Here's Your August Summer Menu

10-days of meals

Hello my friends,

We’ve officially transferred into tomato season here on the farm - besides harvesting our lambs each autumn, it’s probably the single-most important harvest that we put up. Though potatoes and onions are very important to us, and along with our meat harvest keep us plump and happy during the winter months, it is the tomatoes sauces, jams, and jars that keep our spirits up as the snow falls. The tomatoes are bright and rich in color this year, the new sauce machine is working fantastically, and we’re in high spirits about the work ahead. Over 300 pounds of sweet, yellow, and purple onions are now tucked away in the root cellar and though it’s still early, the storage potato crop is looking fantastic.

The cabbage has been grown, the sauerkraut has been made, and even though we’ve taken the year off jam making (all soft fruit in our valley was lost to a dip in temperature last February), I’m feeling quite chuffed with many of the crops.

The salmon is being harvested from the river, the lambs are fattening on rich summer grasses, the ewes are being bred for next year’s milk and meat, and I’m happily spending my Saturdays canning Paisano tomatoes. This is the moment we work for all year!

But lest you think it’s all work and no play, we’re eating our faces off. Even if you don’t grow anything, it’s a bountiful time in the Northern Hemisphere and your local farmer market will have everything you need for ample culinary pleasure.

So here’s your printable (and clickable!) menu plan for the first half of August.

As a quick reminder, we offer our $5/month paid newsletter supporters two menus each month. Each printable menu will cover 10-days worth of seasonal meals and will include notes on when to mix sourdough, soak beans, etc. Recipes are linked to newsletters, blog posts, or YouTube videos, as applicable.

Also worth noting, every Cooking Community member also gets access to our menus over on our app. So whether you support The Elliot Homestead here or there, we’ve got you covered. Over in our Cooking Community, we offer 5 new recipes each month, along with instructional cooking videos for each one and an exclusive, private online social community of home-cooks.

Here’s a peek at what we’re cooking in our community this month. Look good? Join in!

Here’s this month’s menu. I hope you enjoy!