the way we get by
chickpeas and zucchini forever, plus a basic fruit crumble
Hello, friends. Are you keeping cool? Staying hydrated? Wearing your spiciest summer looks? I hope so. Before this week’s heat wave arrived in earnest, Jeff and I managed to get some much-needed weeding and thinning done in the garden. Last year we had dozens of volunteer tomato plants which presumably came from seeds in our compost heap, and this year it’s squash. They’re all over, some of the plants easily twice as large as the ones we planted intentionally! And I have no idea what any of them are and likely won’t until the fruits themselves are big enough to harvest, which is kind of exciting. It’s too hot now for lettuces and radishes, but the tomatoes are finally starting to appear on the vines, and the kales are also getting big. I’m mentally preparing myself for a lot of cooking next month as I try not to let things go to waste.
This week I also attended my first actual concert since February of 2020, and saw Spoon perform at the Commodore Ballroom (I saw them there in 2007, a lifetime ago). Before the show, we had a round of cocktails and some food at MeeT in Gastown. I deviated from my usual choice of their signature pineapple basil smash and ordered the mule, which was crisp and refreshing with slices of cucumber. Jeff got the Smoke Show (mezcal, white rum, aperol, and grapefruit with a smoked salt rim) and tasting it left me a little jealous.
In my opinion the menu at MeeT has gotten a little unwieldy since they’ve added new items without removing very many of the older items, but it’s also kind of nice that a vegan pub-style food menu has so much choice. The weekly features are always where it’s at (this week: spicy home fries with gochujang mayo), but faves from the regular menu include the angry burger, the ginger beefless bowl, and the taco salad.
I was a bit terrified to go a music venue where there’d be so many people, but we’d booked a table in the balcony so it felt less imposing (plus, I am old and short and simply refuse to stand for three hours if I can avoid it). The reservation got us free popcorn, which was delightful but didn’t really make up for the fact that a tall can of Granville Island beer is now an eye-watering $10.50. It’s bad out here. However, the set was incredible and live music never fails to lift my spirits. Here’s to Spoon for giving us a banger album every 2-4 years right when we need it.
As you might imagine and relate to, my enthusiasm for cooking has waned in this ridiculous heat. I’ve been eating a lot of watermelon, and gravitating toward burgers or hot dogs or vegetables I can throw on the grill. I made a really nice pesto risotto with zucchini on the weekend, another Isa Does It recipe I love (I keep a container of her vegan pesto in the freezer pretty much at all times) and have made enough that I no longer look at the book. Normally the zucchini for this is roasted with garlic; this time I halved the zucchini lengthwise and just grilled it with oil and salt and pepper, and then sliced it into thick slices to add to the risotto. Super easy and saved me having to heat up my house with the oven.
Risotto is also one dish where I almost always prefer to use homemade broth over reconstituted bouillon, because it allows the more delicate flavours of the risotto to really shine through. But, if bouillon’s what you’ve got, it’ll still be good— just make sure you don’t oversalt!
Before it got too too hot, I made a tomato season MVP, baked chickpeas and tomatoes with feta. I’ve written about this one plenty of times, because I really do make it a lot. It’s perfect with flatbread and is very low effort, even if you do have to have the oven on for a little while to make it. I’ve also made a vegan version using lemon and salt on medium-firm tofu in place of the feta. The ratios for tomatoes/chickpeas/feta can be adjusted based on what you happen to have, but absolutely do not skimp on the olive oil! Serving this right in the baking dish at the table, so you can mop up the juices from the pan with the bread, is the nicest and most satisfying way to eat it.
I bravely turned on the stove on the hottest day of the year in order to make another of my summer faves, these crispy chickpeas with zucchini. I like this recipe because you can use the same pan for both the chickpeas and the zucchini, and it tastes like it should be a lot more work than it really is. The original makes a garlic yogurt for the base, but I always choose to use tzatziki because I love the coolness of the cucumber and the additional crunch. We usually get taftoon or lavash to eat with this, and just about any fresh herb works here, but a combo of mint, oregano, and parsley feels right for me most of the time. You can find my tzatziki recipe here if you’d like to try it. It’ll make more than you’ll need for a plate of this, but tzatziki has many uses, especially when it’s so hot that doing any actual cooking feels illegal.
Jeff also made hummus in the instant pot (we cooked a large amount of chickpeas this week, what can I say) while I was at work. We put a schmear of it into a shallow dish with smoked paprika, flaky salt, and lots of olive oil, and thus had a pair of delicious dips for dinner, something I highly recommend in hot weather.
In the current abundance of fresh fruit, I bought a big bag of apricots, mouth watering in anticipation of them being ripe, and then remembering that stone fruits trigger my oral allergy and I can’t eat them raw. Last year I did a similar thing with peaches, and created a quick crumble in the cast iron using them and some strawberries, which I ended up liking so much I immediately tried to remember what I’d done so I could write it down and make it again in the future. I made this one with the apricots and more black raspberries from our garden. I’ve included the recipe below in case you too have gone mad with power over summer fruit. It’s versatile and not overly sweet, so it goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of honeyed yogurt.
SUMMER FRUIT CRUMBLE
for the base:
-800-900g (just under 2 pounds) fruit, diced
-2 tbsp cornstarch
-50 to 75 grams (¼ to ⅓ cup) of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix everything together with a big pinch of salt and maybe a dash if vanilla in either a 10” round cast iron or an 8”x8” baking dish, and let sit while you make the topping, so the juices start to thicken.
for the crumble:
-100g (1 cup) oats
-25g (¼ cup) almond meal
-52g (¼ cup) brown sugar
-65g (½ cup) all-purpose flour (or 45g coconut flour for gluten-free)
-45g (½ cup) chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds are all good choices)
-½ tsp baking powder
-¼ tsp fine sea salt (or ½ tsp Diamond Kosher)
-pinch of cardamom or cinnamon
-80ml (⅓ cup) oil or melted butter
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then stir in the oil or butter until the mixture starts to clump together. Spread evenly over the fruit mixture in the pan and press it down gently. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating once, until the juices are bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
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, stay safe out there this long weekend.