It is hard to believe that over two months have passed since I’ve posted.  I have not had time to post here or read so many of my favorite food blogs, and I’m hoping to change that soon.  In the meantime, we are still here, doing well, and missing you all.  Here are a few pics from late summer.  The produce at our favorite farm was much weaker than last year with the awful weather, but we did enjoy some goodies while the season lasted.

Now we’re entering my favorite time of year when I get back to braises and gratins. Oh wait, that’s right, I do that all year round!  I recently made another version of peasant bean stew with leftover braised pork shoulder, andouille sausage, onions, carrots, parsley, and vallarta beans — it was fabulous.

baby bartlett pears

baby fennel

these orange cherry tomatoes were the star of the season; I found the confetti peppers very bright and pretty, but tasteless compared to their larger cousins

brussel sprouts

peppers at market

There’s an old saying, “if you can’t beat em, join em.”  It applies quite aptly to summertime heat and a good, fresh salsa don’t you think?

My current favorite method of salsa making is about as simple as it gets, and just relies on fresh ingredients.

Fresh Salsa
6 medium tomatillos, diced
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
5 or 6 spring onions, finely chopped (use all the green)
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 3 fresh jalapenos, minced (add heat to personal taste; can also use cayenne or serrano)
juice of 1 to 2 limes, to taste
large bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp rice vinegar (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Just chop everything up and combine in a bowl.  Serve with some tortilla chips, or toast some bread with a little olive oil for a simple bruschetta, or serve as a garnish alongside a well-seasoned and grilled flank steak.

Don’t forget the beer.

Today Lisl had some friends from her choir over for lunch, and this went over quite well (we also had a hit with a black-eyed pea salad that was sort of a combination of this and this).

Below the fold, I’m attaching a few more photos from our recent trip up to the Catskills.

Indian corn and emptying fields

Golden canopies and a still-warm sun

The mountain palette, procrastinating the grey

The last bounties, a final discovery

Merry days, and continual thanksgiving

Revel in the reminder of seasons

I’ll look forward to long days once again

Ah, it was nice to be a locavore while it lasted… just a few more weeks, and then ’till next year!

While we ate well this weekend, I can’t really say there was much in the way of recipes — just fine, fresh food. Below are a few of the photographs taken along the way.

The first local apples are emerging in the Catskills: Ginger Golds (above) and Paula Reds. Tart and delicious!

Mixed peppers

I love color

Bounty from the farm stand

I tried roasting tomatoes after seeing them on Smitten Kitchen. While you see that I tossed some rosemary on top, Deb is right in her post that herbs are really unnecessary. Next time I’ll leave them out entirely.

They’re like little tomato candies

Saturday’s meal was super simple and completely satisfying: corn picked that morning; par-boiled romano beans and cherry tomato salad (tossed with oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar); and grilled pork lightly marinated in olive oil and rosemary. I’m sad that this was the last week for romano beans, as they were my favorite discovery this summer.

I’ll leave you with a lemon-limeade (juice from 5 lemons, 5 limes, sugar to taste, tons of mint chilled in the fridge for a while and served with frozen watermelon chunks standing in for ice cubes). I don’t love the picture but the drink was yummy!

Apples in the Catskills mean that summer is waning, but luckily there’s a whole new wave of great produce still to come.

Cornflowers mean

Long days

Shiny fields

And glorious, delectable

Corn!