This recipe holds a certain special memory for me. Growing up, my family would celebrate birthdays, awards, or just life at a vegan Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Dry-fried green beans were a must-have every time we went there. Something about escaping the cold of San Francisco and enjoying slightly charred green beans with stewed eggplant and fried rice was so comforting. I knew I wanted to re-create this recipe and hopefully share the comforting energy that comes with it.

Dry-frying is a classic technique that, despite its name, doesn’t involve a completely dry pan but rather a pan with a very small amount of oil. Dry-frying takes moisture out of the ingredients and makes them crispy. I love to dry-fry my green beans because this technique gives the green beans a nice charred flavor without resulting in overcooked and listless green beans. Tien Tsin chiles are small, mild dried chiles that impart lots of smoky chile flavor. Depending on where you live, they can be hard to find, but I recommend going to stores specializing in Chinese foods, a spice shop, or substituting with another small dried pepper such as chile de arbol. Sichuan peppercorns can be found at most grocery stores, but if you have trouble finding them, a spice shop is a good place to look. The spices in this recipe are used to flavor the oil in the pan and indirectly infuse the green beans.

You know it’s officially summer when juicy, sweet, refreshing fruit hits the farm stands. Along country roads in the Southern states, you’ll find numerous fruit and vegetable stands. In the old days, there would be metal cattle-watering troughs filled with cold water, ice and freshly picked watermelons. We would stop daily to grab a melon, sometimes barely making it to the back of the station wagon before slicing one open and devouring it right then and there. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I came to learn about gazpachos, so this recipe combines my childhood memories with my adult need to elevate those taste memories. But, really, does it get any better than a farm-stand snack?

A few years ago, Steph got into a bad rock-climbing accident, which forced her to spend a big part of the summer in the hospital. It was a very scary time for all of us, but things could’ve been a lot worse had she been forced to eat hospital food every day and miss the best of the summer vegetable growing season. Thankfully, we brought her food from Elena almost every day, including this crunchy, tangy and herbaceous cucumber salad. Every bite tastes like summer and friendship, which is especially comforting when you’re trapped inside.

When I daydream of summer, I think of lazy afternoons at the lake house, cold drinks on the water, and colorful salads in the backyard. When enjoying an alfresco meal with friends and family, I like to have a pitcher of iced tea on hand to keep everyone hydrated and happy. The combination of slow-brewed green tea, juicy ripe peaches, and mint is nourishing on its own as an afternoon tonic, or you can spike it up for a special occasion with a dry white wine. For the best flavor, give the tea and peaches at least 5 hours to get acquainted—the flavors will only improve with time.