Cucumbers, peppers, tomatillos and blueberries

What a family, what a group

I had someone on TikTok lecturing me (me?!!??), that summer wasn’t over yet. And I was like QUEEN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN. I HAVE BEEN PREACHING THIS GOSPEL BEFORE IT WAS COOL. But also, I’m very glad it’s publicly accepted now to celebrate summer until the official First Day of Fall, which is September 22nd. I feel at peace.

And I promise, I do I love fall. Autumn squash may be the perfect food. But I also adore the end of summer. Everything is quiet, a little lazy, and a bit hazy, but August and September are still the absolute best time for farmers’ market eating.

So with that, this week celebrates late summer’s heroes: cucumbers, peppers, tomatillos, and blueberries. A happy family, and worth cooking with before they are gone!

Also, a reason to buy my cookbook now, not later

This week’s YouTube is cooking through one of my FAVORITE cookbook recipes, and I can’t wait for you to see it. But I was talking with a friend who is a four-time author, and she was telling me this pre-order pressure on authors is crazier than it has ever been before. And believe me. It’s crazy.

I’m having a tough time navigating how to do two jobs that are so intertwined: recipe developing and making new recipes, and the job of author who wants to share book recipes that I’m MOST proud of.

It’s an interesting balance, and transparently, we’re at 25% of my pre-orders goal. If everyone from this newsletter pre-ordered a book, I’d hit that goal in seconds. It would be nice to hit that goal this Saturday so I could ~sleep at night~, but it’s not about me. It’s about you. It’s about how I truly believe this book will bring value, interest and excitement to your kitchen and your cooking. So I’m asking you to order now as a mini vote of confidence in me, or as an appreciation of my recipes that are 100% paywall-free, or just to decorate your home…because it’s very cute.

Pre-orders count now more than ever, and if you’ve already pre-ordered JUST KNOW I’M SENDING A MILLION FOREHEAD KISSES.

You can pre-order my book here!

But now, the weekly round-up!

A cucumber toast that feels like English high-tea and would probably cost you $11 at a bougie café. But in this economy? Out of the question.

Tomatillo Beans! Probably the most beautiful and refreshing beans I’ve made in a minute. They were inspired by ceviche, but raw seafood is a bit inaccessible near me. Serve this with avocado and chips and it’s basically like salsa for dinner. And I LOVE dips for dinner.

Brown Butter Blueberry Cookies with Pistachio Sugar - It’s like a blueberry muffin, but in a cookie! The pistachio sugar is because I’m currently obsessed with pistachio gelato and can’t get it out of my head.

And this week’s YouTube video!

BROWN BUTTER TAHINI ON ANY NOODLE - All caps, because I love this recipe so very, very much. It’s the same level of commitment as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but with a level-up of flavor. Tahini and brown butter swirl together into a glossy sauce that is cut through with lemon juice and balanced with Aleppo pepper (but you can swap it for any chili pepper you like!). The whole thing takes less than ten minutes, and I call it the ultimate comfort recipe.

And that’s it for this week! I truly hope my blurb about pre-orders comes off as passionate, not pushy. I just am so excited about my book and I want it to have the best possible send-off into the world. (Also, we did my book’s astrological chart and it has a Leo moon…which probably explains why I’m talking about it so much).

But jokes aside, I hope you love the recipes this week. And I can’t wait to see you next week for more!

Xoxo,

Late Summer_Snacks