Summer Cooking Bucket List

the farmers market hates to see me coming

A deconstructed seafood boil in the 1000 Islands region in the St. Lawrence River in New York state, where my family has been each summer for decades

I look forward to reading

Joy Wilson

’s longstanding Summer Bucket List every year. It’s a way-more-fun version of New Year’s resolutions. Think: swimming holes, sunsets, drive-in movies. Jot it down, make it happen. In a similar vein,

Liz Moody

hosted a recent podcast episode with

Justine Doiron

about the “novelty rule”, a technique linked to neuroscience. Introducing more novelty (FUN) into our days can lead to time feeling slower. I’m still working out my list of to-do’s for the season, but in the meantime, let’s talk my summer cooking bucket list.

Have you ever thrown together a caprese salad in 5 minutes and people were just…wowed? Summer cooking is about enhancing and assembling, no heavy-duty kitchen time required, if you don’t want to. As someone who makes a living from cooking, it may surprise you to know I’m not always in the mood to do it. Where does novelty come in? Summer produce is fleeting! It’s a shame to adhere to your broccoli-chicken-rice routine when pink-fleshed nectarines, sun gold tomatoes, sweet corn and even seafood like halibut and wild salmon are at their peak.

You should know that white nectarines are my favorite summer fruit. The scent! The color! The floral-y-ness! I buy them by the dozen at Berkeley Bowl.

We have a long, cool summer here in the Bay Area, with warmer temps and sweet summer produce stretching into October. Before the pumpkin spice comes a-calling, there are dishes I must make every year, mostly reliant on fruits & veg. Let me know in the comments what’s on your list.

From top left: Grilled Pizza, BLT, Chicken Caprese, Shakshuka, A Cobb, Paella, Chilaquiles, Sizzle Oil Tomatoes, Plum Salad

*dishes I haven’t made before are starred

Interested in any of these recipes? I’m developing a few for subscribers. Let me know!

The Savory Side

• A classic, peak-season Cobb salad

• A classic, peak-season BLAT with basil mayo

• Fried eggs with caramelized corn (inspo from

  Olivia Mack McCool
  )

• Tomato and white nectarine caprese

• Pasta with homemade basil pesto

• Helen Rosner’s Savory Tomato Pound Cake* (thx Emily!)

• My families’ recipe for Boston Baked Beans

• Jamie Oliver’s Smoked Beets with Cottage Cheese & Tarragon* (thx again Emily & Alan!)

• A perfect grilled burger

• Pasta with sun gold tomato sauce

• Sheet pan ratatouille with Ottolenghi’s fresh corn polenta

• My sizzle oil tomatoes

• Our house meal: grilled skirt steak with peppers, Italian salsa verde and focaccia

• Zucchini fritters

• Corn fritters

• Zucchini-corn fritters

• Zucchini Tarragon Soup

• Roasted Tomato Soup

• Cedar plank grilled salmon brushed with rosemary dipped in olive oil

• Watermelon feta salad with lots of mint

• My golden summer veg succotash (recipe coming)

• Grilled pizza, any kind

• Chicken cutlets with marinated tomatoes, arugula and burrata

• Fresh tomato shakshuka

• BBQ chicken, perhaps with Vivian Howard’s Blueberry BBQ Sauce*

• Paella

• Campfire chilaquiles

• Some kind of fried or grilled seafood by the water with a beer

From top left: Zucchini Crumble Muffins, Fig Yogurt Bowl, Plum Jam, Smoothie Bowl, Blueberry-Apricot Pancakes, Fro-Yo, Buckwheat Stone Fruit Pancakes, Nicole's Blueberry-Corn Crisp, AR's Strawberry Cake

The Sweet Side

• Nicole Rucker’s Blueberry & Corn Crisp

• Watermelon blended with lime juice, coconut water, salt and ice

• Marian Burro’s Plum Torte (NYT gift link)

• Peach/nectarine and raspberry crumble

• A Klondike Bar from a gas station on a road trip

• Alison Roman’s Old-Strawberry Cake for Andrew’s birthday

• Homemade Santa Rosa plum jam

• Deb’s Blueberry Muffin Loaf

• Vanilla fro-yo with Reese’s cups & pieces

• Fig and pistachio yogurt bowls

• Marian Bull
  Blueberry Schlumpf that I first tasted in Maine when I was a private chef made by my clients (the irony)

• A perfect margarita on the rocks

• Coconut popsicle

• Zucchini bread or muffins

• Melissa Clark’s Raspberry Pie Crunch Bars (NYT gift link)

• A black raspberrry/vanilla soft serve twist on a cone

• S’mores with semi-sweet chocolate & sea salt

• Justine Doiron
  ’s alt s’mores: fire-roasted dates and coconut butter instead of chocolate/marshmallow*

• Homemade ice cream sandwiches (made these from

  deb perelman
  last weekend, will make again)

• Blueberry pancakes topped with apricots seared in butter

• A good old 2010’s smoothie bowl

• My peach melba: vanilla ice cream with raspberries and white nectarines

  Can you tell I like ice cream?