Summer

This is one of those desserts you make when you are in a pinch for time.  It's quick, it's easy...easy, as in...no baking skills required, since it's a no-bake dessert.  It's the dish you make when you get a call Saturday morning to come for a barbecue that evening and you are to bring dessert.  You'll have just enough time to get to the store and get this made.

Better yet, stock all the ingredients at home (with the exception of the kiwis) this summer, get it thrown together when the call comes in, and pick up the kiwis on the way.  You can easily add them at serving time.

The taste of this is really nice and refreshing...I guess I never put lemon and kiwi together as a flavor package but it works really well together.

Give it a try! It's a true time-saver!

A pleasant, bright fragrance wafted from the work bowl of my food processor as I pulled the top off. I had just whirled granulated sugar and chopped lemongrass through the sharp blade of my faithful workhorse, producing a delicately-scented lemon-infused sugar.

I was preparing to mix up a batch of zucchini muffins with subtle hints of lemon without the tart bite and plump, sweet blueberries.

I have lemongrass growing in my little garden this year. Lemongrass is a staple of Asian cuisines, used like an herb to add aromatic, lemony flavor without the bite of citrus. It looks like grass, but the portion closest to the soil eventually becomes long, thick, pale green and reed-like. This lower portion is the usable part of the plant.

I’m told that coleslaw dates back to the ancient Romans, although it didn’t really kick into gear until mayo was invented in the 18th century. (Can you imagine life before mayo? One more reason to be glad that, in the birth lottery, you got a later century.)

“Cole” comes from the Latin word colis, you will be interested to know. But the Dutch called the salad koolsla,which I find more appealing so I’m stealing from them.

(We also have reason to believe that the Dutch practically invented tulips so they have really got it going on.)

But enough with the history lesson. I like a salad that won’t wilt overnight; you can make Kool Slaw on a Friday and eat it all weekend. Have it with (or inside) a sandwich, pop open a beer, and it’s a kool day.

We’re all bound to go overboard during summer and you know what? That’s fine with me. Because if any season speaks to me about the bounty of food it’s certainly summer.

What I love most about summer cooking is that it gives us certain cooks a pass on formality.  A little of this, some of that,  it’s a good time to veer just a teeny bit from the exact science of cooking. Perhaps this is because the cooking wildcard known as The Grill can’t be controlled but coaxed, befriended but never bossed.

I’m sure some folks with expensive built-in outdoor gas grills may have better luck with this but me? I don’t have that. I’ve learned to love  a flame that acts like a mischievous child — give it the right upbringing and it behaves. Ignore and neglect it and it”ll disappoint you and disappear.

When I head outdoors to cook I’m usually armed with very little other than food & tongs. There might be a spray bottle near to keep flare-ups down but I like to keep it simple during summer. Those big and bold warm-weathered flavors don’t really need a lot of fuss.