Summers back, friends hosted a backyard potluck, convening spirited folk from the different corners of their lives. The midsummer night was steamy, the kids rambunctious, the trees a rainbow of colored light, the Jimmy Buffet dulcet. Food-wise, the talk of the party was the ‘pink potatoes’, a delicious make-ahead dish perfect for family dinners and friendly potlucks since it’s good both hot and barely warm. The beets and potatoes remain distinct but also melt together somehow in a tantalizing way. THAT PINK SALAD My Canadian relatives make a family-dinner favorite routinely requested as, “You know, that ‘pink’ salad”. For my version, just toss romaine lettuce with toasted sunflower seeds, drained mandarin oranges and chopped red onion. Just before serving, barely wet the greens with a dressing whizzed in the blender: ¼ cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons reserved mandarin orange syrup, some red onion, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, a teaspoon of

A traditional Greek salad, with chicken added, it's familiar and new at the same time. The time saver for an at-home meal? Rotisserie chicken! ~ Skip Straight to the Recipes ~ ~ Chicken Greek Salad ~ ~ Simple Hummus ~ "Drive By" not "Drive Through" Summer nights create a thousand ready reasons to skip supper at home in the kitchen. Little League and bike rides that run long. An after-work happy hour on a breezy patio. Lawn mowing. A family outing to the zoo. Day games. An oh-so-pretty-nobody-wants-to-leave afternoon at the pool. An obvious answer to the 'What’s for supper?' question is drive-through food on the way home. Instead, think about drive-by food on the way home. Drive by the grocery, grab a rotisserie chicken (a busy parent’s miracle food if there ever is one) and a few vegetables. Get home. Kick off the shoes. Assemble the salad. Plate. Somebody pour the milk, please! Pray. Eat. Enjoy. Don't Forget the Hummus! Hummu

How to Make Rhubarb Jam & Jelly In Just One Hour! It sounds impossible, right, putting up a few jars of both rhubarb jam and jelly in an hour? I'm here to attest, it's not only possible, just grab a couple of pounds of spring's best rhubarb and you'll prove it for yourself. Each recipe produces a "small batch" of 1-1/2 to 2 cups of jam or jelly. You can do this! Fresh & Seasonal, an Early Summer Classic. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Flexible for Canning, Fridge or Freezer.

Local strawberries arrive soon! Here are three simple ways to enjoy their ruby sweetness. First, a crumble made with a magical combination of strawberry, chocolate, banana. So good! Next, a '"fool" made with strawberries, that an old English strawberries 'n' cream combination. Mine version is plumped up with the tang of Greek yogurt and a touch of orange. Finally, just wait until you taste a most elegant strawberry dessert, oh-so-simple strawberries in wine. My house backs up to a park. Well, that’s what I call it. The neighbors who live there call it their back yard. Saturdays, the "park" gets mowed and trimmed by a man or two and a boy or two. From their friendly waves and hallos across the fence, it’s no stretch to surmise they may have been born elsewhere. Last year, during the height of the Congressional immigration storm, one of Mother Nature’s blew through town, littering the park with sticks and branches and limbs. (Ever picked