Eating seasonally is the simplest way to improve your food and cut down on your carbon footprint. There is a reason why that factory tomato shipped from South America you slap on your turkey sandwich in mid January tastes like gooey plastic sludge. It’s because it isn’t meant to be. Vegetables lose their crisp bite and become limp. The luster and tart sweetness of fruit devolve into bland lifelessness. Meat and fish lose complexity and the texture is ruined through freezing and shipping. On top of being murderous to the environment, shipping food destroys all freshness in transit. So not only are you a polluting asshole–you’re also eating crap. If that’s what you want, why don’t you just go ahead and chop down a tree, shoot bambi and eat dirt thereby cutting out the middleman, you Jerk? Summer is my favorite culinary season. Everything is in abundance and fresh. The dull colors of root vegetables, stewed meats and gravy are wiped away making way for bright purples, blues, reds, sweet, tangy and briny. There is something for everyone. One of my staple recipes, Julia Child’s (slightly modified) ratatouille was made specifically for this time of summer. All of the classic ratatouille ingredients are in season in August: onions, zucchini, eggplant summer squash, tomatoes and peppers. I really just saute every great fresh vegetable I can find into this great dish while adding garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. It tastes great cold or hot and will feed a family for awhile on the cheap. As far as fruit goes, everything that you love in pies and jams sprouts up in abundance in the summer months. I am not a baker or a canner (baking requires discipline and the ability to follow direction, both things...