It's my birthday!

Seven all-time favorite dishes - and a big subscription sale!

✴︎ If you enjoy this post, thank you so much for clicking the ♥️, restacking it, or sharing it with a friend. That little bit really helps ;) ✴︎

Yesterday was my birthday. Every year I like to plan a series of celebrations, days filled with magic, doing things I love, that I don’t get enough time to connect to in “regular life”. Live it up. How that looked like this year: a few special dinners with dear friends, wild blueberry picking on a mountain, in a rainstorm… It was a profound, bar-none experience. I also made sure to feast on oysters, twice. There was a small picnic on slab rocks along a creek, feet submerged in bracing waters, in the middle of a nearby forest. All of this was peppered with jovial banter and rich conversation about life, and what the future may bring. I am so lucky to experience this.

At my age sometimes there are more questions than answers, but I do have a few words of wisdom, should you want to adopt them into your life. ;)

The world gets bigger when you are kind.
Humans are smart but nature is smarter.
Nature contains multitudes (and is always there for us).
Being gentle is underrated.
The more you listen, the more you learn.

In the spirit of 7 • 17, I am sharing seven of my most favorite recipes with you. These are dishes to make you happy. Their saturated colors and flavors, the range (and layers) of outstanding textures, it’s all there.

To extend the celebration, I’m offering a huge sale: 25% off of annual subscriptions, to the end of the month. If you’ve been on the fence, now’s a perfect time to join. You don’t need a link - just go to the subscription page and the discount is taken at point of payment. Or, feel free to hit the button below. Your subscription gives you access to every single new recipe, my entire Recipe Archive, in-depth explorations into making plump, crowd-pleasing beans, foraging, how to build your best pantry, and more. Your support helps keep this newsletter going.

Without further ado, here they are…

Lemon possets with cherries + toasted fennel

This decadent-yet-refreshing dessert couldn’t be easier to make and wins high praise from everyone I serve it to. In fact, this fall I am producing a dazzling menu for *150* people, and this dessert will be one of the attractions. In addition to being delicious as written, it is just as lush through the seasons. I have swapped in persimmon, blackberries, made it into a trifle (to rave reviews), and also added the pistachio praline featured in the black raspberry tartlets from my book. Make this amazing dessert, then thank me later.

Peach + tomato salad with fish sauce vinaigrette

An explosion of juiciness, this salad is definitely one of my desert island meals… I could eat this and die happy! Every layer complements the others, bright, sweet + savory, and alive. As soon as I can harvest the first big tomatoes from my garden, I will most definitely be making this salad again.

Rye focaccia

This pillowy bread is extremely versatile. Swap toppings to your heart’s content. Make sandwiches, or tear the focaccia into craggy bits for panzanella. Or, just dunk it into good olive oil. I have made this recipe countless times and every single toppings version is a winner. Make this focaccia and make your life better!

Mussels for Betty

Many years ago, my husband and I were on an unforgettable, multi-stop trip through California. While there, we stopped in Santa Barbara to reconnect to Betty Fussell, one of my earliest mentors.

Favorite moments along the way - rosemary shrubs, lupine meadow, Big Sur, and a beachside picnic

I offered to make a dish with the odds and ends she had from the farmers market, and this recipe was born. We all relished in the flavors so much, it left such a mark I included it in my book. This is truly sublime. Like many of the recipes I make, it’s best with top-notch ingredients. To make this dish soar, use the plumpest mussels you can find! I recently taught this dish as part of a cooking class - people who weren’t ‘mussels fans’ gushed about the flavors. Unquestionably, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recipe here ;)

The original incarnation, on Betty's patio, and the mussels as photographed for the book

Asparagus + mushroom saffron pasta

Developed in spring, this dish originally incorporated morel mushrooms. Sure, it would be great using them, but this silky pasta dish is equally good with shiitakes, or even button mushrooms. The sauce is creamy without being heavy, the elements are bursting juicy together, and eating it feels like a treat.

Mushroom escabeche

While we’re on a mushroom theme, I have talked about this fantastic condiment on numerous occasions. Been making it for years and always swap in whatever mushrooms I have on-hand: wild oyster or chanterelle mushrooms, cremini, chestnut, shiitake, even beech mushrooms. This escabeche is the perfect way to enjoy the juicy, meaty quality of fresh mushrooms in an aromatic, lightly pickley staple that will last a few months. Eggs, pasta, grains or beans, grilled meat, roasted fish, seriously - add it to everything!

Fried squash blossoms

I am a savory girl. Give me chips or fries and I am in heaven. So when I decided to make use of a bumper crop of squash blossoms popping up everywhere in my garden last year, this was undoubtedly the best result. Tempura💥shattering💥crunchy bliss. Like eating the best chips, only *also* the ephemeral bonus of eating flowers. Stunningly good with a crisp white wine or rosé….

If someone could make these for me, it truly would be heaven. In lieu of that, please go make one or all of them! Lift a glass, and cheers to the good life.

✴︎ If you enjoy this post, thanks for clicking the ♥️, restacking it, or sharing it with another foodie fan! Doing so helps share my work with folks who don’t already know about Stories from Catbird Cottage. ✴︎

Would you like me to explore a particular ingredient or recipe? Please don’t hesitate to send me a direct message here on Substack to make future recipe requests. xo Melina

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