We have now moved into tomato season!

It seems the critters have been enjoying more of the tomatoes from our garden than we have.  Oh well.  The tomatoes from the farmer’s market have been great.  Especially those beautiful yellow and red grape tomatoes.  You almost want to eat them like candy.  I’ve been tossing them with onions, garlic, cilantro and lemon juice for a quick salsa.  But my favorite way to enjoy them is with fresh mozzarella and basil:

Doesn’t that look good??  Just chop up those tomatoes, some mozzarella and basil.  Toss with olive oil and you have a quick salad.  Or, if you want to make a meal of this, add pasta.

This is one of the best times to visit the farmer’s market.  There has been such a great selection of produce.  Some crops have been affected by the drought (corn, in particular), but I came home last weekend with a huge bag of cucumbers and tomatoes.  I was able to make 8 jars of salsa and 7 jars of pickles.  I’m planning to make some tomato sauce and bruschetta topping this weekend.  If you’ve never canned before, try it.  It is so nice to open up a jar of something homemade from the garden in the middle of the winter.  I recommend Ball’s Blue Book of Canning as a good place to start.

Besides all of the canning, I’ve been busy planning two birthday parties.  It is a lot more difficult when you are trying to make everything from scratch but still make something that will appeal to the 7 and 10 year old crowd.  Details to follow soon!  Hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer!