Nothing beats the taste of home grown tomatoes.  Ballads have been written about them, movies made about tasty fried greens ones, and right now, gardens, like mine pictured here, are teasing us with just-about-ready ones.  The American Heart Association encourages us to add more fresh vegetables to all of our diets and tomatoes are a great place to start.  Here’s a recipe from the AHA’s Light and Easy cook book to put your toms to good use on the patio tonight.  Send along your tomato favorites!

Spinach Salad with Warm Orange Vinaigrette
2 Tbs sliced almonds
6 oz fresh spinach leaves
2 med garden fresh tomatoes
1/4 c crumbled goat cheese
4 tsp bacon bits, optional

Dressing
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 med green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 c fresh orange juice
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 Tbs light brown sugar
1/8 tsp pepper

Dry roast almonds over medium heat in a single layer in a small skillet for about four minutes, stirring frequently.  In a large serving bowl, layer spinach, tomatoes, goat cheese, bacon bits and almonds.  Heat oil in skillet to coat the bottom.  Cook green onions until soft.  Stir in remaining dressing ingredients.  Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until the brown sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warmed through.  Pour over salad and enjoy.

So the weather is a little less than July-like, even for Michigan.  Why not plan a culinary adventure to warm you inside and out?  An amazing meal will do more than curb your hunger for unique cuisine.  Your ticket the the “Eat Local, Think Global”  five-course dinner on July 25th will beneift the activities of Fair Food Matters, a non-profit organization that supports local food in southwest Michigan.  Future Chefs, like the one pictured here, will help provide fresh ingredients from the Growing Matters Garden to create incredible appetizers, entrees and desserts.  If the garden grows on schedule, some of the evening’s fare will include Tutu’s Spicy Peanut Dip, an African-style black-eyed pea and Michigan-crafted peanut butter dip created for Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he visited Kalamazoo last summer;  True Blue Soup, a rendition of the traditional Scandinavian recipe with fresh Michigan blueberries, local red wine, and local yogurt laced with green cardamom; Mujudarra, a combination of the rare spice saffron with a buttery wild rice, long grain and legumes blended from Michigan farms; and Walnut Baklava with Michigan Fruit soaked in a Michigan honey and sugar syrup infused with lavender.  The event starts at 7 p.m. at the historic Kalamazoo House Bed and Breakfast on West South Street.  Make your reservations by July 20 and enjoy the harvest!

Think outside of the pancake.  Blueberries are more than one more sweet summer pleasure.  Many nutritionists believe blueberries offer twice as many health-giving antioxidants as spinach, more than three times as many as oranges, red grapes and cherries and more than four times as many as grapefruit, white grapes, bananas and apples.  That’s according to The Blueberry People,  a producer-owned blueberry marketing cooperative  in Grand Junction, Michigan .   They also say blueberries have been shown to improve memory, balance, and coordination, and a diet high in blueberry consumption can help retard the development of a number of degenerative diseases and conditions including cancer, cognitive impairment, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular trauma, cataracts and macular degeneration.  You may not need more reasons to eat them, but how about ways to consume them?  I’ll start by sharing an easy recipe from Rachael Ray.  Send in your favorites!

• 1 cup water
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 lemon zested
• 2 firm pears, such as Bosc or Anjou variety, peeled and cut into thin wedges – cut the core away as you work
• 1 pint French vanilla bean ice cream
• Ground cinnamon, for garnish
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Just about everyday, a mobile food pantry like this one pulls up to an area around West Michigan to distribute food items to people, free of charge, no strings attached.  This is an outreach service of the Feeding America West Michigan program, formerly known as Second Harvest Gleaners.  Sometimes they have excess goods delivered or fresh produce that needs to go to homes fast to give away.  Other times they pass out beverages, packaged goods, or paper products.  The team at Feeding America works with area non-profit groups to secure distribution sites and dates.  So far, more than 1,000 dates are on the calendar this year – that means they expect to unload up to 8 million pounds of food for those in need through thier mobile pantry service.  With the number of people asking for help growing daily, Feeding America Assistant Director Teresa Pawl-Knapp believes that number could reach 10 million in 2010.  If you are in need of help, or have the ability to help this program reach those who are through donations or volunteer service, contact Feeding America West Michigan, www.feedingamericawestmichigan.org, 616-784-3250

Do you think you can grill as well as these two guys?  They may have doubts about that after putting together dozens of kebabs, turning the corn on the cob, searing a pork tenderloin or two and blackening some unforgettable sizzling shrimp recently.    It was all part of my family fourth of July feast on the deck at my big brother David’s place in North Muskegon.  Little brother Steven came up from the Chicago area when he got word the grill was going.

This weekend the grills will be going in a cooking contest at the Riverwalk Festival in Lowell. Pauly’s Brew-B-Q Throwdown is a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned event, one of nearly 300 barbeque contests across America.   The contest is broken down into four categories:  chicken, ribs, pork butt, and brisket.  Competitors win cash plus bragging rights.  See who comes out on top.  Jimmy’s Ribs, Great Lakes Barbeque,  and Flat River Grill will be selling samples of  their seasonal favorites from 11am to 5pm on Sunday, July 12.

The festival starts Thursday with concerts, an arts and crafts fair, a Saturday parade and fireworks.  Check out the festival and get some good ideas for your next backyard blow out.  www.riverwalkfestival.org For more good grilling ideas, blog reader Corey suggests preparing a barbequed beef brisket on a charcoal grill following this plan laid out by Cook’s Illustrated.

Send in your favorite ideas.

Breakfast in Amsterdam.  That’s one of my favorite vacation memories this year, a plate filled with lightly scrambled eggs, dry multigrain toast, poached salmon and a garnish of fresh fruit, served with a tiny cup of wonderfully strong coffee.  This was presented at a side walk table on one of the many bridges overlooking yet another canal in this picturesque European gem of a city.  So maybe in this case it was more the setting than the food that was outstanding, but you may have had another experience.  Whether traveling abroad or enjoying a ’staycation’, share your vacation food finds this summer.  If you don’t have one yet, the next meal can’t be too far away…

I went from having no plans this holiday weekend to a weekend packed with family – great change!  But now, I have to prepare to feed the crowd.  70 degree temps are perfect for outdoor eating in my opinion, so it’s time to fire up the grill.   Kebabs are an all time favorite of mine, but I’m looking for a new twist.  Anyone have any great grilling suggestions they want to pass along?  Mine is a family that will try just about anything, so fire away!

It’s not even noon on Monday and already everyone I run into is excited about the long holiday weekend.  I’m excited about strawberries, like the ones I picked up Saturday at the Farmer’s Market on Fulton in Grand Rapids.  These little mouthwatering gems came from Danstra Farm in Hudsonville and I was told they won’t be around for long.  Take advantage of this seasonal sweetness to create a red, white and blue dessert for the 4th.  Here’s a quick recipe I borrowed from Martha Stewart.  Share your favorite and get the berries while they last.

Mixed Berry Salad With Mint  (the white, of course, is the whipped cream or ice cream you serve with it)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered if large
1 cup raspberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blackberries (4 ounces)
1 cup blueberries (5 ounces)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and liqueur. Gently fold in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and mint. Serve immediately (or cover and refrigerate, up to 4 hours).

Take in a Sunday afternoon concert and help kids in need in West Michigan get meals all summer.  Some talented area musicians are connecting their music with a drive for donations of juice boxes to help the Kids Food Basket, a charitible organization that provides sack suppers to children living at risk of hunger in the great Grand Rapids area.  KFB distributes well over a thousand meals every weekday through summer school, parks and recreation, and other programs.  One item they add to as many meals as possible is a 100% real fruit juice box.  Donations of juice boxes will get you into sunday’s local all-star show.  The talent on stage at Aquinas College’s Kretschmer Recital Hall will include pianist Roger Mac Naughton, Jon Montgomery on sax, Steve VanRavensway on cello, Charlie Hoats on bass, Mike Hyde on guitar and Steve Anzivino on drums.  McNaughten’s collaboration earlier this year with two high school kids who told him about KFB and later created an original rap about it led to this weekend’s benefit event.  The show introduces the release of Acousitc Arts newest solo piano CD Secret Places and it starts at 3pm.  Donations of juice boxes, food or volunteer service are gratefully accepted by Kids Food Basket anytime.  www.kidsfoodbasket.org

Crisp whites, sultry roses, barbeque friendly reds…what is the best choice for a nice summer wine?  Why not taste a few before you choose.  The Crushed Grape wants to introduce you to some of their favorite warm weather vino friends this Thursday.  They’re taking a road trip from their home base on Knapp St. NE in Grand Rapids to host a wine tasting from 6 to 8pm at Thornapple Daily Grill on Ada Drive.  If you want to impress your backyard dinner guests by knowing the difference between Syrah and Shiraz (see answer below), wine experts like Grape manager Laurie Teasley are ready to share their well-earned wisdom.  And she knows that what you put in your glass is only half of the warm weather meal equation.  Teasley has recipes to go with your wine selections, many made with locally produced cheeses and all natural farm raised meats available at the Crushed Grape. And the answer to the Syrah/Shiraz question?  Here it is:  The Syrah grape originates in southern France’s Rhone Valley where it produces bold, spicy reds. When the grape was transplanted to Australia it became known as Shiraz. (No one knows why.)  Bring your wine questions and your appetite June 25th.  Reservations are requested.  www.crushedgrapegr.com