This warm, soft pudding cake dessert has been an old and favorite stand-by in my family for years. It's perfect for assembling when you want to make a treat on short notice, without too much thought or preparation — if you have fresh or frozen fruit on hand, all the other ingredients are almost certainly to be staples in your pantry, and it's so ridiculously easy to put together that even people who don't bake can make this one. Soft, spongy and with a delicate golden-brown sugar crust, the pudding cake is surrounded by warm, bubbling fruit juices and smells just heavenly.

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I've grown tomatoes in planters in the backyard for the past several years, but this year the plants are yielding the most abundant crop yet. This of course means that I currently have an excess of tomatoes, so I am trying to focus on them when making meal plans. I may just have to dry them or preserve them in jars for the winter if they keep coming off the vine as fast as they have been lately.

In the meantime, my husband enjoys cutting the juicy fruits into slices and eating them sprinkled with sea salt and a little freshly cracked black pepper. And I have been adding tomatoes to salads, curries, salsas and dips and include them whenever in anything I can where they might be appropriate. The night that I made this simple vegetable curry was an oppressively hot and humid day when all I wanted was a light refreshing meal — especially after having eaten a rather large and heavy brunch. The occasion of having some beautiful local fresh sweet corn and garden peas was just the inspiration I needed to, for a light but zesty and extraordinarily flavorful dinner. The lovely contrasts in color are matched by the layers of sweet, tangy and spicy flavors and the pop-in-your-mouth bites of fresh corn and peas in a smooth and zesty tomato sauce.

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The dying days of summer are bittersweet, but patio dining is not yet finished and the fruits of the growing season are vying for attention. A late summer heat wave got me in the mood for light suppers and what better way to celebrate local fruits than with a vibrant fruit and mixed green salad dressed with a tangy goat cheese dressing, complete with a sprinkle of earthy crunchy nuts. The combination of textures and flavors here won't leave you wanting, especially if served with some rustic crusty bread. Salads never need to be humble and easily take on the shining role.

I've come across more than a few recipes for grilled or roasted late summer fruit salads dressed with goat cheese dressing lately. After some consideration, I went gourmet with this dressing as I happen to have some high quality vinegars in my pantry, but feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand, such as rice vinegar, white vinegar, a little splash of dark balsamic vinegar in place of the white, or some apple cider vinegar if you please. If you are sparing with the vinegars, this dressing won't fail to please. If you have a barbecue, do consider grilling the fruit, though I was pleased with the roasted peaches and plums.

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Split dals are a fast and simple way to deliver nourishing and easily digestible proteins to vegetarians, and split skinned urad dal is among the fastest and simplest. These little white pearls — also known as black gram for the dark skin which is usually hulled — cook quickly, and their uniquely mild and floury taste is a wonderful vehicle for tangy flavors, aromatic seeds and hot spices. I always have a large bag on hand for when I need to come up with a quick meal without much planning. You can find urad dal at any Indian or Asian grocer.

This simple but very flavorful dal is cooked with tangy tomato and seasoned with warming seeds and spices, with cauliflower and peas added near the end to preserve texture and nourishment. It's a complete and satisfying meal served with hot fresh cooked rice, and it's vegan-friendly too if you use oil instead of ghee.

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