Hello there! Are the lilacs going completely nuts where you live? My street is exploding in purple, and I highly recommend sticking your nose right into a cluster of blooms and inhaling deeply. Kinda smells like vanilla ice cream, right?
Another recent (nonfloral) development: I’ve been cooking mostly vegetarian meals lately. I wish I could say this is for some noble cause, but it’s really because the grocery store closest to me doesn’t sell meat and I’m lazy. This means I’ve discovered a bunch of vegetarian recipes that are now favorites on heavy rotation: cheesy cabbage tteokbokki, eggplant dal and this insanely good cauliflower shawarma.
The reader notes for this five-star Melissa Clark recipe are ecstatic. “I have been married for 31 years, and my husband said this was the best dish I ever made. He gave it 12 stars out of 10. It was enjoyable, and very difficult to stop eating it,” writes Cheraud. “Melissa Clark could make a phone book delicious,” notes Z. Stafford. And I particularly appreciate the enthusiasm and honesty of RP: “Have made this two more times since my initial review. Eating it while stoned is currently the main source of joy and self-fulfillment in my life.”
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Cauliflower Shawarma With Spicy Tahini
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Hetty Lui McKinnon’s roasted potato salad with jalapeño-avocado dressing is another vegetarian stunner: Roasted potatoes, cannellinis, green beans and plenty of dill are tossed in a creamy, zesty mix of blended avocado, garlic, lime and chile. It’s a satisfying main, and it would also — if I may allow my brain to drift away from emails to weekend dinner gatherings — be stellar alongside simply roasted whole fish and a citrus salad.
Instead of digging through the New York Times Cooking archive for vegetarian recipes (which is still really fun), I usually just let my colleague Tanya Sichynsky tell me what to make in her Veggie newsletter. That’s how I came across the cauliflower shawarma, and these mushroom smash burgers I made two nights in a row. The Veggie: not just for vegetarians!
Because of easy access to fruits and vegetables, I’m also leaning on dishes that employ protein as a supporting or swappable player, not the marquee star. Panang curry features tender chicken pieces, but I’d argue that the sauce is the draw: a rich mix of coconut milk, ground peanuts, spices and red curry paste that would be delicious on tofu or vegetables.
This skillet chicken with black beans, rice and chiles, a recipe by Diana Henry adapted by Margaux Laskey, is certainly centered on succulent, bone-in skin-on chicken. But I’m also here for the cumin-scented rice and beans, bright tomatoes, Fresnos and all those glorious extras (pickled chiles, sour cream, sliced avocado).
Lastly, even though we’re heading into the season of berries and stone fruits, there’s always a place in my heart for citrus desserts. Yossy Arefi’s new citrusy shortbread is a perfect bit of easy weekend baking or weekday procrastibaking: just one bowl and six ingredients, one of which is whatever mix of citrus zests you like. The reader notes are again happy here. “Baked up perfectly — I added a little rosemary to the zest because it felt good. And it tasted good too!” writes Delicious! (actual reader name).
