Tomato-Onion Panade and Chunky Squash Gratin
Beautiful squash has arrived at the market, so tomatoes cannot be far behind. Below are two ways to enjoy these summer favorites. Local markets are the perfect place to find small zucchini, yellow squash, and heirloom tomatoes and to also pick up cooking tips from other shoppers. Like most people who enjoy food, we frequently talk with others who are standing in line at the tailgate, or the Curb Market, and we're always happy to compare notes on ways to prepare some of the more unusual things we find, like kohlrabi.
Although we, too, have heard the stories about sharing food tips as a means of meeting people in the produce section of the store, we never personally saw the result of any of these meetings until we were having dinner at the faculty club of a university. Part of the club had been reserved for a wedding party, but the cake was so large that it was placed in the middle of the foyer. When we stopped to look at it, we realized that the huge cake was decorated in tiny marzipan vegetables; their much larger cousins were adorning the top. We couldn't resist asking someone standing nearby about the cake, and they verified that the couple did, indeed, meet in the produce section of the local supermarket. Chatting with strangers in stores can have all sorts of interesting outcomes; we think we'll stick to sharing recipes. Below are a couple that we have shared repeatedly.
