Strawberry Blueberry Crumble

Yum! This is a delicious and easy summer dessert. We used strawberries and blueberries, but it would be great with any mix of fruit. The crumble topping is delicious and it's so easy because you don't have to make crust - the whole thing takes about an hour start to finish. The baking soda in the crumble is from Smitten Kitchen. It really makes it puff up and get nice and crunchy. Will definitely make this again, maybe in individual ramekins. 

Raw Tomato Pasta Sauce

Tomatoes are so, so good right now, I'm eating them as much as possible. I usually make raw tomato sauce like this, but this time I took one big tomato and grated half of it on a box grater and chopped up the other half. The shredded part makes a nice, juicy base. I added some olive oil, a capful of balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of honey, fresh pepper, a big pinch of red pepper flakes, one grated garlic clove, and some basil. Mix it all up and let it sit for 10 minutes to a couple of hours. 

Tomato, Watermelon, and Feta Salad

I had tomatoes and watermelon and thought they would make a great, light summer salad with a little feta to add saltiness and some dukkah for some extra flavor. This was super refreshing and light and would be perfect for a hot weather lunch.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

watermelon, rind removed and thinly sliced

red wine vinegar

balsamic reduction

olive oil

salt

feta

dukkah*

Prosciutto-Wrapped Peaches with Basil

It's summer and it's hot - apps that involve no cooking really appeal to me. This recipe from Epicurious looked so fresh and summery. I tried it out this week and it was great! Jamie loved them, and they couldn't have been easier. Kind of a fun switch from prosciutto with melon. The vinegar, sugar, cumin mixture adds a nice, subtle zing and the salty prosciutto and sweet peach go well together - and basil makes it all taste fresh and summery.

I think it would also probably be great thrown on the grill for a minute with some pecorino, but for now this is great and involves no cooking.

For 2 (1/2 peach per person, so just get more if you have more people!)
Ingredients:
1 yellow peach, core removed and cut into 8 pieces
4 pieces of prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise
8 basil leaves
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
big pinch cumin

Directions:
Mix the vinegar, sugar, and cumin and toss the peach slices with it in a bowl. Let them sit about 10 minutes. Wrap each peach slice with a strip of prosciutto, put a piece of basil on top, and secure with a toothpick. Done!

Grilled Clams with Herb Butter

These are incredible, and so easy! I made them as a little hors d'oeuvres for a BBQ this past weekend, but I think they were the star. I am looking forward to being back out in Southampton (with a grill) again next weekend so I can make them again! My friend Alice doesn't cook, so to gauge difficulty levels - she said even she could do this. Very simple and so, so tasty!

Ingredients:
A big handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, dill, tarragon, parsley, chives, and thyme from my garden)
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 stick of butter, softened
big pinch of salt and pepper
2 dozen clams

Directions:
Finely chop up the herbs. Mash into the butter with lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Form into a log on a piece of Saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or more so it hardens. (Probably fine to do it right before and not refrigerate too.)