I love this time of year! The days are long and filled with sunshine. After a rough winter, this month has been entirely rejuvenating. Today, I’m bringing you a refreshing dinner recipe from Phoebe Lapine’s new book, The Wellness Project. It’s an ideal option for warm summer evenings.

This dish starts with soba noodles, which are tossed with zucchini noodles (“zoodles,” if you will) and a delicious, savory almond butter sauce. I wouldn’t have thought to top this concoction with quick-pickled cucumber and radish, but they’re perfect—crisp, colorful and tart.

You may know Phoebe from her blog, Feed Me Phoebe. In her new book, she walks us through her year-long experiment to regain her health, from drinking more water and less alcohol, to gut health and physical therapy. Each chapter concludes with actionable tips based on her experiences.

Phoebe has Hashimoto’s, a thyroid disorder, but the book is entirely relatable to anyone who has struggled with chronic health issues or is craving a voice of reason in the wellness sphere. The book is an easy and informative read, and I love Phoebe’s frank, conversational writing style. She shares her encounters with crazy naturopaths and her switch to natural skincare products, but my favorite part was when she writes about the benefits of dog ownership.

Dogs are, no surprise, excellent “rewilding” agents. Meaning that all the dirt and “environmental detritus” they bring inside actually “increase the immunity of their families by maximizing their exposure to all matters of microbial diversity. In fact, children who grow up with furry friends have far fewer instances of allergies and asthma than their dog-less peers.” That, my friends, is reason no. 45 for why everyone needs a dog.

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Man alive. I just had a really nice chat with some of my favorite bloggers, and my head is spinning. Facebook fans, Instagram, Snapchat, engagement metrics, cookbooks, employees, video. I can’t do it all. Can we just hang out here, on this website I’ve built for you all? Can we just sip some wine and make a couple dinners together each week, and correspond about them in the comments? That sounds marvelous.

Now seems like a good time to check in with you. I’ve been trying to keep my head above water with the cookbook and blog combined, but soon, I will be back to blogging full-time. I can’t wait!

So, what would you like to see here? More recipes? If so, what kinds of recipes? Would you like cooking videos? My little brother could help me with those. Maybe some more non-food links that have inspired me lately? What would you like to see on Instagram stories (we’re cookieandkate)? Behind the scenes blogging/cookbook work, Cookie pics, me falling out of yoga poses, something else? I am all ears. Your support lets me do what I love for a living, so I always want to hear from you!

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Beep beep. Boop boop. One zero one zero zero zero one. I. Am. Recipe. Robot. Yeeeeesh, sorry, I am a little sleep deprived over here. I’ve been working almost around the clock on the cookbook manuscript, analyzing the logic and clarity behind every list and instruction, while trying to make the head notes as informative and entertaining as they can be.

I read through all 115 recipes yesterday with a fine-tooth comb. My publisher wants Oxford commas in the book and I’m an AP style girl, so my commas are all mixed up right now. Among other things. Zero zero one boop.

I took a break to share this recipe with you all. It was supposed to be a pretty straightforward riff on a recipe I found in July’s Bon Appetit magazine, a cherry tomato and walnut pesto. However, their recipe called for anchovies, and a lot of olive oil and Parmesan, and I need energizing meals right now.

It also suggested cranking up the oven for the walnuts and cherry tomatoes, and I wanted to make it all on the stovetop since it’s so hot outside. When I made a lightened-up version of it without anchovies, on the stove, it turned out lackluster.

I took Cookie on a walk after my disappointing pasta experience, and had a light bulb moment along the way: sun-dried tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes have lots of umami in them like anchovies and Parmesan do, and they seemed like an obvious fit with burst cherry tomatoes. Boom! We had ourselves a winner. My final adjustment was to replace some of the pasta with zucchini noodles, which makes it even more fresh. Make it for dinner tonight?

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This recipe for zucchini noodles with pesto and cherry tomatoes is so fresh and bright that I just had to try it. I loved it so much that I wish I had ingredients for another batch right now! I found it in Heather Christo’s lovely cookbook, Pure Delicious.

This is a simple summer meal that is bursting with flavor and ready in under thirty minutes. The only cooking involved is briefly toasting the pepitas to bring out their best flavor. Yes, that means that the zucchini is served raw. Give it a try!

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Not long ago, while Cookie and I were out walking, I watched an older lady cross paths with another woman and her dog. I realized that the women were strangers. Dogs have a way of bringing people together, you know? As we walked up, my gray-haired neighbor was asking permission to pet the big, slobbery mastiff. Then came the usual, “What kind of dog is that?” question.

Three single women, two dogs, one neighborhood intersection on a warm summer evening. We all started swapping laughs and sighs about our pups’ peculiarities as Cookie wiggle-waggled over to the older lady. She fawned over Cookie and admitted that she recently lost her 15-year-old collie. We expressed our condolences. The other woman mentioned her current mastiff’s beloved predecessor and suggested, “Why don’t you get another?” The older lady confessed that it was too much, too hard to lose an ever-present companion, that it’s just the worst. My heart broke for her. I get it. Maybe you get it, too. It is terrifying to love another being so much.

Cookie hopped the fence on Wednesday afternoon. I let her come outside with me while I was talking to my friend on the phone. I watched in horror as she made one impressive, graceful, vertical leap over the chain-link fence to pursue a bunny.

Ten, fifteen, I don’t know how many minutes passed while I was frantically shrieking her name out the car windows and flagging down neighbors. Finally, my phone rang. Cookie was safe at the bank, of all places. Whether for safety or cash for the road, Cookie had run inside the bank. Her new friends were feeding her treats in the conference room when I got there.

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This bold and unexpected pasta dish is lighter than the rest! It features equal parts cooked fettuccine or linguine and squash “noodles,” also known as zoodles. The squash contributes extra color, flavor and nutrients, while you still get the satisfying chew of traditional noodles. It’s a win-win situation.

The pesto has a bit of a Mexican flair thanks to cilantro, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and jalapeño. It’s more flavorful than spicy, and it has won a special place in my heart along with all the other herb sauces that I hold dear.

I know there are plenty of cilantro haters out there (I’m a lover, myself), but I’d suggest that this one is still worth trying if you’re on the fence. Otherwise, toss in my basil, arugula or avocado pesto instead. I’ve loved this recipe for over ten years now, and I’m sharing it again with new photos. I hope you’ll give it a try!

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My oh my, what a week! I don’t know where to begin, so let’s get right to the recipe. Pretty, isn’t it? This dish was inspired by Stonesoup’s lentils with zucchini noodles recipe. I loved the zucchini “noodles”, but felt the lentils with tomato paste were too heavy for a light, vegan summer dish. Then came the idea to try making my own arrabiata sauce, which has been on my to-cook list for a long time. I threw in some chickpeas for protein.

Voila! An amazing meal was born.

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