Summer’s last gasp.
Growing up, summer ended with the return to school. I remember trading in shorts for corduroy pants and long sleeves. Somehow, on that first day there were already leaves to crunch underfoot and bowls of McIntosh apples set out for a snack between soccer and dinner. It signaled the abrupt end to days spent freely outdoors pursuing a schedule limited only by your imagination. It was when reading again became homework.
As an adult, summer’s end isn’t marked by your car pulling away from a cabin or cottage - kids in the back and luggage strapped to the top. You don’t count down the last seconds by watching the ocean or a serene lake shrink out of sight in your rear view mirror. The grand finale doesn’t occur when you put away the sprinklers you ran through barefoot as often as they were used to water the garden.
No, summer’s end comes with one final harvest, served in a bowl. It’s the last of the eggplant, basil, and zucchini, the straggling tomatoes and tough green beans, cooked in a single pot to coax out one last taste of the season’s produce, bold and fresh. They take many forms from Mom’s caponata and my Aunt Ali’s soupe au pistou to rich ratatouille and hearty minestrone.
These dishes, then, aren’t a tearful goodbye. They are a hug. Just like the one you get from your Mom on the first day of school. It says, “don’t worry, summer will return soon enough.”
Tomato zucchini quesadillas
Serves 5-8
September brings summer’s last gasp when we treasure the final tomatoes, zucchini, beans and eggplant from the garden. dishes like caponata, minestrone and this crisp-crusted quesadilla, oozing cheese, help these late season vegetables out with a little extra time on the stove and additional flavor from herbs and spices. This is hearty enough for a simple dinner and scales up easily for a crowd.
Ingredients:
6 tbs olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 small zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
Sherry vinegar
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 6” corn or flour tortillas
Directions:
Warm 1 tbs oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and sauté until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes longer.
Add tomatoes, turn heat to medium high, and cook until moisture is released and tomatoes soften. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until mixture thickens.
Add basil, parsley, cumin and turmeric. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Sherry vinegar.
Layer 1 tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 cup vegetables and another 1/4 cup cheese. Top with a second tortilla.
In a 10” skillet, warm 1 tbs oil over medium heat. Fry quesadilla until golden brown in spots, about 3 min. Flip, cook for another 3 minutes. Slice and serve.
TIP: Nothing slices a quesadilla better than a pizza cutter, the narrow wheel cuts through without pushing your filling out the sides.
