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Highlights: Hello, Summer!

Published on June 19, 2011 By Emily. Updated on June 19, 2011

Tomorrow is my last day of school until September.  And, since all my students have already taken their finals, it should be a pretty easy one.  Unlike most teachers, I’m not chomping at the bit for summer to start.  I had a really great year this year, my students were awesome and I’m finding it a little hard to believe that it really is late June.  Still, there are a lot of really wonderful things that come with summer.  I’m looking forward to a trip to the beach, taking my casual summer clothes out from storage, wearing flip-flops and sandals 90% of the time, fresh produce, farmer’s markets, and days with nothing to do.

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There are a lot of ways to welcome summer into your kitchen, but according to most of the posts I saw this week, summer is all about cold drinks, grilling, and refreshing meals:

Cold Drinks

Is there a better summer drink than sangria?  Try these 4 sangria recipes for summer entertaining posted on Serious Eats.  I’ve never made sangria, but this may be the summer that it actually happens!

If fruity wine isn’t your thing, Huffington Post has the casual drinker’s guide to summer beers.

I don’t drink coffee anymore, but I’ve never made a bad recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  So, if you like coffee, it’s probably worth it to check out Ree Drummond’s perfect iced coffee.

If you really want to keep cool, this minty green tea granita from Mark Bittman sounds delicious (and yes, I realize it’s not really a drink, but I had to include it somewhere).  Granita is another one of those things I keep thinking about making and then putting off.  Add that to the “summer to do” list as well.

Over on Healthy Tipping Point, Caitlin posted her secret to making creamy smoothies.  I guess Brian already figured this out, because he makes really great smoothies.  I’m kind of scared of the blender exploding, so I just enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Grilling

One of the many things on our ever-growing “when we get a house…” list is the purchase of a grill.  One of my co-workers was legitimately shocked recently when he discovered that we don’t have a grill.  Unfortunately, there just isn’t a place for one in our current living situation. 

Salon Food has an interesting history of the hot dog.  Hot dogs, by the way, are only really good when grilled – or covered with too many condiments.

If you want some grilling tips and ideas and you have a Kindle, Mark Bittman’s Grilling Kindle Single is only $0.99 for the rest of the summer.

There are some people in the food blog world that are much more creative than I could ever aim to be.  Evan’s grilled eggs, cooked inside halved bell peppers, is just one example of that creativity.

Public Radio Kitchen suggests making your own barbecue sauce.  If we did more barbecued foods around here, I’d probably try it.  Brian and I are currently obsessed with Naturally Delicious Original Barbecue Sauce, however.  I’m so happy with it that I’m not inclined to try making my own.

Refreshing Meals

It was so uncomfortably hot last summer that I dedicated an entire highlights post to no-cook meals.  This summer, Food52 has already posted 23 No-Cook Recipes on Huffington Post.  Hopefully that’s enough oven-free ideas to get you through the heat.

Lisa’s yummy looking Summer Mediterranean Salad will probably make an appearance in my apartment this summer.  Olives and chick peas?  Yes, please. 

I’ve never made a bread salad because I can never decide whether they look awesome or gross.  However, Georgia Pellegrini’s recipe for tomato-bread salad on The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a bit different than ones I’ve seen before and I may just have to try it out.

Obviously, there are a lot more awesome summer foods out there.  What summer meal or ingredient are  you most looking forward to?  I’m putting my vote in for tomatoes.

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Comments

  1. Lisa Fine says

    June 20, 2011 at 8:58 am

    Yay! Thanks for sharing the link to my salad – hope you like it when you make it. :)

    Have a great last day of school, and I’ll talk to you soon.

  2. Rachel (Olalliberry) says

    June 20, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    I love Mediterranean salads, CORN, and berries. I don’t have a grill either (small apartment, blah blah) so when it’s too hot to cook indoors I am a big fan of antipasti-type dinners with olives, some kind of prosciutto or salami, cheese, hummus, etc. I want to try pickling something this summer!

    • Emily says

      June 26, 2011 at 4:40 pm

      Antipasti-type dinners sound like the sort of thing my husband would love! Thanks for the suggestion, I’m trying to have some ideas on hand for when it gets really hot around here.

Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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