Back to school means back to the school-year routine in more ways than one. This week marks a shift in our meal planning and, as the weather cools, a shift in the kinds of foods we eat.

Meal planning for back to school

The farmer’s market has been full of late season corn and tomatoes. Cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are on their way. There are huge raspberries from local growers. My meals will take advantage of this bounty as much as possible.

Sunday: Grilled chicken, grilled corn, zucchini ribbons cooked…somehow, salad.

Saw a picture in a magazine of zucchini cut very, very thin with a mandoline. I want to try that! I’ll be experimenting a little with this meal.

Monday: Chicken picatta with Mediterranean couscous, roasted cauliflower, salad. Something special for dessert.

I’ll make a really good meal for the night before the start of school. I’ll also make extra chicken pieces that the boys can use in sandwiches for their school lunches.

Tuesday: Out at a baseball game. Hot dogs, I think.

While a baseball game in the city on the first day of school was not my first scheduling choice, it’s what we could get in terms of tickets, so we’ll make the best of it.

Wednesday: Quesadillas for the kids, Pasta with Brussels sprouts and pine nuts for the parents.

Back to our school-year Wednesdays. The kids will eat earlier due to some early evening commitments and the parents will eat later.

Thursday: Pineapple mango fried rice.

My oldest son is going to start to take on some responsibility for meals one night a week since he’ll be the first one home. Thursday tends to be a crazy night, so to arrive home and have some meal prep done will be wonderful.

Friday: Homemade pizza. Veggie dish from the farmer’s market.

Always a crowd pleaser, and after the first week of school, kind of a treat.

Saturday: Pasta with sausage and spinach, salad.

If it’s a nice day, I imagine we’ll be outside all day, getting in the warmth before the onset of fall. We’ll want something simple.

My eyes are always so big in May when I put the tomato plants in the garden. I love tomatoes - why wouldn’t I eat, well, all of them? Then mid-August arrives and I am totally overwhelmed. There are just too many tomatoes.

Easy instructions to oven-dry tomatoes

Several years ago, much to my relief, I discovered instructions for oven-drying tomatoes. And my Augusts have been much less stressful ever since. While not a speedy process (best for a rainy day), it’s quite handy.

Oven-drying tomatoes involves a long, slow stay in an oven after carefully preparing the tomatoes. The time and temperature will be different if you are using a convection oven versus a standard oven. Using a conventional oven will be a faster, but at a higher heat.

Preheat the oven

If you are using a conventional oven, preheat to 200 degrees F.

If you are using a convection oven, convect preheat to 140 degrees F.

Prepare the tomatoes

Cut tomatoes - typically Roma, or paste tomatoes - in half. Scoop out the seeds. Pat the cut surface of the tomato dry with the a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place it cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

You can do this with cherry or grape tomatoes, but it’s much more tedious.

Dry

Place the tomatoes in the oven. Then wait.

Drying the tomatoes in a conventional oven will take 6 to 8 hours. Yes, hours.

Drying the tomatoes in a convection oven will take 12 to 14 hours. Yes, hours.

When the tomatoes are shriveled but still pliable, they are done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Storing

Dried tomatoes can be stored in an airtight bag in the refrigerator or at room-temperature in olive oil in a jar. (When you do this, the oil becomes infused with the tomato flavor - and it’s lovely in salad dressing.)

Using

There are many lovely ways to use oven-dried tomatoes, highlighting their concentrated savory sweet flavor:

• Use them as-is, snipped into salads and pasta sauces. Put a teaspoon of goat cheese and some chopped basil on top as an appetizer.
• Grind them up with basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil for oven-dried tomato pesto.
• Reconstitute them (by soaking in boiling water for 5 minutes) and chop into dishes, especially pasta.

Oven-drying tomatoes is a great way to use the summer’s bounty all winter long.

S’mores are campfire legend and tradition. Though in their traditional form they are a little too sweet for my taste, they are really fun, and no campfire is complete without them.

The many scrumptious variations of s’mores

My opinion of s’mores shot up last summer when I tried them with dark chocolate rather than the traditional milk chocolate. It cut the sweetness just enough. Then, last winter, when I saw a recipe for homemade marshmallows, I instantly thought of flavor combinations for s’mores that are definitely grown up.

S’mores consist of just three ingredients: marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate. It’s in these individual components that you can play with various flavors for a tastier whole.

Marshmallows

I tried out the marshmallow recipe when I was making holiday gifts for my kids’ teachers. Though fairly messy and sticky, making marshmallows is rather easy. I made several batches, adding peppermint oil to one batch (for hot cocoa) and lime oil to another (just for fun, then dipped the finished marshmallows in dark chocolate).

Other yummy options for homemade marshmallows include:

• Pressing toasted coconut into the setting marshmallows
• Pressing crushed toffee into the marshmallows
• Adding other spicy and/or herbal extracts to the whipping marshmallows, such as lavender or cinnamon oil.

After cutting the marshmallows, store them in an airtight container or bag until ready to use.

Although homemade marshmallows won’t toast in quite the same way, they seem to need less heat to get that loved oozy consistency.

Homemade graham crackers

Graham crackers don’t come from a box only. Although your square might not be as regular as the boxed variety, they are so very yummy that it just doesn’t matter.

2-1/2 c plus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces and frozen
1/3 c clover honey
5 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp sugar

In a food processor, process the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt for 10 seconds or so. sprinkle the butter pieces over the mix and process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Whisk together the milk, honey and vanilla. Pour over the mixture in the food processor. Pulse until the mix just comes together and is soft and somewhat sticky.

Pour the dough out onto a pastry board and work it together for just a few seconds. Roll it out 1-inch thick. Refrigerate overnight.

Roll half the dough out into a long rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Flour as needed. Cut the dough into large, uniform squares and place them on a parchment paper lined backing sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the crackers.

Chill the cut crackers for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 25 minutes. The crackers should be lightly browned.

Chocolate

The chocolate you use with your s’mores should blend with and complement your marshmallows. With so many premium chocolates producing so many different flavors, you should have no trouble choosing a fabulous chocolate for your s’mores. Dagoba chocolates are a favorite of mine, so I’ll use some of their combinations as an example:

• Lavender/ blueberry chocolate with lavender marshmallows
• Chai chocolate with cinnamon marshmallows
• Mint/rosemary chocolate with mint marshmallows
• Hazelnut chocolate with toffee marshmallows
• Bittersweet chocolate with coconut marshmallows

Grown up s’mores put a whole new spin on a delicious childhood treat - but you might find yourself not wanting to share them with the kids. Have fun!

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We’re still on vacation, but only until Wednesday. A little pre-vacation planning will make our first night of reentry a little easier. I have never liked having to run out to the grocery store within 15 minutes of arriving home.

Meal planning for reentry from vacation

Sunday: In camp. Pigs in a blanket.

Our one “traditional” camp meal. Maybe we’ll make it with precooked bratwurst. We’ll also try to use up anything we have left in the cooler that we won’t specifically need for breakfast the next day.

Monday: In a hotel. Dining out.

Before leaving camp, we’ll have omelets for breakfast. If there’s any bratwurst left (unlikely), it will make a good omelet addition.

We’ve been to this city before, and we have a restaurant in mind. In fact, the kids have asked specifically to go there. It’s a Caribbean/Jamaican restaurant and it has some good island comfort food. Jerk chicken and sausage patties, here we come.

Tuesday: In a hotel. Dining out.

This night we’ll ask the kids to be adventurous for our last night of vacation. Maybe I’ll get some meal inspiration for home in the process.

Wednesday: Home! Frozen pizza.

On my last grocery trip before vacation, I picked up two frozen pizzas and some boxed milk that I stuck in the fridge. There is also my hidden cookie stash for dessert. We’ll deal with a run to the market in the morning.

Thursday: Pasta with red sauce, salad.

First day back, and we are still unpacking. Simple is good.

Friday: Farmer’s market day. I’ll base our meal on whatever looks good.

While I never quite know what will be there, I’m hoping for lots of fresh greens after vacation. Maybe a grilled shrimp Caesar salad? Maybe some roasted vegetables?

Saturday: A graze-able meal at the beach, including hummus and vegetables, caprese salad skewers, maybe some 5-layer dip or some idea I picked up on the vacation.

I bet we’ll be back at the beach for the evening, making the most of the last weekend before school starts.