How to Eat in the Summer ☀️

4 tips to get you through 🍉

we love summer

This week, I wanted to write about the challenges of summer cooking. Between being out and about more, not wanting to turn on the oven, and only wanting cold foods, so many of the things we usually eat are no longer appealing.

My friend Rachel texted me the other day that she thinks she’s “forgotten how to cook.” I think we all can relate to that feeling in the summer, which is why winter always feels like we’re rediscovering cooking again.

It turns out that exactly one year ago, I wrote about the same thing.

Below are the three recipes I shared last summer, which I still consider staples in my summer routine. After another year of cooking, here are my four tips to help feed yourself in the summer:

1. Eat more beans. A bean salad is always just 10 minutes away, and I am working on perfecting the perfect bean salad formula. More on this soon.

2. I will get back on my soapbox about getting a farm box in the summer. If there was EVER a time to seek out local produce, this is it. Supermarket tomatoes or corn are often trucked for days and harvested early, and they are commodity varieties that have less flavor. If you haven’t tried getting a box from Farm to People yet, this is the time. I have a code DANIELLE25 for your first box if you’re ready to try it.

3. Get away from recipes. There is so much freedom in being able to throw something together from what’s in the fridge without having to go shopping. I like to always have tortillas in the house, and when in doubt, we eat tacos. Beans + Cheese + any vegetables = a good dinner. If you are lucky enough to have avocado, salsa or cilantro = great dinner.

4. Need inspiration? Listen to Food Friends with

   Sonya Sanford
   and Kari Lauritzen- like this episode of Top 8 Recipes for Summer Home Cooking and the accompanying newsletter with links.

Photo by Farm to People

What Am I Cooking?

Grilled Eggplant & Soba Noodle Salad With Nearly Nước Chấm by

Hetty Lui McKinnon

✨

Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat. Officially, it’s not even a grain but rather a seed that’s harvested from a flowering plant related to rhubarb. Buckwheat has more fiber and nutrition than other pasta and is often found in the “Asian” section of the grocery store. What I love about this salad is the preparation of the eggplant. Cutting it up into tiny pieces with shaved ginger was a game changer for eggplant, which I have historically served in larger pieces where it’s not as good. I served this salad room temp rather than cold covered in lots of cilantro and crushed peanuts.

Yogurt Bowls with Chia Jam 🍓

My latest obsession. You can take any fruit, cook it down, add honey or maple syrup and chia seeds, and have fresh jam. The difference between “real” jam, which uses pectin and requires food safety techniques to make at home, is you are preserving it so the jam will last forever. Chia jam will last about a week but has much less sugar than regular jam and I have been eating it on everything.

I made a Peach, Plum, and Strawberry jam that was a crowd-pleaser and a Blueberry jam this week.

I dump my fruit in a pot, add about 3 Tbsp of honey, and cook until the fruit breaks down. If you use fruit with a harder peel, like an apricot, you will need to blend it at some point to help make it mushy. All berries are super easy to work with, including very ripe peaches.

Once the fruit is almost mush stir in 2 Tbsp chia seeds and the mixture will start to become gelantinous. Mix over low heat for about 10 minutes and let cool completely. See this article for more detailed measurements.

All fun things made with chia jam

Feta + Olive Zucchini Roll Ups ✨

I developed this recipe for Matriak Foods to celebrate their Pasta Kits launch. The recipe video I made is here.

If you don’t love feta and olives, you can roll up any soft cheese in zucchini like this ricotta version here.

You will need:

• 3 large zucchini

• pasta

• tomato sauce

• feta

• olives

• yogurt

• parsley (optional)

✨ get the widest zucchini you can find. Use a mandolin or knife to cut thin, long slices
✨ place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 min to soften
✨ use an 8 oz block of feta and save 1/4 for the end. Place in a food processor with a spoonful of yogurt, chopped olives and a splash of water. Blend until smooth
✨ spread mixture inside each zucchini strip and roll
✨ place rolls in a baking dish with your Matriark sauce of choice on the bottom
✨ top with extra feta and olives
✨ bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until bubbling
✨ serve over pasta and top with parm and or parsley

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Gems of the Week ✨

• Malai - have you been here yet? This is my favorite ice cream shop, which they describe as “globally-sourced whole ingredients, aromatic spices, and unexpected twists on old classics.” I ordered a mango cardamom swirl.

• Low Cinema - John Wilson opened a new movie theater in Ridgewood. Apparently, it’s called a micro-cinema because it only seats 50-60, but it’s nice to know people are going to the movies. I attended a screening of Blue Crush, which was a really fun movie to watch, featuring incredible footage of big waves in Hawaii.

• What do you eat on the road? Our top 10 Make-Ahead Recipes for Road Trips, Travel, and Picnics by

  Food Friends
  .

• A Baker Contemplates Her Own Obsolescence, Again: An essay on the rise of AI and its cultural backlash by

  Bronwen Wyatt
  for
  Cake Zine
  .

• Coconut Cherry Popsicles - the simplest popsicle to make, thank you Claire Thomson for the inspiration

• The New York Times thinks Gays have gone too far (with Chase Strangio) - A must listen for anyone who read the horrendous article by Andrew Sullivan or might need to engage with anyone who has.