August Produce Bounty Easy Peasy Breezy Food Ideas

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I realize that August is NOT the produce delightful frenzy that it is in the Midwest where I live. But if not in your area perhaps you can still share from when it IS more plentiful in your area.

Share a favorite easy peasy breezy way to use the fresh local produce - fruit or vegetables. We all know that a ripe juicy tomato sandwich is heaven on earth. Slice it, butter or mayo the bread, add salt, eat. Easy peasy breezy!

Nothing complicated! 3 mins or 30 at the most. What is your pleasure?

Cottage cheese is my secret weapon this week. This morning, cottage cheese with fresh blueberries, a spoonful of jam and a sprinkle of nuts. Tomorrow, a toasted piece of local sourdough, lightly buttered, spread with cottage cheese, topped with sliced small tomatoes (salted) and topped with herbs.

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No No No The Italian in me is cringing to hear this.- the only correct method is to slice it and add fresh basil, salt, and olive oil (never butter or mayo on a fresh tomato).

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Lol, that sounds delicious also!! Sorry to offend! :wink: Honestly I don’t know if I’d think olive oil unless I TOASTED the bread. Sounds delicious I’ll try it!

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My new secret weapon for using up vast quantities of the things my garden is producing abundantly (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers) is gazpacho.

Here’s one recipe, but you can use a lot of license for creativity on this one
Easy Gazpacho Recipe - Love and Lemons

I also take 5 extra minutes and run the finished product through the food mill so it is super smooth, as I prefer to keep it in a pitcher in the fridge and drink it. So refreshing!

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This looks amazing! I don’t have a food mill would a strainer maybe work???

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a strainer would definitely work, you’d just need to use the back of a big spoon to sort of press it through.

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Yes, you should toast the bread or heat up a nice Italian bread. This is actually my husband’s favorite breakfast - toast with fresh tomatoes.

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I made fresh spring rolls last night. I didn’t grow all the produce but some of the cukes and carrots were from our local farmer’s market and I did grow the Thai basil and mint.

We do love a good ‘mater sammich. We’re in the South so it’s Duke’s mayo, good local bread or maybe some I’ve made, local lettuce or arugula, sometimes a fresh local cuke, maybe non-local avocado.

I will also do a quick pasta with olive oil and a little balsamic or lemon and cut up sungold tomatoes, quick sautĂ©ed other veggies like zucchini, yellow squash, onion, mushrooms, eggplant, peppers. We’re vegetarian but you could throw in some chicken if you’re not. Throw on some fresh basil, maybe fresh thyme or rosemary and black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper to taste.

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I’m still drowning in zucchini here. My go to quick is raw zucchini salad - I use a mandolin to slice it super thin and add olive oil, garlic, parsley and a splash of lemon juice.

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How about zucchini bread (with or without chocolate), zucchini torte, frittata, or quiche, grilled zucchini slices on the BBQ, or just sautéed zucchini over pasta?

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I’ve been doing a lot of sauted zucchini with pesto (basil is also in abundance in my garden) in rice, gnocchi, and pasta. Big winner at our house but I was going with “easy breezy” for my raw zucchini salad to fit the thread topic better.

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Well in that case, the grilled zucchini fits the bill. We just slice, marinade for a bit in Italian dressing and then grill on the BBQ (using one of those grates) - flip it once. Delicious appetizer or side dish.

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“We do love a good ‘mater sammich. We’re in the South so it’s Duke’s mayo” :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

“Duke’s – Of course!”

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Marinated cucumbers – white wine vinegar, a splash of canola oil, sugar, salt, and pepper. The gift that keeps on giving!

Grilled eggplant – brush each side with olive oil, grill 5 minutes or so on each side over medium-high heat.

If we could go outside the 30-minute parameter, I would add tomato pie.

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lol, not forcing the 30 minutes - just was “keeping it simple” and not looking for long, many many steps, recipes! (I LOVE tomato pie! - it really is pretty much a chop, mix and bake item!)

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Gazpacho is our go-to as well; it’s what’s for lunch today. I use an immersion/stick blender to smooth it a bit, but we like it more on the chunky side.

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Okay that’s great and definitely Italian, but a tomato sandwich with mayo (usually on white bread though we don’t do that) is a classic staple that has existed in the US for generations. Not everything tomato based has to be Italian. :slight_smile:

Editing to add, I cook a ton of olive oil based, Italian influenced sauces and other dishes with my tomatoes. Just saying that other approaches are okay too.

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We have a TON of green beans and cherry tomatoes right now, so having this several times a week. Takes longer than thirty minutes cooking time, but super easy prep:

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Tomatoes aren’t Italian anyway. They’re a “new world” fruit/veggie, originating in Mexico and Central and South America. Italians got absolutely no dibs on the “correct” way to do anything tomato-based, but they sure have created some yummy options.

And speaking of Mexican, we do like to do some quick Mexican dishes with chopped tomatoes and yellow squash or zucchini and chiles and onions and mushrooms. Throw in some beans (fresh or canned) and some rice and have it as a burrito or burrito bowl.

Some fresh pico is always nice, too. Just chop up a bunch of tomatoes, onions, chiles, add cilantro (or not). I’m certainly no purist and will put raw squash or zucchini in or avocado or cukes, too.

My husband goes to the farmer’s market every week and brings us home a haul of local produce. Unfortunately our yard is too shady to grow much and we’re loath to cut down trees.

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Agree and agree!