Quick. It's not too late to pull together a fast red-white-and-blue treat for the 4th of July! Of course not, it's a 'long' weekend, there's today and there's still tomorrow, too. So here are a few quick ideas from favorite food blogs.

Wednesday's Wall Street Journal got me to fuming. "Frugal Shoppers Drive Grocers Back to Basics" hyped the headline. Good news, yes? We wish. Reporter Ben Worthen wrote that supermarkets make as much as 70% of their profits from the middle aisles and thus are focusing attention there: "... the recession has refocused [supermarkets] on the staples sold in center aisles." Those "staples" he cites? Private label brands of canned vegetables, breakfast cereal and whole wheat bread. OMG I thought I'd have a heart attack.

Meet fresh mozzarella, no, not the bricks or grated stuff from the supermarket, but young balls of fresh cheese, some times in mini balls (ball-ettes?), packed in a watery brine to retain freshness and moisture. Mostly, it's found made from cows' milk but some times you'll find the much-revered buffalo mozzarella, made from the milk of a water buffalo. This stuff is supremely yummy, and it's especially good in summer fare, especially in salads and appetizers. Let's take a look at the many ways to serve fresh mozzarella.

Come summer, the berries, the stone fruits, the melons, they call to us. Eaten out of hand, they pop with sun-kissed fruitiness. Drizzled with cream, they soften and darken, just a bit. But add fruit to a beautiful tart and suddenly all the senses engage: the eyes fill with color, the nose fills with fruit scent, the ears (you can hear the ooo's and ahhh's, yes?), the hands (reaching for a fork, fast!) and finally, the taste, eyes closed, savoring each tiny morsel. Fruit tart recipes? You bet -- here's a collection to get us started, how about one a week between now and fall?

Is there a cook in the house? With Father's Day on Sunday, perhaps a "guy" cookbook is the perfect gift idea. I polled some of my favorite guy food bloggers for their recommendations for Father's Day cookbook gift ideas.