Hi there! We’re so close to the holiday weekend, let’s ignore some emails and think about food.
This beautiful, blue-skied shoulder season turns me into a greedy monster. I don’t want to give up summer, but I also want all of fall’s comforts: I want beach trips and blanket forts. Linen caftans and cashmere sweaters. I want to have my peach poundcake and Teddie’s apple cake, and I want to eat them, too.
So I’m on the lookout for recipes that give me hygge highs while still making the most of the kindercore-colored tomatoes, corn and peppers at the market. Naz Deravian’s taco soup (above) hits that sweet spot, delivering both comfort and brightness in a bowl. Right now I’ll make it with fresh corn and poblanos, heaping diced tomatoes on top along with the crushed tortilla chips, grated Cheddar and pickled red onions. I’ll eat it outside with the sunshine on my face and a cardigan on my shoulders, and congratulate myself on having it all.
Featured Recipe
Taco Soup
Eggplant gets velvety and melty in Melissa Clark’s spiced eggplant with tomatoes and runny eggs, a genius twist on shakshuka that straddles the seasons. The baharat spice blend (or garam masala) gives the dish a warm, gentle spiciness; the fresh herbs and tomatoes are solidly summer.
Now, something about fall makes me want to be a bit more organized — maybe it’s all those back-to-school commercials with their neat agendas and tabbed binders. To get into the good-student spirit, I’m going to double the coconut-gochujang sauce in Kay Chun’s recipe for glazed chicken with broccoli, to slather on seared tofu or noodles later in the week. I’ll also get a batch of chia seed pudding in the fridge so I can start the day with a healthy breakfast. Gold stars for me!
But if you’d like to keep autumn at arm’s length, here’s Mark Bittman’s flexible, five-star recipe for pasta with corn, zucchini and tomatoes. As Mark mentions in the recipe notes, swap eggplant for the zucchini, toss in string beans, use basil instead of tarragon. Alex, a reader, notes that it’s a good CSA-solution pasta: “No zucchini so used yellow hooked squash and it worked well … would definitely make again.”
You do need a subscription to read these and our many other excellent New York Times Cooking recipes. If you’re a subscriber, thank you! And if you’d like a subscription, you can get one here. Should you run into any technical issues, please email the helpful people at cookingcare@nytimes.com.
That’s all from me today! I’ll see you on Monday, and Melissa’s with you next Wednesday.
