8.2.17 Wisconsin Grown | Part 13

Every year, I feel like August sort of sneaks up on me. In general, I find that each year starts off slow, with cold, dark days, gradually giving way to rainy spring. As the months progress, the days lengthen and the weather gets warmer, time seems to speed up until we hit maximum speed around midsummer. This time of year, the days seem to fly by, and I find myself trying to remember what exactly happened to the month of July. Or June for that matter.

August, however sneaky it may be, has got to be my favorite month. It’s the month I was born, the month I got married, the month when summer cooking is at its peak. It’s the last month before fall starts to roll in, which reminds us to make the most of what’s left of summer before it’s gone. We’ll be spending our August making the most of the hot weather, eating tomatoes by the bucketful, and soaking up the sun. And cooking of course. Here’s what we’ll be making with our veggies this week:

Of course we have more Tomatoes this week, for which I am insanely grateful. Our garden sungold tomatoes are producing as well, so tomato season is off to a great start. These days, I’m loving them on toast: good tomatoes (sliced fresh, or blistered in a hot pan), good toast (rubbed with garlic if I’m feeling fancy), a sprinkle of sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, whatever fresh herbs I have on hand, and a drizzle of good olive oil. Any leftovers, along with this week’s Parsley, are going to find themselves in Wisconsin Fun Next Exit’s Tabouli with Cherry Tomatoes.

It seems that all the rain we’ve been getting lately has been responsible for a bumper crop of Cucumbers. I’m patting myself on the back for not planting any extras of my own, and enjoying this week’s supply in Things I Made Today's Summer Squash, Cucumbers, and Snap Peas with Miso Dressing. Also, since we seem to have plenty of Zucchini this week as well, this salad is exactly what we need.

And if we have extra Zucchini? Naturally Ella’s Zucchini Egg Skillet has got us covered.

Broccoli is back this week, and along with plenty of Basil to boot, I think we’ll be making something along the lines of The First Mess’s Sesame Garlic Noodles with Broccoli and Basil (but probably subbing crispy tofu for tempeh).

Along with our CSA Kale, we’re beginning to harvest lacinato kale from our garden as well, which means we have plenty to make Food52’s Potato, Egg, Kale, and Manchego Tart. It also doesn’t hurt that we have lots of Red Norland Potatoes to work with this week as well.

Another lovely head of Lettuce this week has me thinking we should probably be making some of this Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette. It’s also going to ensure that we have absolutely no leftover Tomatoes or Basil this week.

This week’s Onions and Green Peppers are going to make the perfect quesadilla filling. I’m thinking we’ll just sub green peppers for the poblanos in these Poblano, Black Bean, and Shrimp Quesadillas and call it good.