I'll Take My BLT in a Bowl, Please.

Admittedly, Seattle isn't the hottest place to be in the summertime. It's quite different from the summers I remember growing up in Massachusetts. The ones where the humidity wraps around you like a wet terry-cloth towel upon opening the front door. Those car rides home from Cape Cod, my sticky legs frying like sausage links against the leather car seats. Realizing that sleeping with a fan blowing on you isn't cooling, but instead the equivalent of a convection oven.  Trying to look presentable when no amount of Frizz-Ease will tame my inherently curly hair. Thanks, Mom. But even though I'm removed from the 95 degree July days of my youth, I still crave the cooling meals that represent summer. Juicy slices of red watermelon, popsicles (preferably the double-stick ones in banana flavor), dripping ice cream cones, and cool, crunchy vegetables.

Lately, I've traded my beloved toasted BLT sandwich for a refreshing deconstructed version. After seeing a few bacon-laden salads around the blogosphere, I had a hankering to toss one together for lunch. A bowl of crisp romaine, halved grape tomatoes, chopped applewood smoked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and thinly sliced red onion. Sounds good, right? Well I like to make a good think even better: I dressed the mess in a warm maple bacon vinaigrette. A spin on Alton Brown's "Bacon Vinaigrette," this drizzled sauce is deliciously sweet, savory, and rich. The perfect accompaniment, really.

What about you? Which foods do you crave in the summertime?

Maple Bacon Vinaigrette

-Andrea Mitchell, Foodista staff and blogger at CanYouStayForDinner.com