I somehow missed the 3-year anniversary of my blog.

I’m still distracted.

Here’s the thing, I’m planning a wedding—my wedding! Yes, dear reader, Bryan is finally making an honest man out of me (eww, that joke kind of creeped me out). Remember when we went to Massachusetts back in July? Well, we got married on a beautiful summer day under an old tree in Salem. Just the two of us.

But we weren’t content with it being just the two of us. We think these things need to be celebrated and so we’ve been planning a wedding celebration to bring together many of our closest friends and family for a fun weekend.

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This salad felt a bit like a dare. Melons, peanuts, fish sauce. It is an unusual mix of ingredients, for sure.

The recipe comes from Cooking in the Moment by Lantern’s Andrea Reusing. I’m not the first blogger to be charmed by this book. It has the sort of specificity that elicits trust, and so far it deserves the trust. The book is a collection of seasonal recipe that you simply want to make. read more+++

I know it sometimes seems like I don’t eat dinner. I do, it just usually isn’t that interesting.

I do what most of you probably do for dinner: throw together a sandwich, a salad, some pasta—pretty basic stuff. I save my energy for special occasion foods, the kind of foods I make to share with friends, or as special treats for myself, or that require a Sunday afternoon to prepare (let’s face it, nobody is making elderflower fritters after work).  But then sometimes a simple dinner recipe surfaces that I need to share, and it allows me to prove that I actually do eat dinner. I do!

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This was so obvious!

I was walking by a restaurant (Forno) in my old neighborhood (Wicker Park!) and the server was delivering something to the table that kind of blew my mind. It was a slice of a watermelon, cut into slices like a pizza, and topped with a delicious looking salad mix. What?

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I promised you a blueberry galette.

Blueberries are Bryan’s favorite fruit. I  could not even come close to making that claim (peaches!), but I like them. And I like to keep him happy, so I try to fit in some blueberry recipes whenever they are in season. A few years ago I famously made a blueberry cake when he was out of town, and am still hearing about it. So, guilt is involved, too. read more+++

Sweet corn ice cream is weird.

I wasn’t sure I should share this recipe with you, because it is so unusual. But it is also wonderful and the adventurous among you might just love this ice cream like I did. So, here I am. The thing you need to remember is that sweet corn ice cream tastes like sweet corn. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is going to taste like anything other than corn. I know that sounds obvious, but as prepared as you might be, the first bite is shocking. Delicious, but shocking. It is confusing that it is so creamy and so cold. A couple of bites in and you find yourself thoroughly enjoying it. read more+++

I love tomatoes unconditionally. I think I am in the minority.

People have a lot of issues with tomatoes. I only like raw tomatoes. I only like cooked tomatoes. I only like tomatoes when they are in sauces. Lots of qualifications. I can proudly say I like tomatoes of all shapes and sizes, cooked or uncooked—as long as it is tomato season. Shoot, that is a qualification. But have you seen the things they try to sell you in January in the Midwest? They have as much to do with tomatoes as a tennis ball does. Well, lucky us, tomato season is here. Let’s celebrate.

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In the past, I have publicly expressed my dislike of bread and butter pickles. Honestly, I just don’t love sweet pickles. Usually. But maybe I think I don’t because so many are overly sweet and lacking in flavor. So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I tried this recipe for zucchini pickles from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. My friend Sandra was the first to recommend the recipe, and she is a very trustworthy source. Judy Rodgers ain’t bad either.

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I don’t have a garden—yet. But I know from those of you that do that zucchini are taking over. CSA boxes are full of them and there are piles of the the summer squash at farmers markets. So I thought I would dedicate this week to the humble zucchini. I’ve got a couple of recipes that can help answer the question, what am I going to do with all of this zucchini!? Let’s call it Zucchini Week. Like shark week, but tastier. For humans.

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The challenge of summer, at least for us amateur pastry chefs, is that it is hard to beat a perfectly ripe piece of fruit. Why bother with anything else? I mean, have you eaten a peach?

This recipe is brilliant because it is so slight. Throw some raspberries into a gratin dish. Spread some sour cream on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and broil for a couple of minutes until the sugar is melted. The resulting dish is one of the best things you’ll eat all summer. And it took you all of five minutes to make. read more+++