Celebrate summer with tomatoes

One morning last week, I woke very early — before the crack of dawn, you might say. It was 2:30 a.m., and I dozed a little and fought getting up until 4 a.m., when I couldn’t stand it any longer.

I always feel virtuous when I’m up and going ahead of everyone else. By the time anybody else is stirring, I’ve had breakfast and fed Jackson — and maybe read the paper. It’s a good, quiet time to contemplate what’s around you.

The house next door just sold to a family with small children, who have yet to move in. When I opened the front door and reached for the morning paper, I looked up at one of two big locust trees in our front yard.

“It’s growing really well,” was the first thing that came to mind. And so it is — although I still picture the little trees planted there almost 20 years ago. I realized our new neighbors’ children, having never seen it small, will think of it only as a giant. It’s easily 30 feet high, with a trunk I can’t begin to put my arms around anymore. (I am an actual tree hugger.) It gives us a huge circle of shade at one front corner of the house.

The locust tree replaced one of seven old, very tall silver maples that populated our front yard years ago. Silver maples have a somewhat limited lifespan for a tree — at 75 years, ours were leafy senior citizens. We expect our locust trees to last much longer. At least they’ll outlast us.

The six-legged locusts (insects, as opposed to trees) are already serenading at night, anticipating colder weather as the days grow shorter. The other day, I saw a bee determinedly searching for a way into a sealed window at my office.

That seems silly when it’s 90 degrees out — but maybe we’d better pay attention to what the insects know. The days are, after all, growing shorter.

This time of year, when the nights are still hot, is tomato season.

At our house, we are eating all the tomatoes we can while they taste like summer tomatoes, and freezing a few as well. (If you have too many ripening, I’ll take some.)

Try some different tomato recipes while you can get the good-tasting vine-ripened ones.

QUICK SAUTEED

CHERRY TOMATOES

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon sugar

1 large clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large skillet until shimmering. Add tomatoes and sugar and toss until tomatoes are hot — about 1 minute.

Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant — about 30 seconds.

Remove from heat. Stir in basil, salt and pepper.