The first day of Summer is near- Tuesday, June 21st marks the first day of everyone's favorite season! To kick off summer, we've got some great recipes to keep you refreshed and full during June! 

Green Goddess Potato Salad

Ingredients

2 lb. small red potatoes (about 12), halved or quartered

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for the water

4 oz. snap peas, trimmed

3 stalks celery, chopped, plus 1/2 cup celery leaves

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. fresh parsley, plus chopped parsley for topping

1/4 c. buttermilk 

1/4 c. chopped fresh chives, plus more for topping

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

2 anchovy fillets 

2 medium shallots, roughly chopped

1 small ripe avocado

Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Season with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place them in a large bowl.

2. Add the snap peas to the boiling water and cook until just crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain, then thinly slice on an angle. Add to the bowl with the potatoes; add the chopped celery.

3. Meanwhile, make the dressing: Combine the mayonnaise, parsley, buttermilk, chives, lemon juice, tarragon, anchovies, shallots, avocado, celery leaves and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

4. Once the potatoes have cooled slightly, pour the dressing over the vegetables, season with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and toss well. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight. Toss the potato salad again and top with more parsley and chives before serving.

5. Enjoy!

Watermelon Sangria

Ingredients:

1 whole medium seedless watermelon, washed

6 bottles (750 ml bottles) rosé wine, chilled

1 bottle (750 ml Bottle) champagne, sparkling wine, or Moscato, chilled

Directions:

Note: This make a large quantity and serves 18-24 people! It can easily be cut in half.

Several hours before serving, slice 2-3 inch slabs of rind from around the outside of the watermelon, making sure there's plenty of red fruit attached. Slice the rind into 2-inch strips, then cut the strips in the other direction to make large chunks. Add the chunks into a large vat and add the rose wine. Cover the vat and stick it in the fridge to let it chill for at least 6 hours---more if you can!
Right before serving, stir in the chilled Champagne, sparkling wine, or moscato.
Serve in wine glasses...and use tongs to remove individual pieces of fruit. Yum!

Easy Lemon Bars 

Ingredients 

For the Crust

• All-Purpose Flour: Don’t change the amount of flour called for in this recipe – it will give your crust the perfect consistency.

• Powdered Sugar

• Salt

• Vanilla: Vanilla extract will give your crust an amazing flavor to compliment the filling.

• Unsalted Butter

For the Filling

• Granulated Sugar: Aside from giving your bars a touch of sweetness so they’re not too tart, the sugar will add moisture so the bars won’t crack when you bake them!

• All-Purpose Flour

• Large Eggs

• Fresh Lemon Juice: Bring on the lemon daydream with some fresh-squeezed lemon juice. So good!

• Salt

Directions

1. Prepare Pan for Baking: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper that sticks up above the sides of the pan. This will help you remove the bars later for easy cutting. Set the pan aside. 

2. Make Your Crust: Combine the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter & vanilla extract and stir to combine completely.

3. Assemble Crust: Crumble and distribute your crust over the bottom of the pan and press it evenly into the bottom.

4. Bake: Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are just getting lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.

5. Make Your Filling: Combine the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, lemon juice & salt and whisk together to combine. Don’t over mix.

6. Bake & Let Cool: Pour the filling on top of the crust and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until relatively set. Remove from the oven and cool for 15-20 minutes on the counter, then refrigerate until cold and firm.

7. Assemble Your Dessert: Remove bars from the pan and dust with powdered sugar, then cut into squares and serve!