Joanne M. Smart

Servings: 12 Strawberry and cornmeal is a match made in spring-dessert heaven. This cake is not too sweet, with lots of contrasting texture from the toothsome cornmeal and the soft berries. The olive oil keeps the cake fresh for days, and if you’ve never had an olive-oil-based glaze, are you in for a treat. It’s very olive oil-forward, in a fruity, slightly peppery way—the perfect foil to the deliciously corny, berry-studded cake.

Yield: 10 to 12 Simple blueberry hand pies are one of summer’s greatest treats, and they can hold up in the freezer as long as you make sure to mitigate some of the potential mishaps. A little bit of leakage is an expected delight; but in order to make sure there isn’t too much, this recipe calls for sprinkling the bottom of the pastry with a bit of flour, uses cornstarch in the filling, and encourages ripe, but still firm, berries.

This is basically a version of the common shoyu-sesame oil poke, but made with sweet potato. Root vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, make a great poke. The key is to roast them long enough so they soften but don’t turn mushy—you’re roughly aiming for the texture of raw tuna. Ingredients 2-1/2 lb. sweet potatoes 2 Tbs. melted coconut oil 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 Tbs.