Tuna and sweet corn pasta

Two more days of my holiday week to go. And the weather is miserable. But I haven't let that bother me, and I might just be imagining but there could be just a tiny sliver of blue sky showing right now. On Monday we finished the move, all my stuff hauled to my new temporary home. And I spent the evening cleaning every nook and cranny of my tiny little apartment. It was quite emotional, thinking of everything that has happened there, and then locking that door for the last time. On Tuesday I returned the keys to the letting agency and felt a bit homeless. But yesterday I had a wonderful day in my new home town. Well, it's not like I wouldn't have known it already, having spent most weekends of the last year here, but it was weird being out on the town without the Culinary Consultant. I ran some long overdue errands, and got my oh-so-long-overdue haircut. Now I feel like a new person. I didn't cut my hair in over a year, and it was disgusting. Now it's back to the bob I have been wearing for a few years. It's so much lighter than the full head of long hair I have suffered from lately. It's quicker to dry after the gym, and it reduces the amount of shed hair in the apartment significantly. Well, probably it doesn't affect the number of hair, but they are shorter and hence make less of a mess. I found a really nice (and reasonably priced!) hairdresser. I also managed to get an appointment to have my eyesight tested, and turns out I need new glasses. Which I was expecting. So I get to do the fun part of trying on new glasses!

On Tuesday I also had my last driving lesson. I decided to take a few driving lessons over here in topsy turvy land, just to be safe out there on the roads. I think I did quite good, and I managed to find a great teacher. So now I can't wait to buy myself a little car and get out there on the roads. It has been many years since I have had a car, and I love the idea of liberty it will give. Right now, if I want to get somewhere, I have to walk or bike. And because my bike is in several pieces right now for storage purposes, I am limited to walking. Or taking the bus. So I think when I get the car, I will drive places just because I can!

Here is another recipe from the kitchen of "use up everything you have stockpiled in your pantry". This time I got another opportunity to work on the several kilograms (yes, really) of pasta that *someone* has stockpiled in their kitchen (and no, it wasn't me!!). 

I absolutely love sweet corn, I could just eat sweet corn on the cob every day. It's just so sweet and... well.. corny. Oh, I'm so funny today, aren't I. Ok, I promise, no more attempts at un-funny jokes. So sweet corn. It goes with so many things, and one of them is definitely tuna. I just love the piles of yellow in the grocery store, I can't walk past them without picking up a cob or two. And after cooking, it turns ever brighter. You can't be depressed after having eaten sweet corn. I decided to make a really quick and easy pasta sauce with bright red tomatoes and happy yellow corn. 

Tuna and sweet corn pasta (serves 4):
2 sweet corns on the cob
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion
2 tins tuna
1 tin tomatoes (plum or chopped)
150 g garlic and herb cream cheese (I used Boursin)
Black pepper
Pasta

The howto:
Cook the sweet corn in boiling water for about 15 minutes, until it turns bright yellow. Let cool, and cut the corn of the cob. Finely chop onion. Get the water boiling for your pasta. Heat olive oil in a large pan and cook onion on medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. At this point your water should be boiling, so you can throw in your pasta, whatever amount you think is fit for the number of people who will be eating. Add the tomatoes to the onion, and let cook for another 10 minutes or so, letting some of the juices evaporate. Add the tuna, corn and cream cheese, season with black pepper to taste, and let cook until your pasta is done. Drain pasta and mix with the sauce. Serve with some greens (I had steamed mange tout and green beans) or a green salad.

The verdict:
I love making pasta sauces with cream cheese. It's enough to flavour the sauce really beautifully and you don't need to worry about any other seasoning. The flavours are not too strong to overpower the tuna and the sweet corn, but the sauce is really thick and creamy. Obviously it's not directly health food, but then again, it's pasta so what can you do. We ate this after coming home from the gym, and easily destroyed about two thirds of it right then and there between the two of us. And the Culinary Consultant wants me to make it again this weekend, so I think we have a winner on our hands here. 

Card of the day:
These cards are from the archives, as obviously I don't have the space to craft right now. There is one table in the whole house, and it has a bike on it. The Culinary Consultant doesn't have a dining table at all! Talk about bachelor pad... The cards are another attempt at a male card after having some positive feedback on my previous attempt. I used the Hero Arts Sweet Threads Spirals stamp with Tim Holtz distress inks Walnut stain, Vintage photo and possibly one more colour, but I can't remember anymore... sorry! I then stamped the lion from the Tim Holtz Regal Flourish set with Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo and cut it out using a template and scissors. I stamped the sentiment using Distress inks, stamping twice with two different colours. I then used ink blending foam and distress ink around the edges of each of the pieces before matting onto orange and gold paper and attaching to craft card. The photo doesn't quite dot he colours justice, I think they turned out quite fun. I really miss crafting, I can't read any crafting blogs because it just makes me want to get my hands dirty again. I am clearly dulling my pain with shopping, as I have bought a ridiculous amount of crafting supplies on Ebay ever since I had to pack everything into boxes. I should just delete my Ebay account for my own safety. And I got some birthday presents to further fuel my crafting madness. As soon as I finally have my craft room, I won't leave it for days!!