We challenge you to eat a ridiculous amount of summer produce this month. Try piling half your plate each meal with fresh, raw, or lightly steamed veggies, fruit, and berries. Seriously, with a long list of in-season choices, you got this!
Why fresh, raw, or just lightly steamed? Because the summer sun has already cooked fresh produce to perfection. Enjoy them as nature intended, and—bonus!—you won’t have to fire up the stove or oven in this record-setting Texas heat. Plus, fresh produce is easier to digest and helps keep you hydrated since fruits and veggies are mostly water.
What's in Season: Your August Guide
As we said, the list of what’s in season is long and tasty: tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, peppers, corn, cucumbers, blackberries, watermelons, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, figs, basil, okra, green beans, Swiss chard, tomatillos, turnips, and eggplant. The recipes to come from this list are limitless.
Plus a special bonus: purslane. Purslane is not just a weed, it’s a superfood hiding in plain sight. Try it in a salad with vinegar and olive oil, or lightly steam it with garlic, onions, and avocado oil. You’ll get most of your daily vitamins A and C from just one serving.
Add peppers to everything! Bell peppers, minis, Japanese shishitos, unpredictably spicy padrons, jalapeños, and serranos are great in salads, salsas, and crudites. Or enjoy them on their own dipped in guacamole or fresh homemade Pico de Gallo.
Tomatoes are summer powerhouses. Try some colorful heirlooms, bite-sized yellow Sun Golds, and cherry tomatoes for salads, salsas, and pico. Make bruschetta with tomato and basil. Chop fresh tomatoes with garlic, basil, olive oil, and vinegar, and serve on lightly toasted French or Italian bread.
Cucumber-lime agua fresca, anyone? Sounds like just the cool and refreshing drink you need on a hot afternoon, made with cucumbers, lime, and mint. The perfect way to cool down on a hot day!
An Easy Greek Salad makes any picnic better. Toss plum tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper, Kalamata olives, and crumbled feta cheese with lemon and red wine vinaigrette. Then refrigerate it for a couple of hours.
And oh my goodness, melons are the best afternoon snack! Try them all—watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, muskmelon, Crenshaw, and Israeli ogen melons. Remember, though, that you should eat melons by themselves to keep your digestive tract happy.
Why Not Grow Your Own?
Living here at Lariat gives you room to have your own garden, so you can step out your back door and pick your meals off the vines. But how do you get started? Well, it’s fairly simple to grow hearty veggies like green beans, squash, and cucumbers. Once you get them going, you’ll have enough to share with your neighbors and friends. Start by determining your climate zone so you can grow the right plants at the right times. Use the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map to get all the info you need to decide what to grow and where to put your garden.
So what are you waiting for? Contact us today to find your brand-new dream home, and start a garden of your very own!