Hello, friends! Some of you are new subscribers and while I'm not totally sure how you got here (Substack recommendations from other writer friends?), I'm glad you did.
A very short introduction: I'm Kelsey— a home cook and writer living in Nashville. I've been writing here since September 2021 and while I intended to write monthly, it's been...less than that! I'm fine with it if you are. I'm truly grateful you found your way here and hope you find some joy in these occasional letters.
My dear friend Kate sent me a voice memo the other day to tell me that while scrolling through Instagram, she saw a picture of a tomato galette. She told me that her first thought when she saw it was that she wanted *me* to make one. Kate also referred to the galette as "Pizza's Hot Sister," which got an actual laugh out loud from me.
If you've known me for about five minutes, you know that I struggle through summer pretty much every year. Summer is not my natural habitat and so I just move through as best I can, letting myself off the metaphorical hook left and right. That extends to what and how we eat, which is to say that we eat really simply in the summer. Sandwiches, lots of tuna or chicken salad, a charcuterie board here and there.
And yet, when the summertime blues come knocking at my door around mid-July, something in me knows it's time to return to the kitchen for a project, for an injection of joy, embodiment, pleasure, of just something different in the monotony of one hot day after another.
And so, tomato galette. I used a recipe from Wishbone Kitchen, who now has my full devotion. I printed out my recipe, which delighted me, because how annoying is it when you want to look at a recipe but your screen goes dark and your hands are covered in flour? I thought I was being very ingenious by printing out my recipe, but then I realized that this is where someone might mention that cookbooks are just this— printed out recipes. And I have a bunch of cookbooks I hardly ever use. Tra la la! Onto the crust.
The crust was perfect and from what I can tell, user-friendly. I didn't catch any pictures of the process of making the dough because one must work very quickly as to avoid any butter melting during the process. It took ten minutes total and I think I now have a chosen pie crust recipe for any of my future pie or galette needs. As I was rolling it out (with one of our reusable water bottles, because this girl doesn't own a rolling pin), it seemed crumblier than expected, which made me think that perhaps I didn't add as much water as instructed. I didn't roll it as thinly as advised because....water bottle rolling pin. It looked more rustic than pictures I've seen online.
And yet, none of that mattered. It was perfect. The edges were shiny from the egg wash and cheesy from the parmesan. It was well browned throughout. It shattered perfectly as a pastry should. The tomatoes were punchy and juicy, but not soggy. The toppings, balanced. It was absolutely pizza but better, if I'm even allowed to say that.
So, cheers to tomato galette.
Because tomatoes won't taste like this for much longer. Because I have a lush basil plant just outside my door. Because the cold creamy ricotta against the tomato's pucker makes me feel grateful to be alive. And perhaps the best reason of all, because my dear friend Kate asked me to.
Happy-ish summer, y'all. Thank you for being here and please feel free to send me a note if you have any thoughts to share, or just to say howdy. I’ll try to write again soon.
Peace & love,
Kelsey
Now I want to buy tomatoes.