Watermelon, Feta, and Basil Salad

Why does watermelon work with feta? Because the salt in the cheese pulls out the sweetness in the melon, and together they taste like neither one alone. Two cups of watermelon cubes, half a cup of cubed feta, half a cup of pitted Kalamata olives, …

Grilled Bacon and Shrimp Tacos

Wrapping shrimp in bacon before grilling sounds excessive until you eat one. The bacon crisps on the grill while the shrimp cooks inside, and each bite has crunch, smoke, and sweetness from the pork fat. Twelve slices of bacon around one pound of seasoned shrimp, …

Cucumber and Lavender Lemonade

The smell of this lemonade is the first thing that hits you, floral and herbal and clean, before you even taste the cucumber. Three teaspoons of dried lavender flowers simmered with sugar and water into a syrup, strained and cooled. Blended with fresh lemon juice, …

Peach, Raspberry and Basil Pie

What happens when you put basil in a fruit pie? Not dried basil from a shaker, but fresh chopped basil leaves folded into sliced peaches and raspberries with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. You get a pie that smells like summer from three rooms away. …

Blackberry Nectarine Crisp

I made this crisp the first week nectarines appeared at the market and the blackberries were still in season, that brief window when both fruits are ripe at the same time. Two cups each of blackberries and sliced nectarines tossed with lemon juice. Topped with …