an extremely utilitarian newsletter
It’s that time of year again: a new season, when I have to reacquaint myself with what I like to cook when it’s warm outside. Most days, I hate the idea of turning on my oven for any activity other than baking. And my grocery shopping gets flipped upside-down: Instead of planning meals and making a list, I wander the farmer’s market and buy whatever looks good, then spread it all out on my counter and puzzle out what to do with it.
Flipping to that mindset isn’t always easy. Last week I made meatballs. Meatballs! When it was 80 degrees outside! Who makes meatballs under those conditions? So in the spirit of my semiannual dinnertime confusion, I figured I’d veer toward service journalism for today’s newsletter and highlight some of the more seasonally appropriate food I’ve been cooking lately — along with stuff that’s on my to-make list as spring fades into summer. Here goes:
scallop and blueberry ceviche from the Washington Post: I was raised by a woman who lives in abject fear of undercooked food. Sushi is an upset stomach waiting to happen. Oysters are a lurking threat. My mother is great at cooking steaks to a spot-on medium rare — but every time she does so, she cuts one open, panics and asks if anyone wants her to throw their meat back on the grill. Which brings me to ceviche.
It took me years to overcome the biases these food fears baked into me. But eventually I started eating sushi and ceviche and raw everything. And then, a few years ago, I started making it myself. Drowning raw shrimp or scallops or flaky fish in acid and confidently serving it a few hours later to my guests? The first time I did it, my leg twitched until I could confirm I hadn’t killed anyone. Back then, I usually used this Defined Dish recipe. These days, I mostly go recipe-less when I make ceviche, which is quite often in warm weather. But this Washington Post recipe is intriguing enough that I’m going to go the recipe route next time and try it.
pickled strawberry toasts from (you guessed it) THIS VERY NEWSLETTER: I became a quick-pickling evangelist last summer, and I’m back at it. At this very moment, two mason jars of berries and vinegar are maturing in my fridge, and strawberry toasts are in my future.
guacamole from THIS VERY NEWSLETTER: Guacamole should be a big part of everyone’s life in the summer. People tell me they like my recipe. They usually eat a lot of it. Do with that information what you will.
there's no such thing as perfect guacamole
When I was a kid, after I’d read my way through all of Beverly Cleary’s fiction, I checked out her memoirs from the library. The second installment covers her life from college until she became a published author, and most of the details were too advanced for my elementary-school brain. But one story from its pages stuck with me.
corn and zucchini orzo salad from Food & Wine: Corn, zucchini and orzo are three of my favorite things on their own. Together, they’re downright addictive.
five-ingredient creamy miso pasta from New York Times Cooking: There is no recipe on the Internet that tastes as good as this one with as little work. I eat it year-round.
tacos de carnitas from New York Times Cooking: This recipe breaks the “keep your kitchen cool when it’s hot outside” in a big way. It simmers for an eon, but the end product (and extra work for your air conditioner) is well worth it, and there’s nothing I like to eat more on a summer night than a super flavorful carnitas taco.
spicy coconut grilled chicken thighs from Bon Appétit: This has become my go-to grilling recipe. I discovered it in 2020, when Jesse and I drove across the country and stopped at Zion National Park. We stayed at a campsite with grills, and I was in search of an easy marinade. This is that, and it’s also the only grilled chicken I’ll even consider eating. It’s spicy and a little bit sweet and requires very little pre-planning. I often have all the marinade ingredients already in my fridge.
arroz chaufa from New York Times Cooking: This is another wildly easy recipe that’ll come together in a half hour or less, depending on how quickly you can chop a red pepper. It’s packed with flavor and makes for A+ leftoevers.
honey-roasted Brussels sprouts with harissa and lemon relish from New York Times Cooking: I usually think of Brussels sprouts as a winter side dish, but this particular preparation is especially spring-y and fresh.
Cheryl Day’s sweet potato biscuits from Cherry Bombe: When I was growing up, my parents belonged to a country club, and every summer, I was a pool rat, spending sunup to sundown, six days a week, swimming and occasionally playing tennis and begrudgingly golfing. This country club had pretty mediocre food, but it made the most amazing biscuits. Buttery, melt-in-your mouth perfection. I used to call up from the pool and order four of them and nothing else, then trudge up to the dining area to bring back my carb-heavy meal. Which is to say: For those strange reasons, I associate biscuits with summertime. And these sweet potato biscuits are a delicious, fun, towering twist on the usual buttermilk.
Joanne Chang’s maple-blueberry scones from New York Times Cooking: These are my favorite blueberry receptacle — and it’s almost blueberry-picking season here in D.C. They’re not particularly sweet but have a great depth of flavor thanks in large part to the maple syrup, and they’re the perfect grab and go breakfast if you want to take your coffee on a walk before the day gets too hot.