Chunky fig jam, made with fresh figs, lemon and sugar, a southern favorite.

Chunky Fig Jam

While I know that some of you are just getting to those figs, my fig tree, like most here in The Deep South, has given up all she had. I don't know much about all the different varieties of fig trees, but mine is a Celeste, very popular in this region. Generally speaking, they are supposed to peak in July, but depending on where you live, ripening can occur anywhere from mid-June through August.

I planted her in the spring following Katrina in 2006 in honor of my mama who used to have one in our backyard. Having lost my job thanks to that hurricane, and following the economic crisis that topped a natural disaster, I wasn't having much success finding another job, so I threw myself into gardening, something I never had time for much before. Like all good southerners do, I planted mine on the south side of my house, against the brick wall, and she has really thrived in that spot.

Easy, old fashioned icebox bread and butter pickles, can either be made to store in the refrigerator, or processed in a hot water bath for pantry storage.

Icebox Bread and Butter Pickles

Most of you know that I am pretty new to the world of canning, so I have to caveat the posts I decide to be brave enough to share, to say use at your own risk, consult a professional canning source for more detailed information on the canning process, standard disclaimers, disclosures, warnings, yada yada yada.

A versatile and super easy pasta sauce made from garden fresh tomatoes, pictured here with a three cheese tortellini and garnished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce

We're already heading halfway into the month of July, so I guess we're getting pretty close to that final lap of summer, for which many of us will be grateful! I don't know about y'all, but I'm sure praying for a cooler fall and winter this year than last because it's been hotter than the hinges of Hades pretty much everywhere this summer.

Unfortunately, though, that also means that we'll be not long before saying goodbye to our favorite summer produce too, so get 'em in while ya can! {Southern Sidebar: Don't you just love how some of us southerners can butcher up the English language with a sentence like that? The grammar police must really love those of us who write on sites like this. Relax. We just like to write how we talk is all.}

Bundles of fresh green beans, marinated in a seasoned olive oil vinaigrette, wrapped in bacon and broiled, baked or grilled.

Green Bean Bundles

Just before Thanksgiving last year, Linda, one of our Facebook family members, shared her green bean bundles recipe, using canned, whole green beans. It's a family favorite at her house and during the holidays she often makes somewhere between 9 and 12 cans of beans! I love the bacon wrapped asparagus bundles made with a sweet and spicy brown sugar sauce, so I just knew that I would love her more savory variety too and I've made them multiple times since.

An easy, pan-style, baked party cheesecake, made with cream cheese, sugar, lemon, eggs and vanilla, on a graham cracker crust, finished with a layer of sour cream and topped with your favorite canned pie filling.

Easy Party Cheesecake

This party cheesecake has been around for many years and was pretty popular back in the 70s. Yep, you guessed it - this is another old recipe that falls back to the days of my good ole battered Bell's Best cookbook!

I'm pretty sure that it picked up the name party cheesecake because it was easy to make, portable, and it quickly became a potluck favorite. Now, while this is indeed what one would consider a cheater cheesecake - meaning it doesn't qualify for the real deal award requiring a springform pan, water baths and careful handling - trust me when I say it's still a tasty cheesecake that I think you'll enjoy, and certainly a lot less fuss and worry. I don't think you'll have any complaints about it, or any leftovers.

More Deep South Dish recipes for things to do with that summer bounty of garden fresh tomatoes.

More Ways to Enjoy Summer Tomatoes

Yum

I always look forward every year to the arrival of summer tomatoes and wait anxiously for that first roadside vendor to make an appearance, as much as I look forward to these amazing Creoles from Louisiana to show up in the markets.

Any local tomato to you is gonna be the best tomato, and I gotta say, these Creoles are some good eatin' y'all. I've sure been enjoying them!

Sweet iced tea infused with a watermelon puree.

Watermelon Sweet Iced Tea

I was browsing through some old cookbooks recently and ran across iced tea made with watermelon more than a few times. I have to say that I was intrigued. I love my iced tea method, and I love flavored iced teas too, but admit the thought of a watermelon iced tea seemed, well... a little odd to me. I really wasn't sure if I would like it to be honest, but with watermelon season here, I was game. Not only did I find that I liked it, I ended up loving it.

Garden fresh green beans and tomatoes stewed down with sweet Vidalia onion, brown sugar and seasonings.

Green Beans and Tomatoes

I just love this time of year when fresh garden produce is in abundance and so flavorful, and green beans are right up there as one of my top favorite summer vegetables.

Freshly picked, fresh green beans have such a distinct texture and flavor over any frozen or canned product, though I've certainly used my share of both of those too, and either will work here as well. When summer rolls around though, beans are one backyard garden staple I almost always plant. They grow well, provide a generous crop and are easy enough to put up in the freezer, if you aren't interested in canning what you don't manage to consume.

 

Basic succotash is a side dish made using baby lima beans and corn. Pictured here with sliced fresh Creole tomatoes and pan-fried pork chops.

Basic Succotash

Succotash is a dish built around corn and some kind of bean. Here in the Deep South, that is generally baby lima beans, though there are many regional variations across the country.

It's a dish that's been around a long time, being taught to the colonists by Native Americans - though they would have originally used a bean other than lima beans, since limas came to us from South America a bit later.

The term "succotash" is generally thought to mean boiled corn kernels and originating from the word msickquatash used by the Narragansett Indians of Rhode Island.

Thin cut pork chops, dredged in a well seasoned blend of onion enhanced flour and cornmeal and pan fried in a cast iron skillet. Pictured here with succotash and fresh sliced Creole tomatoes.

Pan Fried Pork Chops

I have mentioned before how much I enjoy watching my husband eat a pork chop. He will gnaw every slap inch of that chop into submission! Don't you just love when somebody chows down on your food like that? A home cooked meal is an expression of love from the person who prepared it for you, and the best compliment is when somebody expresses how much they are enjoying that meal. To me, there is no better applause.