Good morning. Malaise grips me, even under bluebird skies and in low humidity, with mourning doves cooing in the eaves. It may still be hard for some, against the sorrow and anger reflected in the news these past few days, to become excited about cakes and ale, much less to pass along recommendations to cook this stew or that lagniappe.

But I will do it anyway because it works, because cooking in the face of tragedy is one way we can make better the lives of those around us, to offer comfort, to deliver hope to regions where hope is scarce.

David Tanis’s new recipe for tomato risotto (above) proves that plain. It’s a heartening summertime feast, easy to make, elegant, soft-salty-sweet. You could serve it with a Canlis salad tonight, use the meal as a chance to talk through what everyone’s feeling, where they think we’re going, what we ought to be doing in the morning to help make things right.

You could head outside to make a Lowcountry boil — Frogmore Stew, some call it — to herald American joy in the middle of a sad American week. Or stay inside to sauté steak with ginger and butter, to do the same. (I like that with rice, and green beans tossed with XO sauce and roasted in a hot oven.)