hi friends, lovers, & people probably related to me —
137 — i know we’re getting later into summer bc i am rather tan, i have an interesting array of calluses & blisters on my feet bc i’m walking a lot — mostly in sandals, & i am never not craving a crispy cold fountain coke.
sometimes you eat the same thing for dinner & lunch multiple times a week — that is this salad, i could never be sick of it.
a lot of our meals have looked like this lately — full of abundant summer produce & require little oven or stove time bc it is just too humid, too hot even with central air bc i don’t want to give com ed all my money. more assembly than cooking — the following is a chose your own adventure.
ingredients
tiny heirloom tomatoes
persian cucumbers
red onion
fresh moss
corn (off the cob)
arugula, spinach, basil (any combo of these three, spring mix also would be good here)
balsamic vinegar
honey
dijon mustard
olive oil
salt & pepper
garlic
lemon
steak or pancetta (optional)
big croutons (bread heavily toasted with salt, pepper, olive oil, oregano, parm, etc) (not optional)
steps
1st make your dressing combine olive oil, 1 clove of grated garlic, dijon, honey, balsamic vinegar, half a lemon, salt & pepper, whisk together which i do using a tiny whisk or a fork but a regular sized whisk is fine here — adjust to taste mine always skews more balsamic(y) but that’s how i prefer it.
2nd make your croutons — tear pieces of bread into medium large chunks, sourdough or a toasty rye is excellent here but it’s just a good with a regular lil baguettes from cermak, toss generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano, finely grated parm, bake them in the oven at 400 till they are golden(ish) brown. also during this step if you want to you can maybe grill a small skirt steak or crisp up some pancetta — both are nice lil additions to the salad to make it more of a full meal, but you don’t need them.
3rd in your biggest bowl mix together all the veggies with the lil pearls of mozzarella and some salt & pepper — i tend to halve the tomatoes, thinly slice the red onion, the cukes, and cut the corn off the cob.
4th in slightly smaller bowls add your greens mix, a couple croutons, your summer veggie mix & the steak / pancetta if using toss with the balsamic dressing — i like to dress these individually bc no one likes soggy second day old salad and you’re going to want to eat this again & again till it’s all gone which in our case is usually max 3 days.
particularly good things i consumed recently
somethings that have been making my summer. nadc burger w/ ellen & sam & ryan —- literally so good, havent’t really ever had a burger like that. kiera & i went to wolf & company & i might have had the best mozzarella sticks of my life, ryan & i went heritage (closing @ the end of august plz go, it was our 2nd date) we got oysters, bumps & shots, a giant egg roll & a fun lil italian beef dumpling called hot to go, bucktown garden walk — an incredible way to make some new friends & drink while walking around looking in people’s backyards, bridget turned 25 (gosh so old, but also thank you to all my michigan subscribers (10%) of my base, which i honestly owe to you), all too well in the loop & also lincoln park & Culver city — has this delicious sandwich i’m never not thinking about it. red hot ranch — we got the shrimp (finally) & also their burger might be my current fave. ryan & i played hooky one friday & went on a long long walk & to lula cafe, good & classic as always, reunited w/ allison & suzanna to chit chat & eat pizza & drink wine & sparkling lemonade — such a wonderful way to spend a Friday, dinner w/ the whole famdamnily were there lemony chicken cutlets where i fried the whole lemon? yes or yes? did i win several hands of crazy jacks yes or yes?, janel & i went to the freeze/small cheval for swirl cones & while i miss the og freeze, i am happy to have 3 places to get soft serve in walking distance to me. kate is back from the pnw & we got a lil hh @ central park bar, then a buffalo chicken wrap @ the harding tavern which really hit the spot & now i want more wraps. meg meg & i went to a toda madre & basically ate chips for dinner & had a fabulous time, queen mary raw bar hh — w/ ryan, janel & mike — oysters, boquerones, shrimp cocktail, whitefish dip, chowder & martinis galore — the perfect sunday afternoon. florida for a few days to see grandma joan, swim in the ocean, & eat as many shrimp tacos & curly fries as possible (don’t worry there was airport chilis on both legs of the trip). a little sunday bike ride to sit in horner park & eat snacks & stare @ baby jules. taco salad tuesday, the difference between a walking taco & a taco salad is that a taco salad is lettuce forward where a walking taco is fritos forward — ryan, probably. beach morning! the perfect start the day, a lil swim, a lil reading, some sun & some snacks. becca & greg’s housewarming birthday — such a fun time (korean fried chicken wings & ice cream cake are pro moves)& their new place is so great! we also went to karaoke @ edelweiss after and stayed out past my bedtime.
books, tv shows, & movies. i read the shards, fair play & el dorado drive bc i wanted mysteries/thrillers for july — while they had their high points, ultimately i was left frustrated in the end, are there no good twists anymore? if i were to recommend the shards would be my pick, despite it’s 600 pages — the snarky la(ness) of it all sucks you right in. all we’re watching is fraiser & the oc at the moment. plz don’t text. we went on a bit of a movie binge this month: midnight run (the guy who did beverly hills cop, a fun lil action(y) mystery) godfather #2 ( i had never seen & wow is this an incredibly long but also good movie) days of thunder ( i understand why nicole kidman married tom cruise now) the rainmaker ( a bit like if they took a legal thriller & mixed with sleeping w/ the enemy & my cousin vinny) sideways ( i really loved this movie, goes well with a nice bottle from diversey). the descendants (if you need a good cry, this movie is for you), before the devil knows your dead (everyone is bad & this movie is good but also strange). bug hollow. devoured it in two days — i really enjoyed this portrait of a family, have been thinking about them like i know them
currently consuming
a lil sunday jog for health & wellbeing before heading to suzanna’s baby shower!
as always,
mk
Where do you find fresh moss?
Can’t wait to make this with steak! Your Substack is so fun!