The last month of summer – the languid, out-of-school sort, not the technical, solstice-celebration-sort—has me wanting to stretch it out and use every minute that’s left. It has me thinking of recipes in which time—the feeling of a perpetual long weekend suited for a slow cooking project—is the main ingredient. It’s perfect end-of-summer fare: the dishes that are left overnight or longer to work their magic, that change for the better by doing less to them, reminding you that there’s no reason to rush.
We’ve already discussed the merits of a refrigerator pickle (my favorite), but what about pickled corn? As beautiful as it is delicious. Corn and pickles has me thinking of this relish and spicy pickled peppers, both of which level up a humbly grilled hotdog or burger.
Pickles and marinades are close relatives, after all, so I suppose it is the time to admit that I make something like this spicy marinated kale every week. (I’ve also been known to toss it on the grill, too, after it is soft and richly flavored, to become smoky and crisp.) From humble to fancy, this kumquat marinade lives at the other end of the spectrum; use to transform these grilled pork chops for an easy and elegant dinner party on the patio. This picnic pasta salad uses its time in the refrigerator to trade flavors among its many ingredients, resulting in a classic flavor of summer.
Instead of salt and acid using time to soften savory fare, maybe you’re in the mood to use your time making something sweet, like a peach pie perhaps: for the icebox or tucked into a tatin. This mixed plum pie will have you pitting plums for a while, listening to the radio; this pavlova needs its beauty rest overnight before being smothered in berries. Or, if you’re like I used to be, anything but a chocolate fix is a waste—this malted chocolate mousse will do you right.
Soaking in summer, with time stretched ahead, is a feeling. Perhaps it starts with a deep inhale and the ritual of morning coffee or tea, sunshine spilling in through the kitchen window. Try a yeasted breakfast recipe to mirror that expansive slowness, like this yeasted coffee cake with fresh plums and honey, or these simple yeasted spelt waffles. Or make something new, something better than you would buy from a store, like this Provençal breakfast sausage.
Take it from me, time is precious and worth celebrating always; I find that being present in what I eat and who I eat it with is the perfect way to slow down. On the subject of time, thank you for spending yours reading here and exploring my work. Other ways to support my work include buying my books: Twenty Dollar, Twenty Minute Meals (that has a Lentil + Tuna Salad that you could whip up quickly and cheaply, yes, then allow to rest overnight for a next-day meal); Cake Magic! (filled with cakes drenched in syrup to literally soak in the benefit of time; my favorite being my Vanilla-Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary Syrup and Lemon Pudding Frosting, yum!); Catalan Food (with a recipe for pickled chicken that will earn you compliments for weeks as it sits in your refrigerator); and Soup Club (a book of soups that all taste better after resting a day, IMO, none more so than, say, the Alabama Summer Garden Soup). For the paid subscribers among you, I wish you the joy of waking slowly to your summer day with a recipe for another meal with a slow reveal: a waffle made of fermented teff flour, inspired by Ethiopian injera savory pancakes, that shines under a fried egg with a soft yolk. I hope your August is full of celebrating summer in both small and big ways until we meet again.
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