It's that time of year: berry season. In Seattle, we had early local strawberries, and raspberries and blackberries have been gracing grocery store shelves for a while now. Along with berry season comes decision time: which basket to choose? Thankfully, there's reason enough to grab all three this week. 

Fresh oregano has a robust, woodsy flavor that makes it one of our go-to herbs in the kitchen — particularly in the summer when we can buy big bundles at the farmers market or step out on the porch to gather our own! Here are five of my favorite ways to use it right now.

Cooking while traveling can be a tough endeavor. You lose most of the control you usually have at home: who knows how the oven will work, who knows where the local grocery store is... and on. And on. These egg bakes are a good solution to a healthy, delicious breakfast while traveling. The ingredients are basic and easy to track down, and they're infinitely adaptable so you can toss in a little of whatever vegetables or cheese you have on hand. 

Recently, I shared a recipe for making easy cabbage kimchi, which is a staple at my house. The first kimchi I ever fell in love with, though, was oi sobaegi kimchi, or stuffed cucumber kimchi. I think of this as "gateway kimchi" — it's lightly fermented (or not at all), so it isn't as pungent as many other kimchis, and it has crisp texture that any pickle lover should appreciate. 

Q: My husband, who is a bourbon lover, preserved peaches last year in a sweet bourbon syrup. They are delicious, but I don't know what to make with them. I want to use the juice, as that is the best part. Any recipes would be appreciated.

Sent by Donna

Q: I've been helping my mother clean up her kitchen. Because her kitchen was so disorganized before, she would buy groceries she already had. For the most part, I've been able to use up all the excess, except for one ingredient: powdered sugar. 

I must confess to eating this entire bowl of soba by myself. I didn't share. I didn't look up from the bowl. I just inhaled. Fresh buckwheat soba is an entirely different food group from the dried soba we usually buy at the store. It's like night and day. The nutty aroma of the buckwheat, the perfect chewiness of the noodles, the way they slip perfectly around a chopstick — fresh soba needs little more than some dashi and a splash of soy sauce to be the perfect meal. Here's how you can make it at home.

Sometimes, if you're traveling, and always, if you're a cheese fiend, bringing your own cheese is the way to go.

Whether you're going to the beach or the woods where cheese selection might be spotty or you're visiting your hometown with nary a cheese shop in sight, you might want to take note of these notes on how best to transport your little gems. You might be surprised at just how far you can bring your cheese.

Last August, I spent a relaxing week vacationing on North Carolina's Outer Banks with a friend (and fellow personal chef) and our husbands. Away from our work kitchen and surrounded by fresh seafood and summer's best produce, cooking was a real joy instead of part of the daily grind. No complicated menus, no stress, just a week of straightforward, satisfying meals made from scratch. The vacation kitchen is where easy-to-memorize recipes like this classic blue cheese dressing really shine.

I have a confession to make: I'm not sold on bay leaves. I'm not convinced they actually do much to change the flavor of a dish. We make a lot of lentils around here — and soups in the winter — and whenever I break out the bay leaves as instructed, I never notice a major change one way or another.