You know summer’s on its way out when the sweet corn stops coming… sigh. I do love autumn, but I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to wearing sundresses and not needing a jacket when I take my pup outside. Luckily for me, it’s still quite hot in Madison, so I can ignore the dearth of sweet corn and carry on in blissful ignorance, pretending that my favorite season will never end.

It doesn’t hurt that I’ve got lots of delicious produce, either. This week’s box contained two giant bags of tomatoes, and tomatoes are nothing if not summery! S and I received our CSA box last night and have already gobbled up three of those tomatoes, just sliced up and eaten in their juicy, naked goodness.

Two bags full!

Friends, what on earth should I do with green tomatoes?! I know that fried green tomatoes are a thing (and a movie?) but I don’t really want to fry up my fresh little lovelies. How else should I enjoy them?

If it helps, here are some of the other pieces o’ produce I’m working with:

My pretties.

Not that broccoli, though – that went into the Broccoli Pesto from Everyday Happy Herbivore. The pesto was creamy and green and very, very pungent. Even after using a single clove of garlic in place of the recommended three, my breath was redolent of garlic for the rest of the night. Anyway, aside from the broccoli, all of those veggies are available for your cooking suggestions. As are these:

Hmm, what’s in here?

That’s perhaps not the best photograph, but in that bag are some big ol’ beets and a couple of peppers. And next to them is a big bunch of beans. And what beans they are!

Bag o’ beans.

Have you ever encountered dragon tongue beans before? I haven’t! Such a pretty, striking pattern – the purple streaks are so similar to those of the eggplant I talked about on Labor Day.

Not a bad selection for the end(ish) of summer, eh? All told, our box contained:

• Anaheim peppers
• Basil
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Carmen sweet peppers
• Cucumbers
• Dragon tongue beans
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Red bell pepper
• Red potatoes
• Tomatoes (assorted heirlooms, slicers, salad)
• Yellow bell peppers
• Yellow onions

I am going to be so sad when my CSA ends and I stop receiving giant boxes of veggies. The farm does offer a winter share, but it’s a bit pricy – $230 for four boxes or $125 for two. I’ll just stick with mostly local produce from my beloved co-op during the winter months.

But enough about the winter – blech! Back to summer. Tell me – what should I make with my veggies? How should I use those gorgeous beans?

Curious about what other folks are getting in their CSA boxes this time of year? Check out the What’s in the Box? link party for this week!