A few weeks ago I shared a festive idea for serving a summery watermelon salad in paper cones with my friends at Little Leaf Farms. The entertaining idea was meant to be served to grown-ups, but 4-year old immediately saw that I was making something fun and asked to try a bite. I’m not one to turn down a toddler asking for a bite of a salad, so I handed her a cone and let her give it a whirl. It was a good reminder that switching up how we present food, and even make it fun, can spark some interest in our kids to try new things. It inspired me to come up with fresh ideas for how to add FUN (and crisp Little Leaf Farms greens!) into our meals.
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My garden is peaking right now with so many crunchy veggies and fresh, fragrant herbs. That late summer bounty inspired this tasty green-goddess inspired white bean and herb dip — it’s the perfect way to use up all of the fresh herbs that are spilling over my raised beds, and an ideal way to taste the fresh peppers, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes with a dip into the savory, flavor-packed dip. The assembly is as simple as throwing it all in a food processor! Chill it before you serve it to let the garlic and herb notes deepen and the texture to thicken; serve it alongside crisp veggies and some fluffy pita bread! Get the full recipe below: 
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Baking up this sweet, fluffy summer cake full of seasonal fruit like strawberries and peaches, and tangy Hood Sour Cream (the secret ingredient for giving it tons of flavor and a rich texture!). It’s what I like to call a “snack cake” – you can grab a bite of it anytime between breakfast and dessert! Get the full recipe below: 
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One of my favorite summertime traditions is blueberry picking at the berry farm down the road. I’m instantly transported to the pages of Blueberries for Sal with each kerplunk, kerplunk! as the berries hit the bottom of our tin buckets. We picked loads of blueberries on a hot day last week and came home to hide in the shade and bake up some tasty treats with our bounty! I was craving a blueberry muffin and decided to experiment with a cake-style breakfast treat. The base of the cake is an adaption of our family’s favorite chocolate chip cake from my cookbook, New England Invite. The chocolate chips got swapped for fresh blueberries, and with a few other tweaks we had a delicious blueberry breakfast cake. Get the recipe below!
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My garden is currently bursting with fresh herbs and veggies and I’ve been looking for ways to incorporate them into everything I cook! I had a craving for homemade potato gnocchi, and they seemed like a perfect vehicle for using up those bold savory herbs. The process of making them might sound intimidating but it’s actually quite easy! You cook and rice the potatoes, and then gently fold them together into a dough with some egg yolks and flour. I added the fresh herbs in at this stage to give them a really fresh, seasonal flavor. Then you roll and cut them into bite sized bits of pillowy potato goodness. After they cooked, I tossed them with a mixture of fresh veggies – zucchini and peas from my garden — and crumbled Italian sausage with lots of parmesan! Get the instructions below: 
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This is going to be my official easy weeknight dinner of the summer, and I can’t wait for my tomato plants to start bursting with little red fruits so I can make it with garden-fresh ingredients! I made a big batch of crispy chicken cutlets and topped with a sautéed medley of fresh tomatoes, white beans, garlic and herbs. Don’t forget to serve it with some crusty bread on the side to soak up the garlicky tomato juices, the best part! Get the full recipe below: 
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I’m pleased as punch to be included in the current issue of EatingWell magazine, where I shared some tips and pointers alongside the tastiest recipe series their editorial team created that celebrates the summer table. The recipes are all perfectly suited for intimate warm-weather gatherings as we start to come out of our year of entertaining hibernation. I’m recreating some of the recipes over on my Instagram page this week and have a few sneak peeks of my favorites below!
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So many of my favorite summer ingredients rely on pollination by honeybees. In fact, I designed my whole veggie garden this summer with attracting more bees in mind! My friends at The National Honey Board and Allrecipes Magazine challenged me to create a seasonal dish that highlights these pollinator-friendly ingredients and I tossed together this fresh salad of tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, oranges, chives, and of course a honey-base vinaigrette. I think the bees would approve! Learn more at honey.com, check out the current issue of Allrecipes Magazine with my feature, and get the simple recipe below!
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Today we get to talk about two of my favorite topics: tasty seafood and sustainability! I have a delicious new recipe to share along with a really cool program that helps recycle denim and cut down on waste going into landfills. Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ program was created in 2006 by Cotton Incorporated to help divert textile waste by recycling old denim that is made from at least 90% cotton and turning it into something new like natural cotton fiber insulating materials.
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Macaroni salad is always a staple at our summer gatherings, if the grill is full of hot dogs and hamburgers then you can bet that I’ve made this is a side dish! I gave my traditional macaroni salad recipe a bit of a refresh with a buttermilk-herb dressing that coats each bite of pasta with tons of tangy flavor. It’s also full of colorful, crunchy veggies like broccoli florets, bell peppers and carrots (and my favorite ingredient – the green olives!). Get the recipe below and give this a save for your next summer grilling side dish!
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