Quick pickles.

I hate pickles. Let me be clear: I. Hate. Pickles. Hate them so much that I avoid at all costs what I call pickle contamination: that is, when the juice from an unwanted dill pickle sogs …

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Sweet broiled peaches.

I’m currently exploring recipes for desserts with fewer than five ingredients for an upcoming post on SparkPeople.com. (Tough assignment, no?) With some fresh, local fruit on hand in the fridge, I came up with this super-simple …

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Grilled corn with Parmesan breadcrumbs.

Last summer, I shared a house favorite recipe: Corn and Parmesan gratin, also known as “West Chop Corn” from Susan Branch’s “Summer” cookbook of recipes inspired by Martha’s Vineyard. Now that sweet corn is in season, …

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Summer fruit shortcakes.

Where is it written that a girl can’t bake her own birthday cake? And who says it has to be a quote-unquote cake at all, really? Why not shortcakes, topped with luscious summer fruit? Absolutely. And …

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Refreshing blueberry limeade.

I’ve been seeing lots of recipes this summer for iced drinks made with fruit and green tea, variations on lemonade, and different kinds of agua fresca (water flavored with fruit or even cucumber). They all look …

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Summer cocktail: The blueberry muddle.

I grossly overshot when I purchased the fruit to make homemade blueberry jam last weekend. Pauvre moi. (Poor me.) So I asked Rob to come up with a blueberry-infused summer cocktail suitable for the July Fourth …

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Grilling summer vegetables in foil.

It’s just after the Fourth of July, and summer is in full swing here in the Midwest. After a long, cool, record-breakingly rainy spring, I’m ready for the sun and heat. Bring it on. These long, …

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