American plates with a blackberry jalapeno stuffed chicken, balsamic salmon bites and a corn feta couscous

Spanish rice lives or dies in the first five minutes. The grain is toasted dry in the pan until it smells nutty, then tomato, paprika and stock go in and it does not get stirred again after that. Kidney beans fold through right at the end so they stay whole instead of breaking up into the rice. The traditional version carries a lot more fat than this one, and I have never thought it was missing.

Apricots and corn are both worth buying right now, so both went in raw or close to it. The apricots are cut into the chopped kale with dates and almonds, and that bowl is dressed at the table because the kale will hold but the fruit will not. The corn was charred dry in a hot pan before it met the pearled couscous, feta and lemon. All of it came off one market run that morning.

Reheating: the blackberry jalapeno stuffed chicken breasts want 10 minutes at 350°F covered, so the filling warms through without the meat going dry around it. The mozzarella and cherry tomatoes baked asparagus needs 8 minutes uncovered to bring the cheese back, and the creamy petite peas and butter beans are better cold than heated at all. The cashew lime chicken thighs reheat happily, but the mango avo salsa never goes near heat. Delivery ran out to Houston, TX 77025 that afternoon.