Summer Comfort: 7 Foods I Need to Make Each Year
Maybe you'll adopt these warm-season must-haves
Summer fare isn’t what we usually think of as comfort food. But there’s a small set of recipes that are musts for me to make at least once every season. That kind of repetition, which becomes tradition, is another form of comfort. Especially, I say grumpily, because I’m not a fan of hot, muggy, buggy summer.
I liked it when produce was a lot more seasonal, which made asparagus in April and cantaloupe in July more fun. Still, whatever produce you can get from local markets in its true season is so much better than trucked-in imports.
We’re lucky to have so much fresh food, at least those of us who don’t live in food deserts or war zones. So I donate regularly to causes like Jose Andres’ amazing World Central Kitchen, which courageously goes to war zones and areas on the brink of famine to provide the kind of comfort that only food can give.
Let’s get started on my 7 top summer comfort food traditions. Maybe they’ll become your yearly go-tos. I invite you to visit The Vegan Atlas between newsletters — find whatever you’re looking for in the search bar.
Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho (no-cook)
Like the original tomato-only version of gazpacho, this one has become a classic as well. Serve this midsummer chunky gazpacho recipe when tomatoes are at their best, which, luckily, intersects with the season’s sweetest watermelon.
This is fantastic served as a first course for a meal of grilled veggies and plant proteins, or side by side with vegan burgers with all the fixings. Get the recipe.
Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles
Here’s a quick recipe for easy refrigerator pickles that I hope you’ll love as much as I do. There’s no need for traditional canning methods and equipment other than a quart jar. The flavor is perfectly half-sour and takes just minutes to make, though you'll have to be patient and let it stand in the fridge for a good 24 hours to marinate.
Though I make these pickles year-round with whatever cucumbers are available, once or twice each summer I’m able to get a big batch of kirbys, which are the ultimate pickling cucumber. Get the recipe.
Any dish using homemade pesto
I like pesto just fine, but can’t go straight to loving it (not sure why). Still, I feel compelled to make something with homemade pesto once, maybe twice each summer.
Fresh spinach gives this vegan pesto pizza a vivid color, and fresh basil or parsley (or a combination of both) adds the strong herbal flavor you’ve come to expect from pesto.
It’s topped with fresh tomatoes, and of course, the more flavorful they are, the better the pizza will be. You can use the spinach and herb pesto in this recipe for other purposes as well. Get the recipe for Vegan Pesto Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes.
Unbaked Peach or Nectarine Crisp
In most places, local peach and nectarine season is fleeting. Try to find them ripe (but not overripe) and lush, rather than the kind that go from rock solid to tasteless mush. This usually happens in July, so see if you can grab some local peaches!
This fruity dessert is particularly good with raspberries, but blueberries work just fine, too. This is a fantastic gluten-free option for dessert (use certified GF oats if that's a concern for you). A dollop of vegan ice cream is highly recommended for serving. Get the recipe.
Any kind of fresh salsa
Store-bought salsas are generally good, not to mention convenient, but there’s nothing like fresh, homemade salsa. Since we’re already shopping for fresh peaches for the previous recipe, why not try this fresh tomato and peach salsa? The time is now, when peak tomato and peach season intersect.
What a treat this is as a dip for tortilla chips. It also adds a great flavor twist when used as a topping for tacos, tostadas, and other tortilla specialties. Get the recipe for Fresh Tomato and Peach Salsa.
More salsa recipes on the site: Fresh Corn and Tomatillo Salsa and Salsa Fresca.
Cookbook break!
My cookbooks: I’ve written many cookbooks. The early ones were vegetarian, then they went vegan when I did (more than 20 years ago). Explore some of them here.
Any dish made with lots of fresh corn
Truth be told, my preferred way to enjoy fresh corn at the peak of its season is on the cob, cooked lightly (and maybe charred a little on a grill pan or in the air fryer). I’m sure I’m not alone. But every once in a while I like to shake off the lazies and make a dish that features several ears of fresh corn.
Calabacitas is a traditional dish of Mexico and Southwestern U.S. The combination of fresh corn and summer squash flavored with garlic and chili peppers makes a simple, flavorful side dish. A perfect way to take advantage of the bumper crop of fresh corn and summer squashes, you can serve this with just about any kind of meal.
Get the recipe for Summer Squash with Corn and Green Chiles (Calabacitas). And if you’re a fan of cooking with fresh corn, see this roundup of 35+ Fresh Corn Recipes for Summer and Early Fall.
Dairy-Free Creamy Cantaloupe Shake
Here’s the thing about cantaloupe — midsummer is when it’s at its peak of flavor, but even then, you don’t always know what you’re getting until you cut it open.
The beauty of this beverage is that it’s fantastic with summer’s ripest, lushest cantaloupes, but also good with “oops” melons — the ones you cut into that are just underripe or don’t have the best flavor. Blended with OJ and vegan vanilla ice cream, it's better to use them up than have them languish in the fridge.
Inspired by the nostalgic ice cream treats Creamsicle® and Dreamsicle®, this creamy dairy-free cantaloupe shake is luscious enough to serve as dessert. Get the recipe.
Literature nerds, see my other Substack, Literary Ladies Guide — celebrating women writers of the past whose voices deserve to live on.
Courtesy of my friend Bob Eckstein, with whom I’m producing a book (I’m the writer and he’s the illustrator) on the role that cats have played in the lives of writers. To be published in September, 2025. Meanwhile, you can subscribe to his Substack, The Bob, for humor, wisdom about the writing life, and lots more.