Italian Potato Salad with Green Beans, Tomato and Pancetta

When so many things are ripening all at once in the garden, this potato salad makes good use of several vegetables. My mother used to make this salad all the time in the summer when we had so many tomatoes and green beans in the garden. I have added pancetta and capers to her dish because I like the saltiness of the pancetta and capers with the potatoes.

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Plum Almond Cake

Last year at this time, when plums were in season, I posted a recipe for Chez Panisse's Plum Tart that people still e-mail me about. This year, for plum season, I wanted to share a recipe for an incredibly easy dessert that you can enjoy the next morning with your coffee. It's like a plum cake that takes only a few minutes to assemble and then bake. Since it only uses egg whites, I save my egg yolks and the next day I either make fresh pasta with them or some kind of delicious chocolate dessert that requires egg yolks.

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For Tomato Season: Roasted Tomato Soup with Parmesan Crisps

Homemade tomato soup is good, but roasted tomato soup is even better. With the abundance of tomatoes right now in the markets, this makes great use of all those tomatoes and may be the best tomato soup you will ever have.

This method calls for roasting the tomatoes, along with some whole garlic, before making the soup. Roasting the tomatoes concentrates their flavor and adds a depth to the soup that you would not have otherwise.

I used beautiful San Marzano tomatoes for this soup because a vendor at my farmer's market had them. Use whatever nice, ripe tomatoes you have. Any Roma or plum tomato is a good choice.

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