Well, September is here, school is beginning and it is time for packing lunches once again! The above lunch was made by my 8 year old daughter. It is composed of a quesadilla made with refried beans and two brown rice tortillas, blackberries and sliced nectarines, sliced carrots and cucumbers, raw cashews, almonds, and chocolate chips.

We love anything curry here. Thai curries, Indian curries, curry roasted potatoes, you name it. Our kids love curry too. Those flavors are passed through breastmilk, so they became addicted quite young. One of my favorite things about making a curried dish is the fact that it is fast, easy, and of course, a one-pot meal.

Well, it's August. Harvest time. I've been busy picking berries, peaches, and apples as of late. Jam-making is in full swing, our gardens are overflowing, and the energy of summer is winding down into Autumn. You can feel it in the air here.

One of my favorite things to cook is Indian food. We recently had a large family reunion with over 60 people. Each night a family hosted a dinner with a different theme. Our night was Indian night.

Blueberries and cucumbers are in season right now and with these hot sunny days, a light, refreshing smoothie is simply delightful. Sometimes I like to add everything but the kitchen sink to my smoothies, but a friend of mine who was recently visiting suggested these ingredients and urged me to keep it simple.

Since it is grilling season, I thought it would be fitting to offer an easy, crowd-pleasing recipe for these sultry summer evenings. Our garden is overflowing with fresh mint and zucchini right now and I'm imagining that these ingredients are readily available for you too right now. Of course most fresh garden veggies would do well here.

Homemade jam is usually so full of sugar, but it doesn't have to be!

It is still strawberry season here in the Pacific Northwest. The other day I picked about five pounds of those tasty, sweet early summer morsels right from our backyard patch. If you have extra berries I suggest hulling them and freezing them on a cookie sheet to use for smoothies or strawberry lemonade throughout the summer.

Today was the first really warm day we have had this year! Beautiful and sunny. A perfect day for a light vegetable salad. Blanched green beans, lemon zest, a dash of olive oil, and roasted walnuts create this refreshing summer salad, perfect for picnics in the park or summer barbecues.

Well, it finally feels like summer here today in the Pacific Northwest. We actually turned the heat on a few days ago because it was so chilly and rainy here! School is out, the sun is out and it is time for frozen treats....popsicles and fudgesicles!