By Seven weeks until mid-August, give or take. I am not counting down daily anymore. I have done the preparation and I am now in the mode I recognize from Bernice's Table: you do the preparation and then you wait with your hands open, ready to receive whatever comes.
I have been making summer food with particular attention this year because next summer will be different — not worse, just different, organized around a baby's schedule rather than my own, and I want to be fully present in this summer before that. The tomatoes are good. I have been making the galette weekly and Dorothea next door has been coming for a slice on Sunday evenings, which has become a small ritual without my planning it. She comes at six and I cut the galette and we sit on the porch and talk about the neighborhood, her grandchildren, her late husband who used to grow tomatoes in the same row where I grow mine now. There are people in your life you did not know you needed until you needed them, and Dorothea is one of those people. A neighbor who comes for the galette and stays for the conversation is one of the quiet gifts of this life and I am paying attention to it.
CJ sends weekly photographs. Shanice's kitchen, mostly — her cooking, her growing self at the stove. She is still cooking in her thirty-ninth week, which tells me everything I need to know about who she is. A woman who cooks at thirty-nine weeks pregnant is a woman who will cook a week after the baby comes and two weeks after and every week thereafter, which is the only cooking life I understand.
The galette gets the best tomatoes — the ripest, the most perfect — but the ones just behind them deserve something too, and this arugula salad with bacon and buttermilk dressing is what I make on the other nights, when Dorothea isn’t coming and it’s just me and the porch and the garden at dusk. The peppery greens and the tang of the dressing hold up to a good summer tomato without competing with it, and the bacon gives it enough weight to feel like a real thing, not just a side. It is the kind of salad that rewards attention to your ingredients, which is exactly the kind of cooking I want to be doing right now.
Arugula Salad with Bacon, Tomatoes & Buttermilk Dressing
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 oz baby arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped)
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan
- Buttermilk Dressing:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Lay bacon strips in a cold skillet and cook over medium heat, turning once, until crisp, about 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool, then break into rough pieces.
- Make the dressing. Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, garlic, and Dijon mustard in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in chives, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated.
- Prepare the salad base. Place arugula in a wide, shallow bowl or on a large platter. Scatter tomatoes and red onion slices evenly over the greens.
- Dress and finish. Drizzle buttermilk dressing generously over the salad — use as much or as little as you like. Top with bacon pieces and shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately so the arugula stays crisp.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 220 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 520mg