In the deep heat of summer, I like to wake up and sit with my coffee in an un-air-conditioned house. I open the windows to hear the cicadas humming and the sprinkler watering the garden. The city has yet to stir. If it’s not too unbearable yet, I go out into the yard, toting the cat and my hot, too hot coffee. We sit under the umbrella and bake slowly as the sun rises over the trees. This is the moment when buttery, mustard-laced toast with the cool of yogurt-y, dilled cucumbers and the freshness of sliced, peppered Brandywines are the only, only savory summer thirst quencher I’m interested in. Paired alongside eggs prepared to your liking, settle in for a good sweat – while blessedly, internally impervious to the dog days of summer.

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