My cousin Sue’s recipe for peach syrup, thick and caramel-y, sweet with peach juice and fresh peaches. Perfect for drizzling over pancakes on a Sunday morning or over ice cream any night of the week. What would turn your kitchen into your dream kitchen? A total remodel? New appliances? New cupboards and counters?Awhile back, I wrote a piece about dream kitchens for BlogHer. All the fancy new kitchens had built-in ‘recycling centers’ – a designated spot to sort paper, glass, metal, etc.My dream kitchen needs just one thing: a ripening counter. This time of year, this keep-nothing-on-the-counter cook becomes overwhelmed by the need to let tomatoes, peaches and other fruits ripen on the counter in paper bags and for a place to store other fresh produce at room temperature for a day or two.Turns out, restaurants could use a ripening counter too. Last year, two peach desserts were oh-so-disappointing because the peaches were not even close to ripe. Peaches shouldn’t crunch, people! ALANNA…

A slightly unusual gazpacho, sweetened naturally with a ripe melon, but still a "vegetable" tomato gazpacho. Just fifteen minutes to the table! Let's beat this heat! (Says Alanna, who's so looking forward to today's forecast of 95F in a place without air conditioning! Yikes.)


Real Food, Fresh & Summery. Not just easy, Summer Easy. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Great for Meal Prep. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Rave Reviews. What're you waiting for?!

Say hello to one of my favorite summer soups! All its ingredients are familiar, but they combine to produce something unusual and surprising. While it's wonderful warm, because of the corn, I nearly always serve it chilled during summer, it's a seasonally sensual choice.

Fresh & Seasonal. Familiar Ingredients In an Unusual Combination. Great for Meal Prep. High Protein.

Say hello to a Greek-style pasta salad that's packed with vegetables and rich with creamy feta that a certain someone (no naming names, now) just might have consumed five meals in a row, including breakfast and a bedtime snack. It's that good. (But I'm still not givin' up who, no way, I'm just not.) There's no mayonnaise in my Greek Pasta Salad, instead, the dressing is a tangy-creamy vinaigrette with feta cheese. Great a great "dish to carry" choice for potlucks and picnics, funerals and family gatherings and is a definite addition to Favorite Summer Salads.

Great for Potlucks & Meal Prep. Fresh & Seasonal. Great Crunch.

How to cut the skin off an orange – or any citrus fruit, really, tangerines, grapefruit, blood oranges, etc. All you need is a sharp knife and an attack strategy. Here's the one that works for me. Once the oranges are sliced, make something that's surprising and delicious – for a salad, try Savory Orange Slices or for dessert, try Citrus Slices with Orange Flower Water, Spices & Chocolate Shavings. Slice Off the Top and the Bottom.First, cut small slices off the top and the bottom. Make sure to cut completely through the "pith" – that's the white fibrous layer between the orange skin and the orange sections.Two reasons why we do this. First, it needs to come off. But it also creates flat – and safe – surfaces to work with.

Slice Off the Sides, Just from the Top. Place the orange with a flat-side on the cutting board. Holding your knife at an angle, slice off a section of orange peel, top to bottom, cutting at least halfway down, a little more if you can. Aft…