Do you find yourself both in love and at war with late summer produce?  All of those lovely, juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers?  The peppers in every color of the rainbow and the zucchini as long as your arm?

So beautiful and so plentiful!

But that plenty can quickly turn from pleasure to boredom as you add one more tomato to your salad.

But his summer I found a few new recipes that make me wish for perhaps just one more tomato!

1.Tomato Carpaccio with Spring Onion and Ginger Salsa

This dish from Ottolenghi Simple is what all tomatoes must dream of becoming.  The dish celebrates the very essence of the tomato by serving them sliced with a fragrant yet light topping of scallions and ginger.

2.Recycled Pickles

I had a really great jar of pickles at the start of the summer.  And when they were done I just could not bring myself to throw away the brine.  So I sliced up one of my many cucumbers and tossed them into the jar.  Voila!  A whole other batch of pickles the next day.  (Just be sure your pickle liquid is still fresh and clear and don’t reheat it!)

3.Pasta Pomodoro

When I find the tomatoes infringing on my personal space, they go into this spectacular sauce from Barbuto.   It is a very simple pomodoro sauce that explodes with tomatoey (is that a word?) freshness in your mouth and makes you hope that nobody else is coming to dinner so you can enjoy the whole pot for yourself.

4.Zucchini, Thyme and Walnut Salad

I am no fan of zucchini and I cringe when they show up in the weekly delivery from the local farm.  But I have finally found a recipe that makes me WANT to find another one at the bottom of the bag!  This Ottolenghi Simple salad of raw ribbons of zucchini studded with a bit of garlic, walnuts, and herbs is so addictive that I really had to add a second recipe from the this cookbook!

5.Zucchini and Cheddar Scones

Did I mention my hatred of zucchini?  If you happen to be in my camp, you will love this savory scone that absolutely camouflages the loads of zucchini inside with all the sharp, yummy cheddar!

Get picking.  And cooking!