Three Quick Ones

A book, a sip, and a trick — and a few snacks for your weekend excursions

With a long weekend on the horizon (during which I hope you aren’t cooking too much), and inspired by

Jenny Rosenstrach

’s “Three Things,” I’m sharing a grab bag of food items that have been on my mind. I hope you all enjoy this last stretch of summer. —LV

1. In for Dinner by Rosie Kellett

Not knowing much about it, I recently went to a talk for

Rosie Kellett

’s new book In for Dinner. I absolutely loved listening to her chat (with

Justine Doiron

, who is a terrific moderator) and immediately got a copy of the book.

In for Dinner commemorates Rosie’s communal living situation — sharing a flat with 6 other people in a warehouse space in London, where they pool money each week to share the costs of groceries and then rotate through the cooking responsibilities (and also host supper clubs; she has a background in professional kitchens).

But with “affordable” in the subtitle, it also has a stylish and seductive way of presenting mostly vegetarian recipes as the secret to not only keeping grocery costs low, but also appeasing a range of dietary restrictions, and turning out varied dishes night after night. This resonates deeply with me, as vegetables have long inspired me to eat affordably and well.

The photos by Benedikte Kluver capture the communal vibe brilliantly. I get the sense that they were all shot at the warehouse instead of a studio, with her housemates hovering just outside the frame with forks in their hands. And the illustrations by Alice Kell are terrific, too. The whole book is a vibe, and as you can tell, I’m under its spell.

I also love that it’s really is about cooking. I met with an editor friend recently and one thing we discussed was how difficult it is, in such a crowded field, to make a “weeknight cooking” type of cookbook stand out right now. There are just so, so many of them, and all with so much overlap. I really like that In for Dinner isn’t at all about “solving the dinner problem,” but rather looking at dinner as as a daily opportunity that can be relished and savored.

2. Hybrid Iced Tea

I’m still riding high on the success of my first gardening year, and besides the tomatoes that are still pumping out fruit, my herbs are thriving. The rosemary has erupted into a giant bush, and since I don’t cook with it so often, I started incorporating it into my iced tea.

I really enjoy it in this “hybrid” style, which combines the muscle and depth of green tea with the fresh, light, cooling qualities of fresh herbs, in this case mint and rosemary. It’s so easy, I’ve kept it on hand all summer. You can obviously adjust the quantities to your own taste.

Place 4 sachets of green tea, or 1 heaping tablespoon of loose-leaf green tea, in a pitcher. Add as many fresh mint leaves and rosemary sprigs as you like. Sometimes this will be 3 or 4 cups worth of leaves and sprigs, sometimes less; just use what you’ve got, letting your herb garden dictate things if you have one.

Cover the tea and herbs with only enough just-boiled water to submerge everything, and steep for about 5 minutes. Then fill the pitcher up with cold water. Steep the tea overnight in the refrigerator.

In the morning, strain out the solids. Store it in the refrigerator, and serve it over ice. For me, this is most quenching without any sweetener, but do as you please.

3. Honey (as in, the verb) Your Tomatoes

Reminded by this recipe for Honey’d Tomatoes and Beans on Toast from a few years ago, I wanted to put out a PSA that honey is delicious drizzled on tomatoes.

With the really ripe and flavorful ones that need so little embellishing besides salt and olive oil, turn the dial up a little notch by drizzling them with honey. This could be a tomato toast situation, or tomatoes on ricotta or another fresh cheese, or in a quick dinner of chopped tomatoes stirred through a pan of warm, brothy beans…. or even just tomatoes fanned out on a plate. Give them a light drizzle of honey — or hey, how about some hot honey!

From one variety to the next, honey can taste dramatically different, and this is a great way to add its unique character to that of those glorious tomatoes. They may not need honey the way the salt and the olive oil feel non-negotiable to me, but I believe that they do want it.

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And a Few Snacks for the Road

Lastly, a few recent recipes you may have missed, all of which will pack well for your weekend excursions.