Summer brings us outdoors more and more. For most of us, that means occasional (or frequent) grilling and picnicking. While burgers and hot dogs are a given, for vegetarians or for folks just looking to mix it up this year, homemade veggie burgers are the way to go. More

"I'll take a salmon BLT, hold the bacon, lettuce, and tomato. And as many extra lemon slices as you will give me." Yep, that was my go-to lunch order at our favorite little hometown cafe. I was a very particular little kid. At least I ate the salmon, but thank goodness the times have changed! More

The folks over at Hog Island Oyster on Tomales Bay just north of San Francisco know what they're doing when it comes to grilling oysters. A quick shuck, a little dab of chili-butter, and a brief spell in the sauna of the grill. Smoky, tender, and a little spicy: they're perfect every time. Let's take a lesson from the pros on this one and let them show us how it's done. More

Aprihop might be Dogfish Head's spring seasonal, but I think this apricot-infused IPA is perfect for right now — just as the the temperature creeps up and the first apricots of summer are appearing at farmers markets. So snatch up a few bottles of Aprihop while they're still around and salute both the season that's ending and the one that's beginning. More

The summer grilling season has officially begun, and we want to make sure you're ready to turn on that flame and gather around the grill. Here are some of the best grilling recipes we know — plus some cooking lessons to show you how to grill the best burger you've ever had, how to grill crisp and perfect pizza, and even how to grill no-knead bread and make dessert on the grill. There's smoky grilled cabbage, blackened beer-brined chicken, grilled guacamole, tomato-zucchini salad and more. Light up that grill! More

Grilling is a beautiful thing. You can grill something (perhaps accidentally) until it's so blackened and beyond edible-looking that you think it won't be fit for anyone but the dog. But when you tentatively slice off a piece, it turns out to be absolutely perfect. This recipe for beer-brined chicken is a case in point. More

As an urban dweller, I must confess that grilling season leaves me frustrated. I love grilled food, everything from veg to haloumi cheese to meat and even fruit. A touch of char and smoke is all it takes for me to start salivating. In my current situation, however, I have no backyard, porch, balcony, rooftop or fire escape in which to perch even the smallest of grills. It got me to thinking about how others approach their summer grilling plans. A nice suburban yard offers numerous possibilities, but what about apartment building dwellers?

Few things signal summer like the aroma of fresh peaches, and this week I've been heartily celebrating their appearance in my CSA box. Quite appropriately, it was National Doughnut Day when I received an armful of doughnut peaches, both my favorite kind of doughnut and my favorite kind of peach. I turned a few of them into a refreshing salad with peppery arugula, shards of ricotta salata, and a tarragon-flecked vinaigrette. More

For pie-lovers in colder northern climates like mine here in New York, rhubarb is the first fresh garden gift of the season and there is always a lot of excitement when it begins to poke its pretty pink neck out of the earth.

A straight-up rhubarb pie is a fine thing, but since strawberries debut themselves shortly after rhubarb — not to mention the fact that their sweetness cuts rhubarb's lip-puckering tartness — it makes perfect sense to put the two together. A strawberry rhubarb pie smacks of the beginning of summer as much as that sweet melody of the last school bell ringing.

More

I stopped by my local market to pick up some salad greens for dinner, and I returned home with a pile of fresh Georgia peaches instead! They were quite a pleasant surprise to find at the store, since I'm not used to seeing decent ones until mid to late June. This called for a recipe to kick off the peach season. More