Good morning. The weather was cool in Los Angeles after a heat wave, and we took our dinner almost outside amid the trees and greenery of the patio at A.O.C., on West Third Street. It was a reminder that eating in California is not like eating anywhere else.
Part of the magic came from the chef there, Suzanne Goin, an owner of the restaurant, who cooks with a simplicity that is not at all simple. (Part of it comes from her partner, Caroline Styne, who runs the floor like a crackling stage play and offers amazing wines.)
Great chefs are alchemists who can turn humble ingredients into gold. Goin starts with gold and makes it into something more precious: say, as just one example, a salad of delicate, impossibly sweet lettuces paired with slices of firm, ripe avocado, moons of blood orange, new sugar snap peas and a light, fragrant, perfectly balanced basil-buttermilk dressing.
The New York newspaper people consuming this assemblage looked at one another. The consensus: Are you kidding me?
I thought: This is how I want to cook all summer long. I want to find the best ingredients, and to use them with care. I know that won’t be easy. The produce where I generally stay won’t be great until later in the summer. But I’m going to try.
This weekend, I’m thinking I could start out with this great old recipe from Mark Bittman, for a spicy shrimp salad with mint (above). You could make it with supermarket ingredients and have a good meal. But if you happen to have access to wild shrimp — I’m hoping for some mantis shrimp out of Montauk, at the eastern end of Long Island — and to fresh mint from the windowsill, to some arugula from the farmers’ market, you’ll be rewarded with a meal of seasonal perfection.
Featured Recipe
Spicy Shrimp Salad With Mint
As for the rest of the week. …
Monday
I’d like to take some of the terrific asparagus I’m seeing in the market and use it in Hetty Lui McKinnon’s new recipe for asparagus gomaae with chilled tofu, a take on a Japanese classic generally made with blanched spinach. The sesame dressing is a great foil for quickly seared asparagus, and combines beautifully with creamy silken tofu for a simple, light meal.
Tuesday
More asparagus, because there’ll come a time soon when it tastes woody and bland. Ali Slagle’s excellent recipe for spring soba with tinned fish uses the vegetable as a crisp sweetener against the salty, rich fish and chewy noodles. You could use snap peas or snow peas instead.
Wednesday
I knew I couldn’t keep it up. Midweek, all I want to do is throw together something fast out of an after-work stop at the market. Kristina Felix’s smart new recipe for easy chicken tacos is the answer: a sauté of boneless, skinless chicken thighs coated in garlic, lime juice, hot sauce and onion that you’ll chop into chunks, return to the pan, deglaze with water and serve with warm tortillas and some combination of avocado, raw onions and cilantro.
Thursday
Andy Baraghani entered the ring this week with a recipe for a roasted cauliflower Caesar that pairs the brassica with capers for a saline bite, and douses it with a simple dressing of Parmesan, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and a little mayonnaise. All hail this weeknight warrior.
Friday
And then you can head into the weekend with one of the great seasonal meals: David Tanis’s recipe for creamy chicken and spring vegetables, a light take on a blanquette de veau. It’s meditative, serial cooking that rewards close attention. Focus on your breathing as you cook.
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Now, it’s nothing to do with garlic scapes or the first, sweet radishes, but here’s a new poem from Jane Yeh in The New York Review of Books, “Self Portrait as Psychology.”
Here’s James Wade in Texas Highways, on quitting everything and taking off in an RV with his wife. “We headed west, like they do in the songs.”
Check out Alexandra Alter, in The New York Times, checking in on the novelist Jeanine Cummins. Five years after her “American Dirt” exploded, she’s back with a new novel.
Finally, it’s George Strait’s birthday. He’s 73. Here’s “I Can Still Make Cheyenne.” See you next week.
Sam Sifton is an assistant managing editor, responsible for culture and lifestyle coverage, and the founding editor of New York Times Cooking.
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