Bacon, pasta and grilled vegetables make for a tasty and seasonal summer recipe. Take your garden harvest, throw it on the grill, and combine it with bacon (truly makes everything better!) pasta, and fresh herbs. Tastes like summer! Any combination of fresh, seasonal vegetables with any type of pasta will do. A simple recipe that can be adapted to your family’s tastes.
I was fortunate enough to be able to take a little pause from work and life lately. I’ve been in overdrive since the beginning of this year, and everything I was working on started to blur together a bit. I was feeling lost, uninspired, and unsure of where to go next. As a creative person, I’m no stranger to this feeling, but it never gets easier to figure out what to do about it when it does pop up.
Luckily, the stars aligned and I was able to accompany The Hubs on a work trip to Hawaii without having to bring any of my own work with me. While I went hoping to do some soul searching and find some cosmic life answers, I can’t say I returned any wiser.
It was a relief to rest my brain for a bit. Living in the Bay Area is very different from San Diego. People here are very driven, competitive, and focused on getting ahead. It’s hard not to get swept up in the professional frenzy. No one specifically pressures me day in and day out besides myself, but the sense of urgency is constantly floating around. The client requests have been pouring in, which is a freelancers dream, but the opportunities lately have felt less exciting and more monotonous.
Beyond my styling work, this blog has been a pain point for me lately as well. I’m not sure people realize the technicalities that are involved in online writing. You have to do keyword research and write in such a way that google will push you to the top page of search. Then there’s strategies involved in when to post on social media, how to post on social media, who exactly to engage with on certain days during certain hours. Let’s not even talk about analytics……….it’s a lot more than cooking and writing, that’s for sure.
Herein lies my revelation……I think.
I just don’t care.
Maybe I could be making more money, or have more pageviews or a bigger audience, but to me, the “rules” are starting to ruin the art. Art and creating have been my driving force my entire life.
I just want to make stuff.
It would be excellent if people see and engage with whatever I create, but I cannot lose sleep over whether or not I used the wrong keyword, or if my pinnable image is incorrectly sized. I know that my audience is out there and we will find each other. I just need to keep creating, and forget the immense pressure that comes with working in such a competitive field.
This goes for my blog and for my client work. I want to make videos and images I’m truly proud of and I believe in.
Moving forward this will mean taking things a bit slower.
Feeling sure of each small detail instead of just cranking out product.
I also plan to start painting and writing for myself on other platforms. I need to flex my creative muscles every single day and focus on the things that come authentically from my soul.
So here we are. Getting back to my blogging roots. 8 years ago when I started this thing, that’s all people did. Wrote and shared their personal lives. Sure there’s information embedded, but it was so much more personal than what the blogging landscape is today. These days people are running mini advertising agencies and I am definitely no advertising guru. I’m just an artist with a wild heart.
Now that we’ve reached the personal sharing quotient of this particular post, it’s time to get on with the informational part, ie. how to make this insanely delicious bacon pasta dish.
Bacon Pasta with Grilled Zucchini & Roasted Tomatoes
I am very excited to be growing my inaugural Oakland garden this year. I’ve got tomatoes and zucchini well on their way, as well as tons of herbs.
This bacon pasta dish is a simple recipe that is enhanced with any vegetable you may have on hand. I’m encouraging you all to try grilling some new things this summer like cabbage, corn or cauliflower. With a base of bacon and pasta, you really can’t go wrong from the get go, so add whatever veggies, herbs and cheese your heart desires.
Light fresh, and super summery.
If you’re doing some vegetable gardening this summer I’d love to hear about it! What are you growing? What are your favorite garden harvest recipes? Leave a comment below and let me know! If you decide to test drive this particular dish, be sure to tag @betsylife on Instagram so I can see your creations!
Grilled Zucchini and Bacon Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes
Bacon, pasta and grilled vegetables make for a tasty and seasonal summer recipe. Take your garden harvest, throw it on the grill, and then combine it with bacon (truly makes everything better!) pasta, and fresh herbs. Tastes like summer! Any combination of fresh, seasonal vegetables with any type of pasta will do. A simple recipe that can be adapted to your family's tastes.
Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 ear corn
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 10 oz fresh pasta
- 8 oz burrata cheese
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
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Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high heat.
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In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and chop into small pieces.
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Meanwhile slice the zucchini into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Drizzle corn and zucchini with olive oil and place on the grill. Cook until lightly charred and cooked through. (About 10-12 minutes for corn and 5-6 minutes for zucchini) Remove from heat and cut the kernels from the corn.
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Melt butter in the pan with the bacon grease. Add garlic and tomatoes to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes soften and release their juice, about 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.
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When the pasta is al dente, add pasta to the pan with tomatoes and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to evenly coat pasta.
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In a large bowl combine pasta mixture, bacon, grilled corn and zucchini. Stir to combine. Serve topped with burrata and basil.
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Kimberly@FoodTalko says
My kids will definitely gonna love this recipe. Can’t wait to try.
betsy says
Yay! Let me know how it goes