The Naptime Chef

I’ve been loving the “My Martha Summer” trend on social media. It’s no secret I’m a longtime fan of Martha’s style. I had a subscription to her magazine until the very end. Gosh, I used to obsess over her recipes and crafting ideas!

One of my favorite issues was the holiday cookie issue of December 2005…I still have all the pages neatly arranged in my recipe binder. SO many good ideas! Yes, her cookie cookbook followed a year or so later, but the magazine had a better selection of recipes, I think.

Here are some of the recipes and photos from the good old days of naptime cooking I’m leaning into this summer to give it my own “Martha Summer” theme. With the world feeling so sad and fragile, it seems like an excellent time to dial back to simple joys with communities of loved ones.

Merrill’s Strawberry Jam spread on lightly toasted slice of sourdough bread sounds heavenly for a summer breakfast.

Roasted Peach Lemonade was something I first tasted on a food blogger trip to Atlanta. I recreated my own version at home and have been making it ever since. The ingredients are easy to procure and the recipe is dead simple. I still haven’t found a better picnic drink.

Summer Tomato Pie is one of my favorite vegetarian main courses of summer. I absolutely love this dish and first made it at my Blog & Bake Camp at King Arthur Flour in 2011.

Big Crumb Rhubarb Coffee Cake is the ultimate summer breakfast / snack / dessert. I even feel like Martha when I harvest rhubarb from my very own plant.

Strawberry Mint Ice Cream is still one of our favorites. I remember serving it to my kids in these little ramekins when they were young!

Strawberry Rhubarb Slab Pie is a real showstopper in the summer. This takes a little time to make but will make you SHINE like Martha when you present it to family and friends.

Chilled Salmorejo is an incredible summer soup. In fact, I’m glad I’m posting this here because I’m putting it on the list to make again in July!

Blueberry Thyme Poundcake with Lemon Glaze is one of the best summer cakes. Yes, we eat a lot of fruity desserts in the summer and I love it!

Marian’s Plum Torte is famous around the world for a reason. It’s the perfect recipe for summer. No notes.

Homemade Ginger Ale sounds like it might a little fussy to make, but I guarantee you it’s 100% worth the effort. I mean, let’s face it, Martha would definitely make it homemade for you if you went to her house.

I’m grateful to live in the Northeast where summer is so gorgeous and accessible. My Martha summer involves a lot of cooking, farmer’s market shopping, and light gardening.

What will yours involve?

xxKelsey

In the spirit of sharing, here are the things I’m loving in my kitchen right now. These are some of my June summer kitchen essentials. I hope you find these inspiring in fun. In the interest of crowd sourcing, don’t hesitate to chime in with things you’re loving at the moment and think we all need to know about. I’ll definitely read any and all suggestions!

Jam Jars with Lids: Per my Jam Jars Iced Lattes newsletter, these are in heavy rotation right now. I bought a six-pack years ago and they’ve been used for all sorts of food storage and drink service. Highly recommend.

Reusable Straws: I make a lot of ice teas and such in the summer so straws are used daily. Plastic and paper straws are long gone from our house. A pack of these has lasted years and years. I clean them after every use and they’re good for kids and adults.

Summer has arrived and I’m here for it! Apologies for this relaunch getting off to a slow start. This winter was something else and I had to pare back of my grander ambitions. Today is all about jam jar iced lattes!

So, here we are with an aim for two features per month of simple, real things I’m cooking and enjoying in my life. Given the world we’re living in, I think we’re all happy to keep it simple these days. Also, I take requests. So, if there’s anything you’d like to see or revisit simply reply and let me know.

On Saturday I shared this really simple, fun hack I’ve put together for my summer coffee habits. To all who may remember, I didn’t even drink coffee until my son was born. That means I was over 35 years old before I could even sip a cup, and even then it was mostly out of pure necessity.

However, with time I’ve grown to enjoy a morning latte or cappuccino. It feels so luxurious to sip and enjoy as the day breaks. I love the pep I get from the caffeine and the flavor always puts me in a good mood. I’m still a big tea drinker too, but coffee has found a place in my culinary heart.

It’s the time of year for hot soups, warm blankets, and roaring fires. Enter a favorite recipe from my first cookbook, Ham & Corn Chowder. This hot, creamy soup is the perfect foil for gray days. I love to make it in advances so it’s ready to be reheated and served in the evening. By the time we’re all home and inside for the day the soup flavors have blossomed and dinner is ready to eat.

There’s nothing like thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies to save the day. There has never been a frown that hasn’t been turned upside down with one of these. As you’ve probably gathered if you’d been a reader over the years, we are big fans of chocolate chip cookies, and these thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies are one of the best. I make them in all styles and have dozens of favorite recipes. In case you missed it, here are my Top 11 Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipes of all time. Yes, the post has been updated and yes, I’ll probably update it again in the future. No apologies!!

I had a hard time thinking of what to name this recipe. I landed on Creamy Sausage & Chickpea Pasta. But it also has spinach, and a generous topping of Parmesan cheese, and the option of pine nuts! Creamy Sausage, Spinach, Pine Nut & Parmesan Pasta? Gah! That would’ve been a little too long for a recipe title, so I stuck with the three main ingredients and here we are. I found this lovely recipe a photo story in the internet by Jamie Beck. She didn’t give recipe proportions or detailed cooking methods in her quick Insta-story so I’ve derived my own over time. When I first spotted the finished product it looked so tantalizing, I couldn’t resist giving it my best shot!

I was really excited to write this because once I discovered Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta two years ago I never looked back. Then, I started tell people about it and lo and behold it turns out that it’s closely tied to the Chili’s restaurant chain where I’ve eaten exactly once in my life. It’s not that I’m against Chili’s, it’s that the town I grew up in is so small there are no chain restaurants and you’d have to travel for miles to find one. When I was in boarding school a friend’s family took us to Chili’s on the weekend as a treat and that’s the only time I remember being there. I wonder if this is a benefit in this case? I have zero nostalgia for this recipe, yet everyone does so I get to experience the pleasure of it for the very first time?

There is no whoosh of memories that come back to me when I take a bite of this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta. The only thing I think about is how much my family enjoys it so it’s gathered us around the table many, many times. It’s just one of those meals that works. The whole family really likes it, it’s fairly simple to make, and it’s just different enough to be novel once in a while. As you’ll see in my recipe notes, I cut down the heat quite a bit. One of my children does not like spice so I tend to dial back any kind of pepper flavor whenever asked. That said, feel free to turn the dial right back up if you want to!