WE’RE NOW INTO our first full week of summer, according to the calendar, though it’s felt like summer since mid-May. What’s your favorite dish to prepare during the heat wave? Mine is either chicken salad with fresh fruit or cucumber-cream cheese spread on crispy garlic bread rounds. Makes me hungry just to think of it. Forget about store-bought cucumbers that have little, if any, flavor, though. Garden-grown cukes are right around the corner.

Area gardens are beginning to deliver their gifts of the summer season. I’ve even had some early tomatoes. And I stopped by the on-your-honor produce stand in Herb “Sonny” Frizzell’s front yard in Middle Valley last week and was pleased to see baskets of zucchini for sale.

His garden looks great, by the way. And I can’t wait till I can run over and get yellow squash and what looks like a bumper crop of tomatoes to supplement my pitiful four plants.

How do you prepare the fruits and vegetables of summer? Let me know by e-mail at abraly@times

freepress.com.

I KNOW HOW good water is for the body. But do you agree it’s one of the most boring drinks ever? Refreshing, yes. But adding a flavor to it makes the hydration process so much sweeter. This summer, Krystal is offering a deal: A free packet of Crystal Light on the Go Drink Mix — get the homonym thing? — will be given away with every bottled-water purchase. Clever pairing, Krystal.

And get this ... It’s happening only in Chattanooga. Aren’t we lucky to have the Krystal headquarters here in town?

MY BLOG TODAY gives ideas of pairing beer with food. Here’s a recipe from the National Beer Wholesalers Association that uses beer as an ingredient. The recipe also calls for peaches. It may seem early in the summer for peaches with any flavor, but I picked up some at P&P Produce on 11th Street last week that I can definitely recommend.

Spinach Salad With Bock Beer Vinaigrette

Bock beer vinaigrette:

1 cup Bock beer

1/2 cup rice vinegar

11/2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Spinach salad:

3 medium peaches, pitted and sliced

1/2 small red onion, chopped

1 package (7 ounces) baby spinach

1/2 cup pecans

3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Make vinaigrette by combining in medium bowl the Bock beer, vinegar, honey, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Stir well to blend. Gradually whisk in olive oil; whisk until well-blended. Pour into a small bottle with tight-fitting lid for storage. (Makes 21/2 cups vinaigrette.)

Pour 1/3 cup of vinaigrette dressing into a large salad bowl. Add peaches and red onion; let stand for 5 minutes, tossing once. Add spinach and pecans; toss well. Top with egg slices; sprinkle with blue cheese. Makes 4 servings.

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