Tomato Tart with a Scallion Goat Cheese Filling

My family came to visit New York for the first time ever. We don't see each other very often since they live in Texas, but it was my birthday last Tuesday so we celebrated together. We went to the 9/11 memorial, took the staten island ferry to see the statue of liberty, went to the rockefeller center, ate soup dumplings in chinatown and gelato in little italy. It was truly the best birthday I've had in a while.

I took them to all my favorite restaurants. They also had a lot of firsts when it came to food: chopped liver, hipster thai food, halal truck lamb and rice. My dad raved about this amazing scallop ceviche we had, though I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what "ceviche" means—all that matters is he loved it. The meals we shared together were so carefree, and I was just happy to see them happy.

At the end of each day we were completely beat from all the walking, but also the insane heat + humidity. This weather has been ridiculous lately. Just ridiculous. My mom and brother even called an audible during their last full day here and went back to the hotel early in order to cool down. As of Friday, they escaped this heat wave by going back to Texas...where it's cooler right now.

It's only appropriate that the recipe I'm sharing today is a fresh tart made with uncooked tomatoes and a smooth, cool filling of goat cheese, ricotta, and scallions. It makes a great addition to any summer dinner party, but is no less enjoyable if you're dining alone. Either way, it's a good meal to beat the heat. Enjoy and stay cool!

My Favorite Pasta Salad

You know in life, when things happen, they all happen at the same time. And though it's really exciting and wonderful, a little part of you wishes they were spaced out a teeny bit better. It has been over two weeks since my last post, and I promise I didn't just abandon this space right after my exciting announcement. As some of you know, the exact same day the Saveur finalists were announced, I started school. A full time 9-am-to-6-pm-plus-homework kind of school with the hopes of having a better, brighter, and more fulfilling career at the end of it. Thankfully it only lasts 12 weeks, but never have I had to actively use my brain for such an extended period of time each and every day—not in my previous jobs, not in college, not in high school. There is no such thing as "zoning out", or "free time" here (besides the hour we get for lunch), it's exhilarating, my classmates are amazing, I'm never bored, but goddamn, I am tired. I come home exhausted, and can barely muster up the strength to make dinner each day, so for the first two weekends after school started, I didn't blog. I felt awful because I had been given such a great honor of being a Saveur finalist, and I wanted so badly to give back and make more recipes, take more photos, and reach out to all of you, but I needed that time to decompress (and catch up on homework!). Now that we're starting our fourth week of school, there is finally a rhythm to the madness, and yesterday I managed to pull together a recipe I have been making and packing for lunch quite frequently as of late.

But before we move on to the recipe, if you haven't voted in the Saveur awards yet, I would really appreciate your vote in the Best New Voice category <3. Click the link here or in the sidebar, and make sure to cast a vote in the other categories as well so we can recognize all the wonderfully talented finalists.

Spring Vegetable Lasagna with Heirloom Tomato Béchamel

...more like "spring/summer vegetable lasagna", but that doesn't roll off the tongue as easily. Anyways, back in May I went to the Union Square Greenmarket and was thoroughly unimpressed. It was still early in the year, so I had high hopes for a few months down the road. I went back last weekend and it was AH-MAZING. Vegetables, fruit, bread, meat, seafood, everything! Overwhelming! I saw a box of beautiful squash blossoms and knew it was meant to be. My first experience with squash blossoms was stuffed and tempura fried at Stephanie Izard's Girl & The Goat, and I still remember how yummy they were.

This lasagna had been on my to-do list for a while, and now I had the perfect opportunity to make it again. I thought it would be great topped with the squash blossoms I just purchased, and thankfully it turned out even better than I imagined.

Five Ingredient Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is one of those things that I love, but only if it's made well. Not too runny, not too creamy, not too sweet, not too sour. All of the other ingredients should complement the tomato and bring out the flavor, not cover it up. The simplicity of this soup is what makes it so great. It only has five ingredients (not counting salt, is that cheating?).