Watermelon and summer go hand-in-hand. Here’s a fun way to serve it up!

This recipe comes from an image I found on Pinterest. It is important to use full fat, not lite, coconut milk. Lite coconut milk will not whip.

Placing the coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight is also a must. It will cause the cream to separate from the milk. The thick cream is used, and the milk is poured off.

If you’d rather skip the coconut cream altogether, I have another Watermelon “Cake” photo from Pinterest at the end of the post, no recipe is needed for it.

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The 4th of July is two weeks from today. It’s not too soon to start planning the menu for your party or the dish that you plan to bring to that party you’re invited to.

Even if the “party” is just you and the kids waving around sparklers in your backyard, you need some fun festive food.

I’ve got just the thing for you.

I am in the middle of a week-long set of private cooking classes. We made a super simple Fruit Flag for dessert. Obviously, no recipe is needed!!

Skewers + Strawberries, Blueberries & Bananas = USA Flag

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Ten years ago, in 2003, we had a huge peach tree. It was too huge!

Somehow, it had grown completely out of control, and sadly, this was what happened to it. It was so top-heavy and full of heavy ripe peaches, that most of the branches broke from the weight.

I did what any resourceful woman would do – I had an impromptu “Pick Your Own Peaches” Dinner Party. To attend, you had to pick as many peaches as humanly possible and take them home with you! You were rewarded with dinner and profuse amounts of gratitude.

The tree was never quite the same. We had another couple of years of good harvest, but it was an ugly tree after all those branches broke off in such an inhuman way.

Then, in December of 2007, we took our backyard down to the dirt, literally. We took out and filled in the old plaster diving pool. We tore down the south and west sides of our block wall fence and the entire narrow covered patio, plus the dated columns that held it up.

And we said goodbye to the peach tree – and just about every other living thing in the back yard. The peach tree used to stand where that orange trash dumpster sits, in the photo above. And that’s my gorgeous Tanqueray in the center of the photo. How I miss my sweet boy!

All that was left were the citrus trees … the branches of the lemon tree are seen on the right, while the orange and grapefruit trees are out of view along that same side of the yard. Plus the orchid tree, which is on the far left of the photo, but can be seen more clearly in the photo above this, is directly behind Tanqueray. Also saved was the large fig tree, which is out of view, but is on the back side of that orange dumpster. The two queen palms were later transplanted, but in the end, didn’t survive. The tall eucalyptus trees in the background used to be on the side of our front yard, but we pushed out the fence and they now line the western edge of the back yard.

After living in a pile of dirt, dust, and far too often, mud, that wet winter – we were hugely rewarded in May 2008 with a beautiful backyard oasis.

I will soon be showing you more photos of the yard because we are about to embark on phase two of the backyard remodel. Anyhow, a new tiny peach tree replaced the previous monster. It’s hard to make out because it’s so small and barely in the picture, but if you look closely, you’ll see it on the far left center edge of the photo. That spot of green against the white of the house, that’s it!

Here is what it looks like now. It’s a dwarf peach tree, so it is still small today. This photo was taken exactly one month ago. It may be little but I generally get a nice size basket or two of fruit from it each year. More than enough for just Dave and me.

Along with plenty of peaches to make the dessert in yesterday’s post and enough “just eating” peaches, I was able to make a main course peach dish with what I harvested this year.

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I was using up the wheat berries that I had left in my freezer from THIS recipe. You could use cooked quinoa, Israeli (pearl) couscous, farro, bulgur, or barley for this delicious and refreshing summer salad.

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As I mentioned a few days ago, I make it my mission to clean out the fresh food in my refrigerator before we go out of town. The easiest way to do that in the winter is to make a soup and the easiest way the rest of the year is to make pasta. I call this “garbage” pasta because I’ll put any and everything in it.

This particular time, I had a partial box of cherry tomatoes plus fresh heirloom tomatoes from my garden. In addition, there were partial bags of green beans and sugar snap peas. I always have garlic and onion on hand, so those always start the dish.

The first step is to get a big pot of water boiling. Add salt and blanch vegetables such as green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower for a couple of minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove them and have a big bowl of ice water ready to drop them into – to stop the cooking.

Once they’ve cooled down, drain and set aside.

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This is the dessert I made for the last class of my 3-week cooking series at Les Gourmettes Cooking School. The semester ended last night – it is officially summer for me. No more classes until September.

Since I made this during class, I don’t have any step-by-step photos for you, but the recipe is straightforward.

This is the perfect dessert for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, or honestly any day of the week this summer. Enjoy!

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One of the things you’ll usually find in my refrigerator is caramelized onions, sometimes called onion jam.

I use them in roasted meats, savory tarts, gravy, sandwiches, quiche, soups, appetizers, on pizzas, you name it!

The process of cooking the onions is slow but crucial to achieving that soft, tender, sweet caramelized taste. On the plus side, they can be made days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or even frozen.

Considered the crown jewel of dates, Medjool are prized for their large size, extraordinary sweetness, and chewy texture. They were once reserved for Moroccan royalty and their guests.

Put the sweet onions together with the sweet dates, wrap them in bacon, and you have perfection! Serve these to your family and guests and thank me later.

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When Chef Beau MacMillan was teaching at Les Gourmettes last week, Duncan Family Farms sent over a huge box of squash blossoms.

The lucky students received the added bonus of Barbara Fenzl’s delicious Squash Blossom Quesadillas at the start of the class.

Once again, I was on the happy receiving end of a basket full of goodies! I brought them home and made Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms, intending to share the recipe here.

Then I discovered that I’ve already posted the recipe, nearly to the day, two years ago. CLICK HERE to see.

Of course, with that many squash blossoms, I also had to make Barb’s fabulous and super easy quesadillas!

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These shrimp are not only perfect for Cinco de Mayo but equally so for a quick weeknight meal or a big party.

We’re looking forward to going to the James’ annual Cinco de Mayo party tonight! See you soon, Lisa! Eieieiei Ariba!

Guajillo [gwah-HEE-yoh] chiles are dried peppers with a bright tangy taste and kick of heat. Find them in the grocery store alongside the other Hispanic ingredients.

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I’m not sure if the official temperature yesterday was 100 degrees in The Valley of The Sun, but my car thermostat said it was.

No matter, if it wasn’t – it will be either today or tomorrow – and It Is Too Soon to be hitting triple digits! I’m not ready for the heat.

For that reason and more, today I shall give you a recipe for a cool and refreshing chicken and bean salad that you don’t have to heat up your kitchen for. An added bonus … it is Easy-Breezy!

I call for canned white beans for the recipe, If you are the observant type, you may notice that is not what I used. The only reason is that I had more beans left from the batch I cooked up for THIS recipe.

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