I love summer.

More importantly, I love summer food.  My summer staple is basically a big pile of chopped vegetables with oil and acid, lettuce be damned. I love various permutations of diced tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, basil and a lemony vinaigrette.  To me, nothing tastes fresher, so I perpetually have a container of it in the fridge from May through August. 

(Thank you, Pinterest, for the lovely photo.)

Sometimes I have other good things on hand.  Like dill.  And fresh artichokes.  Then something like this can happen.

Salmon cooked en papilotte with scallions, dill, lemon and garlic.  Roasted mini artichokes with a lemon oil dipping sauce.  This was light, flavorful and as summery as (cooked) food can get in my opinion.  Maybe it's because I eat a lot of dill and artichokes in the summer.  Maybe I just think this is what food should taste like when it is hot outside but you still want to eat a filling meal. 

What are your favorite summer foods?

Stay tuned for later in the week.  I've been invited to write about a very special dinner at the Sandpearl sponsored by Collet Champagne.  I'm very excited and will have much to share!