LAST YEAR’S GARDEN WAS PROLIFIC, but the corn came on while we were away, the excess acorn squash ended up in a compost pile and we toyed with renaming our place Zucchini Acres.

So we are planting strategically this year, popping in only the ingredients we need for our favorite summer dish: Gado Gado.

Described as an “Indonesia extravaganza,” our Gado Gado includes yellow rice (the glow comes from turmeric) on a bed of spinach, covered with vegetables, tofu and hard-boiled eggs from our own chickens. It’s all topped by a spicy peanut sauce.

We can’t grow the rice or the peanuts in our northern climes, but we can grow spinach, cabbage, green beans, carrots and onions (Gado Gado with Walla Walla onions has a nice ring).

No broccoli or celery, both suggested ingredients in our dog-eared 1977 Moosewood Cookbook original recipe, but we will grow our own favorite additions, potatoes and cucumbers. Not a zucchini in the bunch!

You can find other Gado Gado recipes online or get the lighter, improved version with The New Moosewood Cookbook. For a sampling of other vegetarian recipes, visit the Moosewood Restaurant or Molly Katzen’s archives.

Peanut Sauce
From “The New Moosewood Cookbook”
Makes 2 cups
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 heaping tablespoon grated ginger
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
Crushed red pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, spoon over Gado Gado (or anything else), and enjoy.

I HATE TO SAY I’M A USER BUT WHEN WE TOOK OUR SON, then a toddler, on his first overnight hike, I was already looking ahead to the day I’d need him to help tote the heaviest stuff up the hill. Fortunately, a love of hiking took, so I can look back now and say confidently that what we did worked.

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The safest time for a first overnight is in prime hiking season, often mid-July to mid-September. We picked a postcard-perfect setting with a lake that was more drive up than walk in, just a mile from where we parked the car.

Where we went wrong:

• At age 3, a mile uphill might have been too long for his little legs, but he made it.
• A good pair of sneakers would have helped. Rubber boots were a challenge.

Where we went right:

• We took lots of snacks and stopped often to eat, which I still claim was for his sake.
• We took his fishing pole, dog, good books for lantern storytelling and comfy sleeping gear.
• We picked good weather but prepared for whatever mountain weather can bring, understanding that toddlers lose body heat quickly when they’re not moving.
• He carried his own light pack with snacks.
• We devoted our attention to him entirely, knowing that the lake, getting lost and the campfire were all hazards.
• We kept a change of dry clothes in the car.

Most people think of hiking with small children as a way of keeping their own passions going despite having kids. As I load up my son with the stove, fuel and extra food now that I’m over the hill, I see it as a rare investment that paid off big.

I DON’T REMEMBER WHEN I STARTED MAKING CANTALOUPE GELATO. I must have gone on a melon-buying spree one summer and then realized we couldn’t eat them all fast enough. So I made melon gelato. Similar to sorbet but more intensely flavored, this is one of my favorite ends to a summer meal.

Gelato di Melone
Serves 4

1 cup superfine granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cantaloupe (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons lime juice
Large pinch salt

In a small heavy saucepan, heat sugar and water to make a syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cool. Cut rind from melon and discard seeds. Cut melon into chunks and in a food processor purée enough to measure 2 cups. Transfer purée to a bowl and stir in syrup, lime juice and salt. Chill melon mixture until cold and up to 1 day.

Freeze in an ice-cream maker. Serve gelato immediately or transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden no more than 3 hours.

PESTO AND PASTA go together like two Ps in a pod, as we all know. But if your garden yields a banner crop of basil this summer, consider these alternate uses for pesto that spread the goodness around:

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• Fish topping: Simply brush a light coating of pesto on fish fillets or steaks, and broil. Especially good on halibut.
• Sandwich spread: Mix some pesto into mayo or yogurt to add zest to sandwiches, for example with leftover chicken.
• Pizza topping: Replace the tomato sauce with pesto, or get the best of both worlds by first lightly coating the rolled-out dough with pesto, then ladling on the tomato sauce and the rest of the toppings.
• Vegetable topper: Brush pesto on sliced veggies before grilling. Or enliven corn on the cob by brushing on pesto instead of butter.
• Salad dressing: Add olive oil, vinegar and pepper to turn pesto into a lively vinaigrette for many greens.

And when you’re ready to hit the pasta again, indulge in the Ligurian pesto extravaganza made with the trofiette, whose twists and pinched ends carry the perfect amount of pesto into each bite.

IN SPRING A WOMAN’S THOUGHTS TURN TO TEE PARTIES, also known as golf foursomes. Golf teaches us patience, humility and to laugh at our friends, if not ourselves.

Somehow women remain the minority in golf – less than 25 percent of adult players. So take advantage of the sweet deals golf courses offer “the gals”, as we’re still called in the plaid-pants-and-cigar world of clubhouses.

American Express and Play Golf America dub June Women’s Golf Month, when participating courses offer free lessons for women 14 years of age and older. Look for other free or low-cost deals, too, such as club rentals, golf rule reviews, food or fashion shows. The card company even offers free online lessons via golf.com.

The course near my home holds a women’s clinic on Tuesday nights throughout the spring and early summer. For $5, we get a glass of champagne, range balls and a lesson on a different aspect of the game from a T-shaped hunk in tight golf slacks (or is that the champagne talking?).

Then, in the long evenings of gold-tipped twilight, we follow up the lesson with a discounted round with built-in golf mates.

Other clubs, such as the fabulous Glacier View near Glacier National Park in Montana, offer women free weekly clinics and a one-month “try-me” membership for all the golf you can play in June.

These benefits are lumped under “golf development” – ways for courses to grow interest. Ask around for good deals at your neighborhood course.

And if you don’t get enough golf in June, try July, which is “Family Month,” when many courses offer parent-child clinics, including “Take Your Daughter to the Course Week”, July 5-11.

WHAT’S YOUR IDEA OF THE PERFECT WEEKEND HOME? Is it a place out of town, a spot you drive hours to get to? Is it a place in the country or a loft in the city?

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What a luxury it would be to have such a retreat: A quiet place to rejuvenate, relax and regroup.

Many of us will never have a second home. However, the primary residence we do own is the place where most of our treasured memories are made. So, this summer — even for just a weekend or two — make your home feel like your favorite getaway.

Here are a few ideas:

• Picnic night: Once a week, pick up a variety of deli items, a bottle of wine and a few special treats. Clear a spot and spread a blanket. As the evening progresses, star gaze, catch fireflies and tell stories.
• Hire someone to clean your house and mow your lawn while you sit on the porch.
• Pay your kids to wash the car, then start a water fight with them afterward.
• Sleep in. Or get up early, grab your coffee and enjoy some quiet time reading, journaling or just putzing.
• Start a summer-memories scrapbook and add to it every year hereafter. Encourage your kids to draw pictures and teach them to use your camera. Summer through a child’s eyes is priceless.
• Set up a tent and leave it for the summer. It makes a great fort!
• Take the kids berry picking and make homemade ice cream.

To some, owning a home can feel like more of a chore than a luxury. But for many of us these days, owning one home is a luxury — one we sometimes just need a little break from.

PERHAPS IT’S PECULIAR TO MY WORLD, but it seems that lots of teenagers are becoming vegan. In our house, it’s my 14-year old. And since I do most of the cooking around here, when I learned of her decision, I tried not to have a cow about it (sorry, I couldn’t resist that). Anyway, one meatless evening, I devised this particular salad, one that both carnivores and vegans can appreciate.

Bulgur with Mushrooms,

Zucchini and Dill
Serves 4

1 cup medium bulgur
Salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1/4 pound sliced cremini mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped dill
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1. Place the bulgur in a bowl with salt and pour 2 cups boiling water over. Cover and let stand 20 to 25 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed. Drain and squeeze out any remaining water.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and mushrooms and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute.

3. Stir the zucchini mixture and the remaining ingredients into the bulgur. Serve warm or cold.

IF YOU’VE ENJOYED MISO only in that light, savory soup that often kicks off a Japanese meal, then you’re in for some treats. The fermented-soybean paste is a versatile seasoning that can be incorporated into many other dishes. For example:

© ASIAN FOOD GROCER

• As a base for other soups
• To make an even creamier risotto
• Brushed on baked or grilled vegetables, including corn on the cob
• Adding a new dimension to mashed potatoes
• Used as a marinade for fish
• Blended into dips and sauces

Miso is low in fat, has no cholesterol and offers a balance of protein, carbohydrates, essential oils, minerals, vitamins and isoflavones. A tub of miso paste lasts well in the refrigerator. I find yellow miso the most versatile, but sometimes experiment with the white and red varieties as well.

Miso can, however, be high in sodium, so if you’re keeping an eye on that, be sure to compare labels: Some brands have less sodium per tablespoon than others that are labeled “low-sodium”.

AS MUCH AS I LOVE FRIED ANYTHING, occasionally I’ll opt for a lighter and healthier route, as in these fish tacos. Instead of the usual deep-fried cod, here the fish is grilled, adding a nice smoky flavor to the mix. With a crunchy cabbage mix, corn tortillas and a lime-flavored mayonnaise sauce, you won’t miss the deep fryer.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

Lighter Fish Tacos
Serves 4

1/2 medium head savoy or green cabbage, thinly shredded
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 pound cod, mahi-mahi or halibut fillets
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of 1 lime
Warm corn tortillas

1. Preheat a grill to high and oil the grates.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the cabbages, carrot, lime juice and jalapeno. In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt and cilantro. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle the fish with the salt and pepper and grill just until done, about 8 minutes per inch of thickness. Sprinkle with the lime zest and cut into serving pieces. Serve with the cabbage, mayonnaise sauce and corn tortillas.

YOU MIGHT THINK that a recipe for cinnamon toast is silly. But this cinnamon toast is a revelation. No pasty white bread here: It’s made of robust slices of raisin-nut bread.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

My favorite is made by Seattle’s Essential Baking Co., which constructs a sturdy loaf of organic wheat flour with pecans and raisins. Sliced, toasted and spread with salted butter (I love Kerrygold, a lovely Irish butter) and a sprinkle of rough brown sugar and cinnamon, this cinnamon toast is a wonderful thing. The salt in the butter offsets the sweetness of the sugar, raisins and cinnamon and, after just one bite, all is good in the world.

Cinnamon Toast
2 slices artisan raisin-nut bread
1 teaspoon organic brown sugar
Pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon salted Irish butter, softened

1. Preheat the broiler. Lightly toast the bread slices on both sides.
2. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
3. Remove bread to a cutting board, spread with the butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon. Serve.