Adriana Janovich

The menu changed twice in one week, and that was before the turquoise doors to the new eatery and craft cocktail lounge even officially opened. The first round of salads, sides and small plates was Asian-inspired. The second was Southern: creamed corn, hush puppies, succotash.

‘Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream

Call it ice cream-istry. The Scoop on Spokane’s South Hill is making its own frozen dessert, and it’s using a super-cool substance in the process: liquid nitrogen.

Quick look: This cookbook comes from the destination restaurant on the wild, remote and rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C., where the emphasis is on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and casually elegant cuisine. What’s inside: This vividly photographed volume features more than 100 recipes, which are divided by meal type: breakfast, soups, salads, hand-helds, snacks, mains, sides, desserts and staples. Early pages discuss the restaurant’s substance-before-style food philosophy – “No bells or whistles, just good food”– and offer cook’s notes on everything from coconut milk and curry powder to tahini, wasabi and watercress.

Bottle – then raise a glass to – summer’s bounty with a variety of concentrated syrups made from fruit, sugar and vinegar. Yes, vinegar.

The cake came in the spirit of aloha, a welcoming gesture from a much-loved neighbor to the young family in the new subdivision. The crumbly-topped treat marked the Higdons’ move to Kailua. And, like its bearer, it quickly became beloved.

Moscow mules are having a moment. The invigorating combination of vodka, ginger beer and lime – served over ice in signature, handsomely hip copper mugs – has been enjoying renewed popularity. But summer is really the perfect season to celebrate the easy-to-make vintage beverage, garnished with fresh mint leaves and a sense of history.

‘FRESH FROM THE FARM: A YEAR OF RECIPES AND STORIES’ By Susie Middleton

When it comes right down to it, stone fruits rock. The soft, sun-ripened fruits epitomize summer, when children can rinse off sticky fruit juice from their faces and limbs or wherever else the sweet liquid has landed – in their hair, on their bellies, between their toes – by taking a few passes through the sprinkler.

Chef Don Leonard made a name for himself around Spokane, serving as sous chef at places like the Davenport Hotel’s Palm Court Grill, Latah Bistro, Central Food and Italia Trattoria – and developing fans along the way. “Everybody knows Don,” said Scott Cook, who owns Ambrosia Bistro & Wine Bar with his wife, Kara. “We’ve been kind of keeping an eye on him, where he was and what he was doing. But we never really had an opportunity until now.”

Step aside, spinach. Move over, edamame. Kick it, kale. The new green superfood just might be Palouse-grown spring green garbanzo beans.

There are still a couple of weeks left for strawberry season in the Pacific Northwest. And, if you’re like me, you want to take full advantage of the summery, succulent and short-lived bounty.

Quick look: Three generations have been farming at Red Jacket Orchards in upstate New York for more than 50 years, so they’re experts in the field of tree fruits and fruit juices. This new cookbook spotlights farm-fresh fruit from their orchards in refined family recipes as well as 25 contributions from chefs and eateries in and around New York City. What’s inside: “When you crunch into a crisp apple on a blustery fall day, or eye a basket of burnished nectarines, part of what you consume is the grower’s story,” third-generation orchardist Brian Nicholson writes in the introduction to the book.

As cool as ice cream but lighter and more refreshing, granitas are quite possibly the perfect summertime treat. While they aren’t as dense or as heavy as ice cream, they still offer plenty of intense flavors. And the semi-frozen dessert is super-simple to make from scratch.

Cherry season in the Pacific Northwest is sweet – and maddeningly short-lived. Thanks to Mother Nature, though, this year’s crop is slated to be plump and plentiful, perfect for making an abundance of classic summertime treats like cherry pies, cobblers and clafoutis.

It isn’t unusual to see yellow onions caramelizing in Fery Haghighi’s light-filled home kitchen on Spokane’s South Hill Under her watchful eyes and wooden spoon, the pale slivers turn a shimmery golden brown, intensifying the flavor of the allium’s natural sugars and releasing a certain rich nuttiness.