PERFECT, EASY MEALS

5 No-recipe recipes for intuitive cooking every day

May 30, 2025

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Good Morning!

It’s a cool 58 degrees this morning, the birds are chirping, and the grass is finally growing in our backyard again—a gift that, when you don’t have any for three weeks in peak spring, speaks like a love song to my soul. We will summer beautifully in this yard after all.

Earlier this week, I committed, in the presence of a dear older, wiser friend, to keep things breezy and light, to work hard to get out of my head whenever possible, and see simple, precious gifts as they appear. And most importantly, to choose to seek the truth that most problems are not insurmountable, with a little help.

We were discussing bigger life things than what’s for dinner, of course, but it feels apropos that I had already prepared a letter to you that mirrors the same ethos when it comes to feeding ourselves and the ones we love. We think we need a big solution—a dinner plan, the next book, the perfect recipe. But sometimes the solution is right in front of us, and far simpler than we want to believe.

As much as I love bringing you the recipes that become your family stalwarts—the perfect chocolate chip cookie, my go-to chicken dinner, or the chocolate cake that your kids beg for every year from 12 to 20—what I really excel at is breezy, intuitive cooking. Wait, let’s drop the word cooking for a moment and call it breezy, intuitive making (food), for today’s purposes. (Sometimes it involves no cooking at all).

My talent for looking in a near-empty fridge and seeing dinner is the thing I would most like to bottle and sell, if only to help make feeding yourself and your loved ones feel easier. Having no plan at all and still coming up with a meal that passes for not just calories, but hits that sweet spot of satisfaction— where the ratio of fat/flavor/texture/salt (umami) is spot on—is one of my least marketable but most useful gifts.

I want to help you build this inside yourself, too.

Yes, we will always swoon over the pages of the Ottolenghi cookbooks and Eden Grinspan’s Tahini Baby—with layers and steps and flavor galore. There are times for recipes like that. (Mostly, I dream of someone else making them for me!!) But what I want to inspire in you today is the belief that a good meal—a perfect meal, even—doesn’t have to be complicated at all.

For a moment, think back to some of your best food memories. I bet they are akin to some of mine: fresh tortillas with a ripe avocado, a squeeze of lime, and a sprinkling of salt, eaten on our honeymoon right outside of a tortillaria, near Mexico City. A perfect Jambon Buerre (ham and butter) sandwich on a fresh croissant from a sandwich stand on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. A soft-boiled egg with crispy buttered soldiers (tiny toast sticks) at Balthazar in Soho, one Friday morning in May. Bistro Salad, crispy fries, and white wine on a solo business trip in Nashville, five months after giving birth to my son (my first adult meal sans a baby snuggled deep in my arms).

Maybe they happened on a trip overseas or in your great-aunt Mildred’s backyard one salty hot summer in Oklahoma (that crunchy BLT, with a side of salted watermelon). Plenty of them probably happened outside, in the summer. The point is, they didn’t require a recipe, only a formula—a small bit of know-how. Most of these meals require 3 to 5 ingredients, or at most 6. They aren’t fussy or fancy, or even “complete” by some standards.

Too often, we stop ourselves from enjoying these easy meals we love because of some obscure set sort of rules sanctioned by family/friends/society/instagram that no longer need to hold (examples: Dinner needs one piece of protein plus two sides. A proper meal needs to be hot! or I need thirteen homemade sauces ready to go to make food that tastes good!).

Instead, create a mantra for yourself that gives you permission to enjoy simple foods you love, and abide by the rules you make. Here is one to try on for size:

A perfect, simple meal is anything with color, protein, and fiber that satisfies my senses and my stomach.

Caveat! These kinds of breezy meals rely on the best versions of each ingredient (a fresh baguette, a perfectly ripe avocado, high-quality French butter, good eggs). For these meals, it’s your shopping or curating, not your skill in the kitchen that counts. But they can be returned to again and again all summer when you’re short on time and want to save your energy for the hike, the long lake swim, or get back to the hammock with your book.

Below are five more examples based on meals I made/prepared/ate this week that might be a fit for you, too. Wishing you ease and love for the days ahead.

Sarah

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FIVE NO-RECIPE RECIPES FOR PERFECT, EASY MEALS

Whole-Grain Marmalade + French Cheese Toast: Toast your favorite bread (ideally sourdough or naturally leavened for flavor and health). Layer on marmalade or whatever jam you prefer. Thinly slice a wash-rind, soft French or Italian cheese (think: Brie, Roblechon, Camembert, Tellegio or Bel Paese) and layer on top. Sprinkle with herbs, flowering chives, fresh greens, or microgreens. (Serve with fresh fruit and hot cocoa/cappucinno/mushroom coffee).
Fried Skillet Eggs with Tomatoes and Greens: Drop four egg in butter/olive oil/algea oil/ghee in a small skillet over high heat. Cover the pan to set the tops slightly. As they start to set, sprinkle on cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, herbs or greens. Serve straight from the skillet with a baguette + iced tea. (Easier than an omelet, with all the same flavors.)
Bunless Bison Burger Salad (with chips!): Shape bison (or lamb, beef, venison) into four patties. Salt and pepper. Fry until medium rare, adding Grueyere or another potent cheese on top to melt. Serve over any green or herby salad with your favorite potato chips. (Best with a crisp white wine!)
Japanese BBQ Salmon/Tofu Rice Bowls: Throw rice in the rice cooker to start cooking. Douse a side or fillet of salmon/trout/tofu in Japanese BBQ (or hoisin, and place flesh side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Broil on hi to toast the skin, 2 minutes. Flip and broil on low until it is just cooked through but still pink and moist, testing with a fork that it flakes but isn’t dry. (For tofu, broil to just crisp on each side and warm through). Divide the rice and salmon between bowls and layer on sliced cucumbers, avocado, tomatoes, watercress, kimchi or pickles.
Chopped Salad with Tinned Fish: Chop tomatoes, cucumber, celery, kale, avocado and toss with olive oil, salt, vinegar, and salted sunflowers seeds or other crunchy things you love. Dollop on your favorite tuna salad, or serve with tinned sardines/smoked trout/tuna and fancy crackers or Saltines. (Offer Medjool Dates + Dark chocolate for dessert!)

Note: All of these meals came out of a no-plan, quick trip through the grocery store that totaled $212*, including proteins, cheese, produce, breads, and my go-to flavor fixes like lemons and Gruyère cheese, which both add fast flavor to dozens of savory dishes. It also drew from my general go-to stocked pantry items, including olive oil, herbs (grown in my garden), spices, Dijon mustard, pickles, kimchi, butter, and Maldon salt.