Late Summer

I love the seasons and the inspiration that comes from each of them. I am learning the value and pleasure of cooking seasonally and I find celebrating the cycle of the calendar year life giving. For me summer time is produce stand shopping and grilling out. Then fall brings the richness of the root vegetables, then winter beckons for weekly soup night in my kitchen, and on and on it goes.
Summer provides great ingredients for the kitchen. By the end of a hot summer I am ready for fall to come and the school doors to open.
However two of my favorite gifts of late summer are
tomatoes and peaches.
They make the Tennessee heat more bearable and have inspired many of my meals in the past month.

A winter tomato is not worth eating, in my mind. Pastel pink tomatoes have no flavor- I opt out. But a rich, red, juicy summer tomato-a "real tomato", I call it, can be the centerpiece of the meal!

BLTs- my favorite summer sandwich
BLTACs (BLT + Avocado+ Cheese) my friend Melissa’s favorite
Breakfast sandwiches
Bruschetta
Tomato/Feta Salad
Thick Slices with Kosher Salt and fresh Ground Pepper
...just to name a few

This summer we have been trying to be healthy in our home. We are working on reducing our portion size. My husband says his life long goal is “smaller portions”… it is his perpetual New Year’s resolution. This morning my breakfast was an english muffin/egg white/tomato sandwich and some sliced peaches on the other 1/2 and it was a delicious start to the morning. Then a BLT for lunch. And though our BLTs this summer have been the healthy variety, I must say, thanks to some amazing tomatoes, they are craveable- even with turkey bacon on whole wheat sandwich bread. In fact, I think I might go make one right now.