We stopped at a farm stand and bought raspberries and a little farther on bought yogurt and ate them together. It was so delicious that at the next farm stand we stopped and did it again!

Our raspberries were inspired by a raspberry pie at a soft ball game. The berries feature in dinner every Fourth of July - with a choice of yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

No technique needed here unless you don't know the easy way to pit an avocado: strike the pit sharply with a paring knife so that the blade sticks in the pit. Twist the knife sideways and the pit comes free!

So many variations! With thinner slices of whole grain bread a light toasting before adding the cheese helps. Toast the cheese under a broiler - toaster ovens are perfect for this.

These can make an entree by themselves or add a bit of substance to a cream of vegetable soup.

The pears need to be on the near side of perfectly ripe to be firm enough for these. That tad of tartness makes a good counterpoint to the nutella.

Butterscotch wafers - melt equal amounts of butterscotch chips and chocolate chips, and spoon out onto parchment paper or wax paper. It's cute to add a butterscotch chip on top. Ice tea spoons are perfect for making these. Blondie wafers are butterscotch chips with white chocolate.

Dipped dry fruits - melt chocolate and dip any of these: dried apricots, candied ginger, pitted dates, apple slices…whatever you love.

Clusters - melt together equal amounts of chocolate chips and the filling (chopped walnuts, whole hazelnuts, toasted puffed wheat, dried blueberries), mix and spoon out onto parchment paper or wax paper.