My summer eating, drinking, and cooking bucket list
A checklist for doing summer right
Summer is undoubtedly one of the best seasons for eating and drinking: an abundance of amazing produce and perfect weather for outdoor dining and refreshing cocktails. Every summer, I have several favorite recipes I love to eat, restaurants I need to visit, and cocktails/wines I need to drink.
It may not be technically the definition of a “bucket list,” but it’s more an annual list of my summer favorites — things I need to eat, drink, or cook at least once each summer (and hopefully more) to really feel like I made the most of summer. So without further ado, here’s my personal summer eating, cooking, and drinking bucket list:
Make a strawberry cake during strawberry season — either NYT Cooking’s strawberry spoon cake or Smitten Kitchen’s strawberry summer cake.
Make this hot honey corn and avocado salad for a potluck.
Drink pet nat rose in the park. (Currently loving Barry Family Cellars’ “Brian’s Bright Idea” that I found at Radicle Wine)
Make caprese salad for a potluck.
Have a BLT from Choice Market, one of the best BLTs in New York and also my favorite neighborhood sandwich spot.
Drink canned spritzes, preferably on a rooftop.
Make cold peanut noodles with lots of crunchy raw veggies when it’s too hot to cook.
Make slaw, also because it’s too hot to cook. I love this Asian-ish one with shredded chicken and peanut sauce.
Drink Negronis outside.
Make peach cobbler.
Eat fish tacos at Tacoway Beach. Preferably after several hours spent lounging on the beach.
Eat tomato toast with heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market and lots of mayo (preferably Kewpie).
Make BLT tacos.
Make pasta with fresh tomatoes, like this burst cherry tomato pasta from Melissa Clark or spaghetti al pomodoro from Eric Kim.
Try at least one summer produce recipe with an unexpected flavor combination, like this watermelon salad with fried shallots and fish sauce from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, or this black cherry-pistachio salad with charred scallion vinaigrette from Angela Dimayuga.
Grill steak, either with a fresh herb-filled sauce like chimichurri or salsa verde, or marinated as part of this refreshing steak and lime noodle salad.
I’d love to hear what’s on your own summer eating and drinking bucket list in the comments!
Good things to read
The work-from-home revolution is also a trap for women, Bloomberg.
On Netflix, Indian American creators put a new spin on arranged marriage, Washington Post.
That’s it. You’re dead to me, The Atlantic.
Why do so many recipes call for so little garlic? Eater.
Inflation widens married couples’ money lead over their single friends, WSJ.
Why the rent inflation is so damn high, The Atlantic.
How I stopped trying to keep up with pop culture — and found the art I really loved, The Guardian.
How ‘The Bear’ captures the panic of modern work, New York Times.
What comes after ambition? Elle.
Why do we love Tiktok audio memes? Call it brainfeel, New York Times.
The secret to “having it all”? A society that actually supports women, Marie Claire.
Making Matilda Djerf a household name, New York Times. To the old millennials: Gen Z is obsessed with this woman.
What to actually do about an unequal partnership, Culture Study.
Your body, my choice, n+1. The movement to criminalize abortion.
Why are people in their 30s giving up on music? The Guardian.
Good things to cook
Things I’ve cooked recently: Southwestern lasagna. Cold noodle salad with spicy peanut sauce (a perfect summer recipe). Very easy spicy shrimp tacos. Honey sesame chicken stir fry.