Tag Archives: summer recipes

All-Butter Lobster Roll

Posted in Dinner, Fish, Lobster, Summer Recipes by

All-Butter Lobster Rolls

Lobster rolls have become a thing – epitomizing summer, but eaten all year around.  Served at road side stands by the beach and from food trucks dotted across all of New York’s boroughs.  There’s now even an annual Lobster Roll Festival, where for a couple of hundred bucks (yea, that’s right – lobster is expensive!) you can try as many different lobster rolls as you want. And I can see why you would because everyone seems to have their opinion of what kind of lobster roll is best. So might as well try them all!  What kind is your favorite?  Continue reading →

Blueberry Coffee Crumb Cake

Posted in blueberries, Breakfast, Cakes, Desserts, Summer Recipes by

Blueberry Coffee Crumb Cake

I went blueberry picking with my family a few weeks ago in beautiful Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Since we don’t really have “pick your own” in NYC, I try to take advantage of the gorgeous produce at the local farms near my family’s home every chance I get.  The blueberry bushes at Solebury Orchards were brimming with perfectly ripe berries, practically falling off their stems , ready to be picked.  With little effort, we had 6 full quarts of plump blue berries, certainly more than we knew what to do with.  Continue reading →

Israeli Couscous and Grilled Tomato Salad

Posted in Salad, Summer Recipes, Vegetarian by

Israeli Couscous and Grilled Tomato Salad

Sometimes there is nothing better on a warm summer night than firing up the grill to cook some fresh summer veggies.  Unfortunately, I live in a small Manhattan apartment with no outdoor space, so a grill is a luxury I don’t always have access to.  So whenever I’m on vacation and there is a grill on premises, I try to take advantage of it as much as possible. I’ll stock up on fresh local corn, summer squash, and fresh local tomatoes right off the vine.  Toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, throw them on the grill and within 10 minutes you have the perfect, healthy side dish. Continue reading →

Rustic Plum Galette

Posted in Desserts, Pies & Pastries, Plums, Summer Recipes by

Rustic Plum Galette

Well this spring absolutely flew by. And while it seems like I was just complaining about the unbearably cold winter that we faced here in NYC, pretty soon you’re going to start reading my rants about the insufferable heat we poor New Yorkers have to face while we cram into steamy, overcrowded subway cars.  But not yet.  No – not quite yet – because this week we’re talking about sugar-plum fairies desserts, glorious summer recipes and my favorite place on earth.  Continue reading →

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt-Dill Sauce

Posted in Kale, Salad, Summer Recipes, Vegetarian by
Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt Dill Sauce

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt Dill Sauce

I have made it my mission to cook as many healthy, locally sourced and seasonal recipes as possible this summer.  Not just because it’s summer and I have to be seen in a bathing suit in a week (eek!), but  mostly because when I eat well, I feel well, and that is really the most important thing to me when it comes to my diet eating habits. I hate using the word diet because I really don’t believe in them.  I feel that by restricting the foods I eat I often crave them more, leading to binge eating which is never, ever a good look.  I am quite petite, so I do have to eat less than other non-vertically challenged people, but watching what I eat is far different from restricting what I eat.  As you can see on this here blog, I do have a pretty strong sweet tooth, which I used to always try to deny.  But I found when I didn’t have that cookie, I’d wind up eating 10 later in the week, and that just wasn’t working.  When I allow myself to eat smaller portions of things I like, and truly enjoy them without feeling the guilt, then the cravings disappear and it turns into a lifestyle of conscience eating, rather than endless weeks of diets that fall short.  Continue reading →

Kale Salad with Ricotta Salata and Creamy Avocado Dressing

Posted in Kale, Salad, Summer Recipes, Vegetarian by

Kale Salad with Ricotta Salata and Creamy Avocado Dressing

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend, Jordan, and I took a much needed long weekend away from the city. I love everything about living in NYC… the energy, the skyline, the food (obviously), the endless list of things to do at any given hour of the day… but let me tell you, it can get to be a lot. The noise, the crowds, the inconvenience of having to be anywhere on time, it can be unbearable sometimes.  If you live in NYC you will absolutely know what I’m talking about.  If you don’t then it’s hard to put into words…it can sort of feel like this.  Especially after this wretched winter, when everyone was surly and miserable because the weather was so incredibly oppressing, we were just over it and needed a weekend away. So we booked a long weekend at a small lake house in the Berkshires.  Just Jordan, our dog Brody and myself.  Continue reading →

Rhubarb Coffee Crumb Cake

Posted in Breakfast, Cakes, Desserts, Summer Recipes by

Rhubarb Coffee Crumb Cake

I used to think that there was nothing better than store-bought Entenmann’s Coffee Crumb Cake.   The outrageous ratio of crumb to cake always seemed like confectionary perfection, and on the rare occassion that my parents would buy it as a treat for Sunday morning I would experience both utter excitement, and then utter regret at having eaten way more than a suggested serving size.  Continue reading →

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Almond-Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes, Desserts, Summer Recipes by

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve been holding out on these lemon-poppy seed cupcakes since I made them a few months ago for my coworkers birthday, and I apologize profusely for not sharing the recipe sooner. Partly because a couple coworkers have been begging me for the recipe and partly because I think they would have been a perfect addition to a backyard barbecue, which almost every American was doing this past holiday weekend.  After all, if you can’t spend the day lounging on the beach, grilling out in your backyard is the obvious next-best option.  Continue reading →

The Backyard Bubbly

Posted in Cocktails, Raspberries, Summer Recipes by

The Backyard Spritzer

This past weekend, all over America, moms were celebrated for simply being moms.  And I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate.  I wouldn’t know from experience, but I can imagine being a mom is no easy feat.  I’ve certainly put my mom, Dee Dee, through a lot: starting with a natural childbirth (yikes!), she dealt with me as an infant with insomnia (she still blames me for her coffee addiction), a know-it-all, moody teenager (weren’t we all), and a college student who had a little too much fun studying abroad (it’s all about life experiences, right?).  Now that I’m a adult (must I call myself that?), I still turn to her for just about anything – from career advice to recipe advice – she seems to always have the answers. It really should be Mom’s Day, everyday, especially when you get to celebrate with a delicious Backyard Bubbly.   Continue reading →