Summer is Here☀️😎

The picture shows a white colander filled with ripe red tomatoes. Next to the colander, on a granite countertop, there is a whole onion, a partially broken down garlic bulb in a small glass bowl, and a small glass dish with olive oil. described with support from be my AI.

I love it when you have those moments of sudden, visceral awareness that the season has changed, especially growing up in California where those changes can be subtle. Walking out into a certain crisp coolness that signals fall, the cold, clammy rain of winter, emerging greenery and warmer temperatures showcasing spring, summer hit me early this week.

I finished my last final for school at the end of last week, and am officially no longer a student, which is weird. Went to my first farmer’s market in a long time last Wednesday at the prompting of a nearby friend, glad to be out in the hot sun, wandering from stall to stall to discover what’s fresh, smelling the smells, and gladly accepting all the samples–ripe summer fruits like apricots and pluots and desserts and baked goods like banana cake and tiny donuts that you can apparently buy by the bucket. The smells of fresh berries, kettle corn, and grilling meats. Bantering with all the vendors, snapping up a few great deals, and indulging in more than a few desserts and some prepared food for the convenience, some frozen bao made a couple of meals in the last few days a little easier.

Scored a 5.5 lb. bag of very ripe tomatoes for 5 bucks and my immediate reflex was that we’d just quickly make up a batch of fresh, classic tomato sauce to use soon or freeze. By the time we were on our way home, however, I desperately wanted tomato sandwiches, the kind that you only make with fresh, ripe, in-season tomatoes. We didn’t have the right bread, soft, white sandwich bread. And homemade mayo is always better if you can swing it. Newly liberated from school and in need of some #KitchenTherapy, I dove into the kitchen the next day.

I started by pulling together a quick discard sourdough sandwich loaf and making a quart of classic tomato sauce, complete with fresh basil from our little container garden, and my mind on homemade pizza topped with some of the leeks we scored for a buck a piece, caramelized and paired with bacon. I whipped up a jar of fresh mayo and sliced and seasoned a couple of those tomatoes and by late afternoon, we had a refreshing, light dinner perfect for a hot day, especially complemented by some perfectly ripe avocado and a little pecan tart I picked up with all the other goodies from the farmer’s market. I made that pizza on Friday, and Saturday, we joined friends at the annual Cherry Festival, soaking in great live music, locally brewed beers, and baking in the hot summer sun. Mostly skipped the festival food, other than sampling the cherry cold brew coffee. Had to stop at the store on the way home to get mozzarella for today’s pizza, a Margherita featuring that homemade sauce and more fresh basil courtesy of my SO and his container gardening.🍕🤤 Turns out cherries were on deep discount at $2 per lb., so we picked up two more bags, even though there’s already a quart in the freezer and a bag of fresh in the fridge. Looks like I’ll be playing with a lot of cherries in the foreseeable future.🍒🤤😂

The image shows a spread of food items on a wooden table. There is a cutting board with a loaf of soft white bread that has been partially sliced, and a bread knife resting on the board. Below the cutting board, there is a white plate with neatly arranged slices of red tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper. To the right of the tomato plate, there is a jar of mayonnaise with a red spatula inside it. Next to the jar, there is a small white plate with slices of avocado. In the top left corner, there is a small round pecan tart that appears to be cut into four pieces. There are also a couple of empty white plates on the table. described with support from be my AI.The image shows a sandwich that has been cut in half and placed on a white plate. The sandwich is made with two slices of light-colored bread. Inside the sandwich, there are slices of red tomato and a spread that appears to be mayonnaise or a similar creamy condiment. The sandwich is positioned on a wooden surface, and part of a jar or container is visible in the background. described using be my AI.With student life closed again, a hot summer community festival unlocked with good friends, and produce already so abundant I can barely keep up with it, summer is definitely here and I’m looking forward to savoring every moment.

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