I'm not a hot weather person. I'd be happy if the temperature never climbed higher than 89 degrees. So, when it gets miserably hot in the summer, I love to cool down with popsicles. They're such fun, nostalgic treats. Everyone turns into a kid with a popsicle in hand. Right?

Armed with this idea, I went to the grocery store a few nights ago determined to come home with some popsicles for Sunday dinner dessert. It was hot as Hades outside, and I was in a mood to match the weather. I tore through the frozen aisles, assuming that in this age of additive-aware healthy living, finding an all-fruit, no-sugar added frozen treat would be a cinch. Boy, was I wrong.

I've been on an insane burger kick lately. It's the only thing I seem to want for dinner. And although I wouldn't mind sinking my teeth into a juicy, half-pound beef patty every night, for health reasons I've tried to round out the sandwich menu. I've cooked my share of turkey burgers, veggie burgers, quinoa burgers… But the usual beef substitutions were wearing thin.

It's in such situations that Providence plays a part. Last weekend while grocery shopping, I spied a gorgeous side of salmon—almost 4 pounds—and on sale, too! I couldn't resist. I snatched it up, took it home, and began dividing it into 1-pound portions for freezing. I ended up with three, perfect, coral-hued filets (ideal for this recipe), and one sad, leftover tail portion. Somehow, it didn't feel right storing the tapering tail meat with the other filets. I wondered aloud, "What else can I do with this?"

These days, to love pasta salad is to be seriously un-cool. You never see it on the menu at trendy eateries, however casual, kitschy or retro. Food snobs turn up their noses at the very idea. Sure, quinoa and couscous salads abound, but pasta salad? Heavens no. It's just not done among the foodie set. I mean, you might as well break out the cheez whiz and cool whip for all the gustatory cred discussion of pasta salads will get you.

That's why today's post is a pasta salad! Oho! I thought I'd be a trendbucker and share one proudly. A good pasta salad is light and refreshing, yet still filling on a hot, hot day (like today). This salad is a variation on one my Maymo used to make when I was a kid. It brings back memories of summer days, cookouts, and bites of cold, crunchy salad, stolen right out of her bright orange serving bowl.

Three Generations: My Grandmother, My Mother, and Me

I come from a family of extraordinary women: fighters, trailblazers, independent thinkers. Women in my family defy convention by doing what they want, stating what they believe, and refusing to conform to roles they were not meant to play. And they taught their daughters to do the same.

I'm back from my blog-cation. Instead of working on a blog post last weekend, I volunteered for an organization near and dear to my heart: Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago. On Saturday, April 28, 3,000 volunteers helped rehab 68 homes, 4 community facilities and a large park in the Chicago neighborhood of Englewood and the Village of Harvey. It was an amazing day with a remarkable organization!

It felt good to take a break from blogging, but it also feels good to be back at it again. I'm excited to share this week's recipe with you. I know the tagline of this blog is "...life is more than broiled chicken & steamed vegetables," but this gives short shrift to one of the best methods for preparing artichokes: steaming them.

It's cause for celebration here at The Foodie Method: this post marks one full year of food blogging!

One year ago, I embarked on this project. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I promised myself that I'd post once a week for the first year. Here were are, one year later, and I kept my promise. I never missed a single week. I posted when I was afire with motivation, and when I was not. I posted when I was sick, and when I was well. I posted when I was swamped with other responsibilities. I posted on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and Easter weekend. I posted from hotel rooms, airplanes, and my couch. I posted when it was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. No matter what, I posted. And I'm not shy about admitting that I'm truly proud of what I've accomplished.

In the coming weeks, I'll share some of what I learned this past year, and reveal some of what's in store for the future of The Foodie Method. But for today, it's time to celebrate. And in this house, a celebration means it's time to break out the chocolate.

I know this will come as a huge shock to many of you, so prepare yourselves. I am not perfect. Far from it. I can be snippy and judgmental. I run low on patience. I snot-cry at horribly inappropriate moments. I rarely clean my oven. I've been known to over-rely on Febreeze. And, I don't eat healthily all the time.

In moments of high stress, extreme fatigue, or just plain boredom, sometimes I slip. I succumb to the stupid bowl of toffee nuggets at work. I order the fried chicken instead of broiled salmon. I drag my husband for cheeseburger Runza's at 10:30 in the morning. Nope, I don't always make the best choices.

One thing I do every day, no matter what, is drink a glass of powdered greens. I call it my mowed-lawn milkshake. One scoop contains nutrient-rich, dark, leafy greens—often called superfood greens, or simply, supergreens. These can include alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, carrots, spinach, parsley, zucchini, green beans, spirulina, chlorella and others. Greens supplements help support healthy digestion, bolster immunity and circulation, fortify your body against stress, and boost energy and endurance. They're phenomenal.

For lunch the other day, I went to one of my favorite local cafés. It's a tiny neighborhood establishment that serves fresh, delicious, from-scratch cooking. I ordered the quinoa burger, one of my favorite items, and opted for a side of fruit. Normally, I don't touch restaurant fruit sides with a 10-foot pole. They're often a pathetic afterthought; an awkward display of sad, slimy melons and shriveled grapes. But, I was confident this fruit bowl would deliver.

Alas, I was wrong. I got the typical mélange of hard, white honeydew, overly ripe, oozing cantaloupe, and a handful of blown-out grapes. Gross.

I don't understand why fruit sides are so disappointing. They're either a mix of old, leftover fruit, or drowned in added fat and sugar. It's possible to make a fast, healthy fruit side dish that's a perfect accompaniment to your spring table. My poppy-lime fruit salad comes together in minutes and is especially delicious for Sunday brunch.

Breakfast. We've all heard it's the most important meal of the day. Why, then, do so many of us forgo it entirely, or make poor choices of pastries or greasy breakfast sandwiches? I know why I let that happen: coming up with quick, healthy breakfast ideas takes time and effort. Mornings are already packed, and who has time to cook?

Before I answer that question, let's remind ourselves why breakfast is touted as "the most important meal of the day." Several studies have shown that people who regularly eat breakfast tend to weigh less than people who don't. Eating a healthy meal at breakfast reduces the likelihood of binging later in the day. Choosing something protein-packed for breakfast can also help kick start your metabolism so you begin burning calories more efficiently.

Convinced yet? I know what you're thinking: kids/pets/partners all have their needs and getting out of bed a bit early to prepare breakfast for yourself isn't high on your list of priorities. Ah, life is full of things we don't want to do, but know we must. One way to wake up earlier is to invest in a sunrise alarm clock. Another way is to make a breakfast worth waking up for, like my kale and parmesan omelet. (Yep, eggs are healthy again, so eat up—yolks included.)

I remember vividly the first time Maymo made me a banana shake. It was summer, it was hot, and I was quite put out that we'd run out of Hershey's chocolate syrup to top my ice cream. After a few moments angling for her to get more, my mother informed me with some finality that she was not going to run out in the 90 degree heat for can of Hershey's.

"But I don't like just plain vanilla!" I whined.

After several minutes of me pouting, she asked, out of nowhere, if I'd like a banana shake. That stopped me cold. I'd never had a banana shake before. I'd never even heard of a banana shake. I was intrigued.