The moment when beefsteak, heirloom and cherry tomatoes are spilling over the bins at farmers' market and grocery stores? That's the moment you know summer has truly arrived. Tomato season is a little later here in Seattle than, say, California, but it's here now and there's baking to be done. More

CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are something many of us are familiar with. CSAs are programs where customers pay farmers to share in their harvest (usually in the form of a farm box that is delivered or picked up at a farmers market). But this model of purchasing food has gone beyond weekly bundles of squash and kale — I've seen weekly share programs evolve into meat, cheese and pasta CSAs. And now for the first time, a company in Boulder, CO has started something really new — a CSA for preserved goods. More

This season I went a little gung ho with the tomato plants, but I've been loving every tasty moment. One reason I love them so much this year is that I've been altering their acidity levels to make sweet tasty treats. If MacGyver had a garden... More

Q: I have a bounty of garden tomatoes with more ripening everyday. While I appreciate recipes like the tomato cobbler you featured the other day, I am cooking in the Midwestern heat wave and I would rather not turn on my oven if I can help it. More

It's tomato time around the country! Although it's been a rough season for the garden, hopefully you're starting to see the fruits of your labor. If you or someone else has a ridiculous amount of tomatoes you're not going to want to miss this cobbler made with blue cheese biscuits. More

You can keep your Brandywines and Marvel Stripes, delicious though they are. When it comes to summer heirloom tomatoes, I head straight for one thing: The Black Krim, photographed above in my back yard with no photo enhancing. Just the pure ruby-fleshed deliciousness, shining on through! More

We showed up at the tail end of our CSA distribution this week and got a little more than we bargained for. Namely, a generous, extra helping (or four) of leafy greens. In trying to use up most of them, I combined a big pile of rainbow chard and all of our beets, and made this lovely little dish. It's dressed with a light vinaigrette and served room temperature, and the leftovers made an excellent lunch the next day. More

"If you want zucchini" says Garrison Keillor, in his drawling reminiscence of Lake Wobegon, the quintessential Midwest town too real to be real, "just go to church on Sunday. You'll have all you can handle." People in garden-minded towns should lock their car doors, this time of year, or else they may find a large, moist sack of green monsters on their back seat. Do you have a sack of zucchini sitting on the front seat of your car, or on your kitchen counter? Want some fresh ideas? More

We are seriously big fans of the avocado around these parts. Here's your avocado tip of the day: Did you know you can use avocado in your baking? It's a simple way to cut out some fat! More

I'll admit that in my cooking lifetime I've been known to use a few, er, creative techniques to prep my fruits and veggies. (It's amazing I still have all my fingers!) If artichokes and pomegranates, mangos and squash get the better of your knife skills, then this post is for you. From how to peel a head of garlic in 10 seconds to how to cut a grapefruit, from the best way to dice an onion to the super easy way to peel ginger, these 20 tips and techniques will change the way you work with produce. Let the learning begin! More