A few days ago, I finally unpacked my bags after what has felt like an eternity and settled in at home.
In August, I married the Country Boy. That should have been a whirlwind of its own — and it was — but almost immediately after, I went to Cannes for my annual beach trip, a trip that I take with a friend I first met there almost ten (!) years ago, in which we have the least Cannois vacation imaginable, sourcing our dinners entirely from the supermarket and reading novels on the beach.
In September, I traveled to Copenhagen, then Normandy, then San Francisco, and when I finally dropped my bags in the foyer on Sunday, it wasn’t in the same small apartment that the Country Boy and I have shared for the past six years, but in our brand-new place (just a 15 minutes’ walk away) where we are enjoying the first few months of married life in double the square meters of our old abode with a bathtub and — king of kings in Parisian real estate — a balcony.
Yes, I am home, now.
Paris has begun to take on the chill of a true Parisian fall — something we never had last year. It’s disappointing, on the one hand — mainly because we barely had a hint of summer before the chill set in, but it’s actually kind of cozy, now, to go home to a place where we’re not on top of each other, where IÂ have space, space to write, space to work, space to think, space to read, and space to cook.
The very last of the tomates anciennes are appearing at my local co-op, and while the weather calls for sweet potatoes and squash, I’m squeezing every last drop of summer flavor out of this season. This dish, topped with local peaches and ultra-local (read: grown-on-my-brand-new-balcony) basil is just the ticket for the end of summer.
Peach, Tomato, and Corn Pasta Salad (serves 2)
160 grams (5 1/2 ounces) uncooked whole wheat pasta
1 ear fresh corn, cut off the cob
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
2-3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 peach, sliced
1 teaspoon butter
fresh basil
salt and pepper
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Strain and set in a bowl. Toss with the corn, onion, tomatoes, and olive oil. Season as needed with salt and pepper.
Cut a few (5-6) basil leaves into a thin chiffonade, and toss them with the pasta.
Heat the butter in a nonstick pan over high heat, and add the peaches. Cook them 1-2 minutes per side, until they’re just golden brown.
Serve the pasta in bowls, and top with the peaches. Top with more whole or chiffonade basil, as desired.