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Chatting Tomatoes, Corn, Zucchini & More with Margaret Roach
By Alexandra Stafford
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Last Updated: 05/20/2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Funny story: My aunt Marcy (the one with the dogs in Vermont) came to visit me on Tuesday. She arrived with a bag of special Vermont plums (delicious!), a tub of pineapple tomatillos (irresistible!), and a glass pitcher filled with an orange-y hued purรฉe I recognized instantly as Julia Moskinโs gazpacho, the one everyone is making.
Surprise Aunt Marcy: Iโve been making it too! I opened the fridge to reveal a mirror image, a glass pitcher filled with an orange-y hued purรฉe, the silky smooth Spanish gazpacho I had blitzed on Monday evening.
Friends: have you made it? I learned about it via Jenny Rosenstrach and Cup of Jo, and Iโm finding it to be as miraculous of a little recipe as promised: it takes about five minutes to whip up; it yields a huge quantity; it puts to great use so much of the peak summer produce; itโs delicious and not to mention totally refreshing and incredibly healthy. I like mine drizzled with chili oil.
Hooray: itโs tomato season! Morning- noon- and night-tomato season! But also: up-to-our-eyeballs zucchini season. And: Donโt-blink-how-did-it-pass?ย corn season.
So much to savor, so little time.
Good news: My friend, Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden, and I have some ideas. We recently chatted about all the tomato, all the zucchini, and all the corn recipes we could squeeze into 25 minutes. Margaret also shares her tips for ripening tomatoes, her method for roasting tomatoes in preparation for freezing, and her go-to, easy skins-on tomato sauce recipe.
Iโve linked to all of the recipes (and more!) below. You can listen to the podcast over on A Way to Garden and enter to win a copy of Bread Toast Crumbs there, too.
UPDATE: GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. WINNER IS WENDY. I HAVE EMAILE YOU. But before you go! Enter to win a copy of Margaretโs award-winning A Way to Garden here: Leave a comment below. Tell me what youโre currently most excited to be eating or cooking or what youโre looking forward to making most.
Tomato Recipes
Get All the Tomato Recipes Right Here โ Tomatoes
After youโve had your fill of open-faced tomato-and-mayonnaise sandwiches, tomato-topped cream cheese-smeared bagels, BLTs, pan con tomate, simple salads, and pico de gallo, here are some ideas.
But first! Have you seen the new Alexandraโs Kitchen recipe filter? Click on โRecipesโ in the top navigation bar. Then filter away!
A Few Perennialย Favorites:
- Tomato and Corn Galette (Iโve been making this David Lebovitz recipe for nearly 20 years.)
- Oven-Dried Tomatoes + Bruschetta (Summer in a jar.)
- Tomato-Red Bell Pepper Sauce (My favorite summer sauce: so delicious, so fast.)
- Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce, Simplified (No peeling!)
- Roasted Tomato and Bread Soup (If youโre feeling fall.)
From Around the Web:
- Margaret Roachโs Skins-On Tomato Sauce
- Julia Moskinโs gazpacho (A new favorite! Pictured up top.)
- Spaghetti with no-cook Puttanesca (Eager to try!)
- Margaret Roachโs Roasted Tomatoes
- Turkish Scrambled Eggsย (Looks so good.)
- Naked Tomato Sauce (Long-time Smitten Kitchen favorite.)
Corn Recipes
Get All the Corn Recipes Right Here โ Corn
When youโve had your fill of corn on the cobโฆ
A Few Perennialย Favorites:
- Raw Corn Salad with Tomatoes,ย herbs, lots of acid, and feta (Mark Bittman)
- Fresh corn polenta (A must-make once a summer.)
- Soup with a corn cob stock: Deborah Madisonโs or Samin Nosratโs
- Fritters with Cheddar and Scallions (Deborah Madisonโs)
- Melissa Clarkโs creamy (no cream!) corn pasta
To Try:
- Milk Streetโs Pasta with Corn and Tomatoes (Eager to try!)
- Grilled Romaine and Corn Salad (Looks so good.)
Zucchini Recipes
Get All the Zucchini Recipes Right Here โ Zucchini
A Few Perennialย Favorites:
- Summer Squash Spaghetti
- Raw salad with olive oil, lemon, parmesan
- Roasted or Sautรฉed with pine nuts and herbs
- Zucchini Parmesan
- Zucchini Involtini
- Zucchini Fritters
- Zucchini Bread
- Roasted Ratatouille
From Around the Web:
- Heidi Swansonโs pasta with smashed zucchini cream (Loved this one!)
- Zucchini Pickles (Zuni cafe recipe)
- Canal Houseโs Marinated Zucchini (Food52)
- Zucchini Butter (If youโre looking to cull your haul.)
- Zucchini quesadillas (Smitten Kitchen)
- Stuffed Globe Zucchini (Cookie + Kate)
- Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries (Marilenaโs Kitchen)
Enjoy these last few weeks of summer, my Friends! Comment below for a chance to win Margaretโs beautiful book!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
148 Comments on โChatting Tomatoes, Corn, Zucchini & More with Margaret Roachโ
When I have homegrown tomatoes, I always love having them sliced in a sandwichโjust tomatoes, mayonnaise, and bread. When my parents give me zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant, I always make ratatouille. Itโs so good.
We love Swiss Chard tarts.
Very disappointing not to be able to get Julia Moskins gazpacho without signing in or signing up for NYT. Great post, otherwise.
You can get it off Pinterest. I canโt wait to try it. Tomatoes anyway you make them are a treasure. Alexandra, you make my mouth water, the way you photograph, write and your recipes are mouthwatering. Thank you!
Agree, I just tried as well โน๏ธ
Happy September! This is my first time visiting your delicious site; have been consumed with our house renovation. Heading to upstate NY and hoping that next summer finds me happily buried in summer produce!
Would so appreciate being considered for a copy of Margaret Roachโs book. I have read her two books about her NY life and adventures but not A WaY To Garden. Anyway, happy to find you and looking forward to all the amazing recipes and ideas.
What is the name of the recipe, 1st picture in the grouping, orange soup with chili type oil drops
My favorites this summer have been fresh corn off the cob simmered with butter & 1/2. & 1/2, sometimes I add a handful of sliced okra and cherry tomatoes. Also squash, tomato, onion & potato tian layered with some cheese & baked. Ratatouille is next on my list for next weekend, I love it slightly warm with little cubes of fresh mozzarella heaven! Fresh peach daiquiris have been a hit too.
Love your posts, thank you for the book opportunity!
Hello and Happy Labor Day Weekend! Wow! This is like winning the veggie lotto! Thanks so much for all the recipes! Weโve been eating lots of tomatoes (bruschetta with your toasted Peasant Bread OMG!!!) has been a big winner! My son and I have been discussing trying our hand at Gazpacho, so perfect timing! Summer is my very favorite season!
Eating tomatoes morning, noon, and night, of course. Using lots of greens in everything (Swiss chard, mizuna, Malabar spinach and New Zealand spinach). Making/freezing lots of different herb butters. My zukes got borers, so Iโm waiting on round two to produce. Itโs so fun to grow your own produce! Hoping to be the winner of Margaretsโs book ๐.
I planted my tomatoes a little late this year so they are just starting to ripen. I recently traveled to Georgia where I enjoyed tomato jam. A restaurant told me to just cook the tomatoes for a long time until the texture of jam and add honeyโฆcanโt wait to try this!!
I bought only tomatoes at Farmerโs Market. I love homegrown tomatoes. I love sliced tomatoes with every meal. That pico de gallo looks amazing.
Canโt wait to make homemade sauce with all the tomatoes weโve been growing. Also love cooking with apples.
I love the Zucchini Quesadilla recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and your fritters are wonderful. Thanks for all of your great recipes.
I so enjoyed this blog entry. Nothing better than a perfectly ripe beefsteak fresh off the vine. Unfortunately with Dorian heading our way in the Carolinaโs I must prepare foods with loss of electricity in mind. Gazpacho is on the agenda for tomorrows prep.
Enjoying end of season peaches. They donโt need a recipe. Just eat โem.
Alas, my husband does not eat tomatoes so anything I fix is for โoneโ! All the recipes look yummyโฆโฆโฆโฆ..I do love to garden!
Tomatoes!
What am I most excited about? What am I NOT excited about would be an easier question! I am enjoying the end of the corn season โ made the corn fritters last night (OMG) and today am making the corn soup w/ the leftover cobs. Iโm also taking advantage of all the blueberries and making blueberry jam today and for the first time โ homemade almond milk. LOVE long weekends. Iโm going to have to try making the gazpacho now โ love the color. Hope you have a great weekend!
Canโt wait to try this gazpacho. My go to recipe for gazpacho has always been from Molly Katzenโs original Moosewood Cookbook. Thanks for all the recipes. Iโve missed your blog posts.
Karen
I love Inaโs Zucchini Tart recipe. Iโm a sucker for anything cooked in a pie crust and she puts zucchini atop a lemony goat cheese spreadโฆso good!
Would love a copy of Margaretโs book!
I feel like I need to backup. Not enough time to make all these wonderful dishes while the veggies are still available. Thank you for all the hard work.
I am enjoying heirloom tomatoes. We will try a new recipe for Labor Day using fresh cut tomatoes and grilled watermelon with a honey lime dressing.
Tomatoes! I have pink ox hearts for sauce and I fermented salsa for the first time. Super delicious experiment that I will do again this week.
Tomatoes, Old German Queen!
Headed out to farmers market to get tomatoes to try out your oven roasted recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!!
This book sounds like a gem. Thank you.
the book sounds awesome!as well as all these great recipes ๐
would love a copy of the book โ makes me hungry just listening to the podcast
Here in TEXAS, well you can imagine how many things you can make from all the veggies mentioned into Southwestern cuisines that my family loves. I enjoyed reading the recipes that reflect different styles of preparation for the America table. Always a pleasure to read Margaretโs written articles. I loved so the photo of Margaretโs Asian espaliered pear tree so now I am trying one as of this past spring. I would treasure her book.
The September bounty makes all the work worthwhile !
I would try the spaghetti with no-cook puttanesca, grilled romaine and corn with creamy anchovy vinaigrette, and zucchini quesadilla.
Actually, everything on the list looks delicious!
After 3 years of subpar corn all I want to do is eat corn straight off the cob. And I am!