Heart Eyes, Vol. 124: Dickinson and Halloumi Roast with Summer Vegetables
Friends, today I report to you sprawled out on my bed under the ceiling fan, exposing every reasonable inch of surface area. It’s hot—and not Bay Area hot, like where it’s 76 degrees and 27 percent humidity and you can still kind of see the fog waiting to rush back in through the Golden Gate. Actual hot. I plan to stay here, with my book and a cold drink and probably a steady parade of sliced peaches straight from the fridge, until the weather breaks. Whatever you’re doing with your August weekend—ceiling fan, book, peaches, or, heaven forbid, something even remotely productive—I hope it’s exactly the break you need.
What To Watch: Dickinson on AppleTV+
Dickinson is a weird, artsy, gothy teen show about Emily Dickinson—yes, that Emily Dickinson—as a weird, artsy, gothy teen, and it is a ride. In a good way! It’s funny and snarky, postmodern and absurdist, and ultimately also extremely earnest, as most good teen shows are. To give you an idea: Hailee Steinfeld, whom you may remember from the Coen brothers adaptation of True Grit, plays Emily herself; the rapper Wiz Khalifa plays Death; the comedian John Mulaney, naturally, shows up as Henry David Thoreau. Each episode is based on a different poem, which could feel forced, but doesn’t; all together, they made me want to read more of Dickinson’s work (and the fascinating rabbit hole that is her Wikipedia entry—was she in a romantic relationship with her sister-in-law?). The fact that this show made it out into the world at all, and that it’s so very good and beautiful and entertaining, warms my literary, feminist heart. Maybe it’ll warm yours, too.
Dickinson is on AppleTV+; I personally signed up for a one-week free trial and zipped through the whole show—just ten half-hour episodes—in a few evenings.
What To Cook: Halloumi Roast with Summer Vegetables
This week, thanks to Friend of Heart Eyes Ashley, I made a recipe I was sure I’d never try—it’s from the Vegetable Mains section of Smitten Kitchen Every Day, and it’s always made me think, You can’t fool me, Deb—that’s just roasted vegetables and some cheese! Which is to say, not something I need a recipe for, or exactly a meal, as far as I’m concerned.
I’m here to say: I was wrong.
I mean, I was right in the sense that this dish is just roasted vegetables with some cheese, but they’re very good vegetables—tossed with a lemon-garlic-oregano marinade before they go into the oven—and the cheese really makes it*. It’s delicious and easy and surprisingly satisfying; topped with a fried egg, I was too full to also eat the toast I’d planned. Now is the perfect time to get into cooking with beautiful late-summer produce, and this feels, to me, like a great way to do that.
*OK, so, about the cheese: I swapped cubes of feta for the halloumi, not because I don’t love halloumi—I do, very very much—but because feta is cheaper and I tend to keep a borderline nonsensical amount of it on hand. This, um, did not go as planned: feta typically keeps its shape pretty well, but in this case immediately spread into messy, cheesy pools, parts of which I did not enjoy cleaning off my baking sheets later. Because the only thing I love as much as a cheese crouton is a cheese crisp, I salvaged the situation by peeling what I could of the melted, browned feta up in sheets, chopping it into bits, and tossing it into the finished dish—but heads up if you’re tempted to make the same swap. I actually think feta could still work; I’d just add it toward the end of the veggies’ cooking time, so it browns a bit but doesn’t totally disintegrate. But also, spring for the halloumi! Halloumi is delicious!
Halloumi Roast with Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomatoes
From Smitten Kitchen Every Day, by Deb Perelman
Serves 2 heartily or 6 as a side (I doubled mine and ate it all week)
3 TBSP. olive oil, plus a little for the trays
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
Zest of 1/2 a lemon, plus juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. kosher salt
Black pepper
1 medium zucchini or summer squash
1 medium eggplant
2 cups cherry tomatoes
8 oz halloumi (or feta, if you dare)
Heat oven to 450° and coat one large or two small baking sheets with a bit of olive oil. In a large bowl, combine 3 TBSP olive oil and the garlic, oregano, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
Chop your zucchini and eggplant into half- or quarter-moons about half an inch thick, your cherry tomatoes into halves, and your cheese into one-inch cubes. Toss everything with the marinade and spread on the baking sheets, then roast 20–30 minutes on one side and 10–15 minutes on the other. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and serve, with a fried egg if you’re me.