Weekly Menu! September 17-23

Whew! Here it is.  The state of this weekly menu reflects the state of my mind as school is keeping me SO busy right now.  I like being busy, but WOAH.  I still need to eat!  Who knows if any of these plans will actually take place, a few of last week's did not.

Here's a Kitchen Table Friend confession:  I have been lacking inspiration a little lately which bums me out, so any suggestions or words or encouragement are welcome, friends!!

As I write this, Ryan is making a delicious meal for us:

pineapple, cashew fried rice with chicken and thai coconut shrimp soup!  It smells very good.

tomorrow I'll make:  pork chops with a tortellini salad (I was inspired by the recipe I posted last week, but when it came down to making it I went on my own...)

combine in a bowl:
1 package tortellini, cooked to package directions
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
about a pint of grape tomatoes, halved
chopped red onion or green onion or both!
sliced kalamata olived
basil
spinach, chopped
chickpeas
basalmic dressing

and the plan for the rest of the week...

the famous fish tacos!!

 a roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts and wild rice salad with spinach  (I've been waiting for time to roast these beets for over a week now.. more importantly I want to eat them!!)

Seasonal Summer Cooking: Sweet Corn!

It's finally here.  Iowa Sweet Corn!  A few ears may be found early in the summer, but a sure sign that sweet corn is in its prime are the appearance of roadside stands and mountains of the beautiful ears in supermarkets.  Sweet corn is an Iowa icon... and from now until the end of sweet corn season, it will be eaten several times a week.  You better believe that when I get a good chunk of time, I'll buy an embarrassingly large quantity of corn to stash in the freezer!

A delicious, local summer traditional treat!! 

But what will I do with this mountain of corn?

While corn is great on its own as a side or a main dish ( and if its really good and fresh it doesn't even need butter or salt!) last night I used corn to dress up pasta dish.

1/2 box whole wheat spaghetti
2 cups corn kernels
2 or 3 strips of bacon
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons fresh basil pesto
parmesan cheese

bring a large pot of water to boil.
meanwhile, cut the kernels off corncobs. (2 or 3 should make 2 cups)
cook the bacon in a skillet until brown, set aside on paper towels to drain.
wipe most of the bacon grease from the skillet, saving a very small amount in the pan for cooking in the next step.
hopefully your water will be boiling at this time.  add pasta.
while pasta cooks, grate or mince the garlic.
heat the skillet to medium and add corn and garlic.
chop the bacon into small pieces.
when pasta is finished, drain and bring pack to pot.
add corn and garlic mixture, bacon and the pesto.  mix well.
serve with generous amount of grated parmesan cheeese.

if you have extra corn, throw some in your side salad with fresh summer tomatoes!