Cubed cantaloupe wrapped in salami or black forest ham - This is a more affordable version of the prosciutto and melon. Really, if you just stick to the sweet against the salty, you can’t go wrong. Experiment! I like my cold cuts shaved and this tends to get eyeball rolls from the deli staff. But it is worth having thinly sliced ham or salami for this dish - things just kind of melt into each other in the best possible way.

Simple blackberry sauce over sliced super sweet donut peaches - Put blackberries in a sauce pan with a splash of water and sugar to taste (remembering that blackberries are very tart). Reduce, cool and pour over sliced peaches. That is the taste of the Virginia countryside.

Bruschetta pizzas - I love-love-love bruschetta! This recipe was a happy accident when I was having pregnancy cravings a few years ago. Warm-from-the-garden tomatoes and basil, cheese, bread, garlic, onions. What’s missing? Nothing that matters.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Semolina Italian bread

Garlic

Olive Oil

Basil

Red onions

Tomatoes

Salt/Pepper

Mozzarella cheese

Cut the bread in half length-wise and then into pizza serving sizes of your choice. Drizzle the top of the bread with olive oil and rub with a clove of garlic. Set aside. Cut up equal parts tomatoes, red onion, and basil. Place in a bowl. Add several splashes of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss. Cut thin slices of mozzarella cheese and lay them over the bread. Toast in toaster oven. When toasty and all melted, spoon a generous serving of the tomato mixture on top.

Mark Bittman’s cucumber salad - Scroll down a bit; it is #3 on his summer salad list from 2009. Oh, there are 100 (!) other unique, quick salads on this list, too.

Watermelon slushie - Cut up chilled watermelon and add sugar to taste with a squeeze of lemon. Blend in a blender. Pour and garnish with mint. It will taste like a watermelon Marino’s Italian Ice. The slushie is, as you can imagine, a hit with the little ones.