Have you tried the classic French dessert called clafoutis? (It’s pronounced klah-foo-tee.) If not, please let me introduce you to this delightful and simple treat. Clafoutis is a delicious cross between a cake and a custard with a crackled top and luscious, fruit-studded interior. It’s sweet but not too sweet, making it the perfect ending to a lovely summer supper.

Clafoutis is typically baked with cherries, but you’ll see that I used berries here, and you’ll find more options below. My three-year-0ld loves clafoutis. She’s been asking for more “cherry cake” since last summer, and it’s about time we made more.

I made clafoutis over and over again last summer until I got the proportions of this recipe just right (nine times, to be exact). Each attempt was tasty, but the recipe I’m sharing today is perfection. I had to find the right balance between the amounts of flour, sugar, liquid and eggs to yield a silky interior that’s full of flavor but not too eggy or wet. Here it is!

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This summertime salad features ruby red Bing cherries. It’s rounded out with spicy arugula and some of my favorite Middle Eastern ingredients—couscous and pistachios. I added celery for some complementary crunch and goat cheese for a creamy component.

Homemade balsamic vinaigrette brings these unlikely ingredients together. This green salad is light, filling and very refreshing.

I’m stuck on the slow summer wavelength. You, too? Let’s embrace it. Let’s sit in the shade and watch the sun go down. Sip on cold drinks. Hop in the pool. Play board games on the porch. Stretch at yoga class. Maybe even do less work (and not feel bad about it). Let’s fill up on big, fresh salads, too. Salads like this cherry stunner you see here.

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I can’t take credit for this one. It’s my friend Jordan’s creation. She has been sporting an adorable growing baby bump for the past eight months. She makes pregnancy look good… which is not to say that I want to be pregnant any time soon. Oh no, this is a spectator sport. Pass the wine, please. Lucky for us, Jordan got a craving for peaches and plums a few weeks ago and went a little overboard at the store. She sliced up the surplus and brought it over to my place on girls night.

After dessert, she tossed the stone fruit with sugar and balsamic vinegar and put it in the oven. We chatted around the table while the fruit transformed into sweet roasted perfection. It’s one of those desserts that features a dangerous combination of contrasting flavors—sweet summer fruit, tangy reduced balsamic vinegar and creamy vanilla ice cream. We kept going back for bite after bite, and when we were finished, Jordan reported that even the baby approved.

I’ve made this dessert a couple of times since girls night. I could have changed it up by adding toasted nuts or granola, or baked it with a crisp topping, but sometimes the best summer desserts are the simplest ones. Since this dessert is composed almost entirely of produce, the flavor depends mostly on the fruit itself. You could probably make this dessert ten times and it will never taste quite the same (but it will always taste good!).

If you find yourself with a surplus of stone fruit, or just need a fresh, easy dessert and don’t mind turning on the oven, this recipe is for you. It’s especially wonderful with a glass of chilled white wine.

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On July 4th, I took a few bites of a scrumptious cherry chocolate cake made by one of my favorite relatives. I asked for the recipe, and my heart sunk a little when I found out that her secret ingredients were a box of devil’s food cake mix and canned cherry pie filling.

A month and a half later, I bought a massive bag of dark red cherries, made an amazing cherry arugula salad, and wanted to make a dessert with the rest. Memories of my cousin’s cherry chocolate cake came back to me, and I wondered if I could make a healthier version. I was buttered out after eating an entire peach galette, so I searched around for a vegan chocolate cake recipe.

The first page of Google results contained several references to Moosewood Restaurant’s recipe, with lots of raving reviews. The recipe has a lot going for it: it’s vegan, easy to make, and doesn’t require any unusual ingredients. I was sold.

I swapped whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour, added a bit of almond extract in place of some of the vanilla extract and mixed in over a pound of cherries. Pouring in the apple cider vinegar felt like performing a chemistry experiment. The batter foams up! Once the cake cooled, I iced it with pure semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. I brought the cake to breakfast club and my friends loved it!

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The past ten days have been an absolute whirlwind. I’ve traveled over a thousand miles by car and been tied to a computer for days. This weekend, I hope to take it easy; plans include a visit to the farmers’ market, pilates, and clinking fresh cocktails with friends.

These cocktails are a seasonal spin on the classic mojito. I suspect any sweet summer fruit would make a great mojito mixer, but cherries seem particularly well suited. The slight sweetness of the rainier variety mixes well with mint. Bing cherries might be even better, but I haven’t had a chance to try. If you do, please let me know!

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