Summer

Some things are just too good to pass up, such as the combo of blueberries and brown sugar.

And what else would be better than to combine them into a poundcake?

I adore poundcake. Love it more so. I’ve been kicking it up a notch lately with buttermilk, which I pretty much substitute for milk in most of my baking now. It gives a lift and kick and a richness to cakes especially. Honestly, because cakes NEED a bit more richness… enter gilding the lily terminology here.

Add in blueberries and your summer has just been captured in this dessert. Garnish with whipped cream, serve warm with ice cream and of course a few fresh blueberries, or toasted the next morning as the breakfast of champions!

From the blueberry fields flooding into to Middle Georgia into this Farmer’s kitchen and now on to yours, enjoy this delightful dessert!

I wait all year for watermelon and then eat it with reckless abandon every chance I get.  I love buying the small, seedless varieties, they are so easy to cut up and enjoy.  I can't believe how sweet the ones I have already tasted are....so far a good crop!

Anyway, if you have never experienced watermelon with something a little salty and a little oniony, it's about time you do.  It's by far my favorite way to eat watermelon.  And it's totally addictive. You will enjoy it all summer and crave it all winter.  

You must experience this to understand what I am talking about.  You can thank me later!! Believe me when I tell you how surprising and wonderful the flavors are when they come together.

Brisket is such a versatile meat. I like it best, slow cooked. I make it in the winter time, slow roasted with red wine, orange marmalade, orange zest, garlic and dried herbs. Yet, in the summer and fall months I like to make it BBQ style and serve it on delicious french bread with a side of Asian Cole Slaw.

The recipe calls for jarred BBQ sauce. Yet over the past few years I have really become even more conscious of what I am feeding my family. I have never bought a jarred salad dressing (even in college). Two reasons why: 1) they taste lousy and 2) there are way too many things in the ingredients list that I can’t pronounce.

And if I can’t pronounce it, I am not going to eat it. I have come to the conclusion that BBQ sauce is no different. I have decided to make my own. I make a big batch of it and use it for grilling, marinating, roasting and my kids like to dip their oven baked chicken nuggets in it.

In Maine finding a good lobster roll is like finding a needle in a haystack. Some places buy some pre-made lobster salad, with a 30 day shelf life, that is pale pink, loaded with cheap quality mayo and then placed on a roll that is not even toasted. The view, the sound of gulls and the sweet smell of the Atlantic helps to elevate the taste of a mediocre lobster roll. Really what is so complex that it eludes so many restaurants in Lobster land?

I feel that the humble hot dog roll is the perfect base and that is what the original creator of a lobster roll had in mind. A good quality commercial hot dog roll and not homemade, that wouldn't give it the proper feel in your anxious hand or the right texture. Freshly cooked, cooled and shucked lobster from a pound and a half lobster.  Sounds like a lot? I did mention “perfect” didn’t I?

In a bowl cut up the lobster meat (tail, claws and knuckles) with a handy pair of scissors into medium size chunks, add chopped fresh chives to taste and then add the smallest amount of good quality mayonaise. Remember you can always add more, but it sure is difficult to take it back out.