Important Announcement: July is National Ice Cream Month. As if I needed an actual excuse to eat more ice cream, I am embracing the holiday and bringing you a new ice cream recipe each Friday during the month of July to celebrate. And lucky for us, July has not four, but five Fridays this year. [...]

My friend Suzanne has been coming over a lot recently, helping my mother and me raid my next door neighbor Pat’s Blenheim apricot tree (with Pat’s blessing of course). Suzanne has 3 growing teenagers to feed, so she can put those apricots to work! This week she walked me through her steps of making a fruit cobbler, using blackberries and Pat’s apricots. What I love about cobbler recipes is that they are so forgiving. If they end up runny, that’s okay because you aren’t trying to contain them in a pie shell. If they’re a little too tart, just serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Cobblers travel well for potlucks and you just serve them with a spoon. Best of all, they’re a wonderful way to enjoy the fruit of the season.

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Are you still looking for that perfect something to bring to the 4th of July cookout on Saturday? Well, look no further. This Jello is fun, festive, easy to transport and eat, a sure-fire kid pleaser, and will make the adults wax nostalgic about the good ol’ days of Jello Jigglers. This impressive-looking Jello dessert [...]

Summertime is traditionally burger time. Who wouldn’t love to bite into a juicy burger at a cookout? But many burgers are topped with calorie-laden toppings. Finding the healthy burger is the ideal solution.
Begin with a healthy bun. Switch your bun to whole wheat or whole grain.
Condiments are usually low-cal – but read labels. Ketchup often [...]

“I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill…” While I’m pretty sure this song isn’t about blueberries, every time I hear it all that comes to mind is a huge mound of them waiting for me to dig in. (Like Rock Candy Mountain, but made of blueberries.) During the summer when they’re in season, I can’t get enough of them. I’ll buy baskets of blueberries just for me to eat, all by myself. No guilt. No justification needed (though if you do need a reason, they’re great for your brain and are considered a superfood). Half a basket gets dumped into the morning’s cereal, the rest nibbled throughout the day. We keep bags of frozen blueberries around for pancakes or smoothies; fresh ones are usually just eaten straight. With this blueberry frozen yogurt recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries, though you might want to lean to the frozen as you are going to freeze them anyway, and the frozen berries are usually cheaper. The tartness of the yogurt seems to just intensify the flavor of the blueberries, and a little cinnamon adds a touch of spice.

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I hope all of you have a great holiday weekend. I thought it might be helpful to dust off a few Fourth of July-friendly recipes from the archives and highlight them here. I did my best to keep the list relatively short and sweet - just favorites.

Fourth of July Roasted Tomato Salsa - A deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa recipe. Different from salsa fresca, the deep, caramelized flavors of the roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotles make for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa.

Lime & Peanut Coleslaw - This feather-light, mayo-free, coleslaw recipe uses toasted peanuts, cherry tomatoes, and lime vinaigrette and is perfect alongside fajitas, or whatever you have coming off the grill.

My Favorite Grilled Kabob Recipe (with muhammara) - A kabob recipe featuring grilled mushrooms, lemons, tofu red onions and a delicious red pepper walnut slather.

TLT Sandwich (done on the grill) - A vegetarian TLT sandwich inspired by the classic BLT sandwich. This version includes chipotle-marinated tempeh alongside oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, a bit of shredded lettuce, and a generous avocado slather on a thin slice (or two) of great bread.

Giant Black Bean Salad - A twist on the ubiquitous black bean salad - giant black beans and toasted almonds are tossed with a honey-jalapeno-lime dressing and served with a bit of crumbled feta over a bed of baby arugula.

Orzo Super Salad - An orzo salad packed with nutritious ingredients - asparagus, almonds, feta, sprouts, broccoli, cucumber, and a zesty lemon dressing. For those of you still seeing asparagus in season.

Heather’s Quinoa - A one-skillet quinoa recipe - quinoa, corn, chopped kale and pan-toasted tofu tossed with a big dollop of pesto and finished off with a few roasted cherry tomatoes.

A Twist on Guacamole - My very favorite guacamole recipe. Served with toasted naan bread (or chips!), I’ve added a couple pinches of cumin and curry powder to incorporate a slightly unexpected flavor profile.

Hummus en Fuego - A beautiful, spicy hummus recipe made from pureed garbanzo beans, toasted walnuts, and spicy crushed red pepper oil finished with a few chopped olives and a bit of cilantro.

Wayne took the photo up above a few blocks from where we live, and it reminds me of what Fourth of July is often like here in San Francisco - a bit gray and steely with just a touch of all-American flair. I always consider myself lucky when we aren’t fogged in for the fireworks.

Have a safe, festive holiday weekend everyone. -h

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