July '22 Newsletter
Hello and Happy July!
We had a pretty chilly June, but I finally got to have my first beach day this past weekend, complete with a dip in the 62°F water, and it felt so nice. Our farmers market is about to get to that point, where the abundance of all the seasonal goodies is almost overwhelming. I’m already starting to see peak season produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, and summer squash pop up at the farm stands, along with early summer vegetables like lettuce and fava beans that are still around. It’s such a special time for cooking, since summer produce needs almost no effort to taste amazing.
I’ve decided to tweak the format of the recipes and videos in the cooking circle just a bit. I’m going to start cooking all of the month’s recipes in the video, instead of having standalone, unrelated recipes. I think this way, everything will be tied together much more and tell more of a story. Let me know if this makes sense to you as well!
This month’s class is all about finding the pleasure in cooking - how to enjoy cooking, how to reframe it as something fun, and how to be more present while cooking. This month’s recipes are ones that require a bit more presence and attention, and are a pleasure to make, to correspond with the theme of the class: there’s a really special Garlic Confit Tomato Sauce, Romano Beans in (said) Tomato Sauce with Garlicky Breadcrumbs, and Summer Squash Risotto, plus Risotto Cakes.
Seasonal Pleasures & Other Stuff
⁕ Fresh berries are such a highlight of the summer, and it’s surprisingly easy to make a berry sorbet that tastes straight off a fancy restaurant’s menu. I like roasting berries for sorbet, since it further concentrates their sun-kissed flavor, and then it’s just a matter of blending them with lemon juice and maple syrup, and churning the mixture into sorbet. Recipe here, video here.
⁕ I often think of cabbage as a fall/winter vegetable, but the spring/early summer cabbage that I’ve been getting at the farmers market is in its own league. It’s vibrant green in color, incredibly juicy, sweet, and so tender. I’ve been making so much coleslaw with it, and we cannot get enough. Here’s my very simple coleslaw recipe.
⁕ A non food-related Youtube channel recommendation: How to Renovate a Chateau. Just as the name suggests, it’s all about a couple restoring a run down chateau in France. They do a ton of hand work, honor the historical details, and the results are beautiful. If you’re into interiors or renovation, you might like this!
Wishing you a beautiful July!
