1. We continue to have a love-hate relationship with meal-planning. Mainly, I love to plan meals when I have a fresh issue of Bon Appetit because it gives me loads of inspiration. I hate planning meals any other time. (That’s not totally true. But I also love melodrama.)

2. I binge-read the last few issues of Bon Appetit recently.

3. I’m obsessed with starting a dish on the stove in the cast iron, then putting it into the oven just because I can.

4. I made this on a whim two Sundays ago when we didn’t know what to have for dinner. I served it with baked salmon and roasted sweet potatoes and Brad said to me, I thought today’s meal was just going to be so-so, but you made everything taste magical.

5. I’m going to italicize something in every number of this post.

6. This was a super-satisfying way to eat summer vegetables.

7. Whenever I read or say the word “gratin” I say it all fancy like Ina Garten: gruh-TAN.

8. How do you say gratin?

zucchini and tomato gratin (gluten-free if you use crackers)
adapted from Bon Appetit
makes four servings

1/2 cup gluten-free crackers, crushed into coarse crumbs, or fresh breadcrumbs
4 Tablespoons avocado or olive oil, divided
sea salt
ground black pepper
1 large tomato, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup frozen corn
1 zucchini, thinly sliced

Toss the cracker crumbs with 2 Tablespoons oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof skillet (I used my cast iron pan) over medium high heat. Add the tomato and onion in one layer and cook until juices are bubbling, about four minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the corn kernels over the tomatoes; top with the zucchini slices and cracker mixture. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit until the zucchini is tender and the crumbs are brown, about 25 minutes.