The Tastes of Summer

A year or two ago I was listening to "The Splendid Table" on NPR when the host asked how far one would be willing to travel for that first taste of a ripened summer tomato. 30 miles? 60 miles? 4 hours? 8 hours?

I answered all her questions as if she was sititng right there in the seat next to me. And I answered them all with a resounding YES!

My husband looked at me as if I were crazy. It wasn't the first time.

When I was a child I once developed a nasty rash. My parents believed it was because of the massive amount of tomatoes I had consumed the day before?????

I love, love, love, love fresh tomatoes. Not super market fresh, but just from the garden fresh. The more acidic, the better. Which is why I've been a bit disappointed in the tomatoes I've gotten at the farmer's market so far this summer. They just haven't been acidic enough.

Besides eating them in slices coated with salt and pepper, another way I enjoy them in the summer is in a cucumber salad. I've made at least one cucumber salad a week these past four weeks. It's super easy. Slice a tomato, a cucumber and an onion. Mix them in a large bowl with Kraft Zesty Italian. It's best after sitting in the fridge a few hours.

I also love making BLTs in the summer. I put a new twist on it last week when I fried some green tomatoes and added swiss cheese to my sandwich.

In addition to summer tomatoes, peaches are a big hit in our home. Jack enjoys eating them peeling and all. My favorite way to eat them is in a peach cobbler. I mix a cup of milk, a cup of sugar and a cup of self-rising flour together. I then add the peaches and about 1/2 stick of melted butter and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. I got this recipe several years back from the person I buy the peaches from, and it's the easiest and best peach cobbler recipe I've come across.

Last week I used some of the blueberries we recently picked and did a blueberry cobbler the same way. Add a scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, and you've got yourself a delicious and sweet summer treat.

And now I have a new summer favorite dish to add to my list. Just this past Friday, on the longest day of the year, we enjoyed a carrot dish at a Summer Solistice party. The carrots were thinly sliced and cooked in the oven for about 12 minutes with some butter and a chicken buillon cube. Fresh dill was sprinkled on top after they were removed. It was declicious! I can't wait to try making it myself. I'm thinking of adding a bit of squeezed lemon to my version.