School may be starting early this year, but that doesn’t mean that the summer vibes must end. Lamorinda’s warm August days and nights continue to evoke a summer state of mind, drawing us out of our homes for al fresco meals with friends and family. Todd and I love turning on our pizza oven, opening summer wines, putting solar lights in the pool, and inviting others over for pizza night in our backyard. It’s fun to pick and use the ingredients grown in our garden – fresh basil, figs, and tomatoes. This Chevre/Sun-Dried Tomato/Roasted Garlic Pizza can’t be beat either. Here are some of our team’s August evening activities, and a few of their favorite recipes:

 We love walking our dogs to downtown Lafayette’s Sideboard restaurant and ordering a dinner of fried chicken and various salads. Sideboard makes it easy to stage a picnic right across the street at Lafayette Plaza Park. When cooking at home, I add this colorful cowboy caviar side dish to a menu of barbecue chicken and butter-leaf greens. Wendy Means

We like to meet our friends on the Moraga Country Club pool deck for summer evening dinners and swimming. I often take this Ina Garten dish - summer garden pasta made with fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden. Allison Biner O’Brien

We always have SO many tomatoes from our garden and there is only so much caprese salad one can eat. This is a great recipe that utilizes those fresh tomatoes: Braised Chicken with Summer Tomatoes. Ginny Peterson

My favorite activity this summer is to pack dinner and meet several families at Bay Club for swimming! This is my go-to yummy summer salad recipe: Watermelon Salad with Feta. Sarah Kellar

We love to have friends over for casual summer barbeques and sit outside by our fire table. This is one of my favorite summer recipes that I serve over and over again: Corn/Avocado/Tomato Salad. Lauren Woolsey

This summer my family has really enjoyed cooking together. We try new recipes twice per week and enjoy dinner together on our back patio.  Our family favorite new recipe is Spicy Salmon Bowls, a healthy meal that takes little time to make. Emily Forschler

We jump on our cruiser bikes and head to a local brewery or restaurant, which is easy to do on our terrific local trails. Headlands, Canyon Club, Batch & Brine, and Public House are favorites. And when home, we love to make these easy marinated grilled vegetable kebabs that go with anything we happen to be grilling. Ann Marie Quinn

I love making popsicles for my family using the famous Hailey Bieber smoothie recipe that includes fresh summer fruits and yogurt. I usually enjoy them in the backyard watching the sunset with my family or on walks with Dylan and our dog Beau. Madeleine Smith