Every dish is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. The adage is especially true when it comes to raw summer meals that can’t rely on the magic of heat chemistry to meld or concentrate their flavors. When prepared with care, a summer salad like this packs enough flavor to steal the meal.

Tomatoes are one of those great items that can be used and preserved quite easily. From tomato sauce to salsa to homemade ketchup to Bloody Marys, there are plenty of ways to ensure that a bountiful harvest doesn’t go to waste.

Image courtesy of Bethany L. King Dish of the Week: Paella A few years ago at a Smithsonian Associates talk, Jose Andres spoke about how one of his first cooking responsibilities as a kid was to watch the paella cooking in the backyard. In some ways, paella is an extremely basic dish that has its variations in many cultures – a combination of stock, rice, and whatever proteins and vegetables that happen to be…

Dish of the Week: Heirloom tomatoes Tomatoes have been in season for a few weeks now. From enhancing BLTs to mozzarella and salads, they are everywhere. But what separates the heirloom from the regular tomato? This will make you feel all warm and fuzzy; rather than being poked, prodded, and grafted by scientists into perfectly round, smooth, flavorless mushpots, the seeds have been passed down from generation to generation and openly pollinated. These were the…