The Hauls of August

3 August 2011 at 12:01 | Posted in Recipes & Food | 6 Comments

Yosefa at Cooking Outside the Box is kicking off a monthly seasonal-food link-up, which I’m really excited about because this is an area in which I’d like to improve, and I need ideas. (I’m still going to eat salads in winter, because that seems to be an excellent perk of living in the twenty-first century…but I’d like to do it a little better, you know?) It should be a no-brainer to eat seasonally. Just eat what’s in season, right? You’d think, being that my mom grew up on farms and cooked all our food from scratch on a tight budget, that it would be second nature to me. I’ve sheepishly found this not to be the case. Sure, I never buy strawberries in the dead of winter and I realize that tomatoes are tasteless by late fall. But the produce section in my local supermarket, I’ve realized, is working against me: it adjusts only slightly to the change of seasons. Apples in the fall, peaches in the summer, yes, but tropical fruits, tomatoes, greens, and almost anything else all year around. And even the seasonal fruit is usually flown or driven from afar. It is not intuitive, selecting seasonal produce in the supermarket.

Right now in my supermarket, there are some local, seasonal vegetables. They’re hanging out in a display meant to look like a farm stand: humongous tomatoes, corn, and a nice array of summer squash. All the summer fruits I love so much are on display – peaches, plums, and apricots – but they’re still trucked in. I’ve been ignoring the produce section in favor of farm stands, farmers’ markets, and the quarter-portion of a CSA box I share. But as soon as the summer harvest is gone, I’ll be back to the produce section and then I’ll have to contend with its strange insulation from growing seasons and geographical limitations.

My goal for this coming year is to collect and make use of seasonal recipes. Here in August I’ve been concentrating on recipes that use summer squash, corn, tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and other greens, potatoes, and all the summer fruits. I’ve been noticing that some of my favorite veggies are either winter crops, like brussels sprouts and cauliflower, or root vegetables that keep well for the winter, like carrots and sweet potatoes. I realize I can buy just as nice a cauliflower in the super right now as I will be able to in November, but then what will I do with all the beautiful zucchini? There is something exciting about waiting for the season.

Some summer recipes on my to-try list:

Cherry tomato and beet salad from The Boreka Diary
Cucumber salad from Urban Organic Gardner
Garlic pickles from בריאות בקלילות, a new favorite cookbook
Summer squash and chive pancakes from Skinny Taste – I made these already (with whole-wheat flour) and they are amazing
Tomato, basil, and corn soup from Barefoot and Cooking
Mara’s kale and potato au gratin from Kosher on a Budget
Ari’s Simpler Moussaka and figs with honey and feta from Ari Cooks
Beefy zucchini from Real Food, Allergy Free
Mimi’s Meatballs with swiss chard from Israeli Kitchen
Grilled beef cigars from JoyOfKosher
…And some kind of impromptu pesto before the summer is over

Got any more for me?

6 Comments »

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Great picture! Is that from your CSA? They look very local and fresh. Thank you so much for linking up and using my badge! (As a newbie, I’m happy to see the code worked!) That looks like a great list of summer recipes. I will definitely have to try tomato, basil, and corn soup. And the squash chive pancakes sound good too, if I don’t have to stand over a hot pan.

Comment by Yosefa @nonrecipe— 3 August 2011 #

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- I’m so glad you started this! There is just something fun and official about badges, isn’t there? Yup, the veggies are from a local CSA, though not from this year – I like that “Barba-Abba” eggplant so I thought I’d put it up!
  
  Comment by BookishIma— 3 August 2011 #
  
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I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for mentioning my recipe. You have a wonderful blog. Have a blessed day!

Comment by Nancy @ Real Food Allergy Free— 3 August 2011 #

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- Thanks for stopping by, Nancy – and for sharing your recipe! I’m going to try serving it over polenta.
  
  Comment by BookishIma— 3 August 2011 #
  
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Lovely summer recipes. I signed up for a CSA this year and it’s really helping me cook with the seasons. I shared a recipe for Marinated Zucchini Salad over on Cooking Outside the Box. It doesn’t require any cooking, which makes it especially great for summer. http://www.koshercookingforordinarypeople.com/2011/07/marinated-zucchini-salad.html

Comment by Rivki Locker— 3 August 2011 #

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- Joining the CSA was what really got me started, too! Your salad looks great – some of my zucchinis are now earmarked for it.
  
  Comment by BookishIma— 3 August 2011 #
  
  Reply