Blog Posts by Sarah McColl, Shine staff

Melty Chocolate Ice Cream ConeOn a sweltering, fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk summer day, only two things can be counted on to cool you off: a dip in a pool and an ice cream cone. (Had in quick succession, it's the stuff February daydreams are made of.) But part of the fun is the quick work of it. Sometimes, no matter how fast you lick, the chocolate-vanilla-strawberry drips down the cone and onto your hand--a sticky, delicious mess. It's a quintessential summer moment FiguerasPhoto captured beautifully in this photograph and these simple words: "Summer just wouldn't be summer without a melty chocolate ice cream cone." We couldn't agree more, and neither could you. Shine readers chose this entry as the best embodiment of the First Bite of Summer in June's Supper Club. Now, please pass the ice cream.

Curious about the Supper Club? Check back at noon PST on July 2 to learn the new theme and join us in our next eating adventure. Word has it there'll be a prize!

Thanks to everyone who participated, and congrats to

Summer! I can't stop jumping up and down about drippy ice cream cones, ripe strawberries, outdoor cocktails and everything else the season has to offer. In the Shine Supper Club, we've been celebrating our First Bites of Summer all month long. You told us you love watermelon more than anything, that you wistfully recall--or are still lucky enough to have--an ice cream truck, and that it's not summer until you've eaten fresh local peaches and sweet corn. We hear you! Now it's time to vote for who best captured the ripe, relaxed tastes of the season.

Snowy Strawberry Fields Cake
Summer Berry Cobbler Ramekin Pies
Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Salsa
Lightened-Up Chicken Salad
Strawberry Muffins
Easy, Breezy 7-Layer Dip
Summer Pasta
Rustic Peach and Plum Tart
Chocolate Ice Cream Cone

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 06: A general view of the Golden Arches of McDonald's fast food restaurant in Times Square on March 6, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Hider/Getty Images) Guess many McDonald's customers aren't lovin' it. McDonald's finished last in a ranking of its restaurant peers in a report released Tuesday by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Fast food restaurants Papa John's, Subway and Taco Bell all scored better than the burger giant. Among restaurants specializing in burgers, Wendy's led the pack, followed by Burger King.

[Related: McDonald's worker spits in iced tea]

The ranking isn't new territory for McDonald's, which serves 68 million customers per day. Except for 2009, when McDonald's edged ahead of of KFC and Burger King by a percentage point, McDonald's has consistently placed last in the ranking since 1995.

But Mickey D's is steadily improving. Its 73 percent satisfaction score in 2012 is a substantial gain from its all-time low of 59 percent in 2000.

McDonald's issued a statement in response to the findings: "At McDonald’s, customer satisfaction has, and continues to be, a top priority. We take all customer feedback

Peanut Butter and JellyLike bread and butter or french fries and ketchup, peanut butter and jelly are a match made in flavor heaven. They belong together, like Angelina and Brad.

So when did they first meet? There's some dispute about when peanut butter and jelly were first sandwiched together. One popular theory suggests that as army rations during World War II, soldiers spread jelly on top of peanut butter to make it more palatable (peanut butter apparently had an even worse tendency then to stick to the roof of your mouth). Others claim that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches had been packed in kids's lunches all throughout the 1920s and '30s, ever since peanut butter brands Peter Pan and Skippy were available on grocery store shelves. Either way, the PB&J sandwich is an enduring classic. In 2002, it was estimated that the average American child eats 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school, reports TIME.

But why does this pair complement each other so well?

"PB&J checks all our

by Sarah McColl, Shine staff

We have a tradition at my house of New Year's Day lemon bars. My husband keeps an index card in a bent and wrinkled file folder labeled "recipes." Written in his blocky cartoonist scrawl is a short recipe for lemon bars we've now come to swear by. They're nothing fancy, just butter (lots of butter), lemon, flour, eggs and sugar, but they're the dessert I look forward to more than any other. We eat them cold from the refrigerator on the first day of the year: crumbly, rich butter crust, sweet lemon filling, and powdered sugar on top. It's become our annual reminder to make the most of whatever comes our way. And, of course, our excuse to eat lemon bars for breakfast. This June, celebrate National Lemon Month with a dessert that will serve as a reminder to make the best of whatever life throws your way. Or at the very least, let it be your excuse to have lemon bars for breakfast.

Sometimes a perfect summer food is as simple as a ripe red cherry...When it comes to summer, I get as excited about iced coffee and grilled hamburgers as I do about wavy beach hair and swimming holes. Summer is all about pleasure, and the meals we eat every day offer a delicious gateway to delight, from something as simple as a bowl of ripe red cherries to a raucous filled-with-friends-and-family barbecue. So tell us: what summer food can you never wait to eat, as soon as summer rolls around?

Want to tell us more about your favorite summer food? Join the Shine Supper Club!

Robert M. Peacock/Here's a summer homework assignment, in honor of National Iced Tea Month. (Don't panic, there's no sentence diagramming necessary.) Brew some iced tea, and carry it outside. Plop yourself down--preferably in a hammock--put your feet up, and slowly sip. Repeat all summer long. Iced tea begs one thing: that we slow down--waaaay down--and enjoy sweet, simple summer pleasures. Yahoo! Shine spoke to Denise Gee, author of Southern Cocktails, Porch Parties, and the forthcoming Sweet on Texas to learn the secrets of brewing a perfect glass of iced tea and having a perfectly sweet summer.

Related: Tell us what your first bites of summer will be

SWEETENED OR UNSWEETENED?
There's a saying below the Mason-Dixon line: "Sweet tea is the house wine of the South," says Gee. Expect unsweetened ice tea and prepare to be disappointed: "It's like you're a vegan at a barbecue restaurant," quips Gee. Despite regional traditions, dyed-in-the-wool Southerners and Yankee tea-drinkers alike are increasingly

by Sarah McColl, Shine staff

On Sunday, I sat on a bench outside an ice cream parlor. The sun was on my face, my feet were in sandals, and I was dipping my spoon into a swirl of dutch chocolate and vanilla soft serve. Once I had that first bite, it didn't matter what the calendar said: summer had begun.

National Chocolate Ice Cream Day has only inspired more ice cream-driven thoughts. There are moments for ice cream cones eaten on a hot patch of sidewalk and pints pulled from the freezer, eaten on the hottest day directly in front of a whirring fan. But for barbecues and simple family dinners when you want a little something more, these easy ice cream (and sorbet and sherbet) desserts are just the ticket. We're not talking hand-churned here. This is store-bought taken to a whole 'nother level. We can all scream for that.