Tomato on the vine. Photo: Mrs. Gemstone, Flickr

• Tomato fans, beware: A new fungus is ravaging Northeast plants and could cause a sharp price increase.
  
• "Bronx Flavor," a new public-access show, showcases local eateries with extra flair such as Bollywood dance numbers and drag races.
• Summer-friendly South American Sauvignon Blancs.
• Wondrously tart black currants loaded with Vitamin C are now hitting farmers' markets.
  
• Patacón Maracucho: a Venezuelan sandwich in which plantains are used in lieu of bread.
• Queens' Tortillería Nixtamal is the place to get traditional Mexican masa.
• Go Greek with a recipe for Cashew Pilaf, mix chicken with peaches or whip up some Moroccan Tomato Soup.

Georgia peach. Photo: totalAldo, Flickr

• In an attempt to balance her family's budget, one Ohioan came up with a $5 Dinner Web site and turned frugality into money-making.
• Tickets have gone on sale for Cleveland's Fabulous Food Show.
• Little Italy's new eatery Etna is a gem with simple Italian fare.
• Red Truck's Pinot Noir is ideal for summer with fruit that's "smooth, fairly full and subtly tannic on the finish."
• Southern Tier's Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale might not completely live up to its moniker, but is still a "very good ale."
• Recipe: Shortcake with Peaches and Cream

Gena's peachy bread pudding. Photo: Erica George Dines Photography

Part of a continuing summer series by grilling expert Gena Knox.

Growing up in Georgia, my summer jobs always revolved around produce. From the time I was eight years old, I worked selling boiled peanuts, silver queen corn and peaches on the side of the road.

Once I turned 16 and could drive, I began working at a local packing shed, Lane Packing, selling peaches and peach ice cream in their retail department. At the time, it was not air-conditioned, and you can only imagine how sweltering it was in July. I gave tours to Northerners, who were fascinated by the process of packing peaches, and was always entertained when I had to explain exactly what boiled peanuts were.

Needless to say, peaches were ample in our household and we never ran out of ways to cook with them. Fresh peaches not only pair well with grilled meats and seafood, they are also delicious simply grilled on their own.

Three of the state's top-producing peach farms are within a 15-mile radius of my hometown. Lane Packing Company, Taylor Orchards and Pearson Farm all produce top quality peaches, and you are missing out on the taste of summer if you don't order a box to enjoy yourself.

Get my Bourbon Peach Bread Pudding Recipe after the jump.

There's been a lot of talk about summer cooking on the interwebs recently. It's the end of the season and the available produce is ridiculously abundant. However, who wants to spend too much time in a hot kitchen when the outdoor mercury is also near to bursting out of the top of the thermostat?

If you're one of the many people who prefer easier cooking in the summer, here's a round up of recipes for you.

1. Try some crispy tilapia with pico de gallo sauce.
2. These kefta and zucchini kebabs will make you want to light the grill.
3. Here's a super easy steakhouse style dinner that's on the table pretty quickly.
4. Maybe not as seasonal, this Bucatini ai fagioli still looks simple and delicious.
5. Eggplant mini pizzas are seasonal, easy and tasty.
6. A Pinot Noir and cherry soup could make a perfect summer starter.
7. How can you get a better summer dessert than grilled peaches?
8. A simple, seasonal ratatouille is an ultimate summer meal.

This past July fourth, I celebrated Independence Day with family by concocting a drink inspired by an Italian Bellini. In a large champagne flute, I poured peach nectar and champagne. The combination created a heavenly delicate flavor and a wonderfully creamy textured drink. I used a wooden skewer to mix the peach nectar that beautifully settled towards the bottom of the glass.

Not only did the combination taste great, but aesthetically, it looked marvelous. The champagne sat on top of the peach nectar and assumed a light pink color. On the bottom of the flute, the nectar appeared bright red. I nearly hesitated to mix the two layers fearing that I'd lose the beauty of this cocktail masterpiece. Although I put the peach nectar in the flute first, you can do it in the reverse order. The pink colored layers would just be reversed. Next time you're entertaining, I highly suggest you make this drink.

As much as I love champagne, I think it was the gorgeous peach nectar that made this drink sublime. This artisanal nectar is produced by Emmanuelle Baillard in the village of Merceuil, in the region of Burgundy in France. Each bottle consists of 54 percent peach pulp. The rest is water and sugar. I highly recommend Baillard's various nectars.

What are some interesting cocktails you've tried recently?

Grilled fruit is a healthy alternative dessert, and easy in the summer when the grill is already going. Almost any fruit can be grilled as long as it holds its shape through the process. smaller fruits can be skewered along with chunks of larger fruits. A side of sauce or cream for dipping is a good addition to your caramelized treats, as well as a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Trying this out couldn't be easier. Get some ripe pears and peaches but not too ripe. Quarter, core, and peel each one into four wedges. Grill until caramelized and smoky, and serve with a small mound of whipped cream on the side. I grilled the ones pictured here earlier in the day and then hid them in the fridge for later. No one complained about not having cookies or cake that night!

Are you an avid tea drinker looking for a different way to enjoy your tea this summer? A lot of tea drinkers go iced in the warm summer months, some even adding lemonade to their iced tea, but there is an even colder way to enjoy your tea in the summer months if you enjoy green tea: smoothies!

Below you will find the recipe for my personal summer tea concoction, which will require matcha (powdered green tea). Matcha is high in caffeine content compared to regular steeped tea, so you may not want to indulge in one of these smoothies too late in the day.

INGREDIENTS
1 tsp matcha (powdered green tea)
4 oz. cup of fruit-flavored yogurt (Light 'n Fit works well, low in sugar)
frozen strawberries (or other desired fruit)
frozen peach slices (or other desired fruit)
apple juice

What do you do if you happen to have a bountiful harvest of 24,000 peaches?

If you're BMF Sydney, you create a sculpture of a naked woman in the middle of Sydney, Australia. The sculpture is "Ella," the peachy interpretation of Ella Baché's new skin care line with the slogan, "Skin Good Enough To Eat." Whether you'd actually want to eat skin care products out of the bottles is up to you. Let's hope that BMF Sydney does something useful with those peaches afterwards.

[via: Neatorama]

I'm not sure how well this will go over with kids, since anything too highly unusual tends to embarrass them (or is that just me writing as the result of my own personal elementary school cafeteria trauma?). However, there has to be some way that you can work the Apple Jacket into their lunchboxes because it's just too cute to not use.

The Apple Jacket protects apples (and I suspect any other fruit that will fit) from bruises and knicks. The hand-knit sleeve is 100% cotton has a darling knit leaf detail and button closure. This is probably especially useful if you carry apples around in your purse or totebag along with other things like keys and notebooks that could damage the apple.

The Apple Jacket is $14.50 and comes in three colors, pink, white, and blue.

I don't eat watermelon enough. I love it and it's summertime, but for some reason I don't remember to buy it (or if I do the selection at my local supermarket is...eh). But I have to buy some and make these watermelon bowls from the fun food blog WhatWereEating.com.

They're descibed as "summertime in a cup," and from the looks of them we won't argue. Full recipe after the jump!

OK, now this is getting rather specific, eh?

It's not National Ice Cream Day (though it is National Ice Cream Month), it's National Peach Ice Cream Day. So, if you don't like peaches than you're out of luck and you have to eat broccoli all day long.

This is timing that actually makes sense. Sometimes you don't know why a certain holiday falls on a certain day or in a certain season, but it's summer so having a day set aside for an ice cream flavor seems right, and peaches are a summer fruit and sound awfully refreshing.

Here's a Peach Ice Cream recipe from TexasCooking .com, and here's one from AllRecipes.

P.S. This past Sunday was National Ice Cream Day??? How the heck did that go by unnoticed?

Personally, I like both the cake and the frosting when I have a cupcake because the two elements balance each other when eaten together. For others, the cupcake experience is all about the frosting, which they feel should be sweet, indulgent and in huge, billowy piles. They could take or leave the cake part. While the cake part of the cupcakes featured above is probably tasty, the thick frosting is one that should send thrills of joy through the hearts of frosting-lovers.

This is a Peach Cupcake with Martha Stewart's Mascarpone Frosting, made by the Cupcake Queen at 52 Cupcakes. The frosting is a combination of mascarpone, whipped cream and a little confectioners' sugar that is beaten at high speed until it is light as a cloud and richer than just about any other frosting you're likely to come across. With the peach cupcake, the frosting makes the dessert taste like peaches and cream, but it would work well on a chocolate or vanilla cake, too.

Rowena, of the blog Rubber Slippers in Italy, put together a simple dessert of roasted yellow peaches with Italian meringue topping that is a great way to end a summer meal. The dessert takes advantage of the flavorful peaches that are in season right now, roasting them to enhance their sweetness even further. Italian meringue is made when a sugar syrup is boiled and streamed into beaten egg whites. The heat of the syrup cooks the meringue and allows it to hold its shape much better than an uncooked meringue will, so it makes a prettier and more stable dessert. The dessert takes little time to prepare and is as beautiful to look at as it is delicious - a dish sure to impress guests, as well as satisfying your sweet tooth with a light treat.

Fruits and veggies, shellfish and such are best eaten in season. When it comes to bragging rights over who grows the best grapes, is privy to the best fishing banks, you will certainly have a food fight on your hands. In this case, I'm talking about peaches. Georgia, the peach state, grows a good peach. Alabama, too. But I'd like to turn you on to peaches grown in western Colorado, and the several varieties that have peaked or are at peak right now. Specifically, peaches grown around the rural town of Palisade, CO., are among the sweetest, if not the sweetest I've ever tasted (in particular the O'Henry and the Rising Star). Western and Southwestern Colorado also produce some of the finest cider and applesauce apples in the world.

As to peaches. Check out this recipe for Peach Delight that won grand prize at the Palisade Peach Festival a couple of weeks ago. I tried a variation that did not include the egg replacement (since it's not cooked, don't mess around with raw eggs these days: salmonella) and it was divine.

This may very well be the epitome of a fruit dessert. It is a Peach and Blueberry Tart, made by Stef from Couteau Bonswai that uses a free-form crust to eliminate the fussiness of fitting dough into a tart pan and has a combination of fresh berries and peaches in the center that cook right along with the crust. No pre-baking and no pre-cooking necessary. An additional bonus is that, unlike store-bought fruit tarts that have a carefully glazed arrangement of sliced berries and fruits on top, the cooked filling means that this tart can be served hot from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is probably the only thing you can add to improve the dessert.

Stef used a recipe from Creampuffs in Venice for the easy-to-handle and delightfully flaky crust, so take a look there for instructions.