A handwritten letter. It’s a bit of a lost art. That makes receiving one far more special, of course. When my sons went to camp, I relished the fact that there would be no email, texting or screens of any kind. We would write letters!
Imagine my delight when, just the other week, I received a heartfelt letter from a reader. Among her many kind words, Lydia mentioned looking forward to my Wednesday and Saturday emails, losing track of time as she explores the recipe archives and learning from (and being entertained by) the comments of her fellow readers. (Yes, that’s you!)
Lydia had two requests. First, since I often mention our garden and the produce it yields (truth be told, I’m far more successful with herbs than most vegetables!), could I share a photo of it in my next Favorite Things post? Second, do I have a recipe for corn pie? Lydia enjoyed corn pie as a child and would love to make it again.
So, I am kicking off our monthly Favorites post with a photo of our garden.⇩⇩The herbs and vegetables are surrounded by a variety of perennials, which become increasingly lush as the season progresses－and truly make the garden look like we worked a lot harder than we did!
As for the corn pie, I don’t have a recipe, so I am hoping one (or more!) of you does. If you do, please comment below or send me an email (by clicking on the “Contact Me” tab located at the top of the page or replying to a current email from me). I will share the recipes with Lydia－and in a future post if other readers would enjoy seeing them.🌽
In the same spirit and because I never seem to be able to share all of my current recipes when midsummer produce is aplenty, I’m including a no-cook bonus recipe featuring a light and crisp summertime staple (with special thanks to another reader).🥒
And while we’re chatting, please let me know if there’s a special recipe you would like to see. Reader input will help me choose what to share over the remaining weeks of summer. Recipes currently on repeat in our house include a variety of hearty summer salads, protein-rich dips (that also make filling sandwiches－I make them open-face), a one-pan pasta with tomatoes and basil, a light Thai cucumber salad, corn salads, recipes with roasted tomatoes and Matcha smoothies (even the non-matcha lovers adore these…when the kids are home I make a triple batch daily!). We’ve also been trying to eat more plant-based protein, so I have multiple new bean-centric recipes－and I even gave jackfruit a go. (The resulting “chicken” salad got excellent reviews!)
A special thank you to Lydia for her lovely letter⇩⇩and to all my wonderful readers for the interest and support you’ve provided over the years.💕 I look forward to more feedback…now let’s get to the official August list!
Favorite Book: The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love (by Kristin Kimball)
A friend gave me this book shortly after it was published in 2001, and it remains a favorite. The Dirty Life is the tale of a big city travel writer who, after falling in love with a farmer she interviewed for a story, leaves the creature comforts of urban living for a decidedly more challenging life on an organic farm.
Kimball chronicles the couple’s first year on Essex Farm, from the harsh winter through their harvest-season wedding in the barn’s loft. Their ambitious plan was to grow everything needed to feed their community－but Mother Nature didn’t make it easy.
I think of this book often during the summer growing season, as it provides a down-and-dirty insider’s account of how difficult life on a farm can be. Yet Kimball balances the ongoing tumult with a humorous touch that makes this inspiring memoir a true page-turner.
Mark and Kristin Kimball’s Essex Farm and its year-round CSA on New York’s Lake Champlain is still going strong. They occasionally offer tours, which I think would be interesting.
Tip of the month: Rubbing alcohol is the foolproof way to get stuck water out of ears and prevent Swimmer’s Ear.
A recent mention as to how many cases of Swimmer’s Ear my pediatrician friend has been seeing reminded me of something: not a single person at my summer camp when I was a girl ever got this painful but common ear infection－even though we swam daily in a lake－because we were always given a few drops of alcohol in each ear before we were even dry. The counselors used a dropper straight from the bottle, but most drug stores also sell “special” drops (see photo below), which are essentially smaller quantities of the same alcohol, packaged in a bottle that can be used as a dropper. (Convenient when traveling and for pool and beach bags, too.)
I’m a lap swimmer, so I have long used this tip when I have water stubbornly stuck in my ear, and no amount of head shaking to one side seems to help. We usually pour a little alcohol into the bottle cap and drip that into our ears until we feel it “glug” in. As soon as that happens, you can let the alcohol drip back out, and the water that was trapped there magically disappears. It’s actually rather cool!
Reader favorite kitchen of the month:
“Beautiful clean lines” and the “great use of space” were just a couple of the reasons the following bright space was the top pick for the month of July. One detail that several readers hoped for (if this was their kitchen!) was a window over the sink.
Favorite Quote: Without ice cream there would only be darkness and chaos.
Found on the window in Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream in Portland, Maine. If you’re in Portland, you must stop by for their delicious flavors, which run the gamut from the traditional-with-flare Callebaut Chocolate to the downright creative Butterscotch Miso and Cereal Milk.
Since we’re on the subject of ice cream, I can hardly not mention our recent visit to the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterville, Vermont. If you’re in the area, it’s a fun outing. If you are not but enjoy podcasts, I recommend NPR’s How I Built This podcast, specifically the episode featuring company founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. It’s educational, interesting and just plain fun.
Easiest meal that I’ve been making for myself－no recipe needed!
You may have heard about sweet potato “toast.” It was all the rage a year or two ago. My friend Emma (of Emma’s Favorite Cupcakes fame😍) recently told me that she’s been using the concept for easy meal prep. Now I’m doing it, too. Here’s what to do:
Instead of toasting slices of sweet potato, which takes a long time, she bakes them, cools and then refrigerates for use as needed. So smart! Accordingly, I cut the sweet potatoes into ½-inch thick slices (I keep the peels on), spray each side with olive or avocado oil spray, and then bake at 425℉ for about 18-20 minutes, or until just tender and golden brown on the bottom. (Note that this “toast” will not be crispy in the traditional sense. Also, if you’d like to brown the tops a little more, broil for a minute or two at the end of the baking time.)
From there, you can top as desired. Emma likes to rewarm the slices (when they’ve been made in advance) and then spread with almond or peanut butter and sliced bananas.⇩⇩A sprinkle of cinnamon or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup is a nice touch if you enjoy a hint of added sweetness.
For a savory, filling meal, I’ve been topping the sweet potato with canned wild salmon (which is a fantastic alternative to tuna, rich in heart-healthy Omega-3s and economical), sliced avocado, pickled onions, a sprinkle of salted pepitas, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo (just a little mayo with sriracha added to taste). It’s a great meal (fork and knife work best) and once the sweet potato is cooked, the preparation is nothing more than quick assembly.
For an alternative protein source, you could top with white beans instead of salmon (or use leftover salmon), or spread with hummus and vary the veggies to taste. Guacamole could be used instead of sliced avocado, you could sneak a few greens and/or sprouts in there, and an over-medium egg would be a stellar topper, too. And how about a tuna melt?
Don’t like sweet potatoes? Try this easy meal with Yukon Gold potatoes. Helpful hint: when choosing potatoes, look for wider spuds that allow for good slices. Some sweet potatoes, in particular, are rather skinny.
Current favorite zucchini preparation: Baked Zucchini Fries!
I took a few prep shots of these. If you notice that some look a little more yellow than others, that’s because I was testing whether an egg white or the whole egg (used to make the crispy coating stick) yielded a better end result.
Are you interested in this recipe? If so, I can share specifics soon. Basically, the spears are dredged in flour (all-purpose or gluten-free), dipped in egg, tossed in a 2:1 mixture of seasoned panko (again, GF is fine) and Parmesan and then baked at 425℉ (preferably on an oil-sprayed rack for better crispness all around) for 20-22 minutes. They’re so tasty. (By the way, the final verdict between the whole egg and the white? It was a tie!)
The following chilled cucumber soup recipe was shared with me by Karen, a reader who found it in an AARP publication. Karen first made the soup as a way to use the abundant supply of cucumbers from her garden, and returned to it for its great flavor and utter ease. (Karen happens to live in my neighborhood, and she kindly dropped off a sample!) The specific AARP article was titled “Best Served Cold” and included easy, no-cook recipes with minimal ingredients. We think fresh dill adds something extra special.
Happy August to all, and please remember to share corn pie recipes for Lydia!☀️
Cold Cucumber Dill Soup
Ingredients
- 3½ cups diced English cucumber*
- 3 tablespoons chopped scallion
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1½ cups sour cream (for best flavor, use regular rather than fat-free or light)**
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, process all of the ingredients until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Chill and serve cold.
Notes
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