It's getting to that time again.
Cool nights.  School meetings.  Dance class registration.  Pens and Pencils.  Getting the lunch kits ready for use.  Earlier evenings. The freezer is getting more and more full - green beans, pesto, corn, peas.  The fruit is frozen and waiting for me to turn it into perfect little jars of jam.  And tomatoes... that's how I really know.  The tomatoes.  I've got 3 bushels ready to go.  I feel a little scared each year that I do it but it's so worth it afterwards.  In the middle of the winter when I'm pulling out a jar of my own sauce or my own diced tomatoes... it's so worth it.  So, fall is upon us.


With everything else going on in the kitchen right now I'm finding myself a little uninspired about getting meals together.  The lovely thing about fresh summer veg is that it does so well on it's own.  It doesn't ask to be fiddled too much with to taste fantastic.  We've had our fair share of meals consisting of corn cobs and mashed potatoes. Doused in butter and sprinkled lightly with salt it's hard to imagine anything better.  You can only get along with just corn for so long before the troops start to protest.  Fortunately for the all of us my hand was forced.  I had to use up some meat.


Derek has this terrible habit of taking meat out of the freezer and then not using it.  Granted, he does it with the best of intentions.  He just gets busy and then the next thing he knows it's 4 days later and the meat hasn't been cooked and has gone bad.  We've had to keep a stricter eye on things since we are spending more on meat to get good quality, grass fed stuff.  So the meat that he took out had to get used up and this dish was born.


It's kind of a throw-in-whatever-you've-got-kind-of-thing.  It's one of those things where the finished product is much much better than the sum of it's parts.  It's very forgiving but some small details will make all the difference.  The roasting is nice so using vegetables that you can roast it will taste infinitely better.  If I had even more time (or inclination) then I would have grilled the veggies - that would be the best.  Either way, the corn is crunchy and sweet, the pork is perfect and the tomato is divine.  I used a cheese that contained black peppercorns and it definitely added a nice kick.


Corn, Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Pasta (I made this one up... I swear)
serves 6

1 med. leek (or 1/2 cup onion), thinly sliced
1 med. zucchini, thickly sliced
2 1/2 cups (or about 3 med sized) tomato, thickly sliced
1 ears of fresh corn or about 2 cups of kernels
1 lb ground pork or 5 about slices of bacon finely chopped
1/4 cup mixed herbs, chopped
1 veggie boullion cube
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 cup semi soft cheese (brie, brick etc), cubed
4 cups penne pasta cooked to al dente

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon liner.
Place the sliced zucchini and tomato onto the baking sheet.  Brush lightly with oil or fat.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and roast for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the zucchini is looking soft and well browned.
Meanwhile in a wok or large pan heat a little oil and add in the sliced leeks.  Cook for about 3 minutes or so.  Add in the corn kernels and cook together for about 8 - 9 minutes.  Add a little more oil or fat if necessary.
Add in the ground pork.  Cook together and stir regularly.  After the meat browns add in the veggie boullion, Worcestershire Sauce, honey and salt.  Continue to cook for another few minutes.  Add in the roasted zucchini and tomato.  Toss together.
Add in the cooked pasta and toss to combine.
Top with the cubed cheese.
Serve warm or at room temperature.