GLAMPING: BE IT CANVAS TENT, YURT, AIRSTREAM, rent-a-can or luxe-guided-expedition, “glorious camping” holds a definite allure for not-so-rustic women who want just a little sip of nature.

SOURCE: WILDRETREAT.COM

The travel and outdoor industry recognizes, thank goodness, that not every woman’s ready to embrace her inner Grizzly Adams. Sound familiar? Then check out some of these ways to make the outdoors a lot more fun and just a little more bearable:

• State and national parks often offer overnight digs that are rustic enough to satisfy camping-enthusiast-kiddos while pacifying the kind of mom who likes a door, a floor, a bed, some heat, a light.  Visit your state’s parks website to search for overnight accommodations and book now for popular summer months, as these affordable spots go fast.
• Skip the tent and do some Googling for other options in the region you’re looking to explore: the Vegas Strip via Airstream, perhaps, or California’s wine country in a retro Teardrop trailer, a yurt in Cape Cod or a tipi in New Hampshire.
• Champagne camping on a champagne budget. A gourmet sojourn in Montana is a luxury option for those foodie types while fly fisherwomen will swoon at Tofino, B.C.’s Clayoquot Wilderness Resort.

HOW COULD A FERMENTED DAIRY PRODUCT possibly be described as blissful? Greek yogurt breaks all the rules. Even in its nonfat version, this lavishly creamy yogurt is heaven on the tongue.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

What makes it different than regular yogurt? Greek yogurt begins life as the same thing, but then it’s strained to remove some of the whey. After that, you’re left with a thickened, remarkable cream that makes standard yogurt seem watery and flavorless.

So, do like the Greeks and eat it for breakfast with honey and chopped walnuts, or even topped with spoon sweets (a kind of uber-thick preserve.). But my idea of bliss is plain Greek yogurt with sliced, ripe nectarines and a drizzle of maple syrup.  And in tzatziki, of course, that classic, kicky, garlicky Greek sauce.

FIND IT: Fage yogurt (from Greece) is available all over the country. Stonyfield Farms now makes its own Greek yogurt, named Oikos. And Trader Joe’s and The Greek Gods have several versions as well.

AT A BOOK CLUB WEEKEND RETREAT of high-powered women, the topic lingered not on books or jobs or family, but on the enormous satisfaction each had felt from tackling a hands-on project on her own for the first time.

One woman talked about replacing the boards on her front porch under the slightly bemused, then amazed, eye of her husband.

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A top executive told of fixing an office machine late one night after her administrative assistant had gone home. She’d been stuck but she unstuck herself. Nothing she did in her job that week pleased her more.

The book-club members talked of an inner glow, a sense of satisfaction, growing confidence. Yes, there is the joy of saving money, but to these women doing it themselves for the first time was all about personal growth.

And so it is for most DIYers, who may feel that first-time thrill of success with every new project. If you’re considering starting something new, tackle a project that’s within your realm of understanding, perhaps not one that might require the water department to come for an emergency shutoff.

Remember these tips:

• Start with something small
• Know your limits
• Make sure you have the right tools
• Do Internet research
• Ask questions at stores that sell the parts or material you need
• Attend store workshops
• Ask yourself: What would MacGyver do?

Then stretch a little further with each project, sit back and feel your sense of self reliance grow.

IT’S 8:30 IN THE MORNING and 83 degrees, potentially headed to 100 by the end of the day. I’m not sure how I’ll cope with the heat, but one thing is for sure: I’ll make lemonade.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

My potted Meyer lemon tree (the one that I’ve almost killed umpteen times) is loaded with bright-yellow fruit. And Meyer lemons make lemonade that is fragrant, softly sour and coolly refreshing. It’s one of my favorite all-time drinks. And perfect for a heat wave.

Meyer Lemonade
Makes 3 cups

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Pinch salt
1 Meyer lemon, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
Ice

Combine the sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes) and add the sliced lemon. Let stand 10 minutes covered. Pour the lemon juice into the pot and transfer to a pitcher. Chill. Serve poured over ice.

IF YOU ASK ME, MOST ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES aren’t very exciting. They’re usually two tasteless chocolate cookies filled with bland vanilla ice cream. Summer calls for much more rewarding treats. Here’s one to make: fab ginger cookies filled with soft peach ice cream.

Ginger-Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches
Makes about 12 sandwiches

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Demerara or turbinado sugar
1 pint peach ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together the butter, brown sugar and molasses. Stir in the egg.
2. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir into the butter mixture.
3. Place the Demerara or turbinado sugar in a bowl. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Coat the ball with the Demerara sugar by rolling it in the sugar and place it on a parchment or Teflon-pad-lined cookie sheet. Repeat this process, spacing the balls approximately one inch apart on the sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Transfer them to cooling racks and let cool completely. Sandwich peach ice cream between cookies and serve.

WORRIED ABOUT SUMMER BRAIN DRAIN (the age-old idea that if your kids don’t keep their minds active, they’ll forget what they learned in the previous school year)?

There’s an easy (and fun) way to avoid it: Play games with your kids! Here’s how to make it happen:

Make sure your game closet is updated with both classic games and newer ones. This is a great job for the kids: Assign each a couple of game boxes and task them with making sure it has all the pieces and is neatly organized. (There is nothing more annoying than opening Monopoly and seeing the money all mixed up!)

Establish one night of the week as family game night. Games are more fun to play with more people. Invite your neighbors or the grandparents to join in the fun.

Choose games that are fun and challenging for all ages. Depending on the ages of your kids, games will have different challenges, but you can make adjustments so it works for everyone.

Here are some of the games our family likes to play and the educational benefit they provide:

• Scrabble: Obviously this is great for spelling and vocabulary skills. If you are playing with younger kids, make a rule that everyone can use only three-letter words. (Have an iPhone? Download Scrabble for word fun wherever you are.) A great variation of Scrabble is the hugely-popular Bananagrams.
• Yahtzee: Everyone loves to roll the dice, and what better way to keep those math skills alive?
• Monopoly: Make sure everyone gets a turn at being banker, and everyone reads his or her own cards. Math and reading, check!
• Apples to Apples: This is our new family fave, and it’s a great way to work on vocabulary.

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.

I DON’T THINK I HAD EVER PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO RADISHES before I went to cooking school. Of course I’d eaten them, the ones that were thinly sliced and then forgotten on the bottom of the salad bowl. But in a cooking lesson on crudités, we slathered crusty slices of bread with good butter and topped it with paper thin radish slices. And just before we ate them, we sprinkled the radishes with coarse sea salt. The combination was truly astounding, the combination of textures and flavors transforming. I never looked at a radish the same way again.

SOURCE: iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

Radish Crostini
Makes 8 slices (serves 4)

2 (or more) tablespoons European-style butter
8 thin slices crusty French or Italian bread
2 radishes, thinly sliced
Coarse sea salt

Spread the butter on the bread slices, dividing evenly. Cover with the radishes (this can be done up to an hour ahead, just cover with a towel). Just before serving, sprinkle liberally with salt and serve.

THIS TIME OF YEAR YOU CAN FIND POTS OF ALL SHAPES and sizes in any garden center. But for my money, turning something unexpected into a planter is the best way to add style and personality to your garden. Unless you’ve decided to use an item of antiquity, the costs can be minimal and the steps are easy:

SOURCE: DEBRA PRINZING

• Look in the garage, storage shed or basement. What’s lying around that you can’t bring yourself to throw away? I’ve converted all sorts of interesting items into planters. The slightly rusted little red wagon that my sons outgrew became a cool place for daffodils and other spring bulbs. The vintage but leaky galvanized metal watering can now has chocolate mint spilling from its opening. And succulents peek from the open flap of an upturned mailbox — one that I salvaged during a construction project.
• Assess your drainage needs. While standard-issue flower pots come with drainage holes, a piece of old pottery or industrial metal may not. A little ingenuity may be called for. In the case of ceramic items, a masonry bit will do the trick. Used with an electric drill, the bit’s sharp point can penetrate the base of an old piece of pottery to create holes. It will also work with concrete and cast stone. Depending upon the thickness of a metal item, you might be able to puncture the base by hammering holes using a large nail. Otherwise, look for a drill bit that can be used with metal surfaces.
• Plant to your heart’s content. Fill the converted vessel with organic potting soil and plant annuals, perennials, bulbs, herbs or succulents inside — just as if you were designing any garden container. Remember, you win bonus points for creativity! The most amusing repurposed item I’ve seen for holding plants is a pair of 1970s women’s pumps. Oh, la la!

SOURCE: iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

FARMERS MARKETS IN THE SPRING are chock full of wonderful things. On my last visit, I bought spring greens for salad (chickweed, mizuna and arugula) and a few bunches of spring onions.

Looking very similar to scallions, spring onions have the very beginnings of onion bulbs on the ends of their long green stems.  They’re milder than fully developed onions but a bit zippier than scallions. Anyway, I took them home, rinsed and trimmed them and threw them on the grill with a steak. Yum.

Grilled Spring Onions
Serves 4

2 bunches spring onions, tops and roots trimmed, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
Crumbled feta or blue cheese (optional)

Preheat a grill to high heat. Toss the onions with the olive oil and salt and grill until tender, turning a few times, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese if desired and serve.