Summer Seasonal Foods

Hey everybody, so I wrote an entry in the fall about the fall seasonal foods that I was obsessed with at the time. Welp, we're smack dab in the middle of summer and smack dab in the middle of my obsession will all foods summery so I figured I'd share with you what some of those loves are:

- Ice cream! (I love, love seasonal ice cream places)

- Popsicles (even though I do eat year round)

- Corn on the cob

- Fruit salad (my favorite is simple... grapes, strawberries, and blueberries)

- Lots of ice cold water

- Iced coffee

- Frozen lemonade (I miss Rhode Island and Del's lemonade)

- Burgers and hot dogs on the grill

- Cold, crunchy salads with lots of veggies

I think some of the things that change for me when the summer comes around is not just the foods that I crave but the way I cook . In my apartment I don't have AC and I will now do anything I can to avoid using the oven. No more quiches or baked pies or roasted vegetables. Instead I try to eat food more in their natural and raw forms-- which is great with all of the seasonal, fresh produce that is available now.

No more baked chicken-- instead, chicken on the grill. No more sauteed veggies-- instead I will throw them into a big salad. No more fresh baked cookies-- instead I will go out for a soft serve cone of Guptill's ice cream or Kurver's. No more making a meal in the crock pot on the weekend to eat throughout the week-- instead I'll put together a nice big fruit salad to have for breakfast every day. And if I'm going out to eat, no more automatically opting for one of the Cap Region's italian restaurants with delicious pasta and chicken dishes drowning in delicious sauces-- instead, I'm drawn to the places I know I can get delicious, overflowing salads with crispy greens, or Mexican restaurants with fresh, cool, mountains of guac.

I love living somewhere with a change of seasons not just to enjoy the different outdoor activities that come with the winter and summer. I love living somewhere with a change of seasons not just because I enjoy seeing the way that the blanketed wintertime snow or the bright summer sunshine can make the same scene beautiful in two different ways.

But I love the living somewhere with a change of seasons for the subtle ways that the change in those seasons, change the little ways that we live our life. Everything from the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the way we cook and socialize with friends.

Happy summer everyone!

(and please, tell me what summer foods I'm forgetting in the comments, because I know there are more!!)