Hellobee

I love sharing food and recipes. Cooking and baking has always been a passion of mine, and I’m on the eternal quest for the best recipes. One thing I love about food is how it brings people to together. I remember when my husband and I were on our babymoon and we went out to dinner at The Grey for a romantic meal together. We sat next to a great couple and we chit chatted on and off almost the entire meal. They were ahead of us in their meal, and suggested things to try. It’s a lovely memory! This isn’t really an unusual thing for us. For instance, my hubby or I will lean over and tell someone eyeing what we ordered, and encourage them to get it. It’s also great when you have friends or family over and they sound like Bob eating what you made for them. That fills my heart with joy. Food is awesome.

However, I digress. What I am here to talk about is how one of the best ways to get good food is to cook with the season. The ingredients are fresh and full of nutrients. Petit Macaron loves all the berries right now – he can’t get enough blueberries (this is probably TMI, but his poops smell fruity now, haha). I can’t help but pop a berry in my mouth when I see it sitting on the counter. So good!

We enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market as a family on the weekends and grabbing a fruit or veggie to try out at home. I think this is a great way to introduce Petit Macaron to new fruits and veggies – even if he’s just seeing them and not letting us feed them to him (which is sadly most of the time…except for fruit, that is always a win).

Besides from what you see at a Farmer’s Market, another great resource for figuring out what’s in season is the blog Cookie and Kate. She makes a monthly guide sharing what’s in season and ideas on how to cook and/or bake with it. July is nearing its close (holy cow!), but here’s the guide she posted. I’m sure August will be coming up soon, but until then here’s last year’s post. Another resource is The Old Farmer’s Almanac. You can find it’s list for summer foods online here. And if you do a quick online search, you’ll find many more like Cooking Light or The Kitchn.

Here’s my suggestions for what to make this summer:

Corn

My husband came up with a method for grilled corn on the cob that’s excellent. He basically picked up the method from living with his Mexican friend who raves about his family’s corn on the cob.

For the corn, we take a corn on the cob with husks and peel back the husk to remove the silk. Be careful to not fully remove the husk. Bring the husk back up to cover the corn kernels. Soak the cob for about an hour. Fire up your grill and cook, with the husk still over the corn, for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, spread on some butter, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese, and a little salt (if needed). It’s very similar to Rick Bayless’ recipe.

You’ll notice it’s very similar to Elote, which is so delicious. Here’s Rick Bayless and the NY Times recipes if you find a recipe easier to follow.

Avocado

Grilling is the best! The house stays cool, and it’s so pleasant to grab a drink and chat while you, or your partner, grill up dinner. I just made this burger with ground turkey last week and my hubby, who usually groans when I use turkey over beef, enjoyed it immensely.

Kale

Sure, kale is great as a salad, but have you had it on pizza? It’s a sturdier green so it holds up great. I just love it on this pizza.

Peaches

Peaches don’t always have to be dessert, although it’s super delicious that way, but it earns a place on the dinner plate as well. They pair great with pork; you should give it a try. But if you’re set on having them sweet, then these popsicles look refreshing.

Blueberries

Crisps are probably one of my favorite desserts. This crisp knocked it out of the park for me. Ahh, so good. And these muffins were dynamite for a snack the other week. I guess my toddler isn’t the only one in this house that loves blueberries.

Cherries

Oh man, cherries. I wish they were cheaper. Totally worth it for the short time they are available, though. I made a cherry pie for the 4th of July with the box of cherries I bought at Costco. With some vanilla ice cream, it was an awesome treat. But I don’t mind just popping them in my mouth, and Petit Macaron loved them, too!

Fresh, healthy food is good for the soul. Eat up, my friends!