In the kitchen: Silk Road food, a drought report
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If you’ve spent much of the last week watching the Olympics, you might need a kitchen update. So: It’s mid-August, thus it’s hot (no kidding) and dry (also no kidding), which has made it more fun to watch Katie Ledecky lap her competition but has definitely not been fun for local farmers. We get you caught up on what the ongoing drought is doing to farmers, as well as how that translates to the available produce at our farmers markets.
We also check in on what’s in season and what to cook with the contents of your market basket. Because while you can of course cook what you’re used to, why not try a few recipes from a new cookbook featuring food from Uzbekistan — or even a new version of grilled cheese.
— Amy Scattergood
Farmers market-driven drought update
Food writer Gillian Ferguson talks to local farmers about how the drought has been affecting them, both in a larger context and lately, as August is peak dry season. Romeo Coleman of Coleman Family Farms tells her: “It’s like someone wrapping their hands around my neck and slowly squeezing.”
More fun with corn
Test Kitchen director Noelle Carter considers corn, which is currently hitting its peak. Market stands are piled high with the stuff right now, white and yellow, in myriad varieties. To help you with that, she shares a number of recipes, including chef Thomas Keller’s chilled corn soup.
Cooking around the Silk Route
The latest in our Cookbook of the Week series is “Samarkand” by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford, the first book by the pair, who have gone to that city in Uzbekistan, as well as some of the surrounding areas, and come back with stories of the region — and not a few recipes. The one we liked the most: spicy meatballs with adjika, a spicy sauce, and yogurt.
Grilled cheese? Always.
One of our daily recipe posts featured a twist on the classic grilled cheese sandwich. It’s made with bread and cheese, of course, but using smoked cheese and marinated tomatoes. If you haven’t made one of these lately, or haven’t switched up your standard recipe, maybe try this one.
The Taste is coming: Our annual Labor Day food weekend, Sept. 2-4, will be here before you know it, and tickets are already available.
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