In today’s Seasonal Pantry, which you can read here, I ask for your favorite ways to enjoy summer’s bounty.
What do you do with Gravenstein apples, other than eat them?
The first Gravenstein apples I saw this year were from Blasi Ranch, which attends the Healdsburg farmers market (Wednesday and Saturday) and the Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market.
Do you make pesto at home?
What is your favorite way to enjoy summer tomatoes?
Got a trick with melons?
Do you make Santa Rosa Plum tarts or galettes?
Where do you get most of your summer produce? What are you drinking this summer?
Please share here.
little green
Yesterday afternoon I started a pizza dough and set about the garden and neighborhood to gather my toppings. My neighbor had just left a pint of fresh pesto on my doorstep the day before, so I knew that was going to be my base. I had harvested garlic and onions a few weeks ago so those went into the pan to caramelize. Fresh tomatoes came from the lovely farm stand on S. Wright Rd at Twin Palms Ranch. I reached over the fence and picked 4 beautiful figs from the neighbors tree. All this went on the flattened dough and covered by fresh goat mozzarella from the milk of a friend’s goats. Yea for summer in Sonoma County!
August 1st, 2012 12:31 pm
kcarrie
My favorite summer sandwich is a toasted sour dough english muffin spread with mayo with a thick slice of sharp cheddar cheese and a thick slice from the ripest tomato in my garden. It’s one of those things you need to eat over the sink or risk wearing the juices.
August 1st, 2012 4:28 pm
Padi Selwyn
Melon sorbet with very ripe, runny melon is a great treat. I’ve been using agave syrup in lieu of sugar with excellent results for fruit sorbets this summer. 3/4 c. agave mixed with l cup water, add 2 cups pureed fruit. Watermelon sorbet is fabulous, as is meyer lemon done this way.
Gravs turn into apple sauce made with fresh ginger, frozen or canned. Plus, peeled, sliced and slathered with pie spices, then frozen flat in zip lock bags for pies and cobblers this winter.
August 1st, 2012 8:54 pm
peggy songster
As the tomatoes ripen I make small batches of tomato sauce. We plant Julliettes, a small, oval shaped fruit. The plants produce lots of tomatoes. They cook up quickly and are so sweet. We use it plain on top of different pastas and add any summer vegies on hand with a sprinkle of basil leaves. Yum! Plus we get a 1/2 – 1 pint of really fresh tomato juice to drink.
Extra sauce goes in the freezer for winter meals with a taste of summer.
August 1st, 2012 10:06 pm
L. Fiske
BLT
Sour dough bread – toasted to perfection
3 slices bacon – cooked & drained
3 tomatoes – 1 yellow, 1 red & 1 black/brown/purple
Lettuce
Chipotle en adobo laced mayonnaise
Stack it and pack it.
Thinly sliced cucumber is an option.
August 2nd, 2012 6:44 am
Nicolle
Peggy’s recipes sound great! I had a nice, mild potato salad with yogurt dressing recently. Ate it with a green salad and kielbasa.
5 red potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cucumbers (local), peeled, seeded, and chopped
6 scallions
parsley
dressing:
cup of yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves minced garlic
olive oil
salt
dill
August 2nd, 2012 9:54 am
nancy
Non-alocholic Persian mojito? A very kind persian friend rescued me from the dry desert (111 degrees and 2% humidity!) and she gave me the recipe for Sekanjabin. I LOVE this drink! It is made from simple syrup, vinegar, mint, cucumber and ice water. I know it sounds weird, but it SAVES the day. Milleniums in the desert–the Persians know how to survive the heat. She said in the late afternoons her mother would serve it in a bowl with crisp leaves of iceberg lettuce to dip into it. I just drink tall icy glasses of it and truly am refreshed.
August 8th, 2012 1:24 pm
gmama
Gravenstein Apple Pie, but using coconut oil in the crust. Awesome combination of flavors & texture, not to mention the health benefits. Try it!
August 16th, 2012 9:36 am