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It’s not a regular zucchini bread. It’s a cool zucchini bread (with fresh pineapple and flaked coconut).
Island vibes zucchini bread! Have you ever heard of a more fun zucchini bread? At its most basic, zucchini bread is friendly and helpful, there for you and your glut of summer squash. This island vibes zucchini bread from Jocelyn Delk Adams is also those things, but it’s wearing shades and slides and teaches bodysurfing on the weekends.
The vibes come from charred pineapple and coconut, which combine with sweet, shredded (and thoroughly wrung-out) zucchini to make a treat that’s light, fluffy and flavorful. Use those fresh pineapple spears you can find in the refrigerated produce section of your supermarket, or, if you have the grill going, throw on a couple of spears or slices for extra charred oomph. And if you have leftover pineapple: pineapple salsa, pineapple fried rice, pineapple chicken.
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Island Vibes Zucchini Bread
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Speaking of leftovers, I would absolutely make Ali Slagle’s oven BBQ chicken just to have extra in my fridge that could be used for so many subsequent dinners, lunches and breakfasts. The same goes for Isaiah Screetch and Korsha Wilson’s smoky jollof rice, which Korsha recommends as a gorgeous bed for beef suya or Jamaican oxtail stew.
This beautiful layered vegetable torte from Mark Bittman takes time — the eggplant, zucchini, portobellos and peppers must be grilled or roasted until they’re completely tender before you assemble your dish for its final run in the oven. But it’s absolutely worth it, a loving way to send off summer produce and give yourself a hand for future meals. (I’d loosely chop up leftover torte and toss it with cooked pasta for a near-instant pasta salad.)
I don’t think there will be leftovers of these garlicky shrimp tacos because look at them: They’re basically gambas al ajillo tucked into corn tortillas with sliced radishes, avocado, spicy pico de gallo, cilantro and lime. Kay Chun is a genius.
And for those bananas going brown on your counter — no, not banana bread. Banana cream pie no-churn ice cream. Erin Jeanne McDowell’s recipe doesn’t require any cooking or special equipment; all you have to do is mash up some bananas, whip heavy cream and fold in crumbled vanilla wafer cookies. “Fantastic! It was devoured in minutes!” writes Jasper, a reader.
One last thing! If you, like me, really try your best not to waste food, you’ll want to give a listen to the latest episode of Wirecutter’s new podcast, “The Wirecutter Show.” Marilyn Ong, one of Wirecutter’s expert kitchen editors, talks through smart grocery shopping strategies and restaurant hacks for maximizing your pantry, fridge and freezer. And Genevieve Ko, our deputy editor of New York Times Cooking, shares her favorite recipes to give new life to leftovers and hopelessly wilted veggies. (Just throwing out there that my go-to use of stale bread is her French toast recipe.) Listen now on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.