Category: Summer

Summer Salad Is an Easy Weeknight Meal

This gorgeous summer vegetable salad is loaded with produce, including golden beets, avocado, corn, microgreens, and radishes. Chickpeas and edamame add substance, and an herb-filled buttermilk-avocado dressing makes this salad really special. Serve it on its own for a light vegetarian meal or add grilled chicken for an easy weeknight dinner. Big Beautiful Summer Salad…


Kick Off Summer With a Shrub

Launch into the days of summer with a refreshing drink to hydrate, refresh, and cool off. This is one of my favorite summer beverages and it makes use of the season’s sweet strawberries. It’s called a shrub, or a tonic, which is a syrup composed of fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Also known as drinking vinegar,…


Easy Entertaining: Paella for a Summer Party

During the Andalusian summer, the main meal is served at lunchtime, reserving lighter fare for dinner. Everyone comes indoors to take a respite from the scorching sun, and yes, the obligatory siesta comes right after. I grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Seville, Spain, and entertaining at home was essential; there…


Baked Peaches and Cream

When baked in the oven, peaches caramelize in their juices, deepening their flavor. This dessert becomes elegant and sophisticated in its presentation: Use a pretty plate or a coupe glass and layer the soft, caramelized fruit with golden toasted almonds and mounds of orange-scented whipped cream. The almonds add crunch and smokiness, and with almond…


Berry-Yogurt Semifreddo

The intense flavors of peak-season berries shine in this incredibly easy and impressive semifreddo. Unlike ice cream, which needs churning to achieve its consistency, this semifreddo is made with a base of airy whipped cream and Greek yogurt and chilled until just frozen, yielding a softer, creamier texture—somewhere between ice cream and sorbet. Totally genius….


Three-Berry Jam

The beauty of this jam is the quickness of both making it and—happily—eating it. You’ll see. I use blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries for this version, but the same method applies to a single-fruit jam or a combination of others, such as blackberries or gooseberries. I like adding strawberries, as they hold their shape slightly better…


Summer Pudding

Summer pudding is a British summer tradition that I, as an anglophile, love to make as often as I can during the short-lived berry season. The pudding must be kept overnight in the fridge, but it’s easy to make—requiring only three ingredients and a little prep—and impressive to serve. If white bread isn’t your thing,…


3 Recipes to Make the Most of Berry Season

Right now is the time to indulge in summer’s abundant, sweet, juices-running-down-your-chin berries. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are coming into their peak season, and I grab them the second they appear at my farmers market. These delicacies represent summer in all of its glory. Berries tend to spoil relatively quickly—two or three days for raspberries…


Beware of backyard pet dangers

Summer sunshine calls to us, ‘Get the bike, light the grill, grab the ball, spend the day in the pool and enjoy a day outside with family, friends, and pets.” Trips to the local park, grilling out, or even hanging out in the yard can pose dangers to our pets. To fully enjoy summers with…


Let’s Make Summer Great Again

Summertime. Now there’s a word and a season with some magic. For most adults, summer brings homegrown fruits and vegetables, vacations, and a slower pace of life. For me, summer bestows the special pleasure of drinking coffee early in the morning on my front porch before the day heats up, enjoying the chorus of songbirds,…