This simple little trick will save you lots of steps and make it super easy to always have fresh summer herbs at your fingertips all season long! Two years ago, after living in Raleigh, NC for almost 40 years, we packed up and moved to the mountains of North Carolina to be near family. Although I've loved almost everything about moving to the Asheville area, it was sad to discover that there was ...
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Summer Entertaining Recipes
Seasonal and delicious summer recipes that are sure to be a hit with friends and family. These dishes can be prepped or made ahead of time. Entertaining and getting together with friends looks quite different right now, doesn't it? While we won't be hosting any large dinner parties right now, we still like to gather a few close friends or family members on our back porch for dinner. These are ...
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Ridiculously Easy Peach Crumble
Imagine sweet, juicy peaches baked until meltingly tender under a generous portion of sweet, crisp, buttery crumbs... Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a simple splash of sweet cream. This Ridiculously Easy Peach Crumble is a summer dream come true! Last weekend, our two youngest grandchildren, Emmy and Hayes, spent the night. It was so much fun but I had to laugh when mom reported ...
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Ridiculously Easy Fresh Cherry Almond Cake
This Ridiculously Easy, one-bowl, no-mixer Sweet Cherry Almond Cake has a tender, moist crumb, lots of sweet cherries and a crisp, candy-like almond glaze. This cake... oh my! So many of you have loved our French Grandmother's Lemon Yogurt Cake (we do too!), I decided to come up with a summery rendition featuring those sweet, juicy, crimson cherries that are in their prime right now. I'm most ...
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Ridiculously Easy, Ridiculously Delicious Recipes
Ten of our favorite Ridiculously Easy Recipes that are sure to please. They require minimal effort, but deliver impressive results! If you're a regular reader, you know all about our Ridiculously Easy Recipe series. Basically, these recipes are developed to be simple and require minimal effort. But they produce super delicious results that "appear" to have taken a lot of time or hard work. They ...
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Queen’s Jam (Raspberry Blueberry Jam)
Scandinavian-inspired, Queen's Jam is a sweet blueberry-studded, raspberry confection. It's easy to make (no canning skills needed), fabulous on toast, scones, biscuits, waffles, pancakes etc. and so delicious, it's worthy of royalty! I love recipes with a fun name and an interesting history. And if they're also incredibly delicious and super easy to make, it rings all my bells! So you can ...
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Fresh Ideas for Summer Fruits and Vegetables
Summer is the time for the best fruits and veggies of the year! Make the most of it with these healthy, seasonal, and delicious recipes. Tomatoes, corn, stone fruits and more! We wait all year for the bounty of summer produce. Whether from your garden or local farmers market or even grocery store, we've got plenty of ideas on how to use your stash. These simple, healthy recipes let the ...
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Stone Fruit Tomato Caprese Salad
If you're looking for the freshest, most delicious summer salad imaginable, this Stone Fruit Tomato Caprese Salad is IT! The fabulous Sweet Basil Dressing is the crowning glory! I've been getting the BEST peaches for the past few weeks and have been filling up BIG bags each time I shop. And when I also found pretty nectarines, plums, cherries and a variety of beautiful tomatoes on sale recently, ...
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Festive Recipes for the Fourth of July
Festive recipes for celebrating the Fourth of July. Enjoy the holiday with these easy, make-ahead recipes your family will love! Is anyone ready for something to celebrate? I know we are! It's hard to believe that it's almost time for the Fourth. And while this year may not look like any year we've ever had before, we can still celebrate. These festive and seasonal recipes are perfect for the ...
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Easy Sweet Basil Vinaigrette
If this fabulous Sweet Basil Vinaigrette could talk, it would be shouting "summer!" It's sweet, tangy and bursting with vibrant, delicious basil flavor! This Sweet Basil Vinaigrette recipe was first published back in 2011, the year Scott and I began this fun journey called "The Café". I had a ton of basil growing in the garden that summer and wanted to come up with a salad dressing that would not ...
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Easy Zucchini Summer Quiche
This easy summer quiche loaded with fresh corn, smoky bacon, parmesan cheese and thinly sliced zucchini makes a fabulous entree for breakfast, lunch or dinner! This Easy Zucchini Summer Quiche has been evolving here at The Café for the past few weeks. Scott's enjoyed trying lots of different renditions of this seasonal savory tart. And when I gave a few slices to our son Nick and his wife Lindsay ...
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Happy Summer! It’s time to make Jam and Jelly!
A roundup of our favorite sweet and spicy jams and jellies to preserve the season all year long! No canning skills required! Have you ever made jam or jelly? Freezer jam and jelly is one of our favorite tricks around here. It's super easy to stir together and you don't have to have canning knowledge, as it's stored in the freezer! Jams and jellies are the perfect way to preserve all the fresh ...
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