It was a nice week with more company at home in four days than I had in the last four months.

On Tuesday, I had five friends for dinner. We are all good friends, all five from Lyme. After dinner, we sat in my living/dining room, at least five feet apart, and watched the Connecticut Sun lose for the second time in a row. All of the WNBA women are playing at one enormous arena for the entire summer.

Then, on Saturday, my stepdaughter, Molly, visited from Newton, Mass. She currently has the longest commute ever: two weeks in Massachusetts, then two weeks in San Francisco. She had sheltered in San Francisco for three months, and when she flew to Massachusetts, she had to isolate for two weeks. Now, with the continuing pandemic situation in California, she will spend at least six weeks here on the East Coast. Anyway, we had a nice dinner at Olio, but before she drove back to her apartment, I gave her a few packages of tuna salad, tomatoes, cherries, peaches, and sweet corn.

Even though it was a busy week, including Zoom meetings and writing, I had some time to read lots of my food magazines. I did some interesting cooking.

In all the years I have written this column, I never had a problem finding a new recipe or figuring a new way to make an older one.

But last week I found three new recipes and had all the ingredients on my counter, in the refrigerator or in the pantry. Two I have made and both were delicious.

The third I haven’t made yet, but a friend had given me three lovely little eggplants, so I will make that one next. All three can be ready to eat by the time the water is boiling and the pasta is al dente.

Linguine with Spinach, Lemon Cream and Parmesan

From Costco Connection, August 2020

Serves 4 as a entree or 6 to 8 as a starter or side

1 pound linguine

1 pound baby spinach

1 small or medium-firm zucchini, cut into fine julienne strips (optional)

2 lemons, washed and dried

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the linguine and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Stir in spinach and zucchini, if using. Cook, stirring frequently, until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, zest the lemons, removing only the yellow skin and avoiding the white pith. Halve the lemons, and squeeze the juice into a small bowl.

Remove and reserve ½ cup of the pot of water, drain the linguine into a strainer. Pour the lemon juice over the pasta.

Add pasta water, cream and lemon zest into the empty pot and cook over medium-low, stirring, until the cream thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Add linguine and toss well until thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper and serve in a bowl with the cheese.

On the Side

I am a purist when it comes to sweet corn. I buy sweet corn only from a farm stand when it is absolutely local and, hopefully, harvested that day. I don't husk it until the water is boiling. I parboil it for no more than 3 minutes and eat it blisteringly hot with just sweet butter. If I cut the kernels for freezing, first I put the hot corn into ice water immediately.

But on Facebook I found a new trick and tried it. I put one unhusked ear of corn in the microwave and set it to 4 minutes. Using a glove, I cut about one inch of the bottom of the unhusked ear, then held the tassel and shook it over the sink. With a little push, the ear came out: no husk, no silk. It was almost as good as my 3 minutes in boiling water. I don't know how it might work with two or six or 12 ears, but for just me it was pretty nifty.

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.