August. The hot summer month of humidity and sun. Great for plants; not so pleasant for us. But our suffering means we also eat like a king (or queen)! This week, the list of vegetables and fruit that are in season here come from your familiar grocery store. Farmer’s markets aren’t the only places that sell local produce; your grocery store does as well.* Just be aware of the labeling and read. The list below includes items that can be found at your local Kroger, Meijer, and Dorothy Lane Market.
- Mustard greens
- Collard greens
- Green onions
- Radishes
- Yellow squash
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Green beans
- Cabbage
- Bell peppers
- Watermelon
- Eggplant
- Sweet corn
- Turnip
- Zucchini
- Cherries (At Dorothy Lane Market, look for the locally grown label. They sell cherries from Washington as well as from a local farmer.)
Need some inspiration? Add some booze to your watermelon. Make a watermelon granita for a refreshing dessert. Go with an Italian theme and make panzanella–and add bacon. Make a cool soup with all those ripe seasonal tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers.
One of my go-to green bean dishes is a simple stir fry. Take two or three handfuls of green beans and roughly chop them so they’re about 1-2 inches long. Take two to three cloves of garlic; slice them thin. Heat up a pan to medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Wait until it’s hot and throw in the garlic and saute until golden. Add the green beans and saute for a couple minutes. Add a little bit of water and cover the pan for 3-4 minutes (until the green beans turn really green). Uncover and turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like it hot, then throw in a dried chile pepper or two.
This cucumber salad is a standard at home and is super easy to make. And forgiving–so much so that I’m not going to give you very exact directions! But I will include a few photos.** Peel a few cucumbers. Slice it in half lengthwise; remove the seeds with a spoon. Slice each half into 1/4 inch slices (width-wise). Salt the cukes and leave them in a bowl to release the water in the cuke. Wait about 5-15 minutes (depending on how hungry you are). While you wait, chop of a half inch of ginger root and skin it using a spoon or knife. Julienne the ginger. Take a clove of garlic, skin it, and set it aside. Once you deem the cucumber has lost enough water, take a handful at a time and squeeze out as much water as you can, then put them in a different bowl. Toss the cuke juice. Add the ginger and garlic. Sprinkle some sugar, add some cider vinegar and drizzle some sesame oil to taste. Toss well and let sit for the ginger, garlic, cukes, and sesame oil to get cozy with each other. Once they’re cozy, go disturb them and scoop them onto a plate and enjoy.
* I plan on discussing this topic in greater detail in a future post.
** These were taken with a camera phone; please forgive the raw unprocessed state they are in.
ohiowhatsinseason 
the beans stir-fry is my favourite way to eat beans too! And the cucumber salad sounds really yum 🙂