Corn and Tomato Salad

In New Jersey, late summer is high time for fresh corn and tomatoes, and this recipe brings out the flavors in both. This simple salad has three ingredients--corn, tomatoes, and onions--and you can make it in less than 15 minutes. Since there's so few ingredients, the real key is to get fresh corn and fresh tomatoes--hit up a farmer's market if you can. I guarantee this will be a hit at your next picnic or barbecue.

How To Slice An Onion Like A Pro

One of the most frequent things you're going to cut in the kitchen is an onion, so it's important to know the right way to slice one up. Fortunately, dicing an onion like a professional chef is fairly easy, and only gets easier with practice. Best of all? This method helps prevent you from crying while cutting up onions.

Mayo-Free Potato Salad

Potato salad is a classic summer dish, but there's nothing worse than mayo-drenched potatoes sitting out in the sun for hours. This potato salad recipe, one handed down to me from my grandmother, uses olive oil, vinegar, and mustard, so you can keep it out all day at a picnic and it'll still be just as good as when you made it.

Bruschetta (a.k.a Toast with Stuff on It)

Got some friends coming over, and want to make some fancy-looking snacks? Bruschetta is so simple: you're basically making toast, then chopping up some vegetables and putting them on top. This recipe calls for tomatoes and basil, but you can use whatever comes to mind. CiaoChowLinda's blog post on different bruschetta ideas should help spark your imagination.

Pasta with Swiss Chard and Garlic

One of the challenges of making something for dinner is that, if you don't have anything in the fridge, you have to wait in line at a supermarket, grocery store, or bodega on your way home from work. No thanks.

Fortunately, this time of year, there's a ton of farmer's markets where you can just grab one or two ingredients in a minute, then go home and make dinner.

Swiss chard is in season right now, and can be used in a ton of dishes. Taste-wise, it's somewhere between spinach and collard greens, and has a slightly bitter taste. With their red, orange, and yellow stalks, they also look great. It's also packed with vitamins, and cooks quickly. In fact, you can make this dish in the time it takes to boil the water for the pasta.

MMM, Tuna Melts!

Tuna melts are not only quick and easy to make, but also give you a chance to experiment a bit with anything you might have lying around. About 20 minutes is all it takes for cheesy goodness.

Tools of the Trade: Buying and Caring for Knives

In addition to knowing how to cook, you've also got to have the right tools for the job. Chief among them is a good knife. But what makes a good knife, and how do you find one?