blogger recipes

Quick summer bean recipes have been comin' to my rescue now that August is here. It’s hot outside and the kids are spending as much time as possible in the pool. And me? I’m fine in the shade except when the humidity gets  into the unbearable 90% range. That means dunk me in the cool, clear water—or keep me in AC comfort.

I recently met Livya through twitter when she posted some awesome Greek recipes. That's when I discovered she runs the site eatGREEK. How happy I was to discover an easy-to-use authentic Greek recipe and cooking site! As some of you know, I absolutely adore Greek food and it's my dream to visit Greece one day.

Make chutney today! Thanks to Monica Bhide, author of Modern Spice, for guest blogging on QQM. She also writes the wonderful blog, A Life of Spice, and shares two fabulous chutney recipes with us.

Summer squash recipes, zucchini recipes, tomato recipes. What I could really use this week: some summer recipe inspiration. Recipes that taste great each time. Recipes that will have the kids spooning up seconds (is that really possible?). Recipes that use the common ingredients I've got on hand and are easy to toss together.

Fried green tomatoes are not a food I grew up on—you can be sure there wasn't an easy recipe for fried green tomatoes in my mom's recipe box. At our house, a green tomato was an unripe tomato—and that meant it stayed on the vine until it was a rich ruby red. Then, and only then, would it be selected.

Many days what I could use most are quick dinner ideas. You know, tips for the starting point for a quick easy dinner recipe that can be tossed together in less than 20 minutes. I've always enjoyed watching cooking shows … watching the ease with which they toss beautiful ingredients together, listening to their commentary and tips.

"If you have access to a bramble of blackberry bushes, guard it with your life." Those were the words that greeted me as I opened the Blackberry Pie recipe from Mollie Cox Bryan, author of Mrs.

Dessert. Especially easy chocolate dessert. It's the part of the meal we wanted to eat first as kids--but were cautioned NOT TO. "Clean your plate if you want dessert ... Eat those lima beans if you think you're gonna have any of that chocolate cake ... How come you can't finish that casserole but you want brownies? Why did you leave that eggplant on your plate if you're gonna eat that pineapple upside-down cake?" 

Here comes summer: bring on the quick summer recipes. And bring on the fresh fruit. Summer and fruit is an awesome combination. It's a natural, kinda like kids and candy, black and white, hot dogs and burgers, baseball and apple pie, books and librarians, socks and shoes, well, er, you get the idea. Fruit is also one of the quickest of foods to eat: most of the time it's just wash and go. Even if it's not for dessert, try a spicy salsa with attitude. Or start your day off right with some morning sunshine (see parfait below).

Here's a quick meal trivia question for you: What protein is consumed in the highest amount per capita per year?  Chicken ... beef ... pork ... beans ... eggs ... ?