Cold and Cloudy Day Comfort Food: Creamy Corn and Zucchini Capellini

I know what you're thinking. How summer of you. Yes, if you were to replace the parsley with basil and take out the cheese and pasta, you would find yourself with a perfectly refreshing gazpacho recipe. It's the beauty of fresh vegetables: in season or not, there are so many original ways to cook (or blend!) them. This recipe was brought to you by my fridge, which is currently filled with many random ingredients that don't seem to match whatsoever- I really need to get into serious meal planning mode- online seminars and all. But for now, enjoy the winter version of a fresh primavera-ish pasta (cheese really does tend to winterise everything). These past few days have been so dark and cloudy I feel as if I were back in Iceland when I would wake up at 9:30 am in absolute darkness. It's cute for a while, then it gets very odd. Like why are we awake, shouldn't we just follow our daughter's nap schedule?! Cooking is literally what keeps me awake while she sleeps. So for today, excuse the horrid lighting and focus on the carbs.

Furthermore, next time you ask yourself what zukes, corn and cheese have in common (when would you ever ask yourself that!?), you can think of this recipe by yours truly. Also, my Instagram highlights are riddled with hundreds of last-minute recipes like this one. It would take months to turn each of them into blog posts, which is what I've been doing unconsciously anyways... see you there!

*Note from the cook: my boyfriend ordered Domino's the minute he heard I was making a veggie pasta dish. Not everyday in the kitchen is a home run but I love this recipe nonetheless and I will happily indulge in the leftovers!

You will need,

Mini white zucchinis (or 2-3 large regular ones)

Cherry tomatoes (1 vine)

Corn (3 cobs)

Capellini (1 box)

Garlic (4 cloves)

Red onion (1)

Italian Parlsey (half a bunch)

Mozzarella (1 cup)

Sea salt (infused with smoked paprika)

Black pepper

Olive oil (3 tbsp- I never measure, but this is enough)

If desired: you could also add crushed bacon to garnish

A few simple steps,

1. Prepare the corn: discard the husks and cut the corn off the cob with a knife, diagonally (I've seen adorable corn peelers/strippers on Amazon, knock yourselves out!)

2. Toss the minced garlic and chopped red onion over medium-heat with salt, pepper and olive oil until the onions have softened

3. In a separate pot, bring salt water to a boil

4. Add the corn and zucchinis, let simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the zucchinis have softened/become translucent (that is, if you thinly sliced them in circles, if you chopped them in small squares then 7-10 minutes should do the trick)

5. Capellinis are al dente within 4 minutes, so make sure you throw them in the water as you add the cherry tomatoes and the chopped parsley to the vegetables medley

6. Drain pasta and throw into the vegetables pot, in which you want to scatter the mozzarella as you mix everything together with tongs (you have to do it immediately as the heat of the freshly cooked noodles will make the cheese melt- you can answer that text later, this is crunch time!)

7. Serve in bowls garnished with extra fresh parsley leaves (or crunchy bacon bits, winter allows those extra comforting calories) and sprinkle a few drops of olive oil

This is probably the least photogenic meal I have ever prepared, but I'm already excited to snack on it tomorrow between diaper changes and Charlotte's Web reading sessions- so that says a lot.