It was three years ago when we first met. It was a romantic summer, with the wind rolling gently off the coast. Feasting on fresh lobsters and strolling along coastal towns, we fell passionately in love.

It started frantically on a roadside off ME-27, luring me toward it with one of those old-fashioned wooden hand-painted stands, “$5 a quart.” That’s when I yelled at him to pull over–quickly. The brakes screeched as we narrowly missed the curb and landed in the gravel parking lot.

It was love at first bite, as they say. And second, third, fourth–I couldn’t pop the little pellets into my mouth quickly enough. To heck with washing them, I practically plowed a handful of berries into my mouth at once. Were they sugar-coated? No, they were not a day off the bush.

And that is how my love affair with wild Maine blueberries began. Sloppy and frantic, purple-stained, sweet, and unrelenting.

It’s not that I hadn’t had a blueberry before. I just hadn’t (to my knowledge) encountered fresh-picked Maine blueberries, right from the farm.

Munching on them pure and unadulterated is my preferred method, but sometimes I just want a blueberry pie. Here are some other recipe ideas. The, eh hem, Spiced Blueberry Mojito comes very highly recommended.

Read more by Sarah Fullerton

I wanted to treat my extra-special out-of-town weekend guests to a gourmet breakfast. My lactose-intolerant sister was bringing her family from Chicago, and my vegetarian mom was also in town from Arizona. It’s always a pleasure cooking for them, but never easy to find a recipe that meets all the requirements: no meat, no dairy, and kid-friendly. The week they were coming I riffled through my recipe ideas (mentally, electronically, and the old-fashioned way–my recipe cards) and realized I haven’t gotten out of my egg casserole rut… ever. It was time to branch out.

I was stuck for a moment, but then I remembered a recipe I had recently seen on Epicurious for Baked Blueberry Pecan French Toast. I skimmed through it and realized I could do this–and it fit the bill, if I substituted soy milk for regular. It was so much less complicated than it seemed upon first glance–to assemble the night before and bake for just half an hour in the morning… what’s easier than that? Okay, I sound like Ina Garten. But really, eliminating the frying pan saves a lot of the mess and cleanup involved in a traditional breakfast.

This recipe was a crowd-pleaser and a cook-pleaser all in one. It was impressive yet homey. I bought a big challah loaf at Trader Joes (so cheap and delicious, and the leftovers are perfect with Nutella) and sliced it about an inch thick, then sliced the pieces in half. I used two 9×13 baking dishes because there was so much bread, and did one with pecans and one without (for the kids). The soy milk turned out to make no difference at all. Most of the reviews said to definitely not skip the blueberry syrup, but I actually found it wasn’t necessary. I did make the blueberry syrup, and served it alongside the plain syrup (Vermont maple, of course), and that was just as good, since there are already so many blueberries in the dish. With a pitcher of orange juice and a side of sausage links, breakfast is served.

Also note, the Creme Brulee French Toast below is incredible. My next guests will be getting that one… if I don’t eat the whole pan before they arrive.

After a long, harsh winter in New England, there is little I look forward to as much as the overabundance of beautiful, inexpensive fruit that pops up everywhere I look. Farm stands, specialty produce markets, even my boring regular grocery store all of a sudden seem as exciting as Disneyworld. Peaches and berries and melons, oh my!

Let me at that drop-down list of “things to bring” on an electronic invitation to a summer party. Fruit salad, side salad, fruit dessert? Count me in!

I am dying to try this new recipe for Raw Berry Crisp for dessert on a day when I can’t be bothered to turn on the oven. But a tried-and-true “no cook” fruit dessert option is Barefoot Contessa’s Fruit Salad with Limoncello. My two-year-old daughter likes this so much that she actually goes back to serve herself seconds from the bowl. (She picks the bananas out and flings them on the grass–classy, eh?)

Do you hate making pastry, but long for beautiful blueberry confections like I do? This lovely Blueberry Tart is for you and me both.

Last summer I brought home empty dish after empty dish scraped absolutely clean of Oatmeal Cookie Peach Cobbler. If you can peal and slice peaches, you can make this dessert. This is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I’ll let you in on my secret weapon for summer desserts: set up a shortcake bar at your next cookout. The recipes included here are specifically for Chocolate Shortcakes with Bananas and Caramel and Peach Raspberry Shortcakes. I just bake both the chocolate and plain shortcakes and line them up next to mountains of freshly whipped cream and bowls of beautiful seasonal fruit choices. Toss berries or stone fruits with sugar and lemon juice, slice bananas just before serving and leave them plain. Every guest will find something to love – even the calorie-counters, who can just enjoy a bowl of fruit if they choose. You’ll see one person choosing chocolate shortcakes with strawberries and whipped cream alongside another person piling up blueberries and blackberries on traditional shortcakes. It’s a very simple dessert, but I guarantee people will make a fuss over this clever idea.

Read more by Robin Horrigan

Robin Horrigan writes the column Cooking from the Carpool Lane. She lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen.

Blueberry pie means the Fourth of July to me.

In 1997, while I was away studying in Italy, my family bought a cottage on Lake Huron. My sister was visiting for the first time, and when I made the long-distance call to check in from abroad, the first thing she said to me was, “You can eat blueberry pie for breakfast here!” It was as if the thought never occurred to us in twenty-something years. Why does it take removal to a remote location where life moves at a slower pace to realize that dessert for breakfast is one’s heart’s desire?

I had the good fortune to spend many a relaxed and festive Fourth of July in this far-away place. It was quite socially acceptable to spend the entire day in swimwear here, cover-ups optional. You get the picture. All rules were out the window.

After relaxation, sun, and conversation, fresh food was the focus of our days. It was here that I became a lover of food.

Back to the blueberry pie. Yes, we kicked off many dewey, crisp mornings with a slice of this sweet and tart delight–often savored while perched upon a still-damp Adirondack chair–and snacked on ripe peaches throughout the day while losing ourselves in a paperback novel and a sunken hammock.

And come meal time, the kitchen would slowly fill with jovial conversation and hungry eaters ready for their next homemade delight. We supped on orange and beet salad, steaks or whitefish on the grill, strawberry shortcake at a long wooden picnic table covered with a red and white check cloth. Most of the ingredients were local, and cheaply obtained.

We ended the days with games of croquet interrupted by swarming mosquitoes, Motown music drifting from the outdoor speakers, dancing on the patio while we watched the sun go down over Lake Huron.

This year I plan to continue my Fourth of July tradition with a homemade blueberry pie I’ll make for my family.

What are your Fourth of July traditions?

Photo by karynsig

One. Banana Blueberry Smoothie
After peeling and cutting them up into chunks, I put them in a freezer safe Ziploc bag. They’re perfect for smoothies.

Two. Banana Coconut Walnut Muffins
These muffins are delicious. I substitute applesauce for butter to make them healthier. Adding walnuts gives them a punch of protein.

Three. Chocolate Covered Bananas
These treats are a fun and healthy snack. If you’re cooking with kids, they’ll love all the toppings (and the dipping).

Four. Grilled Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich
No offence jelly, but for me peanut butter and bananas are the perfect pair. This sandwich makes a delicious and nutritious breakfast or lunch. And if you want it for dessert, just throw in a few chocolate chips. Use a ripe (not frozen) banana.

Five. Banana Pear Baby Puree
My daughter Olive just turned 6 months old and we’re experimenting with food. But this isn’t just for babies! Try it on yogurt. Shh, we won’t tell.

What do you do with your ripe bananas? We want to know.

Photos by Melissa Devereaux

On the rare morning that I find myself home (preferably alone while the kids are at school) with a little peace and quiet, I find nothing more relaxing than slowly sipping a cup of hot tea. My guilty pleasure is making muffins to accompany my tea. There is something about this combination, best enjoyed around 10 am, that warms me on these cold winter days.

Tea has become almost as fashionable as coffee. While there are more varieties of tea available today than I could possibly count, let alone name, I am a tea traditionalist. I prefer caffeinated black teas, such as earl grey – and especially love the taste of vanilla or almond. Chai spice also passes my test, tasty with a splash of soy milk.

I am generally a healthy eater, and at my strictest I try to reduce or eliminate snacks, especially snacks that are just carbs (but oh, how I love carbs!). So if I am going to make muffins, they have to be reasonably healthy (read: nothing with buttermilk or sour cream, though it helps that I am lactose intolerant).

Fruit-based muffins are a good choice: blueberry, banana, or lemon poppyseed are my personal favorites. They also pack in a serving of well-disguised vitamins.

On a recent below-zero-windchill morning, I made Healthy Blueberry and Banana Muffins to enjoy with my tea. Not only were they simple to make, but they were delicious. The muffin satisfied my desire for that little taste of something sweet with my tea without being overly indulgent. Not only did they pass my test, but my picky five-year-old ate not one but two of them in one sitting, asking while chewing “are these healthy?” I was happy to tell her they are.

Like many of you, one of my New Year’s resolutions includes a renewed commitment to healthy eating. One of my other resolutions is to be more organized about meal planning. If I would just take a few minutes to think more than a day ahead, I would save time in the form at least one trip to the store each week.

This same cold winter morning just after the first of the new year, I sat down with my tea and my warm-from-the-oven banana-blueberry muffin and mapped out the next four days of meals. Now off to the store… much more prepared than usual. What a way to enjoy a cold morning and feel good about my New Year’s resolutions.

Photo by Julie Hallinan