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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Make this spinach salad recipe to serve with your favorite main dishes! This fresh spinach salad features seasonal fruit, creamy goat cheese, toasted pecans, just enough red onion, and the perfect amount of vinaigrette. It’s finished with a drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze.

This spinach salad is beautiful, absolutely delicious, and holiday worthy. It’s also easily adjusted to the changing seasons, and simple enough to make on a weeknight. Hooray!

You’ll see raspberries in these photos, which are wonderful. You’re not limited to raspberries, though—this spinach salad would be equally great with apples, pears, strawberries and more. You’ll find a full list of options below.

I’ve created quite a few green salad recipes over the years, but not a lot of spinach salad recipes. Arugula, kale, romaine and spring greens are usually my fresh greens of choice. The other day, I tried a spinach salad at a local French restaurant that inspired me to give fresh spinach in salads another chance. Let me tell you, this spinach salad is worth making! I love it and hope you do, too.

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How about a fruity treat? On a summer evening, there’s not much better than a warm homemade crisp with cold vanilla ice cream. This mixed berry crisp is the perfect use for those wonderful in-season berries. It’s easy to make (far less fussy than a pie) and just as good.

You can make this berry crisp recipe with any combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries—use all four or just a couple. Or, use it as a template for a single-berry crisp (here’s a more straightforward blueberry crisp recipe). You can’t go wrong.

This mixed berry crisp is the latest addition to my growing collection of crisp recipes on the blog. Like most of the others, this recipe just so happens to be gluten free, easily made vegan, and naturally sweetened. Depending on your standards, this crisp could definitely qualify as healthy.

I love the combination of oats and almond flour in the topping—the result is golden and crisp on top, and tender underneath. The topping keeps well to enjoy leftovers for several days. I like to eat it for breakfast with plain Greek yogurt. Why not?

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Would you look at that beauty? This easy tart recipe comes from my friend Ali’s new cookbook, Inspiralized & Beyond, and I think you should make it for Mother’s Day.

Her recipe is brilliant—the base is made simply with Medjool dates and pecans. It’s like a Larabar in crust form! After a 10-minute freeze, she spreads Greek yogurt and fresh fruit on top. I’m not a fancy baker, so if I can make this tart, I’m confident that you can, too.

Ali is known for her creative spiralized recipes (think zucchini noodles), and her newest book branches out by offering fun ways to “spiralize, chop, rice and mash” your vegetables into creative meals.

I’m excited to try out her apple French toast (made with apple slices instead of toast), sweet potato skin nachos, hearts of palm “ceviche,” Mediterranean zucchini pasta salad, portobello bulgogi bowls and more. The book isn’t vegetarian, but she devoted an entire chapter to vegetarian mains and I love that!

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This easy chia jam is a delicious way to eat more berries on a regular basis. The recipe has been a long time coming. I received an unsettling call from the doctor’s office early last year. Don’t worry, I’m completely fine. I am, however, as neurotic as ever. I’m also a natural-born researcher, so I dove straight into the internet for more information. It’s better to do something than to do nothing, you know?

I opened at least fifty tabs to read the latest research about the cancer-fighting, insulin-stabilizing, life-giving powers of whole foods. Food really can be the best medicine—or at least, the best preventative medicine. I love that blogging allows me to promote whole foods via delicious recipes. I don’t talk much about nutrition since I’m not a dietitian, but here we go!

I zeroed in a fascinating phytochemical called ellagic acid, which is found in strawberries, raspberries and other (mostly red-skinned) fruit. Ellagic acid shows a lot of promise in preventing and fighting cancer, among other rather miraculous attributes.

I resolved to eat more raspberries. I really don’t eat enough fruit as it is. Fresh raspberries posed a problem, though—they aren’t in season year-round, and they’re really expensive when they’re not.

Have you ever spent five dollars on a tiny container of organic raspberries, only to find that they’re moldy when you get home? Majorly disappointing. Plus, I’m only one person, and sometimes fresh fruit gets lost in my refrigerator before I can get to it.

Watch How to Make Easy Chia Seed Jam

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Last weekend, I drove home to Oklahoma for my baby brother’s college graduation. I remember when he was tiny, and I was terrified of dropping him. Now he’s all grown up, and a few inches taller than I am.

A couple of years ago, he developed an interest in videography out of nowhere. Now, he’s made a business of it. He’s going to come up to Kansas City soon and help me make some Cookie and Kate videos! We’re both stubborn perfectionists, and we’re both always right, so stay tuned for how that turns out.

My mom asked me to bring home some muffins to help with breakfast. I was already planning to make these with some berries from my freezer, so it was perfect timing. Usually, when I bake muffins for the blog, I just freeze them for later. Watching my family enjoy them was way more fun.

These raspberry muffins are based on my carrot muffins and apple muffins. Like the others, they are marvelously fluffy and moist, but made with 100 percent whole grains, and naturally sweetened, too. I added some lemon zest, which infuses the muffins with light lemon flavor, in between bursts of jammy raspberries.

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Have you ever made hand pies? Or homemade pastries? These little raspberry-orange pies were my first experience. Driscoll’s challenged me to come up with a raspberry pie recipe, so I stepped up to the plate and spent a slow Sunday perfecting these babies.

That day, I tested different whole grain flour combinations, experienced an epic coconut oil crust-shattering fail and popped raspberries when I just couldn’t resist.

Finally, I was finally rewarded with perfectly golden, flaky crust wrapped around juicy raspberry-orange filling. Raspberries are the star ingredient in the filling, which might seem a little unexpected given the time of year. I’ve always associated raspberries with blazing hot summer days, but did you know that there’s actually a second raspberry season that lasts until the first frost? Like all other sweet fall produce, raspberries play nicely with warming spices and winter citrus.

These portable little pies aren’t complete without that orange zest-flecked cinnamon glaze, which contributes a Pop Tart-level irresistibility and some fun abstract stripes. I can’t imagine a kid or an adult who wouldn’t smile when they take a bite of these unexpected treats around the holidays.

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Funny thing. I’ve consumed two glasses of this sangria and I’m fumbling for the proper words to describe it. How about, “Best white sangria ever?” Bold statement, but I’m not kidding around. Yeah, I see your sangria bet and I’ll raise you twenty.

This sangria is a fun spin on classic red sangria. Watermelon is key. It infuses white wine with fresh summer flavor, and the little cubes float on top, just waiting to get scooped out and eaten like boozy fruit salad.

The raspberries don’t add a lot of flavor, but they’re like rubies on the ocean floor. You’ll find them once you polish off your glass.

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Here’s my spring-to-summer side salad solution. It features chopped baby spinach, plenty of fresh berries, tangy goat cheese and a zippy balsamic dressing. For the berries, I used raspberries and blueberries, but sliced strawberries would be another great option.

The skillet-toasted, candied maple sunflower seeds are a simple addition that adds crunch and subtle heat from a dash of cayenne pepper (which is totally optional). They’re an unexpected addition that sends this salad over the top.

The result is a little sweet and a little spicy. It’s healthy, yet irresistible. It’s perfectly balanced. It’s truly a fantastic side salad, and a fun alternative to my classic spinach salad.

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My friends and I are going glamping this weekend. That is to say, glam camping. The guys initially wanted to rough it in the woods, but us ladies slowly turned it into a comfortable cabin-at-the-lake-with-a-full-kitchen-and-a-clean-toilet situation.

We almost cancelled yesterday due to a rainy weather forecast, but concluded a silly seven-person conference call (iPhones can do that?!) by deciding to go for it. I could care less if we sit inside while it rains tomorrow. I’m giddy at the prospect of leaving all work-related materials behind and goofing around with friends all weekend long.

On my list to pack: sunscreen, swimsuit, Scrabble, magazines, at least three bottles of Champagne (bubbly is the new beer, you heard it here first) and this glorious, gluten-free almond meal and honey cake. The cake is made with almond meal, a few eggs and olive oil. It’s sweetened with honey and topped with an optional, light sprinkle of powdered sugar. Add to that a few additional layers of fragrant flavors: heavenly orange zest, a hint of floral cardamom, ripe raspberries and raw pistachios. Three of my friends are gluten-free eaters and this is a cake that we can all share.

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