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August 25, 2023September 3, 2024

Vol. V: In the Kitchen

By the end of August, I often find myself in a bit of a summer slump in the kitchen where I am not trying to cook anything too elaborate. I like to make something quick and easy, and on the nights when I want to encourage everyone (my husband, my au pair, and right now, my sister) to stay and chat a little longer at the table, I’ll take the time to swap out our regular placemats for a tablecloth and chargers.

I’ve come up with a handful of go-to recipes that we keep in this binder so that anyone in the house can whip them up if I’m running late coming home from the office.

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This Asian chicken salad has been a favorite of the recipes in rotation this summer. I keep the chicken breasts in the fridge and whenever we’re grilling over the weekend we throw them on, so we have them on hand during the week for Asian chicken salad. My recipe is a little riff on Ina Garten’s recipe from my favorite summer cookbook: Parties!.

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To set an end of summer table for this dinner, I’ll pull out a vintage kantha quilt that I found on Etsy (and plan to use as a beach blanket over Labor Day).

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These napkins have become our go-to because they are so durable and don’t need to be ironed.

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Two bunches of flowers from the farmer’s market or grocery store would be perfect in these Ikea planters.

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These are the perfect size bowls for a main course salad.

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Asian Chicken Salad Ingredients: - 6 oz (2/3 of a box) of brown rice vermicelli noodles - 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - Olive oil - 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into bite size pieces - 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into bite size pieces - ½ red onion, thinly sliced - 2 cups sugar snap peas, stems and strings removed - Thai peanut sauce - Avocado oil - Kosher salt - Freshly ground pepper

Toppings: - 3 scallions - 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, toasted - 1/3 cup peanuts, chopped - Lime wedge

Dressing: Follow Ina’s recipe (linked below), it’s delicious! Or if you’re in a pinch, pick up Thai peanut sauce at your grocery store and mix it 3-to-1 with avocado oil (this is what we do most of the time!)

Ina’s recipe

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Thai peanut sauce

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Download the recipe

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