What’s Going on Today: First day of no school (thank goodness for camp next week!) Basil plant is exploding.

Naptime Goals: Make pasta and leave to dry.

Tonight’s Menu: Basil Linguine, Garlic Chicken, Artichokes.

Once again, the summer herb pot is exploding. I don’t want to give myself too much credit, but man, I know how to manage an herb pot. The only problem is that lately it has been growing a little too well and now instead of tiny plants I have enormous bushes of fresh healthy herbs! Taking advantage of all this flavor goes beyond flavoring soups and salads. It means adding large amounts of big dishes which is why for our first day of summer vacation my daughter and I decided to make homemade basil linguine.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Yesterday we had our first heat wave. It was miserable. In a just a few hours our gorgeous spring-like 70-degree weather was replaced with a sticky 90-degree afternoon. Pushing my daughter to school in the stroller felt like walking through glue, the driveway was suddenly too hot for bare feet. To perk myself up, while she was at school I decided it was time to break out a recipe my mom had shared with me a long time ago, refreshing homemade ginger ale.

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When it comes to summer beach entertaining we are all about keeping it casual with a capital “c.” When the kids are involved the last thing anyone wants is to plate delicate dishes while children run wild in the sand. It is so much easier to set out buffets of delicious food and let everyone dive in as they are able! One of my favorite things to make for just these occasions is chicken salad. Every year I try to dream up a few new variations to keep it fresh and fun.

This is my first full week without any travel in a long time. I adored my book tour, but am happy to have a little break at home to enjoy my family again. I’ve been cooking up a storm in my kitchen and have a blast getting back into my everyday cooking rhythm. Rest assured you’ll be reading more about that in the weeks to come! In the mean time, I am here to say thanks, once again, for all the awesome support this spring. I have some more book signing dates in the works for summer, but for the next few weeks I am sticking around close to home.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

My Georgetown and Boston book parties at JMcLaughlin two weeks ago were amazing – thanks to everyone who came out! After three days of traveling I was happy to arrive home late Thursday night. (I am not used to traveling so frequently!) It was such a reward to hug my daughter after not seeing her for a few days. On Friday, to spend a little time together, I went to school with her and chaperoned a class field trip. Never underestimate how much fun it can be take a bird walk with a bunch of preschoolers! By the end of the day I was tired and ready to put my feet up and enjoy a glass of wine. For dinner I knew I didn’t have a lot of time to pull together an involved dish so I decided enlist of my powernap powers and dream up a new pizza recipe for a quick, easy dinner.

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Mom deserves a delicious Mother’s Day, don’t you think? As I Mom, I completely buy into this idea. Even I, on Mother’s Day, am happy to hand over kitchen duties to my husband and daughter. I don’t particularly care what they make for me. Honestly, sometimes the simplest thing, like a perfect brownie, or hot bowl of soup, is the best. Here are some easy recipes and ideas for what could to make for your Mom this Mother’s Day. I can honestly guarantee they are all easy to make and are guaranteed to put a smile on her face.

What’s Going on Today: Sunday at home; time to grill!

Tonight’s Menu: Super Duper Guacamole Burgers, sweet corn, grilled Parmesan asparagus, white wine

Naptime Goals: Prepare burgers, shuck corn.

Every year my husband and I like to come up with a new burger recipe or two. A juicy grilled burger is our personal version of summer comfort food. Last weekend we were enjoying a little downtime and decided to start thinking of a new variation for summer 2012. After all, it is just around the corner and we would hate to start Memorial Day without at least one new burger recipe in hand! This year we drew inspiration from a Cinco de Mayo celebrate we’d attended and decided to try deconstructing our favorite guacamole dip and presenting it as a burger topping instead.