Three Cheers for the Joys of Summer Produce

Summertime is here and I am grooving on it! The farmers' market is bursting at the seams with everything good and wonderful: cucumbers, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, eggplants, greens, tomatoes, summer squash AND winter squash, fresh peas... the list goes on and on. 

a typical farmers market haul

I go to the farmers market twice a week, all year long - and this time of year is the best and the worst! It's the best because EVERYTHING WONDERFUL is available at the market - and it's the worst because (sadly) I can only logistically eat so much in any given day, and I have to force myself to pass by blackberries and peaches and strawberries and kabocha squashes and so much more. It hurts to walk past all that beautiful produce!

me in Carmen Miranda form, celebrating summer veggies

This week I bought: corn, onion, zucchini, broccolitos, parsley, red scallions, dry-farmed tomatoes, a seedless watermelon, cilantro, a small eggplant, a poblano pepper, 2 cucumbers, celery, a jalepeno, white nectarines and nectaplums, kale, bell peppers, and more kale -- all organic! I love love love the farmers market and never take it for granted that I am able to buy almost all my produce locally and straight from the farmers who grow it. What a special thing.

My parents came over for a spontaneous dinner recently, and I wanted to make an easy dessert that was light and special. Nothing fits that bill better than chocolate-covered strawberries! They come together so quickly, and are so delicious and summery. I usually just melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, add in a few more and stir until those melt, and then add in about 1/2 tsp coconut oil and stir until that melts in. Then I dip my berries, and put them on a piece of parchment paper and into the fridge to set up. We all enjoyed them so much!

chocolate-dipped family members

some produce from my aunt's fruit trees

My aunt Laura brought me some beautiful fruit from her garden - Santa Rosa plums and King Figs. So much beauty and deliciousness and fruity glory all in one. Figs are definitely one of my all-time favorite foods. Who thought of figs, anyway? They're so weird and so beautiful and so magnificently rich and flavorful.

Long Weekend Grilled Salad from The Oh She Glows Cookbook

This grilled salad from the Oh She Glows Cookbook is one of my very favorite summer recipes and I always feel compelled to make it a few times each summer - while the gettin's good for corn and peppers and zucchini... Just looking at this picture makes me want to make it again. It's pretty much the epitome of summer veggies, in one huge, delicious dish. 

summertime vibe

slumber party brunch, part 1

My bestie and her 8-year old daughter came down for a slumber party, which is just about the most fun thing ever. For breakfast I made the "Perfect Puffy Pancakes" from Isa Does It. I had some apples from our neighbor's apple tree which hangs over our fence, so I made some sauteed apples to go on the pancakes too. I didn't know what my young pal would think of that, and she loved them!

slumber part brunch, part 2

Although my kiddo pal stuck to the pancakes, us grown-ups wanted something savory to go with our brunch... so I made the always-amazing Mighty Migas from The Taco Cleanse. Seriously that whole cookbook is worth it just for this life-changing recipe. Oh Mighty Migas, how I love you. A few days after this brunch, Mr VE&T and I decided that we needed to have migas again for dinner. Maybe I just need some intravenous migas. Plus, as you can see, I made a big bowl of guacamole! One of my yoga students gave me several beautiful avocados from her tree - and this was a perfect way to put them to use.

I'm so glad that there are still a couple more months of all this glorious bounty to be enjoyed and reveled in. What are you favorite summer fruits and veggies?