This quesadilla, crisp-crusted and oozing cheese, celebrates one last summer harvest, boosting late-season vegetables with a little extra time on the stove and additional flavor from herbs and spices. This is hearty enough for a simple dinner and scales up easily for a crowd.

Classic Italian flavors — sweet summer tomatoes, bitter, salty capers and a bright red wine vinaigrette loaded with fresh basil and oregano — come together with Farfalle bowties for a quick, fresh and clean pasta salad ready for your next cookout. It might inspire your guests, like mine, to say this is the best pasta salad ever.

Creamy, baked zucchini and tomato are topped with runny, melted, fresh mozzarella. Surprising herbal notes from Za’atar, a North African blend of sesame seeds, sumac and herbs, will remind you of Italian seasoning but with something special and new. The simplicity of this dish belies layer upon layer of bright, rich summer flavor.

There are five ingredients in this dish and each one counts. Tender pea tendrils, the young shoots of pea plants, are a sweet addition to farm fresh eggs, cream and rich butter. Buy a cheddar cheese with a little bite to give the eggs a little pop.

Every element of this classic spring and summer dessert can be elevated - delicate, hand whipped cream, strawberries macerated with a splash of Grand Mariner and scones flavored with a pinch of cardamom. This is strawberry shortcake at its best!

Layer upon layer of sweet mild flavors, from lightly caramelized onions and apple cider to warm cardamom, make this roast delicious and complex. Be ready to fight over the sauce! Recipe from my cookbook Seasons to Taste: Farm-fresh Joy for Kitchen and Table.

Fresh, summer peaches, cardamom, ginger, and a bit of spicy chile: this sauce delivers the sweet, acidic and floral flavors of summer peaches with a complex-but-easy blend of spices in the form a sugary glaze to grilled pork chops, chicken quarters and salmon. It is wonderful tossed with baked, fried or grilled wings.

The tart side of sweet plums brings balance to this refreshing, easy tomato and fruit gazpacho. Floral coriander seed and the spiced notes of Thai basil lend it the complexity to serve as the opening act for steak off the grill, or play summer and light to a main course of poached fish.

This simple dish reinvents a leftover tomato salad into a fresh, rich, one-dish summer. Sweet tomatoes, pungent herbs and sharp feta balance with full-flavored chicken thighs for a delicious meal with almost no work! Enjoy!

Poaching is a wonderful way to infuse flavor into less flavorful boneless, skinless chicken breast. The tarragon, parsley and chives add freshness while the peppercorns, wine and bay leave create a wonderfully complex sauce. Enjoy this warm or cold. Make extra for chicken salad.

This takes everything you love about baked lemon chicken and serves it up on a skewer. Tart lemon juice, floral zest and brown sugar gain je ne said quoi complexity from a hint of Paprika and soy sauce. It arrives on your plate sticky, sweet and sour with just the right amount of char, hot off summer grill.

Zucchini and corn pancakes - think latkes - are sweet and savory, crisp on the outside and creamy inside. The refreshing cilantro crema perfectly balances the warm, summery flavors of the pancakes.

How do you improve upon the classic New England pot roast? Enter the turnip - like a potato with more flavor. Slow cooked, the tender turnips give this dish a pleasant boost, while mushrooms and homemade stock give this inexpensive, tender cut of beef, rich, deep flavor.

Turn your turkey into a rich pot of soup. After you’ve picked it clean for leftovers turn your turkey into a soup that doesn’t taste like an after thought. The results are rich, flavorful and full of the veggies.