Simple Cooking

This all-purpose condiment is an ideal finisher for anything you might care to grill. Make it ahead and have it ready to spoon over grilled meats, fish, and vegetables.

Tangy labneh gives this ice cream serious Froyo vibes. With the crushed granola, you could almost eat it for breakfast.

These potatoes are simmered in seasoned water until tender, then grilled for a touch of char and smoky flavor. Bathe them in a mix of garlicky melted butter and miso, and this side dish becomes a star.

Grill your corn right away over the high heat of just-lit coals, then let it hang out in a cooler while you grill proteins and more delicate vegetables. The corn will finish cooking by steaming in the cooler and stay warm for hours.

Sometimes the best meat in the butcher’s case isn’t beef. Pork shoulder is virtually guaranteed to be pleasantly fatty and flavorful.

The formula for this cooling summer soup couldn’t be simpler: blended cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet red peppers, plus garlic, herbs, and fresh citrus.

Canning and preserving have long been an essential tactic of survival, and chowchow is a condiment born of both ingenuity and necessity. Here, green tomatoes not yet ripe enough to eat are transformed into a bright pickled expression of the first days of summer. It has been said that chowchow began as a collection of remnant produce that couldn’t be used in other dishes, so it became its own reclaimed relish. As you chop each vegetable, consider that origin: making the most from the least, creating abundance from scarcity. You can use four heatproof glass pint jars for this, though I prefer eight 8-ounce jars instead so I can share it around. Using pickling salt, such as Morton Canning & Pickling Salt, helps the liquid stay clear and keeps the cabbage from turning brown.

Potato salad gets a fresh burst of flavor from a dose of Jamaican jerk seasoning. The spicy rub is the foundation of the creamy dressing, where some of the heat is quelled by rich mayonnaise.

This Ethiopian dish of chickpeas in a berbere-spiced, flaxseed-thickened sauce makes for a quick, filling, and wonderfully flavorful meal.

The national drink of Martinique.

The ham and cheese-filled loaf is the savory quick bread you didn't know you needed. We love it with Gruyère, but sharp cheddar works just as well.

Grilling watermelon caramelizes the sweetness of the fruit, and the char gives just a hint of smoky flavor.

Down South, we call this a sitting salad. It can sit on the summer picnic table without wilting, so it’s the perfect potluck dish.

Smothered pork chops may be an iconic soul food specialty, but this recipe proves you can smother anything. All it really means is coating slow-cooked meat with a blanket of saucy aromatics that end up as gravy too.

If your watermelon isn’t very sweet, force it to be savory by adding peppery radishes and a quick vinaigrette. With mint strewn all over, it's super-refreshing.