Not Without Salt articulates what we're all feeling this week, a sentimental farewell to summer, and a touch of guilt at the excitement for fall splendor. The sunny treats haven't quite set sail yet though and it's time to savor, one by one, the last of the warm weather headliners. This is why we so appreciate her simple homage to the tomato, with an uncomplicated combination of flavors to let the tangy ripeness shine through straight to your taste buds. Fresh bread, oil, a hint of garlic, and a few feathery shaving of Parmesan are all the back-up to a perfectly ripe, juicy tomato. See the careful construction of this Tomato Toast with Parmesan.

A small but sweet shout-out to one of our faves today: Aran Goyoaga is releasing an absolutely beautifully shot and written book entitled, Small Plates and Sweet Treats: My Family's Journey to Gluten-Free Cooking. Now, before you say, "Oh, I don't care about gluten, next please," consider that this book is filled to the brim of healthy and flavor-filled recipes like Shrimp & Grapefruit Risotto and Asparagus, Arugula & Avocado Soup with Crab. It's not about tricks and substitutions, it's hearty whole-food cooking with that special dash of soul that Aran brings to the table. And when your cousin turns out to have a gluten allergy, and you need a dessert to serve her - you'll be hunting for this book!

Summertime means so many wonderful things. The smell of fresh-cut grass, seafood for all, crisp white wine, and our favorite - ridiculous breakfasts. Winter is for hearty oatmeal and good coffee. Summer is for wildly good pancakes and a bubbly mimosa out on the deck. So without further ado - may we present Cornmeal Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote from Sassy Radish. Here's the full cast of characters: Light and airy pancakes with a sticky-sweet compote, a french press of steaming coffee, a bubbly flute of mimosa, some morning sunshine, and the Sunday paper...ready...ACTION!

Pesto makes everything better, and this dressing is no exception. We're sure you can make a good Caeser, but why not let your fresh green dress to impress with a creamy, garlicky dressing that's sure to get the "Ooooh what's in that" reaction? The busy work week takes planning, and pesto is versatile, so be sure to make a big batch and then take a look at all of the other great recipes Alice Currah has for making your green (pesto) go far.

Seafood in general can be a little intimidating to cook at home. Let us let you in on a little secret...it's often much easier than meat! Once the mystery (but watch the mercury) is taken out of shellfish, you'll wonder why you ever coughed up $30 for a the soft-shell crab special. How many minutes do they actually take to cook? 2-3. How much prep time is involved? Maybe 15. If you throw in cracking open a beer alongside them as Sassy Radish suggests, maybe 15 1/2. So how do we break down a soft-shell crab night at home? Well luckily this handy Cornmeal-Crusted Soft Shell Crab recipe is ready to go on Sassy's blog. Bonus: her steaming side of hilarious commentary will surely help combat that crabby mood you're in.

We call these "secretly healthy" because they certainly don't taste like it. Bake or Break made these Toffee-Almond Oatmeal Cookies with whole wheat flour on a whim and they've made her Top 10 Favorite Cookies list, which -- given how much baking she's doing -- is saying something. We also like them because these ingredients -- like almonds and oatmeal -- can find homes in all sorts of dishes, keeping you from over-stuffing that cabinet full of baking "stuff" that only comes out to play for cakes and cookies. Happy baking!

David Lebovitz has a life that can turn many of our complexions just the slightest bit green. He's a renowned pastry chef, author of six books, and now lives and works in Paris. To see his complete list of accolades click here because we don't have all day to go listing them on this wee posting. For those of us who truly love and follow the great wide world of food (and face it, if you're reading this, it's likely you're one of them), it can sometimes be a challenge to balance the love with the well...balance. David writes a really interesting post on his own eating habits. As he says, it's not a lecture on diet; it's simply his take on food entitled, "How I Eat."

Cheese is sort of perfect the way it is. There are endless possibilities, yes, but in its straight-from-the-farmer's-market block -- it's pretty fabulous. So we get why Smitten Kitchen was, at first, hesitant to mess with cheese like this recipe requires. We're glad she went for it though because the idea of warm breaded cheese oozing over fresh spring greens makes us happy. While it may seem like overkill to bread and fry cheese (other than a mozzarella stick at TGI Fridays), this dish is actually quite common in France - specifically in the Loire Valley where goat cheese is king. Plus if the French are doing it, so can oui.

Well, right off the bat we're doing our classy Sophistimom a disservice; the soup is called Savory Pea Soup with Asparagus and Basil. A taste-conscious chef as herself would never simply make "Pea Soup"! While winter & soup are known bed fellows, it's also nice to lighten up -- pre-summer -- with a tasty soup of pureed spring veggies and a nice hunk of bread from the market. Jaime, aka Sophistimom, delivers a lovely and fragrant soup for your home team to savor on a lighter night of the week. We vote for a Monday night soup course since, let's face it, we don't exactly shy away from the decadent on the weekends.

It's nice to change things up on the ol' dinner rotation. Chicken, beef, pasta, and the occasional takeout order come and go but the mighty egg is a nice cameo to bring onto the supper-scene. This is a great intro-to-Indian dish as well, given that you don't need to invest in a ton of spices to pull this off. Add in the short cook time and it's an all around low-risk high-yield venture to spice up a week night!  Try out Hooked on Heat's Fried Egg Sambal recipe out let us know what you think of the mighty egg -- aka your new main squeeze.