What I've been reading, cooking, and listening to this summer

My children may be back to school, but it's still summer in my heart

My children returned to the classroom this week, much to the chagrin of their summer vacation-loving selves. I’m enjoying a quiet house, while tomato sauce simmers on the stove and various writing projects get tick-tick-ticked off the to-do list.

But when one reader asked why in the world my boys were going back to school so early, I remembered that California is sometimes an anomaly. (Understatement). Because we get out of school a couple of days before Memorial Day weekend, we go back to school at the beginning of August. No longer does Labor Day weekend mark a return to school like it did growing up in the Pacific Northwest.

Seeing as a fair number of you are still basking in the glory of summer, I thought I’d offer a couple selections of favorite summer books, recipes, and podcasts from this summer.

Try these out sometime in August?

What I’m reading¹

Crying in H Mart (Michelle Zauner): a stunning memoir, it perfectly captures the Willamette Valley and provides a new perspective on grief.

The War I Finally Won (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley): the second in a middle grade series, the boys and I learned so much about World War II and couldn’t get enough of the storyline.

The Great Believers (Rebecca Makkai): THE fiction book of my summer, hands down. There are so many parts of history — including the AIDS epidemic that swept through Chicago’s gay community in the 80s — I know little about. This tale captured it all.

Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Kimmerer): why it took me so long to actually read this book is beyond me, but if you’re a fan of nature, gardening, and creation, in general, you’re going to need to pick it up ASAP.

Testimony (Jon Ward): I’m slightly cheating here, because I’m reading the book right now, but his thoughts on evangelical culture are filling a cup I didn’t know was empty.

What I’m cooking

The garden is in full-swing here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Karl the Fog (who does not limit his presence to San Francisco alone) has finally wished us farewell. As such, the tomatoes are growing! The zucchini is plentiful! The runner beans won’t stop!

This simple tomato sauce recipe is my favorite. Note: I also add ground pepper and pepper flakes, then stick it in extra-large ice cube trays for freezing.

Zucchini gnocchi was rather labor intensive but a big hit for the whole family (and a great way to use up extra zucchini). It’s personal preference, but we lightly sautéed the gnocchi after boiling it.

You can’t go wrong with naan and grilled vegetables in our house. This gluten-free version is delightful, but be sure to top it with feta and creamy garlic sauce for good measure.

What I’m listening (to)

I really wanted to not have to add “to” onto the end of that header. Ce la vie! Alas, with all the driving time we’ve had this summer, I consumed several podcast series. Here are three of my favorites:

The Retrievals: Granted, you may not want to ask the children’s urgent care office staff if they’ve listened to the series about the nurse that switched out fentanyl vials for saline, but for the rest of you, it’s pretty fascinating!

Scamanda: She has cancer. Oh wait, she doesn’t. Nope, it’s back. Again, and again. But will you give thousands of dollars to help the cause, because it’s back? Wait, she was faking it all along? I loved this series, in all its scammy glory.

The Dream: Let’s just call this one “Everything I Didn’t Want to Know About Multi-Level Marketing but Do Now.” PS: Don’t try and sell me your oils.

Summer harvest isn’t going away anytime soon!

Now tell me, what are you reading, cooking, and listening to this summer? Reply in the comments: I’m all ears!²

1. Amazon Affiliate links. Purchase a book through one of these links and you help me put food on the table.

2. Except for the corn. We couldn’t get the corn to grow. We are not ear-filled in that regard.