closer to fine
tomato season begins and also, it's too damn hot
Hi, Barbie! I finally saw the Barbie movie. If you’ve seen it, you understand the title of this entry, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to because it’s a great time. Steph and I went to the big fancy theatre at Brentwood, which I like because it’s 19+ only and you can get a beer brought to you in your very comfortable seat. Lots of people there were wearing pink, including us— most shades of pink don’t look too good on me so I don’t own much of it, but I had a patterned button-down that worked, and I wore my pinkest socks and watch. Steph treated me to the movie and a beer, as well as our pre-film dinner at the food court Japadog, because she’s everything and I’m just Ken.
Jeff and I also got invited to dinner last Saturday at his godparents’ house in Lynn Valley, or rather, their patio— it was much too hot to eat indoors. We sat around complaining about the state of housing (as you do) while eating veggies and dip and drinking beers in the shade, and then we all shared a couple bottles of nice wine at the table over mushroom risotto, chicken cordon bleu, corn on the cob, and a pickled cauliflower and carrot salad. There was also vegan carrot cake for dessert, which reminded me how much I love carrot cake.
We’re reaching the tail end of this heat wave, during which I have tried to cook as little as possible, so my apologies that this newsletter is so short. The other day I was trapped in my car in crawling traffic trying to get on the bridge at rush hour, questioning my life choices as I sat sweating with the windows down, stubbornly refusing to waste more fuel by turning on the air conditioning. And at home, we’ve been engaged in an elaborate blind-closing and fan-repositioning system throughout the day. I hope you’re staying cool where you are, and that you are able to indulge in some watermelon, ice cream, or a nice cold bottle of mango Jarritos— whatever your fancy. It’s hot out, you deserve it.
Zucchini season is finally coming to a close, just in time for me to be overwhelmed by tomatoes instead. On Sunday I made a batch of cherry tomato confit using the method in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, which I’d made once or twice last summer, too. There’s a recipe, but basically, just take half as much olive oil by volume as tomatoes, and roast at 300°F for 35-40 minutes with lots of salt, some peeled garlic cloves, and fresh basil (or another herb). Make sure the herbs and garlic are submerged and all the tomatoes are partially covered by the oil. They come out beautifully tender and flavourful, and the oil can be used again after the tomatoes are gone— pour it through a strainer and use it for cooking, or brushing over fresh bread, or, as I plan to do this weekend, making a new batch of the confit.
On the hottest day of the week I was glad I’d made these earlier, because it meant we could enjoy one of the nicer heat wave dinners: Stuff On Bread. I haven’t fed my sourdough starters in awhile, so Jeff picked up a loaf from Cobs. We opened a can of smoked salmon pâté that was in a gift basket I got at Christmas and hadn’t yet found a use for, and spread that over the bread after toasting lightly. Then it was topped with the tomatoes, plenty of cracked pepper, and a few torn basil leaves. It took ten minutes to make and was perfect. I looked up the price of the salmon since we enjoyed it so much, knowing I wouldn’t like what I found, but I think for $9 I can treat myself to it a couple of times a year.
I made zucchini quesadillas again with one of the last few zucchinis we’ll probably get from our garden. No jalapeños this time, just shredded zucchini cooked down in the pan and mixed up with grated cheddar, but as we’re trying to use up some things before we have to start prepping to move, I dumped in some habanero-garlic hot sauce instead (Denzel’s Dangerous Goods, if you’re interested). It gave them a pretty decent kick! To go with them, I made some quick pickled red onion (white vinegar, sugar, salt, and tajín) and chopped two heirloom tomatoes to add to it for a salsa. The sweetness of the salsa was really nice with the spice in the quesadilla.
We’ve got a lot of parsley in the garden right now, and I’m trying to make use of it before it goes to seed, so I made a fresh batch of green goddess dressing. The link goes to my recipe for it, which is vegan and, in my opinion, perfectly balanced: herbal, creamy, and nicely acidic. I love it for hearty salads and as a dip, or a sauce for bowls. The day I made it I roasted a head of cauliflower with smoked hot paprika, and crisped up some tofu crumbles in the cast iron to eat with quinoa and a generous pour of the sauce. I think this needed something else a little more fresh-tasting for crunch, grated carrot or chopped cucumber maybe, but otherwise it was very satisfying to eat with some sesame seeds and hot sauce on top.
The apple tree is also popping off at the moment, and we’ve been gathering up what we can from what’s left after our demonic landlord showed up and raided most of what he could reach. Jeff sliced two pies’ worth and put them in bags in the freezer so we can bake with them in the winter, and while I was out at the movies, made a cobbler with a couple of wrinkled peaches from the fridge and a handful of the apples. Fruit gets cooked down with cinnamon, butter, and whiskey in a cast iron, then topped with an almost biscuit-like topping to bake. It came out so amazing— perfectly browned and crisp on top but tender and satisfying underneath.
Normally he’ll use bourbon to cook down the fruit, but since we have to move soon and we’re trying to get to the bottom of a few nearly-empty bottles of liquor, he managed to polish off a bottle of a scotch blend we didn’t really like for drinking. The house was hot when I got in from the movie, both from the oven and the heat of the day, so I sat in the yard reading under the patio lights with a martini. He came out half an hour or so later to bring me a piece of the cobbler, still hot from the oven, with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream he’d made a few days earlier. I surely must have done something good in a past life to deserve such luxuries as this.
Lastly, a lazy dinner of grilled corn and Beyond burgers was subject to an unhinged inspiration: mixing dill pickle popcorn seasoning into the butter for the corn. Zero regrets, will definitely be eating this again.
Thanks for reading— if you enjoyed this newsletter, please 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 (or moving costs 😓) are much appreciated. Anyway, this is correct actually.