There are only a few days left to get in on the Modern Comfort contest. (Three whole days, to be exact!) The contest ends on July 10th, so if you think you have a winning recipe, get it submitted this weekend. Also, there’s still time to get your entries in for the No-Bake Treats contest, which ends on July 27. Lots of options for that one, so don’t limit yourself. As long as the recipe doesn’t require baking, submit it for a shot at the prize. Five hundred dollars can buy a lot of chocolate…or wine…or books! I’m sure you all need more cookbooks, right?

In May, I called for your best burgers, and I’m still looking for submissions on that one. This feature is going to highlight Field Editor recipes exclusively, so please take a few minutes to upload yours here. Feel free to re-create a restaurant favorite, too! One of our local restaurants makes a fantastic burger covered in thin slices of ham and provolone sauce on a big, fancy bun. So good. I feel like burger options are unlimited. What a about an egg-roll burger? Seasoned turkey topped with sauteed Asian slaw, and maybe a swipe of hoisin on the bun? Great…I’m hungry again.

Now I’m going to sound a little like a teacher from back in your grade school days. Students, please open your summer issues of Taste of Home to page 21. See in the upper right corner where it says Everyday Fresh? We’re looking for recipes to fill that feature. These recipes have to be healthy main dishes—that’s a must. We also need the “goes great with” portion. You’ll notice that these are sentence recipes, more in depth than the Tasty 10 but still simple. Goes-great-with recipes can fall under just about any category, so appetizers, sides and even desserts are welcome. This is an ongoing feature, so submit your recipes to Miscellaneous, but type “VFE Everyday Fresh” into the notes section of the submission form. You can submit as many as you want, whenever you want. Again, remember to put “VFE Everyday Fresh” in the notes so James can easily find them.

This month, our On the Side challenge ingredients are pattypan squash, grapes and bell peppers. Are you familiar with pattypan squash? These are summer squash that resemble UFOs. Personally I like them on the small side, but you can find a variety at most farmers markets around the same time zucchini is out. Grapes might seem odd for this time of year, so do the best you can. Here in the northeast, they aren’t in season until fall, but some markets still have them on sale. Bell peppers don’t have to be green or big; cute little mini peppers are awesome, too, but steer clear of hot peppers.

Remember, you only need to use one of these ingredients per recipe (not all three) to create a simple side dish. In fact, recipes should use only one of the three ingredients—and fewer than eight ingredients total. We want methods that are breezy, too—just a couple of lines to bring it all home, something you’d throw together to go with a simple weeknight dinner. Share your creations here.

Happy cooking, my friends!

Sue Stetzel

sue.stetzel@tmbi.com