Buttermilk

Rutabagas and buttermilk add wonderful taste and texture to the potatoes in this recipe.

"While my sister was visiting me, we had dinner at Asher Restaurant in nearby Roswell," writes Terry Taylor of Suwanee, Georgia. "She loved the meal — the rhubarb crisp with buttermilk ice cream in particular. I'd love to surprise her by making this dessert the next time she's in town."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Dense, moist, and delicious, this bread is great as a quick snack or with a bit of whipped honey butter for afternoon tea.

The apple-essence syrup is brushed over the cake to infuse it with flavor and make it extra-moist. If you prefer, substitute apple cider for the brandy.

It may be corn season, but canned or frozen corn kernels work just as well as fresh in this corn salad. A mixed green salad rounds out the menu nicely.

Corn kernels and chili powder lend a southwestern accent to these muffins. They would also be nice alongside a bowl of chili.

Here's the traditional Irish soda bread—just flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, and optional caraway seeds. For traditional brown soda bread, substitute whole-wheat flour for part, or all, of the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe.

This recipe originally accompanied Chocolate Mint Layer Cake .

The Masa Harina adds a pleasant flavor to the light and fluffy pancakes.

Straight from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This is one of mom's specialties for a summer lunch or dinner.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. For this recipe we used a Belgian waffle iron, but a standard waffle iron will also work. The batter yields four 4-inch-square Belgian waffles or eight 4-inch-square standard waffles.

With a texture somewhere between ice cream and sorbet, this dessert has a slightly tangy flavor all its own.