water, dried them, and cut the kernels off the cob, and refrigerated the kernels.
The recipe here is from Real Simple. The dish will be ready by the time the pasta is cooked. It was delicious, and it was more than enough for two dinners and a small lunch.
Feel free to add any vegetables you like, or avoid any you don’t care for. The more vegetables you use, the less pasta you may need. If you don’t have arugula, use any lettuce that you would like. In any case, I know you will like this.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Farmer’s Market Pasta
From Real Simple, August 2019
Yield: serves 4
12 ounces cavatappi or any short pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cups multicolored cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small red onion, cut into wedges, layers separated
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)
2 cups packed arugula
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved (about ½ cup)
Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
Heat one tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes begin to soften, two to three minutes. Add zucchini and onion and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes burst and zucchini is almost tender, three to four minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
Add tomato mixture to pasta along with arugula, basil, and remaining three tablespoons oil and toss to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with shaved Parmesan.