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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Tart rhubarb balances sweet, jammy strawberry flavor in this irresistible springtime dessert. If you can find rhubarb, you’re in for a treat!

This simple crisp recipe requires only some chopping and stirring and yields delicious results after a 40-minute bake. I’ve modified my original recipe to call for my favorite oat and almond flour-based topping, which happens to be gluten-free.

This flavor combination was inspired by my friend Stephanie. She makes the best strawberry rhubarb pie, and I’m still daydreaming about the pie that inspired this recipe over ten years ago. Stephanie has her flaky pie dough technique down pat and bakes pies for all occasions. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a master pie maker in your life, too.

I am not Stephanie and I do not bake pies. I barely have the foresight or patience to chill pie dough, though I’ve been working on my technique over the years. Crisps are gloriously easy. No waiting. No fuss.

Bring your strawberries and rhubarb home and turn on the oven. This recipe is ready to go! Make it while you can.

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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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Ever tried buckwheat pancakes? Sure, they aren’t the prettiest pancakes around, but they make up for their humble appearance with wonderful flavor and texture. Buckwheat, a gluten-free relative of rhubarb, has a uniquely nutty flavor all its own.

Thanks to the buckwheat flour, these pancakes are naturally gluten free! These pancakes possess a light and airy consistency that quietly surrenders to the pressure of a fork and soaks up maple syrup like a sponge. I just love them.

This recipe was originally adapted from a fun cookbook called Pancakes, by fellow food blogger Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen. I visit Adrianna’s blog any time I need some creative recipe inspiration or a laugh, which is often.

It’s been eight years, so I’m revisiting this recipe to update the photos. I also tweaked the recipe a bit to work even better with 100 percent buckwheat flour. I added another egg and a smidge more flour. Hope you’ll give them a try soon!

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You’re going to love this strawberry smoothie. This recipe is cold, creamy and satisfying, and its nutty strawberry flavor is truly crave-worthy.

In their most basic form, these strawberry smoothies require just four ingredients—frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, almond milk and almond butter.

This smoothie recipe tastes like a strawberry milkshake, and you can make it for breakfast! I’ll be sipping on these pink drinks all summer, and I hope the recipe becomes a staple in your home as well.

If you ask me, smoothies should be super simple. I don’t want to pull a bunch of ingredients out of my fridge and pantry every morning just for a smoothie. I am not a morning person! Plus, these smoothies are easy to whip up in the afternoon or after dinner if you get a craving for a sweet treat.

You can change up the recipe by adding flax or oats for a nutrition boost, or a light drizzle of maple syrup to make them taste even more dessert-like. I’m plenty satisfied with the four-ingredient formula, though, and I think you will be, 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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I’ll be making this strawberry salad all summer long. It’s beautiful, easy to make, and beyond delicious. What more could we want?

This salad takes a few cues from classic Caprese salad but stars diced strawberries. I opted for crumbled goat cheese instead of mozzarella, and added a drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar.

To round it out, I added lots of fresh basil, plus a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. This salad straddles the line between sweet and savory, and it absolutely works.

The final result is a showstopper. Be sure to use red, ripe strawberries and quality ingredients, and you’ll be thrilled with the results. Hooray for easy summer salads!

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Life is good! Let’s celebrate with this classic red sangria recipe. Sure, I love a glass of wine at the end of a long day, but sangria is best shared with friends.

Sangria is festive, fruity and fun. It’s a perfect party punch to pair with Spanish tapas or Mexican food. Cold sangria is undeniably great on hot summer days. The red wine base and versatile seasonal fruit options make it appropriate for cooler days, too!

Sangria hails from Spain, although funny enough, my friend Ali lives in Spain and says they don’t drink it often over there. I visited Barcelona with friends in college and we bought cheap cartons of sangria from the convenience store by the beach. I don’t recommend that stuff.

We’re going to make real sangria with good wine and fresh fruit today. Through research and trial and error, I’ve learned how to make the best red sangria. Ready?!

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Looking for a simple dessert? It doesn’t get easier than fruit compote over vanilla ice cream. Compote is fresh, saucy and sweet, and ready in as little as 15 minutes.

You can make compote ahead of time and warm it up or throw it onto the stove after dinner. Serve it on ice cream for dessert, yogurt or toast the next morning, or anything else that could use some fruity flavor. You really can’t go wrong.

What is compote, exactly? Compote is a simple fruit sauce made with pieces of fresh (or frozen) fruit and some sugar, cooked briefly on the stove. You could call the end result a textured fruit sauce or chunky fruit syrup. I call it magic.

Instead of sugar, I use a small amount of maple syrup or honey to make naturally sweetened compote. Since it’s liquid, you can easily add more to taste after cooking if your compote isn’t quite sweet enough.

Compote is not as thick as jam or jelly, and it’s meant to be consumed relatively soon after making (it will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator). It’s not designed to be canned or preserved for the months or years ahead. Compote is so easy to make that you can throw together a batch at a moment’s notice!

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I declare this strawberry number the Official Salad of Summer 2018! It’s fully loaded with colorful strawberries, radishes, red onion, basil, jalapeño, toasty sunflower seeds, and fresh arugula.

Creamy goat cheese and a simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette round out the sweet-and-slightly-spicy flavor profile. It’s an unexpected combination of flavors, perhaps, but they’re truly irresistible together.

This is a hearty summertime garden salad that you can serve as a light dinner, or as a side salad for a crowd. I think it would go well with smoky flavors from your grill.

I should mention that this is a big salad. I could barely manage to toss it all together on my largest serving platter. You could divide all of the ingredients in half—or better yet, store leftover salad and dressing separately and enjoy leftovers for a few days.

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