This is the recipe for tomato season — from the first good heirlooms at the market in the early summer through the last ones in the fall. Whatever tomatoes are ripest and most flavorful when you go, those are the ones to use. A little over an hour on the stove with sugar, sea salt, chili flakes, rice vinegar, olive oil, and a hint of lemon zest, and they cook down into something deeply savory, sweet, and warm with heat.

It goes on toast with soft cheese, alongside a cheese board, spooned over grilled meat or fish, or stirred into a vinaigrette. Make a jar and keep it in the fridge. You’ll find reasons to use it on everything.

This is the kind of baked oatmeal that actually earns the word wholesome — not because it’s trying to be virtuous, but because every ingredient is doing something real. Buttermilk softens the oats and adds a gentle tang. Olive oil replaces the butter for a lighter, slightly fruity richness. Maple sweetens without tipping into dessert.

A quick strawberry chia jam — just a pint of strawberries, lemon juice, and maple, mashed and cooked down — gets dolloped over the top before it goes in the oven, sinking slightly into the oatmeal as it bakes. A three-nut crumble of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds olive oil and maple goes over that, toasting and candying as it bakes. Serve warm with crème fraîche and a drizzle of maple alongside.