From the magazine Everyday Food, this dip uses Vidalia onions, which are considered one of the mildest variety of onions. The cooking time in this recipe concentrates the sugars in the onions for extra sweetness. The serving suggestion is for potato chips, but crackers, pretzels, or small slices of bread would also go great with this versatile dip. I like how easy it is to make, and that you can use reduced-fat products without sacrificing flavor (look for 1/3 less fat cream cheese, not fat-free). Vidalia onions should be in season at Farmer’s Markets, I found one large onion to use instead of 2 smaller ones.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 Vidalia onions (1 lb total), finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
potato chips, for serving

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions, season with salt (save pepper for after cooking time, it can burn). Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Season with pepper and let cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, combine onions, sour cream, cream cheese, vinegar, and chives, seasoning with additional salt and pepper as desired. Use a food processor, chopper, or blender to bring dip to desired consistency (as smooth or as chunky as you prefer). Chill dip until thickened, about 1 hour. Can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days. Serve with chips, or try it with raw veggies like baby carrots.

Shown below, garnished with some leftover chives:

This is a great tea, served hot or iced,  depending on the weather! James wanted green tea with honey, I wanted tea with ginger, and here is the end result. The ginger gives this tea just a hint of flavor and spice, which is perfect for the Gingerama category. Enjoy a tea-riffic Jenn Original Recipe (sorry, couldn’t help myself).

8 green tea bags
8 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled
lemon wedges, for garnish

Cut ginger into half-inch slices. Bring water to a boil and pour over tea bags and ginger slices in a heat resistant pitcher. Steep for 5-10 minutes and remove tea bags. Stir in honey and steep ginger an additional 5 minutes. Remove ginger slices.

Serve immediately warm, or chill 1-2 hours and pour over ice and lemon wedges.

I bought a massive yellow squash from the Farmer’s Market, as well as a huge bunch of basil and several sweet Walla Walla onions. What does that equal? Another Jenn Original Recipe, of course! Substitute any of your favorite summer squash as desired. You could also add sliced peppers and/or tomotoes.

1 large or 2 medium/small yellow squash
1 sweet onion, diced
1 cup torn basil leaves
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut ends off yellow squash and halve length-wise. Cut into thin, half-moon slices. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

In a large pot or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onions and saute until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add sliced squash and toss. Cook 5-7 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat.

While squash is still hot, top with torn basil leaves and toss well. Allow 1-2 minutes for basil leaves to wilt slightly. Top with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

From Food & Wine magazine, this recipe combines combines tart pomegranate juice and orange pekoe tea steeped with orange zest. For an added flavor burst, I used POM Wonderful Pomegranate-Blueberry juice blend and frozen blueberries as garnish. POM also makes Pomegranate-Cherry, Pomegranate-Tangerine, and Pomegranate-Mango juice blends.

2 oranges, zest removed in strips
8 cups water
9 orange pekoe tea bags
2 cups pomegranate juice
3/4 cup simple syrup, or to taste
orange wedges, for garnish

Remove zest from oranges in strips using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Bring water to a boil and add zest strips and teabags. Remove from heat and steep 10 minutes.

Strain tea into a pitcher and chill 1-2 hours. Stir in pomegranate juice and simple syrup. Serve over ice with orange wedges.

Simple Syrup:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water

To make Simple Syrup:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring. Boil until sugar dissolves. Let syrup cool and chill, covered. Simple Syrup will keep for 2 weeks. Chill, covered, until ready to use. Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups syrup.

Steeping with orange rind strips:

Shown below, with blueberries:

From Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, this recipe “is so easy and quick to put together, you may never rely on store-bought sauce again. And what’s more, you probably already have all the necessary ingredients in your kitchen.” This is true, I did have all of the ingredients in my kitchen, with the exception of the hot sauce. I made mine a little smokey instead by stirring in a pinch of cumin.

1 tsp hot sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3 tbsp dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup ketchup

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine hot sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, garlic, and ketchup. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5-7 minutes or until sauce thickens.

This recipe can be used on cut-up chicken pieces on the grill or on boneless, skinless chicken breast in the broiler.

On the grill:

Toss chicken pieces (about 3 lbs) in a large bowl with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Lightly oil grates and place the chicken on the grill. Cover and cook, turning frequently until chicken is almost done, 10-15 minutes. Uncover grill, continue cooking while basting frequently with the sauce, until the chicken is glazed thoroughly, about 5 minutes. Serve with remaining sauce.

In the broiler:

Season 5-6 chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Coat broiler pan in cooking spray. Brush sauce over both sides of chicken. Cook 25-30 minutes, rotating and coating chicken every 10 minutes until done. Serve with remaining sauce.

Chicken breasts from the broiler: