Summer Is Finally Here - Or Is It?

I hear this everywhere I go on a nice day: Summer is finally here! On the cooler, raineir days, the refrain changes to: Is summer ever going to come? Yep, folks, it has been a cool, rainy year; and that is causing some problems with crops. You may have noticed, corn was slow to come in this year.

Sweet corn like hot, humid days, and those have been few and far between this summer. Other crops have been similarly affected. Rain makes tender berries like raspberries tough, because when picked wet, they tend to mold even faster than usual. Blueberries seem to be doing pretty well (and boy are they yummy!), but there is no doubt that the screwey weather has affected the harvest season.

And fungi, yuck! You home gardeners out there that are battling the dreaded late blight on your tomato and potato plants know what I'm talking about. Conditions have been ideal for fungus-related diseases. Luckily, most commercial growers (yes, even organic growers often use fungicide - there are certified organic fungicides available, just as there are other pest deterrants) dust for these types of things to avoid crop problems.

So, it's been a weird growing season. But still, our growers are outdoing themselves. We have been making ourselves sick on sweet corn (I even have a package or two in the freezer ;). And the salads have been out of this world! So, I thought I'd share one of our family favorite summer salads.

Veggies & Feta with Balsamic Vinagrette

Adjust amounts to creat the size salad you need. This should feed ~6 people as a side. All amounts are approximate.

2 large tomatoes, wedged
2 avacadoes, cubed
1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, and 1 green pepper, seeded & cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 Candy onions, trimmed and wedged, with the leaves seperated
1 C crumbled Feta cheese (try the bulk from the Market - I will reserve just a tablespoon or two of the brine and add that to the dressing in leiu of some of the salt)
2-3 T olive oil (try the flavored olive oils from the Market - my fav is the garlic)
4-5 T balsamic vinegar
1-2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste (you must TASTE, particularly for salt, you won't need much, especially if you use the feta brine in your dressing)

Now, I'm a one bowl kind of cook, so I prep all the veggies, and add the dressing ingredients right to the bowl, then toss all together to combine. It is a refreshing salad, and so easy to put together.

Hope you enjoy, and may summer come soon ;)