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To do this week: Best summer corn and back-to-school prep

For those clinging to summer, we have some ways to enjoy the best local corn. And for those eyeing September’s arrival next week, we’ve got solid advice for parents on how to set up a kid's desk.

Di Bruno Bros.' grilled corn is brushed with truffle butter and rolled in a crispy breadcrumb, Parmesan, and parsley topping.
Di Bruno Bros.' grilled corn is brushed with truffle butter and rolled in a crispy breadcrumb, Parmesan, and parsley topping.Read moreCourtesy Jackie Botto
    by Staff Reports
    Published 

We’ve got a little bit of summer and a little bit of fall this week. For those clinging to the season, we have some great ways to enjoy the best local corn right now. And for those eyeing September’s arrival next week, we’ve got solid advice for parents on how to set up a learning-from-home workspace. Remember, we’ve got all the ways to save your summer at inquirer.com/summer.

Stay healthy, stay safe, and, as much as possible, it’s still a good idea to stay home.

— thingstodo@inquirer.com

Your questions, answered

  1. 💉 Should I get a flu shot this year? And how? by Stacey Burling

  2. 😷 Can I quarantine with my friends if we were exposed together? by Nick Vadala

  3. 🗑️ Can you get fined for throwing out your trash on the wrong day now? by Grace Dickinson

  4. 🔑 When can my landlord enter my apartment? by Nick Vadala

  5. ⚖️ How can I fight a traffic ticket in Philly? by Timothy L. James

» Ask us a question through Curious Philly: inquirer.com/askus

Plan This

Here are some of the best ways to keep busy this week, a few selections from our weekly events calendar:

  1. 🍺 Ancient Alcohol After Hours (Tasting / virtual / drinks) Friday nights during the pandemic call for drinks. The Penn Museum and Philly Loves Beer team up for an evening of drink-fueled learning including Ancient Greek drinking games, how ancient brewing practices inform modern-day beer making and a beer tasting of a curated six-pack available from select bottle shops in the area. ($10, Aug. 28, 8 p.m.-10 p.m., penn.museum, add to calendar)

  2. 🎶 Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Virtual Concert Fundraiser (Concert / virtual) Tubey Frank, ThebandIvory and Eleanor Two perform at a virtual concert to benefit Morris Home, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people. Recorded at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, the concert is donation-based. (Donations encouraged, Aug 28, 7 p.m., phillymagicgardens.org, add to calendar)

  3. 🤣 Jim Gaffigan (Comedy / in-person / drive-in) Gaffigan’s latest stand-up special, The Pale Tourist, dropped on Amazon in July; now the comic, actor and best-selling author brings the funny to the Live-in Drive-in series at Citizens Bank Park. ($159.50-$275 per carload, Aug 29, 8 p.m, Citizens Bank Park parking lot, map, add to calendar)

  4. 🚗 The Mahoning Drive-In: Double-Bill of Death (Movie / in-person / day trip) A scary good double-feature at the Mahoning Drive-In includes Italian supernatural horror flick The Beyond, and the North American premiere of Swedish horror movie Lake of Death. ($10-$15, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m., The Mahoning Drive-In, map, add to calendar)

  5. 🚴 I Bike PHL Challenge (Biking / in-person / exercise) Help make Philadelphia’s streets more bike friendly by cycling along one (or all!) of the designated routes in this self-paced bike challenge organized by The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Proceeds benefit bicycle safety initiatives throughout the city. (Free-$120, Sept. 1-30, bicyclecoalition.org, add to calendar)

» More great events at inquirer.com/calendar

Do this

If you have kids, we don’t need to tell you: Back to school looks very unusual this year. A lot of parents may just have to take the reality of this one day at a time, but here’s a good place to start: Where is your kid going to work? Grace Dickinson gathered some practical tips for getting your kid set up right. Here are some highlights:

  1. No desk? No problem. All sorts of flat surfaces can serve as your child’s workspace as long as they can sit in a healthy, upright position. Their knees and hips should form 90-degree angles, with their laptop or device at eye level. Feet should always touch the floor.

  2. Give your kid a ’locker’: Designate a container to store school supplies at the end of the day, especially if the workspace needs to serve double duty, like the dining room table. It can be anything: “My colleague went to the store and let her kids pick out their own backpacks, and at the end of the day they put everything back into the backpack,” says Janet Bernstein, certified professional organizer and owner of The Organizing Professionals.

  3. Get rid of clutter (even if you have to fake it). Don’t have the time — or mental energy — to clean all the clutter away? We hear you. Throwing a sheet over cluttered areas can help reduce the visual distraction when everything else can’t be perfect.

  4. Fidgety kid? Try an exercise ball. If your kid is having trouble sitting still, first, make sure their chair is comfortable. Still fidgety? Try replacing their seat with an exercise ball. “Some children may need more movement to keep them focused,” says Todd Levy, an occupational therapist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

  5. Designate a ‘quiet zone.’ Map out on a whiteboard times when different people in the house need some quiet uninterrupted time. “You can also have a sign that you put on a door or table that signals ‘I’m busy right now’,” says Sierra Filucci, editorial director at Common Sense Media.

» READ MORE: How to set up the best school desk for your kid at home

Eat this

It’s peak corn season, and getting the best of the local produce while you can is a reasonable priority. Grace Dickinson found some novel local corn treats to try. Bet you didn’t even realize how much you wanted a corn popsicle right about now.

  1. Sweet and salty summer corn pops at Lil’ Pop Shop. A summer staple, Lil’ Pop Shop’s corn pops are back, available through September. The pops are made with corn from local cooperative Lancaster Farm Fresh, steeped in a base of local milk and heavy cream. A generous dose of salt creates an addictive sweet-and-salty combo, one that’s thick and creamy in part from the natural starchiness of the corn. Price: $3.70 plus tax.

  2. Sweet corn pizza at Pizzeria Beddia. The 16-inch white pies are spread with a sweet cream sauce, cooked down with smoky, pizza-oven-roasted corn kernels. Cutting the richness is a layer of marinated heirloom tomatoes and a drizzle of fresh basil vinaigrette. And topping it all is Beddia’s signature trio of cheeses: a low-moisture mozzarella, a fresh mozzarella, and a finishing touch of local Royer Mountain, a salty, aged cow’s milk cheese. Price: $28

  3. Grilled truffle butter corn. It doesn’t take more than salt and butter to make grilled corn delicious. But Di Bruno Bros. is taking it up a notch with housemade truffle butter. The pre-grilled ears are slathered with the butter and then rolled in Parmesan, parsley, and bread crumbs for a crispy finish. Or if you have a grill, consider making your own version. Price: $5 per ear

» READ MORE: Corn pop treats, pizza, and more Philly dishes you should shucking try this summer