Summer Cookin'

I love cooking seasonally.  In the winter I make soups weekly and things like meatloaf and mashed potatoes or a roasted chicken seem to work wonderfully.  In the summer though, I like to keep things simple and fresh, fresh, fresh.  Right now our garden is the biggest and best it has ever been which really isn't saying much.  It took a long time but all of our heirloom tomatoes are getting ripe at the same time and we're currently bringing in 5 cucumbers or so a week.  We also have harvest 3 butternut squashes and have 3 more that are probably just about ripe.  Oh, and did I forget to mention the abundance of fresh herbs?  I love the game of trying not to let any of my fresh produce go to waste.  So far I've made refrigerator pickles, lacto-fermented pickles and frozen tomatoes 3 ways: Diced, salsa, and balsamic roasted.  I'm totally loving things like pasta salad with fresh veggies, stir-fries, and sandwiches.  My current favorite summer sandwich would be the caprese grilled cheese.  All you have to do is make a grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella, pesto, and fresh tomatoes.  

There is one recipe that I make repeatedly throughout the summer.  Summer cannot end until I've made this at least 10 times.  It is THAT good.  I got this recipe from my friend Wendy.  Give it a try, you won't regret it.  

This picture is slightly deceptive because I ran out of Mozzarella cheese and had to use some colby jack.  It still tasted wonderful.  

Tomato Basil Pie

1 9" unbaked pie crust

1 1/2 C shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Enough ripe tomatoes to slice and pile high (maybe 4-5)

1 C loosely packed basil leaves, crushed OR 1-2 T dried basil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 Mayo

1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1/8 t pepper

Prebake the pie crust.  Remove the pie crust from the oven and sprinkle with half of the mozz. cheese.  Allow it to cool for a few minutes on the counter while you slice tomatoes and drain them on paper towels.  Pile the tomatoes high over the cheese.  Combine the remaining ingredients (except the mozz cheese) and spread over the tomatoes.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or til it is brown and bubbly.  Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting by yourself.  

What about you?  What recipes are you loving this summer?  I'm working on planning out my menus for the next week and would love to hear what I should add to the list!