anything's allowed
herb-filled dinners for long summer days
Does it seem like time is doing that thing again lately where it simultaneously speeds by while the days drag on at a snail’s pace? I feel somewhat neutral about this observation, but it does mean I’m getting behind in some of my personal tasks and goals because it still feels like the middle of June. I’m currently knitting in what feels like my every spare moment, because the first week of August, which is when this test knit needs to be complete, is looking a lot closer from this side of the July long weekend.
A friend is visiting this week from Chicago, so we gathered a few of our other friends together for a Saturday afternoon brewery crawl here in North Van. Beginning at La Cerveceria Astilleros was the logical choice, since they have pretty great tacos and we began around lunchtime. The next stop was Copperpenny, a distillery with an Art Deco vibe that has such fantastic cocktails, all made with their fragrant and delicious gin. I got the paloma because I loved it so much last time, but I couldn’t get over the gorgeous detail of a (cloth, I think) skeleton leaf garnishing the old fashioned.
We also visited Beere and House of Funk for a round at each and then, having had more to drink in one afternoon than I usually do in a week, we headed back to our own patio to sit in the shade for an easy dinner. I heated us up a couple of frozen pizzas— the ones from Holy Napoli have a great crust and taste the least like a frozen pizza in my opinion, though the Nicli Antica ones are also not bad. While it was baking, I assembled a crisp green salad in a vinaigrette made with dijon and some of my pickled rhubarb. Our Chicagoan friend remarked on how late it had gotten without us noticing because it was still so bright out. I always feel unduly proud when people from more southerly latitudes are awed by our long summer days, because to me, these days are worth suffering through 16-hour nights in the dead of winter.
In the summer I often go through waves of wanting to make the most of all the fresh produce, baking and freezing and pickling and sauce-making and so on, mixed with waves of hardly thinking about food until it’s time to eat, instead content to sit in a chair outside knitting or reading for hours. This week was definitely the latter, and we didn’t have a lot of groceries in the fridge either, but I cobbled together a couple nice things somehow. I guess I need to save my energy for the hundreds of black raspberries that are about to ripen on our vines.
Until the lovely, buttery Warba potatoes in our garden are ready to eat (soon!), I am content to keep getting them off the dollar rack at the produce store. I made some into a potato salad with a big scoop of the homemade vegan pesto I always seem to have in the freezer, and ate it with some grilled tofu and broccolini. I marinated the tofu for a couple hours in a souvlaki-ish mix of lemon juice and zest, thyme and oregano from the garden, smashed garlic, and olive oil, and then brushed the broccolini with the same when it was grilling time. The flavour was light but complementary to the powerful pesto, and I was exceptionally pleased with the perfect grill lines I got on the tofu.
This Smitten Kitchen baked pasta with herbs, lemon, and summer squash has been a staple in my kitchen for so long that I don’t use the recipe anymore (that’s how you know the recipe has done its job!) and make it from memory, with my own preferences. I make the béchamel using oat milk now and it works much the same, to Jeff’s eternal gratitude. I use a lot more herbs, too, heavy on the mint because our garden always has so much and it works so well with the light creaminess and the zucchini. This is one of those dishes that people seem to remember fondly long after I’ve served it to them, and I can never stop myself from having a couple more forkfuls out of the pan while cleaning up after dinner.
For when you really run out of food in the fridge, beans will always be there for you. This spicy black bean bake was an early pandemic staple for me and I still return to the essence of it often, if I’m low on ingredients or feel like something hearty without much effort. However, I was in the mood for white beans, so I put together some slightly more summery ingredients to cook with them.
I started with garlic and onion like always, with tomato paste, chilies, and smoked paprika for body. There was still a handful of arugula left in the garden (it’s bolted and I need to re-seed this weekend), so I grabbed that and lots of fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, thyme, basil, and oregano), and chopped them up to go in along with some lemon juice and ground sumac. On top I used pecorino and cheddar, but almost any not-too-creamy cheese would work. Usually I like beans cooked in this way served with toast, but I was out of bread, and rice proved to be a good stand-in. It was tasty and filling and didn’t tear me away from my knitting for more than half an hour or so, which was, for now, ideal.
Media:
This for Eater about romance novels with a kitchen- or food-related premise delighted me to see. There’s something so satisfying about reading about a book where you know vaguely what will happen in the end, and enjoying the journey of how the characters get there. The article discusses how there tends to be more diversity of authors (as well as characters) within the food sub-genre of romance novels, and posits reasons for the current popularity of books featuring a food-based plot.
““Going back to the idea that food and romance are universal human needs, it’s an easy entry point for authors to show their culture or their heritage and educate their readers,” says Swartz. With the common narrative of “everybody eats,” food is also often portrayed as bridging gaps between those who might not otherwise see eye to eye, with the consumption of food sometimes conflated with a smoothing of fundamental disagreements.”
As someone who has recently re-embraced the thrill of the romance novel, I’m definitely adding a couple of these to my to-read list. I also recommend Bloom, a charming queer graphic novel set in a family-owned bakery.
Relatedly, I recommend this beautiful piece by author Bolu Babalola about how being a romantic even in the midst of heartbreak signifies resilience, not delusion.
Thanks for reading— if you enjoyed this newsletter, please smash that like button below, or share it with someone new! I like providing this to you for free, but it does still involve time and effort, so donations I can use towards cookbooks or future treats are much appreciated. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good long weekend.