This week I'm going to keep it short and sweet for a change...

Now that summer is pretty much here, the pools are open and the barbecues are hot and raring to go along with the fire-pits...

It's now that that old favorite makes its way out of its winter slumber and to every backyard and poolside shindig from the East Coast to the West Coast—this of course being the trusty "S'more"

Scrumptiously sweet and gooey toasted marshmallow on top of rich luscious chocolate and sandwiched between some warm honeyed graham crackers—sounds so temptingly delectable doesn't it, but if you are like me the end result usually falls far short of the desired intention...

So if you want a change of pace from the same stale dry bland marshmallows and graham crackers that taste like they've been sitting, rotting, on some store shelves for what seems like over a decade, then these are the “S’more’s” for you...

Full of delicious, organic and quality ingredients along with the most amazing homemade flavor; trust me, you will never go back to eating those tired old S’more’s again...

Now head on out and get started on making yourself some "Perfect S'mores" right now; I know that you'll find them, oh so "Definitely Delish"

“The Perfect S’mores”

Ingredients:
Graham Crackers:
1 cup Anna extra fine flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup raw organic honey
3 tbsps. half & half
7 tbsps. butter
2 tbsps. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt

Marshmallows:
3 packs (6 tsps.) unflavored gelatin powder
1 cup warm water, divided
1 ½ cups organic granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/4 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Other:
High quality Chocolate, enough for all of your S'mores-(pictured above-Ghirardelli Dark & Raspberry Squares)

Directions:
For the Graham crackers:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in the food processor...
2. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and pulse in food processor until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs...
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, honey and vanilla...
4. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and pulse until a dough forms, about 1 minute. The dough will be sticky. Knead it together lightly on a floured surface then wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight...
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to around 1/8 inch thick cutting the dough into squares. Bake the dough for roughly 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit so they remain slightly soft…

For the Marshmallows:
1. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water, whisk on low for 10 seconds...
2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place it over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan (if you have one) and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, this takes about 8 to 10 minutes, it will bubble as it cooks...
3. After 10 minutes or reaching 240 degrees, immediately remove from the heat…
4. Turn the mixer back on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm when you touch the bottom of the bowl, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping…
5. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows; combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly grease a 7 by 11 inch metal baking pan with canola oil. Sift the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use...
6. Grease a spatula, and even your hands, believe me this is sticky stuff...
7. When the marshmallow is ready, work QUICKLY and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, using your spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight…
8. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut a little smaller than your graham cracker using a pizza wheel or lightly oiled knife. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar/cornstarch mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks...

To assemble your S'more:
1. Place your "graham cracker" off heat on your grill (or fire pit grill if you have one) to warm them slightly, then toast your "marshmallow" slowly over the open flame, turning it to get an all over color…
2. Place your chocolate squares onto the bottom graham, cover with marshmallow and then sandwich between the graham crackers. Enjoy while still warm…

One of the things I love most during the Spring, and all the way through to the Fall (don’t get me started on Hot Cider and all things Pumpkin), are all the wonderful Farm Stands and Farmers Markets that pop up just about everywhere near me…

Truly nothing can ever beat the flavor and freshness of your locally produced fruits and vegetables; by buying local you support the towns and neighborhood farmers around you which is, definitely, always a plus…

That’s not to say you can’t ever get something from a larger store of course, sometimes you just need a specialty item you can’t get anywhere else….

"North Shore Farms is one of my favorites for finding that special cheese"

For today I decided to play around with one of my favorite summer and fall veggies; that being roasted Corn on the Cob, just the smell is enough to make my mouth water—dip it in melted butter and I’m done for….

But what do you do when you have eaten your fill of that sweet summer corn, again and again, at every farm stand from here to eternity…

"Can't beat those farm fresh fruits and vegetables"

Well, if you’re me, you throw together a beautiful and tasty “Summer Salad” of roasted Vegetables of course…..

Now, you can throw this together as quickly and easily as you like-it all depends on how much work you’d like to do and personal taste as well….

"Such a beautiful day by the water for a picnic"

To start you’ll need some fresh Vegetables; a large zucchini, a couple of big carrots, two small red onions, a handful of flat leaf parsley, a small red bell pepper or a couple of grape heirloom tomatoes for color and of course the highlight veggie of this dish—the roasted Corn (Yum)…..

Next it’s time to decide whether you want everything grilled or oven roasted, and to what degree. I bought roasted and buttered corn from my favorite farm stand; then flame roasted my onions, pepper, and carrots—the zucchini I kept raw….

"Cold Sweet Rose Wine, Tangy Feta, Roasted Veggies and Warm Sun-Perfection"

Finally I went to town with one of my trusty Shun knives and a vegetable peeler; making ribbons of zucchini and carrots, slicing onions and peppers, and removing all of that delicious corn from the cob….

Tossed everything with handfuls of fresh flat leaf parsley, Champagne Vinaigrette, and then topped it all with some Bulgarian Feta Cheese. (oh boy, I could go on and on about the differences between Bulgarian, French, Greek or Domestic Feta without even getting into whether it’s Sheep or Goats milk—just trust me there is a definite difference in flavor and it’s worth doing a little taste testing research, especially if you might have written off feta in the past)

This ends up as a wonderful sweet, roasty and slightly tangy salad made with all the yummy goodness of the roasted veggies with light and smooth tanginess of the cheese and vinaigrette…

Another way to keep on enjoying that summer corn, and so "Definitely Delish"

"Roasted Corn Salad"

Ingredients:
2-3 Sweet Corn on the Cob
2 large Carrots
2 small Red Onions
1 large Zucchini
2 mini Red Bell Peppers (or grape tomatoes for color)
1 bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley
1/4-1/2 cup Feta Cheese (or favorite alternative)
White Balsamic, White Wine or Champagne Vinaigrette dressing

Directions:
1. Either buy pre-roasted farm fresh corn and set aside till ready, or soak fresh corn in water for fifteen minutes. Pre-heat grill or oven to 400 degrees and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, turning to roast corn evenly. Set on indirect heat/flame and cover, cooking 15 minutes more- then wrap in foil till ready to use...
2. For the Carrots, cook for 15 to 25 minutes until at desired tenderness—turning often (You may like it crisper or even more roasted then me)
3. If not cooking the zucchini, use a vegetable peeler and make ribbons of zucchini-setting aside till ready...
4. For the Red Onion; slice one end, then cut into wedges leaving other end attached to keep
onion together. Place onion on grill or in oven and cook until onion softens and edges brown—about 15 minutes or more. If using a red pepper, place over heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes until skin loosens and starts to brown, and soften...
5. Tear stems from parsley and toss several handfuls with the zucchini ribbons. Make ribbons or thinly slice carrot when cool enough to touch and toss with zucchini...
6. Then, cut other end of onion and break apart, mixing it with rest of the vegetables. Slice pepper and toss in. Using a good knife, remove corn from cob-keeping some in bigger chunks, and finally toss with desired amount of dressing and top with crumbled feta cheese...
7. Serve and Enjoy!