It is mid-summer already and the weather has been erratic.   After the smoking heat of last weekend, this one has been very pleasant.  In fact when we had friends over yesterday, we sat outdoors in the patio and it was very pleasant.   The drought however persists and has even worsened.   With careful watering by hand, my summer vegetables have done pretty well in the garden – I have tomatoes, green beans and eggplant this year (all quite productive) and the little collard seedling I bought in Temescal is now a tree!

Peppers galore at the Sunnyvale Farmers Market

Our wonderful farmers market has cucumber, bitter melon, bottle gourd, snake gourd, okra, eggplant, a variety of peppers, tomatoes, summer squashes, and a variety of beans this summer!   The fruits have also been great – we have overdosed on tons of really sweet stone fruits (did you know they are called drupes?) like plums, pluots, apricots, peaches and nectarines, in addition to red juicy strawberries and avocados (yes they are a fruit!)

California-grown Organic Strawberries!

Here is a compilation of the seasonal recipes I cooked up this summer with the produce from the garden and our beloved farmers market.

Drinks:
Cleansing Juice
Ginger-Mint Shrub
Strawberry-Mint Shrub
Kefir-Blueberry Smoothie

Ginger-Mint Shrub

Sides:
Ethiopian Collard Greens
Watermelon Rind Curry

Roasted Summer Squash with Scallions

Main Dish:
Chopped Summer Salad

Enchiladas with Spicy Fermented Salsa

Desserts:
Chia Seed Pudding with Blueberry Compote
Sugar-free ice cream with pluot jam topping

How has the summer bounty inspired your cooking?  Have you saved any produce for the cold season?   Do share!