"SummerVegetables" news and stories

For those who live in areas where summer, fall, winter, and spring are more than just seasonal tags that tell you what month it is, September is both an exciting and sad time. As the warmth slowly fades away, it's time to revel in squash and all those warm, tasty dishes. But it also means an end to the overabundance of freshness, the time where each week can be an adventure into new produce. The vegetables in the grocery store aren't the same wonderful rainbow of colors. It becomes harder to find the same depth of flavor.

Me, I look at the heirloom caprese salad above, which I ate only a few weeks ago, and wish that the produce season could be just a little longer. I'll miss buying a large basket of tomatoes for only $6, and saturating myself in salsa, sauce, and fresh slices of tomato. I'll miss the large, affordable bunches of basil that work better than any air freshener.

What about you? What summer foods will you miss?

When it comes to making a tuna, potato or other creamy salad, most of us know the standard ingredients by heart. You've got your main attraction, along with a little chopped hard boiled egg (if you don't have a hater amongst your diners), maybe some pickle (sweet or dill), a bit of minced or grated onion (I prefer red), mayo to hold it all together and always, a little chopped celery for unassuming crunch. This is the formula that has served salad makers for years, and for the most part, it is reliable and tasty.

But sometimes, you, want to take your salad to another, unexpected level. That's where I believe the sugar snap pea comes it. Chopped into small, bite-sized bits, it adds sweetness and crunch and often leaves your tasters pondering that delicious addition to the salad (and reaching for more). These peas can be eaten whole (inside and outside alike) and will be showing up in grocery stores and farmers markets more and more over the next couple of months. They are also easy to grow, so take yourself over to your local garden center for a packet of seeds and get growing.