There was a time in my life when I didn’t know mayo on corn was magic. A time when I didn’t know to add cheese or cilantro or chili to that mayo. A time when I didn’t know about elotes also known as Mexican Street Corn. But these days I know this portable, messy wonder of a snack like I know my Grandmother’s tea biscuits. I’ve had it a few blocks from my house, a few miles from my house, and a few countries away. But although I recognize the simple genius of this street snack and delight in playing with its flavor profile – today’s Street Corn Stuffed Portobellos are a prime example – I never would’ve thought to make it.
Hey guys! So summer is definitely winding down and while I am bummed I realize I’m totally part of the problem. The other day I made a pasta dish with pumpkin. Pumpkin! I’m really not serving my make-summer-last case here. I definitely am still in love with summer but I can feel my focus shifting. I’m starting to look forward to fall. The chill in the air, the cozy dinners, the vats of mulled wine. But I know wishing for these things prematurely will be regrettable come February. So, instead of sharing the creamy pumpkin pasta I made the other day (don’t worry, it will make an appearance soon) I’m going to squeeze one last ice cream recipe out of this summer. Say hello to this Mint Chip Brownie Sundae.
It’s that magical time of year when tomatoes come into their own. They are so juicy, sweet and flavorful they trigger a sort of high. Well, they do in me anyway, I tend to get giddy in a ripe tomato’s presence. I think what I find so striking about in-season tomatoes is how different they are from the hothouse duds I eat the rest of the year. These vine-ripened, sunshine-rich tomatoes taste almost like a different species. They have a sweetness and a grassiness that you never find in a mid-November beefsteak. In-season tomatoes are never mealy and watery. And every inch of them screams “Tomato!” at full volume in surround sound. So what do you do with these supersonic tomatoes? As little as possible. So, allow me to introduce you to my Ricotta Gnocchi with Raw Tomato Sauce.
Oh, hey! How’s it going? Are you still firing up the BBQ and wearing your bikini on repeat? Are you tearing into a watermelon and soaking up the sun the way Sheryl Crow intended? You are?! Well, good! Because contrary to what the candy aisle in my grocery store thinks, it’s still summer for, like, another whole month. Hey! Grocery store! We don’t want to see your Halloween candy. Let August be August, a hot, humid summer month. I don’t want to be reminded of pumpkins and cable knit sweaters. There will be plenty of time for that in October. But for now, there is this *seasonally appropriate* Tropical Cream Cake. It tastes like summer, it looks like summer, it is summer.