Chicken tonight was very simple, just chicken thighs tossed with garam masala and grilled. I tried something different with this terrific potato salad, used grilled potatoes instead of boiled. Yeah, boiled is the way to go.

Our farm share has been giving us zucchini and summer squash every week for the past few weeks now, and we’re overloaded. It’s a pretty new farm, so they’re still getting the hang of moderating supplies. Courgettes Nicoise is a great way to use up a lot of squash – I used a mixture of zucchini and summer squash. I should mention that I’m very picky about squash. If it’s even slightly overcooked, ick. I won’t eat it. I prefer it grilled, barely cooked, or roasted. The squash in this recipe are cooked until tender, but then it’s mashed and cooked down to remove excess water. Then pesto, olive oil and parmesan is mixed in. Really delicious. I used basil from last week’s farmshare to make up a quick pesto but even store-bought (in the prepared foods section) would probably be okay.

And then the tart. I bought Seasonal Fruit Desserts recently, despite my major effort to cull my cookbook purchasing. I justified it several ways – first, I love Deborah Madison and have most of her cookbooks already. I have a major weakness for fruit desserts. And she recently gave a talk and signed books at Omnivore Books, so how could I resist? This is a nice tart, creamy and not too rich.

• Grilled Chicken Thighs with Garam Masala
• Courgettes Nicoise (SF Chronicle)
• Creamy Avocado Potato Salad (Vegan Brunch, p. 123)
• Cream Tart with Blackberries (Seasonal Fruit Desserts, p. 139)