Chris:

Summer is here with a vengeance, finally.

As recorded the past two months, the rains of May set back our harvest schedule by  almost a month, but this typically hot (90s to over 100), dry-as-a-bone July has us making up for lost time. The cherry tomatoes continue to ripen at a great daily rate (see the photos above and below), a dozen or two dozen a day,

while the two cucumber plants keep producing steadily.

Meanwhile, the three pepper plants–especially the cajun red–are producing fruit at a record rate for our little garden.

Even the Black Beauty eggplants are beginning to sprout fruit, a good month later than usual…

…and I have hope for a bumper crop from the three plants in August.

Peaches, anyone? But the big story for the end of July is the arrival of the ripe freestone peaches, a good month later than usual for the past several years. Now, of course, we are inundated, since peaches all ripen–unlike tomatoes–in a big bunch over ten days or so. If we don’t pick them and process them in one or more ways, they just wind up falling to the ground or being devoured by the birds (which we don’t mind at all).

So we chop as many as we can for freezing…

…eat them steadily as dessert or snacks,

…give them away to friends, and/or

…slice them into cereal, yogurt, or ice cream.

Some make their way into Jean’s pies and her blueberry peach muffins (see below).

What we try to avoid as much as we can is just chucking them into the compost bin (not a bad alternative, really), or, worse, watching them soften and rot on the counter or in the fruit bowl.

Jean:

Three Kitchen Treats

        Cucumber-Radish-Mint Salad

Thanks to Molly Yeh and the folks at the Food Network,

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/smashed-cucumber-salad-with-mint-5543565

here is a tasty salad idea that highlights the cucumbers and mint from our garden. We chop the cukes (into half-inch wedges) rather than “smash” them, and we used the spices we have on hand rather than buy the more exotic elements (like za’atar) that Yeh recommends. Still, the blend of cukes with salt, black pepper, spicy radishes and red onion, plus the tang of the lemon juice (you can also use vinegar) with the bold freshness of the mint, makes this an ideal July treat to serve alongside any meat dish–or eat as the main dish itself.

We put all the veggie ingredients in a bowl, toss thoroughly,

…add the mint, toss again

…then add the lemon juice, the salt, the black pepper, and spices, and toss thoroughly again. Feel free to add more salt, pepper, and spices until you achieve the desired taste.

We added plain yogurt as a topping and cherry tomatoes as a garnish both for color and sweetness.

Tomato,Veggie, Herb Sauce for Pasta

This one is about as simple as you can imagine. What you mainly need is patience as the mixture cooks down on low heat, with you stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking.

It’s a tasty way to use all those accumulated cherry or grape tomatoes. Wash them and be sure to pull out the tiny stems before you plop them into the water (a couple cups) in a large saucepan.  Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer or low.

While the water is heating and the tomatoes begin to soften, chop up your garden herbs, plus a yellow onion and a couple cloves of garlic. We used Italian basil, Greek oregano, fennel, thyme, chives, and marjoram, as you see below…

…but feel free to throw in other savory herbs you have in your garden or pantry.

Add the herbs to the cooking tomatoes, plus salt, black pepper, baking sugar (just a bit, for balance with the savory flavors), and other spices you desire.

Saute the onion and garlic, plus any other veggies you choose, like green pepper, cucumber, or zucchini, in a kind of skillet stir fry…. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Then join all the ingredients in the saucepan; continue cooking on low. As the tomatoes cook, you may want to add more salt, pepper, and spices to taste. If you’d like to throw in some red wine, go ahead. It’s all up to you.

The key is to keep cooking until all the tomatoes have separated from the skins. This will take an hour or more, so be patient. Stir occasionally. Taste as desired. (If you’re like us, you’ll taste pretty often, because the aroma is so tantalizing.)

Once the skins have separated, you can pull them out with metal tongs. We always get a lot of them out, but some stay in and that doesn’t bother us in the slightest.

We used this batch with spaghetti, with polenta, with rice, and even with scrambled eggs. Again, whatever your taste thinks will work together.

Blueberry Peach Muffins

With visits from kids and grandkids coming up this summer (including one visit later this week), we wanted these on hand. They’re great either just from the oven, or out on a plate for snacking–or thawed out from the freezer later on.  Here’s the article we used as a guide:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/35815/blueberry-peach-muffins/

but, as you know, we always feel free to make adjustments, depending on what we have on hand.  Instead of all AP white flour, we substituted half a cup of white whole wheat flour and half a cup of instant oatmeal for a cup of the AP flour.  we had some slightly soured milk to use instead of fresh milk, so we added a little (1/2 tsp?) baking soda to sweeten the milk.  For further sweetening and moistening, we threw in 1/2 cup chopped banana with the other fruits, and finally sprinkled some chopped pecans on top.  Oh, and some cinnamon sugar.  Very nice.

 

A Few More July Bright Spots in the Garden

 

…And a Busy Friend Poses on a Nearby Tree

On to August!