It's Sept. 12. Immediately, two things come to mind, one good and one bad.
Want the bad news first? Well, it's obvious enough: The end of summer is less than two weeks away, which—in the hills and mountains of central Idaho, anyway—means that snow could cover our barbecue grills and patio sets any day now.
As for the good news, well, just take a look at your vegetable garden. Sure, the lettuces are looking a little weary, and perhaps a few leaves on your green beans have succumbed to the cold—but the tomatoes, squash, carrots and peas have all yielded good harvests, and in some places are still doing so. A couple of rows over, the Swiss chard is holding on strong.
Have an apple tree on your property? Well, take a look at it. The fruit should be colorful, plentiful and ripe enough to harvest. This year, even small trees are producing bumper crops of apples perfect for making sauce and pies.
For some, the sudden bounty can be daunting. After all, what does one do with eight pounds of zucchini and 200 apples?
For others—those who don't tend gardens and look to the local farmers' markets or supermarkets for fresh, local produce—the feeling might be the same: Those beans looked so good, you bought three big bags of them.
Either way, late summer is a time for cooks to rejoice. The choices of local ingredients are many, usually rendering dishes that have unsurpassed freshness and a slight hint of terroir, that intangible essence of the local land.
I've been reminded in recent days that there are lots of good ways to make use of summer's bounty. The best reminder, perhaps, has been that one does not need a culinary degree or years of experience to produce a tasty fusion of garden vegetables. In fact, just a little creativity and intuition will do.
One obvious choice is to break out the wok and take your best crack at an Asian stir-fry. You can use just about any combination of vegetables, but it pays to think a little about what tastes might blend the best. I managed to use several of our garden's ingredients in one shot in a stir-fry that featured onions, carrots, red peppers, snow peas, green beans and chives, finished off with some pan-seared chicken breast, tamari, cumin seeds and sesame seeds. The options abound.
The same idea can apply to a light summer pasta dish. Try sautéing some onions, chard, halved cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic in high-quality olive oil and tossing it with your favorite pasta, preferably one that's thinner or smaller, such as spaghetti. Add salt and pepper to taste, top it with some fresh-grated parmesan cheese, and voila, you've cleared out half of your vegetable cooler.
Or, of course, you can make a fresh garden salad with any choice of ingredients, including slices of those apples piled up in the corner. Again, though, think about which tastes work best together, and don't try to mix too many things at once.
For those of you with lots of squash, soup certainly comes to mind. Here's an easy option for zucchini lovers.
Zucchini Soup (serves 8)
5 zucchini, washed and cut into chunks
2 quarts low-salt chicken broth
1 large onion, sliced thin
½ tsp. chervil
½ tsp. oregano, more if it's fresh
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ cup cooked peas
1 cup half and half
3 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs
2-3 tbsp. sour cream
Combine zucchini, broth, onion and seasonings (except the fresh herbs). Bring slowly to a boil and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the zucchini is soft. Add peas and cool until cool enough to puree in batches in food processor or blender. Stir in half and half.
The soup can be served either hot or cold. At serving, garnish with a dollop of sour cream topped with a sprinkle of the fresh herbs.
