Last week, while I was in Boston, I had dinner with my college friend Gabe in Cambridge at a cute Harvard Square gastropub called, in true Boston spirit, Tory Row. We washed a number of tasty small plates down with delicious microbrewed ales, my favorite of which was a strikingly simple, yet impossible-to-stop-eating curried apricot cheese spread. I vowed to recreate it upon returning home and found, upon puttering around in my kitchen, that it is actually quite easy to make.

Note: If you opt to use fresh apricots, use only about 3 instead of 8 dried ones, and eat the spread immediately.

• ingredients
• 8 oz. cream cheese $2.50
• 1/2 tsp curry powder $1.50 for 1 oz.
• about 8 dried apricots, chopped finely $1.50 (buy in the bulk section)
• pinch of salt Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $5.50

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is creamy and a pale orange color.

Serve with sliced baguette, crackers, vegetable and/or fruit slices.

Makes about 1 cup of cheese spread.

My refusal to eat peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches is just one of the many ways in which I was a difficult child. (You’ll have to ask Ouisue and Larry about my insistence on wearing fancy, Royal Wedding-esque hats to kindergarten, as well as my tendency to describe my beverage requests in great detail (“I want a glass of something that is cold, white and comes from a cow…”).

That is not to say I forwent all peanut butter-based sandwiches. No, I was a peanut-butter-and-honey girl. On toasted wheat bread, crusts intact, please (hello, they’re the whole point of the sandwich). So, when my friends at Project Open Hand (a fantastic non-profit dedicated to providing healthy meals for those who cannot afford them or are too sick to cook for themselves) let me know that they created their own gourmet peanut butter, the proceeds of which go towards a wonderful cause (for every $4 tub of peanut butter, Project Open Hand feed one person), I knew I had to make peanut butter ice cream with honey. Everyone combines peanut butter with chocolate or fruit, but not me (I’m difficult, remember?).

And then I remembered my friends at my all-time favorite food non-profit, Time at the Table recently sent me some gorgeous handcrafted vanilla, the proceeds of which benefit Time at the Table’s mission to get families eating healthy, homemade meals together. I decided I would make ice cream with a cause (er, a few causes).

This no-cook ice cream was easy (not to mention perfect for the San Francisco heat wave we’re experiencing right now), and bottom-of-the-bowl-scraping-ly good. Serve with an extra drizzle of honey.

Note: To order Time at the Table’s vanilla, click here. If you live in the Bay Area, you can look for Project Open Hand’s peanut butter at your local Whole Foods.

• ingredients
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter Pantry
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar Pantry
• 2 cups (1 pint) half-and-half $1.50
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract $4 for 4 oz.
• 1/4 cup honey Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $5.50

Directions

Beat together the peanut butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Pour in the half-and-half and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is very creamy.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Once custard has set, drizzle in ice cream with the machine running to create ribbons of honey throughout the peanut butter ice cream.

Serve immediately (as a soft custard) or freeze until hard enough to scoop.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups ice cream.

I’m going to let you in on one of the best-kept secrets of gourmet cooking: it’s mostly about presentation (along with having a well-stocked pantry). If a dish is presented nicely, your guests are likely to be extra-impressed, even if all you’re serving is simple fare like this salad.

The key is to use very fresh, high-quality ingredients. Get your prosciutto at a deli so you can buy only what you need (a great way to save money), pick the most perfect peach you can find and use good vrigin olive oil. With a little careful shopping and some artful plating, you can turn a few ingredients into a summery, bistro-worthy starter.

• Ingredients
• 6 thin slices prosciutto $3
• 1ripe peach, sliced $1
• 4 oz. mozzarella di bufala (fresh mozzarella), sliced into medallions *$4 for 8 oz.*S
• extra virgin olive oil Pantry
• salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $8

Directions

Arrange prosciutto on 2 salad plates. Top with peach slices and mozzarella medallions. Drizzle with olive oil to taste and top with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

My name is Eli and when I think of hummus, I never think of the “red kind” because I have never had a really good roasted pepper hummus. Today, Gabi and I were out to change that. This hummus will give you a whole new way to think about “red” hummus, with spice and tons of flavor, my hummus is a great appetizer or a tasty snack.

• ingredients
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed $1.50
• 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves $1 for a bunch
• 1 4-oz jar roasted red bell peppers (pimentos), drained $1.50
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed Pantry
• 2 tbsp tahini $3 for a 16 oz. jar
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish Pantry
• salt and pepper to taste Pantry
• Sriracha to taste $2.50 for a 17-oz bottle

Total Cost of Ingredients $9.50

Directions

Combine all ingredients except salt, pepper and Sriracha in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.

Season with salt, pepper and Sriracha to taste.

Makes about 2 cups of hummus.

Henry, my favorite 9-year-old and I had a dinner date tonight. We made these biscuits to eat with our chicken soup dinner. He would like you to know that the cheese was his idea and also that, if you wanted to, you could add cut-up green onions to these (Henry loves green onions).

• ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and rolling Pantry
• 4 tsp baking powder Pantry
• 3/4 tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling Pantry
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper Pantry
• 4 tbsp very cold butter, cut into cubes $1 for a stick
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus a few extra pinches for sprinkling 3.50 for 12 oz.
• 1 cup buttermilk $2 for a quart

Total Cost of Ingredients $6.50

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly flour a baking sheet and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.

Use your hands to rub the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles small peas. Stir in the cheese.

Form a little well in the center of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir together to form a very sticky dough.

Lightly flour a flat, clean surface and knead the dough about 5 times, just until it holds together. Press it until it is about 1 1/2” thick. Use a biscuit cutter, wine glass or drinking glass to cut 3” circles out of the dough, reworking the scraps until all the dough has been cut.

Arrange the biscuits on the floured baking sheet so they touch one another lightly. Top each with a sprinkle of salt and a pinch of cheese.

Bake for 13-16 minutes, until puffy and golden-brown.

Serve hot.

Makes about 12 biscuits.