lemon-meringue cake

Baking with the Tartine cookbook always leads to success. I am very excited about the "Lemon Meringue Cake" — four layers of chiffon filled with caramel and lemon cream (lighter and more buttery than lemon curd) draped in a meringue and then torched. The lemon cream is so delicious I could eat it by itself.

miso- and orange-roasted pork belly

Another fine recipe from the Jennifer McLagan's Fat. Here pork belly is skinned, scored and roasted at 425ºF for 30 minutes, then basted with a miso-orange-honey-ginger glaze and roasted at 325ºF until tender and unctuous (160ºF). So delicious.

summer.

A simple salad with wheat berries from Four Star Farms, purslane and cute tomatoes from my friend Kate, all tossed with oil-packed tuna, avocado and olive oil. Finish with salt and pepper. Purslane's tart character alleviates the need for vinegar and is buttery with a nice fruity olive oil.

peaches

Local peaches, marinated with Luxardo Maraschino, some oil, sugar, mace and a pinch of salt. And grilled. Summer perfection.