Italian Pasta Salad

This Italian pasta salad recipe is fresh and delicious! A zesty Italian dressing, veggies, olives, pepperoncini, and cheese fill it with bold flavor.

I’ve made this Italian pasta salad for all our picnics and potlucks over the last few weeks. When I added the ingredients to my shopping list again this morning, I knew I had to share the recipe! This Italian pasta salad is full of bold, zesty flavor. It starts with colorful veggies, oodles of noodles, and chewy mozzarella cheese. Then, I add olives and pepperoncini for tangy, briny flavor and fresh herbs for an aromatic pop. To tie it all together, I douse it in my homemade Italian dressing. It’s a perfect recipe for summer gatherings because, like many pasta salads, you can…

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Baba Ganoush

This easy baba ganoush recipe is smoky, savory, and creamy. Made with eggplant, tahini, garlic, and lemon, it's a delicious dip for pita and veggies.

Have you tried baba ganoush? If you like hummus, I have a feeling you’ll love this Mediterranean eggplant dip too. Made with grilled or roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, and lemon, it’s creamy, smoky, nutty, and bright. I’m sharing my easy baba ganoush recipe below. It pairs perfectly with crisp veggies and pita bread, but I love it so much that I’ve also been known to eat it straight off a spoon. I hope you enjoy it too! How to Make Baba Ganoush This baba ganoush recipe is simple to make. It starts with 6 basic ingredients: Baba Ganoush Ingredients Eggplant…

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Watermelon Salad with Feta

This refreshing watermelon salad recipe is meant for hot summer days. Made with feta, cucumber, and mint, it's a perfect mix of savory and sweet.

summer / salads

This watermelon salad recipe is everything I want on a summer day. At this time of year, I can’t get enough of salads made with peak-season fruits and veggies. I especially love a good sweet and salty combination. This watermelon salad with feta, cucumber, mint, and a tangy lime dressing is exactly that. The recipe takes minutes to throw together, and it’s incredibly refreshing. Try it once, and—if you’re anything like me—you’ll have it on repeat for the rest of watermelon season. Watermelon Salad Recipe Ingredients If you’ve never tried watermelon in a savory setting, you have to make this…

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How to Boil Corn on the Cob

Learn how to boil corn on the cob! Sweet, juicy, and golden, it's the BEST summer side dish. Top it with butter, salt, and pepper, and dig in!

cooking basics

I think my love of seasonal cooking comes from all the corn on the cob I ate as a kid. In the summer, my mom served boiled corn on the cob with dinner almost every night. She’d pick it up from a farm stand nearby, so it was always super-sweet and fresh. I couldn’t get enough of it – the juicy, golden kernels coated in butter and sprinkled with salt. To this day, the thought of that summer sweet corn makes my mouth start watering. I’ve posted recipes for steamed corn on the cob and grilled corn on the cob…

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Easy Gazpacho

Beat the heat with this easy gazpacho recipe! Made with summer veggies, vinegar, and olive oil, this cool soup is rich, tangy, and refreshing.

summer / soups

It’s no secret that I love gazpacho. Over the years, I’ve shared a gazpacho recipe with watermelon, one with corn, another with carrots, and still another with tangy tomatillos. What can I say? On a hot summer day, there’s no better way to cool off than with cold soup. If you’re not familiar with gazpacho, it’s a chilled soup that originated in Andalucía, Spain. Traditional recipes call for tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and bread, which thickens the soup. This recipe isn’t entirely authentic, but it has a lot in common with Spanish gazpacho. Tomatoes, cucumber, and…

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Homemade Cherry Pie

Learn how to make a cherry pie! This easy recipe features a thick, almond-scented cherry pie filling and a flaky all-butter crust. It's SO delicious!

summer / desserts

This cherry pie recipe is one of my favorite homemade desserts. It features a buttery, flaky crust and a velvety, almond-scented filling. If you allow it to cool completely, it slices beautifully, but the filling still stays a tiny bit juicy so that you can savor the cherries’ delicious texture. This cherry pie recipe is simple to make. But heads up: it does take some time. The pie dough has to chill and the filling has to cool before you can assemble and bake the pie. If you want to get ahead, you can make both the crust and the filling a…

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Macaroni Salad

This macaroni salad recipe is a crowd-pleasing side dish! A creamy dressing, crunchy veggies, and pickles pack it with delicious textures and flavors.

summer / side dishes

This classic macaroni salad recipe is a hit at potlucks and cookouts! Based on the macaroni salad I ate at summer gatherings as a kid, it features a creamy dressing and crunchy veggies like celery, red bell peppers, and onion. Diced dill pickles add a pop of tangy, savory flavor to the salad, and a splash of pickle juice punches up the dressing. This macaroni salad is easy to make, and it’s perfect for making ahead. Prep it a few hours or even a day before a picnic or BBQ, and chill it until you’re ready to serve. The flavors get…

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Lemon Bars

These easy lemon bars are a delicious sweet and tangy treat! They have a bright, creamy lemon curd filling and a crisp shortbread crust.

Who else loves lemon bars?! It probably comes as no surprise that these bright, zesty squares are one of my favorite desserts. I shared a recipe for vegan lemon bars in my second cookbook, but I’ve never shared a classic lemon bars recipe until now. I’m so excited to finally change that! This recipe comes to you after lots of testing and tinkering. To me, it has the ideal ratio of lemon filling to shortbread crust. The lemon curd layer is thick, creamy, and not too sweet, delivering the tartness I crave in a lemon bar. The buttery crust is…

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Grilled Corn on the Cob

It wouldn't be summer without grilled corn on the cob! Learn how to cook it 2 ways—in and out of the husk—so that it's sweet, juicy, and nicely charred.

Grilled corn on the cob is one of the highlights of summer. It’s sweet and juicy, with a satisfying crunch and smoky char from the hot grill grates. It’ll be on the menu at every BBQ and cookout I host for the next few months, and I hope you’re planning to make it for all your get-togethers too. Fresh corn season will be gone before we know it! Let’s enjoy it while we can. Below, I’m sharing two methods for how to grill corn on the cob—in the husk and out. The first method yields super-juicy, bright yellow kernels, while…

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Grilled Potatoes

These easy grilled potatoes are crispy on the outside, creamy in the middle, and filled with smoky flavor. They're a delicious summer side dish!

Grilled potatoes belong in your summer side dish rotation! Just like oven roasted potatoes, they’re crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, but the grill infuses them with an extra layer of smoky flavor. Delicious is an understatement, if you ask me. Many grilled potato recipes instruct you to grill the potatoes in foil packets. After using that method for years, I finally tried putting the potatoes directly on the grill grates. Once I did, I never looked back. These grilled potatoes have crispier skins and a smokier flavor. When I’m making grilled potatoes, that’s exactly what I’m after.…

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30 Easy Summer Desserts

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these easy summer desserts! They include fuss-free ice cream recipes, no-bake treats, fruit pies, crisps, and more.

Bring on the summer desserts! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for frozen treats like ice cream and popsicles. I’m ready for no-bake sweets that hit the spot on days when it’s too hot to use the oven. And I’m especially ready for summer desserts that showcase the season’s best fruit. Cherry pie? Peach crisp? Blueberry cobbler? Yes, please! You’ll find 30 of my favorite easy summer desserts below. Some are perfect for packing up for picnics. Others are designed to help you cool off on hot days, and still others are celebration-worthy centerpieces like pies, cakes, and tarts. I love…

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