I somehow am astonished that it is already the middle of September. It has been a busy few months. School ended and I hit the ground running traveling to family events, Rob’s race, and hosting our first camp. Then it was right back to work to start the year all over again. It is hard to believe we are already almost a month in! Summer has certainly been full of running and adventures – I am very excited that we will be traveling to Japan soon so I can run UTMF. Such a great end to my summer running. However, I can’t truly end the summer without some celebration of my favorite summer vegetable, the tomato and Rob’s which strangely enough is okra. So what follows is my favorite okra preparation along with a tomato tart inspired by the one in A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen – I love the crust recipe. In my opinion the key to cooking okra is sautéing it very dry (let it sit to dry for at least a half hour after washing) at high temperature, this eliminates much of the gummy quality that so many people dislike about it – and while okra and tomatoes love each other my favorite pairing is with some sweet summer corn. This rendition travels a bit tropical with coconut oil and mint as well.

Summer Tomato Tart

For the crust:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 -2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped
• 1 stick of butter (very cold) cut into pieces
• 5 tablespoons ice water

1. Combine flour, salt, and rosemary in a food processor and blend
2. Add the butter and pulse until you have pea-size crumbs about a dozen times for me
3. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time pulsing each time. After the last addition process until the dough forms a rough ball
4. Transfer out of the bowl and knead to form a ball – flatten it into about a 5 inch pancake wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour

Assemble the tart:

• 3-4 oz goat cheese
• 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard (note: this is to taste – feel free to reduce the amount of both mustards or leave them out entirely)
• 1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1.5-2 lb tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick ( my favorite tip from Jack Bishop is to lay them out on a paper towel or tea towel – pressing another layer on top to remove a lot of the moisture before baking)
• 1-2 tablespoons Flora olive oil

1. Preheat over to 375
2. Cut and press tomatoes
3. Mix together goat cheese and mustard using a fork
4. Unwrap and roll chilled dough into about an 11 inch circle – line a 9-10 inch tart pan with the dough – cut the excess off with either your knife or rolling pin
5. Prick the bottom of tart shell with a fork and spread small clumps of goat cheese evenly over the shell
6. Arrange the tomato pieces in two circles around the pan overlapping slices and adding a few extra in the middle
7. Drizzle with oil and add salt and pepper to taste
8. Bake for 45 minutes – allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving

Sautéed okra and corn

• 1 lb small okra
• 2 ears of corn shucked
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1. Trim okra and slice in half and place in bowl
2. Heat heavy fry pan over medium-high heat until very hot
3. Melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil – then pour over okra to coat well, salt and pepper to taste
4. Place okra back into pan and saute over high heat for about 5-8 minutes stirring
   occasionally until bright and charred in places
5. While okra is cooking cut corn off the cob into the bowl
6. When okra is cooked take out of pan and set aside
7. Melt last tablespoon coconut oil in pan, pour over corn to coat add salt and pepper to taste
8. Cook corn until charred in places
9. Add okra and corn back to bowl stir in mint, basil, and chopped cherry tomatoes
10. Adjust seasoning and serve