The Naptime Chef

I look forward to the ice cream social in Cooperstown every year. It is put on by the Presbyterian church. After dinner everyone in town gathers on the church lawn to eat as much ice cream as possible for a mere two dollars per person. Since we couldn’t attend the social this year we decided recreate a fun social at home on the back porch. To change it up I ordered a few fun things from Wayfair and set-up a little ice cream sandwich bar for my family to enjoy.

I can’t sign off for Fourth for July without leaving you with a few goodies for your holiday. Here are some of my red white and blue foods for the season. Have a safe holiday and see you next week!

Clockwise: Blueberry Thyme Poundcake,Strawberry Syrup, Roasted Strawberry Lemonade, Blueberry Pie Filling, Strawberry Muffins, Watermelon Margarita,

I have a new summer salad. I say that every year, and I try to share them with you whenever I can. This year my salad is inspired by Melia Marden’s new book. It is one of those “this is so simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself” salads. It has just two main ingredients but is packed with flavor and texture, and every bite tastes like summer. It is also healthy to boot, a welcome side note, but I don’t even eat it because of that! Honest. I just pick the tomatoes from our plant on the porch and whip it up whenever I have the chance.

Merrill always comes up with the best recipes. It’s not that I don’t love all the recipes on Food52, I just always seem to gravitate toward Merrill’s, or her mother’s, every time I am browsing the site. The two of them know so many little secrets to improving some of my favorite foods. In the years of cooking experience between them they have figured out that little touches like pressing sugar designs into cookies, adding a touch of cream to bolognese, or stirring butter into strawberry jam will make an already excellent dish so much better.

My herb pot yielded its first batch of basil large enough for making pesto. Needless to say, I already have one batch in the fridge and a small container stashed in the freezer for later this winter. As my husband pointed out, never doubt how much Kelsey loves homemade pesto! The kick off the pesto party this summer I made up an easy summer recipe for pesto grilled chicken. It is perfect for a quick weekend meal and comes together in nearly an instant.

1. 20 Meals You Can Make Without Turning on the Oven

2. 7 Salty Potato Chip Recipes

3. 10 Egg-Free Ice Creams

4. 12 Fun & Clever Ways to Serve Ice Cream

5. 25 EasyWays to Flavor a Burger

6. 10 Simple Summer Jam Recipes

7. 6 Refreshing & Simple Homemade Popsicle Recipes

8. 6 Delicious Ways to Flavor Lemonade

I have a secret to share. I LOVED our cool, slightly rainy, June weather. I know I always moan about the cold, but a cool 70 degree summer day with no humidity, and the occasional sprinkle, is just fine with me. I am SO not looking forward to the crazy heat and humidity (and potential droughts!) of August. The survive that month I mostly submerge myself in Lake Otsego and do my best to keep the kids cool. This also means I turn on the oven as minimally as possible and employ all of my favorite “stay cool” strategies. The other day I broke out the first item on this list and whipped up a batch of ice cream. It was so refreshing to eat outside after dinner! Rest assured I’ll have plenty of stay cool recipes this summer. But, to get me started, I am tuning up all of my favorite kitchen equipment. I am thinking about giving away one of these items soon. Any requests? Let me know!

1) The ice cream maker is our summer kitchen workhorse. Not only is it perfect for ice cream and frozen yogurt, it is also great for granitas, and wine slushies!