It’s so fun to cook with fresh, local produce. And the truth is that, while I have some excellent recipe suggestions, enjoying lovely summer produce is all about eating it in its purest form--and sometimes that means raw.

Sugar snap peas are featured in my Whole30 Chicken Kabobs on a Bed of Sugar Snap Peas as well as my Weeknight Beef Stir Fry with Tessemae’s. They are so delectable in salads, including my Spring Greens with Salami Croutons, and Sugar Snap Pea and Smoky Pepitas Salad. Patrick’s Vegan Feast is also a lovely way to incorporate fresh peas. Be sure to order my cookbook, where you can find these fabulous recipes!

English peas are a bit more complicated. They grow in an inedible, fibrous pod, making them more labor intensive to prepare. Once you remove the pods, though, beautiful little fresh peas are revealed.

Begin by pulling off the string which leads up to the top, then pull off the top piece and let the other string lead you down the pod like a zipper to open and remove the peas. They too are thoroughly delightful raw. Toss them into a salad, a risotto, pasta, or soup, or warm them briefly in water and serve your fresh English peas at their peak with a bit of melted butter. My Rustic Brothy Mediterranean Chicken Stew is a wonderful way to enjoy these peas.

You could certainly add a bit of mint, which your market probably has as well. It is truly so luscious and delicious. Another sublime summer option is my Green Minestrone Soup with Meatballs and Pistachio Pesto. And there’s certainly no reason to save my Feel Good Soup for when you’re under the weather, especially when peas are in season.

There’s nothing like enjoying summer raspberries fresh from the farmers market. If you plan to serve them later, treat yourself to an extra pint, because, truth be told, they’re best simply eaten from the box as you drive home. Be careful, though, because they’re delicate! If they do make it all the way home, there are many wonderful ways to enjoy them.

You can take most any dish next to the level with raspberries: top a salad or a cheesecake, puree them into jam, create or top a raspberry sorbet, blend into a smoothie, add to a bowl of granola, or stir them into my Weeknight Raspberry Skyr Parfait. And how about a raspberry Mojito, a Teri-tini, or a Cranberry Raspberry Holiday Cocktail?

Patty Bowls! It’s 90° in Chicago, and my favorite no cook dinner is ice cream! It’s so spectacular in a Patty Bowl, and it’s a treat most families can agree on. I’m delighted to have named the Patty Bowl after my mother, and there’s nothing she’d agree more on than the idea of eating ice cream for weeknight dinner. Head over to the shop to check out our gorgeous Patty Bowls!

So many of you have seen all the wonderful products MaryRuth offers, and you’re wondering where to start. Unequivocally, my favorite place to start is with the Liquid Morning Multivitamins and the Liquid Nighttime Multiminerals. They are full spectrum and make a nice morning and evening routine! Such a lovely way to start and end your day! To shop at MaryRuth with my discount, click this link, or apply the code TERI20. To enter the giveaway, click below!

This week we're also doing a Room & Board $500 gift card giveaway! So many of you have been curious about my cabin, so I gave a sneak peek on Instagram. I am lucky and delighted to be a partner with Room & Board. To enter, head to this post, be sure to like it, and tag a foodie friend who loves Room & Board as much as we do!

My year of health doesn’t always need to mean GO, it can also mean STOP. Heading into the holiday weekend, I know that for a couple weeks simply maintaining my health and weight (rather than going full speed ahead) is a key. It’s a paradigm shift that I learned from my health coach, Liz Josefsberg, who says, “If you build a life around your weight loss that you truly love--love the food, love the exercise, love the lifestyle, energy and confidence--you have taught yourself maintenance along the way!”

Next week, my own @itsthelucyshow will be joining the team in Chicago for some fun on-location videography. As part of my emerging skill of slowing down, we will pause next week’s Friday Favorites, but be sure to catch the Stories all week so you can join in and see our ongoing antics. We look forward to being back in your inbox when Friday Favorites resumes in two weeks!