Good morning! Today we have for you:
Gently sweet, slightly savoryWhen I create a new recipe for New York Times Cooking, it’s usually for one of three distinct reasons. The first is to meet demand for a holiday like Thanksgiving, which gets me knee-deep in mashed potatoes and turkey in the middle of July. The second is to fill a gap, say, when we noticed that we didn’t have recipes for Scottish tablet or flapjacks (the oat cookies, not the pancakes), both of which will be coming here soon. And there’s a third, more personal reason: I just really want to eat the thing I make. Such was the case with my recipe for olive oil zucchini bread. I created it several summers ago when I had a pile of zucchini to use up and a hankering for something gently sweet and caky. The olive oil gives the loaf a slightly savory undertone but doesn’t take over, while the cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest give it an inimitable perfume. It’s just as good for breakfast, topped with cream cheese or cottage cheese, as it is for an afternoon snack with tea. And it’s perfect to bake as zucchini season rolls in. Featured Recipe Olive Oil Zucchini BreadAlso on the menuLemon lovers’ pasta primavera: A zesty, zippy, citrusy take on a classic, this recipe from Zaynab Issa adds the juice and zest of three large lemons to make this pasta particularly bright and summery. Four-spice salmon: Both speedy and deeply flavored, Mark Bittman’s beloved recipe is fragrant with coriander, nutmeg, cumin and clove. Snap pea salad with walnuts and Parmesan: I love the different textures of Ali Slagle’s salad — the juicy crispness of the peas next to the softer crunch of the toasted nuts. And shavings of Parmesan add delightful salty, creamy notes. Strawberry spoon cake: You can make Jerrelle Guy’s easy, brown-sugar-imbued cake with any fresh or frozen berries, but strawberries are at their peak right now; if you can get your hands on them, it’s well worth it. Reading and eatingIn the “Jeeves and Wooster” book series by P.G. Wodehouse, Bertie Wooster seems to live mostly on marmalade and whiskey-and-sodas, augmented by the occasional egg (boiled, or raw in one of Jeeves’s restorative prairie oyster cocktails). But his Aunt Dahlia’s high-strung chef, Anatole, serves a more refined cuisine, including delicate consommé and lamb cutlets. It’s the cutlets that catch my imagination, since lamb cutlets seem so much swankier than the usual chicken. I imagine them seared and served with some kind of laborious French sauce or exquisite pan jus. We don’t have a recipe for lamb cutlets at New York Times Cooking (should I fill this gap?). However, we do have many lovely lamb chop recipes, including Sam Sifton’s perfectly simple grilled lamb chops. “Right ho,” as Bertie might say, “time to put on the old nosebag, what?”
What are you reading? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com — I’m always looking for my next great read. That’s all for now. I’ll be back tomorrow. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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