Name: Summer Cucumber and Tomato Pasta, Ambient Mode
Yield: For each person
Ingredients: ¼ pound imported Italian thin spaghetti or fine linguine; 1 to 1½ tablespoons flavorful olive oil; 1 teaspoon minced lemon thyme, thyme, or savory leaves or 1½ tablespoons thin-sliced basil leaves; About 5 ounces red or yellow cherry tomatoes; 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or rice vinegar; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons diced red onion; About ¼ pound thin-skinned cucumber

“Room temperature” has never seemed a pleasant culinary term, especially during a New York City summer. Therefore: ambient mode. This colorful toss, neither hot pasta nor salad, but somewhere between, emphasizes cucumber crispness and tomato softness. Heightened with fresh herbs, the flavors blend and mellow as the pasta cools and absorbs the vegetable juices that well up on contact with the hot strands.

Prepare in individual bowls to distribute the ingredients and allow for custom