Midsummer Harvest
by Terri Wilson Godfrey
In mid-July
the humidity has established itself in our warm summer days here in the
Northeast. Vegetables are ripening and
we are picking beans, zucchini and summer squashes, cucumbers, Swiss chard, corn and early tomatoes. Herbs are full and lush, blooming and
filling the air with their marvelous scents; lavender, lemon balm, bergamot,
chives, dill, rosemary, mints, fennel and all that we’ve cultivated to flavor
our meals and add to our table bouquets.
In times
gone by I would place abundant baskets of organic tomatoes, cukes, squashes,
herbs and bouquets of herbs and flowers at the bottom of the driveway, lined up
on the railroad ties. My Thyme in the
Garden farm stand was complete with an on-your-honor payment system in a cigar
box. Tomatoes 25 cents or 5 for a $1.00. (One year we stopped counting after picking
1000 tomatoes). Bouquets for $5.00 complete with the glass
jar. Herbs $2.00 per bunch. My informal vegetable stand would prompt
many a traveler to stop and pick up something to serve with dinner or a fresh
bouquet for the table.
Here is one
of my all-time favorite recipes to make during the harvest months. Packed with nutrition. Serves 4 – 5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Garden Harvest Bake
1/4 cup cold pressed olive
oil
1 medium Vidalia or sweet
onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves pressed
thru garlic press
3 medium zucchini or
summer squash sliced into rounds
1 sweet red pepper cut
into strips (2 if you’d rather)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
OR 2 Tablespoons dried basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh
parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan
cheese (more if you desire)
2 large ripe garden
tomatoes, thinly sliced
Fresh ground pepper
1 cup
crushed Ritz crackers or Italian bread crumbs
Heat oil in
large skillet. Add garlic and
onion. Cook approx. 10 minutes until
tender. Add squashes and sweet red
pepper, simmering until almost tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in salt, half of the basil and parmesan
cheese and all of the parsley. Transfer
mixture into a 9 x 12 baking pan and top with sliced tomatoes, remaining basil
and parmesan. Grind fresh pepper across
the top. Spread Ritz crackers (or
crumbs) over top along with remaining cheese, drizzle with olive oil. Bake 22 minutes at 400 degrees. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.
