I had grand plans to get some work done this morning. Then, I dropped everything and wandered around D.C. like a tourist. I pretended like it was the first time I was seeing everything and took pictures like I was only spending a couple days here. It was liberating.

I ran into this guy while I was sitting in the park. He ran over and started eating all my strawberries, but I didn’t mind. 
After I got off work at the bakery, I came home and made this linguine. This is the kind of pasta recipe that you’ll want to keep coming back to. It’s easy and fresh, and the only real work is boiling and peeling the tomatoes.

But that part is actually fun. I didn’t realize how easy tomatoes are to peel once you’ve boiled them. The skin slips off and you can scoop out the seeds with a spoon. It sounds gross but it’s kind of like cracking an egg. It gives me an odd sense of satisfaction.

My sister just told me about this song today. It’s a cover of a classic, and it’s great for days when you say to yourself, I’m just going to be.

Linguine with Red Pesto and Corn (from Food52)

Ingredients

1 pound dried linguine or other thin pasta (I used gluten-free linguine)
4 ripe plum tomatoes
15 basil leaves
1 tablespoon celery leaves
1 tablespoon parsley leaves, plus more for serving
1 clove garlic
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup sliced (or whole) almonds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 ears fresh corn
Parmesan, for serving

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, following the instructions on the package. Plunge into an ice bath, drain, and let cool.

Bring another pot of water to boil. Drop the tomatoes in for about 1 minute, until their skins split. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, peel the skins and remove the seeds.

In a food processor or blender, combine the peeled tomatoes, basil, celery leaves, parsley, salt, garlic, almonds, pepper, and olive oil. Process until smooth.

Shuck the corn and slice the kernels off of the cob into a large bowl. In the large bowl, toss the pasta with the sauce and the raw corn. Serve topped with chopped parsley or grated Parmesan.