Vegan

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. My husband Matt and I created this recipe long before we opened The Bent Spoon. We have such special memories of picking baskets full of strawberries and making them into this bright reddish-pink sorbet, which captures their fresh-picked essence. We now use it in the top layer in our red, white, and blue cake. Because it's such a simple recipe, it's important to get fresh, organic berries picked at the height of their flavor. At the shop, we don't strain them — we like to keep the fruit as close to its natural state as possible. But if you dislike bits of seeds in your sorbet, feel free to strain the base before chilling it. The quality of the water is important as well — if your water has a bad aftertaste, so will your sorbet — so we recommend using bottled. The optional egg white helps to stabilize, emulsify, and preserve the texture of the sorbet if you are going to keep it in your freezer for a few days.

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. These peels add a wonderful, bright flavor to our Lemon Ice Cream, but this technique can also be used to make candied lime or grapefruit peel. The recipe can be doubled or tripled to make a bigger batch. Try dipping the peels in bittersweet chocolate for a delicious treat. Because you'll be eating the peel, it's especially important to use an organic lemon (which won't have been sprayed with pesticides) in this recipe. If you must use a regular lemon, scrub it vigorously to clean the outside as thoroughly as possible.

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. This recipe makes a luscious, blue-purple sorbet that's perfect for our red, white, and blue cake. It's a pretty simple recipe — the quality comes from fresh, organic berries picked at the height of their flavor. The quality of the water is important as well — if your water has a bad aftertaste, so will your sorbet — so we recommend using bottled. The optional egg white helps to stabilize, emulsify, and preserve the texture of the sorbet if you are going to keep it in your freezer for a few days. Also optional is straining. At the shop, we don't strain — we like to keep the fruit as close to its natural state as possible. But if you dislike bits of seeds in your sorbet, feel free to strain the base before chilling it.

Simple but elegant, this dessert makes a refreshing finale to dinner on a hot summer evening.

Whether you use heirloom, beefsteak, or cherry, this simple dish is all about the tomatoes. Be sure to use the ripest ones you can find for the best results.

We like to serve this fresh salsa with grilled fish, chicken, or pork, or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Nothing can beat greens from the farmers market — they're so beautiful, delicate, and fresh, you simply can't help buying some.

Fire-roasted salsa adds depth of flavor to this fat-free soup; it can usually be found in the supermarket deli case.

This is a simple version of Caffé Shakerata, an Italian specialty, to make at home. The formula lends itself to endless variations: Try replacing the simple syrup with vanilla syrup or mint syrup or your favorite cordial, such as sambuca, Frangelico, or Godiva.

In Malaysian cuisine, at least one pickled dish (acar) is offered with every meal — it provides a bold flavor contrast to the other dishes. Our recipe isn't traditional, but it serves the same purpose.

Though we've divided this recipe into two sections, it really contains just four ingredients: rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup. (Adding a little corn syrup to a sorbet helps give it a velvety texture.)

If your mushrooms are dirty, allow time for wiping them clean with slightly dampened paper towels before lighting the charcoal.

If you're making your vinaigrette with white-wine vinegar, use 1/2 teaspoon sugar (instead of 1/4 teaspoon) to balance the higher acidity.

Vinaigrette is the French word for oil and vinegar dressing. At the restaurant they have an olive oil tasting every year to decide which kinds to buy, because each year's crop of olives tastes a little different. Olive oils come from Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, and California. The dark green "extra virgin" oils taste the most like olives. The cooks use extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing, not to cook with. The paler, yellow oils labled "pure olive oil" taste milder, and those get used for cooking.

Be sure to use fresh spring peas for this classic side dish. Save the frozen ones for something else.

This simply elegant ice is inspired by the Bellini, a mix of peach nectar and Prosecco made famous at Harry's Bar in Venice. Scoop it into flutes and top with Prosecco for a lovely aperitif. The ice is good on its own, too, especially between courses.