2011 UPDATE I finally figured out what a "real" fattoush salad is -- and the pita chips are definitely required! See my new post and recipe at Fattoush (Traditional Middle Eastern Salad) .

Oh my, this pie, people, this pie. It's a 100% rhubarb double-crust pie from pie master Anne Dimock, no strawberries, no eggs, no tapioca, just pure rhubarb. It's a country pie with a perfect balance of sweet and tart and cinnamon and is my "go-to" recipe for a plain rhubarb pie although it's hardly plain , instead it's just perfect. Fresh & Seasonal, a Summer Masterpiece. Beautiful Pink Rhubarb Color. Rave Reviews.

When I was a girl, blueberry picking was an all-hands endeavor at the summer cottage in the Whiteshell of Manitoba. "No picky-no eaty," Nana would admonish as she led all the aunts and cousins into the rocky woods to brave bears and skeeters to gather buckets of wild blueberries. So there's a special spot in my palate for the northern orbs of summer ... and while wild berries are a rare treat these days, during the season I'll buy pint after pint (after pint) of berries as long as they last at the supermarket. And pie ... well, there's nothing like blueberry pie, especially this Blueberry Sour Cream Pie that's featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column. It's worth a pint or two ... or three. (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Today's easy grated carrot salad: A simple carrot slaw, really, bound together with a dressing of rice vinegar and sesame oil spiked with ginger, garlic and cilantro. It pairs beautifully with other Asian-style dishes or you know, just a meal prep salad when all that's left in the fridge is a bag of carrots. Just delightful! Real Food, Fast & Casual. Not Just Easy, Summer Easy . Budget Friendly. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free.

Even the good folks at my favorite kitchen shop are stumped by this pan that another customer found when cleaning out his mother's attic. Does anyone know what it might be? It's about three inches deep and looks like a standard skillet except for the raised center with a dozen or so small holes, perhaps for steaming? The only markings are on the underside of the handle. It reads "Made in England". Just to the right is a small circle with the numeral "4". There are some wear marks on the underside of the pan, as if it might fit into another pan like a double boiler. So, my foodies, What Is This Pan????? (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Today's concept salad: One of my very favorites, using Italian-style vegetables with a slight 'bitterness' in their taste, rounded and sweetened with a simple mustard-y vinaigrette. ~recipe & photo updated 2010~ 2006 Original: Orangette calls it " Sliced Spring Salad ". Gluten-free Girl calls upon its restorative, if habit-forming powers . Food Musings calls it to-die-for (and Mr Food Musings had double helpings). Me, I'm happy to add this easy, quick, fat-with-flavor but light-in-weight salad to a spring- and summer-salad arsenal. I've made it a dozen times in April, May and June and can attest that it's both filling and satisfying, the perfect salad meal for a hot summer night and a lovely side salad with grilled pork and broiled fish. Orangette is right, however, about it being good especially good spring fare. Its ingredients are readily available in supermarkets when the weather turns warm but before the farmers markets fill with local, hour

It's a taste treat, no doubt, Italian sausage, paired here with grapes and greens in a quick supper that works on the grill in summer and cooked stove-top year-round ... and it's featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column ! (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade