I won’t lie, my first few summers in Austin I was not sure if I could make it my home. The hottest summers I’d experienced before moving to central Texas paled in comparison. The Texas heat was no joke, and I spent more time inside than out. I was sure Portland, Oregon was in our future. I lived in Humboldt County for a year and discovered I love the rain.

Fast forward 17 years or so and somehow I began to appreciate the summer here, almost look forward to it. Oh yeah, it took me that long.

I have a couple of tricks that make life a little cooler when the temperatures start hitting the triple digits.

I keep both this eye gel and this rose water spray in my refrigerator to dab and spritz when I get home from work or whenever I need a quick refresher.

Heritage Store Rose Petals Rosewater is available here or your local natural grocery.
Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel available at The Body Shop

2 In tomato pie. When I was 19 I lived in the San Diego area and frequented a place called Piret’s mostly for their tomato tarts and cappuccinos. To say they were amazing would not do them justice.

The closest I’ve come to recreating the experience of those perfect little tarts is baking a tomato pie with the very best tomatoes I can find.

Early 1980’s Southern California was a pretty exciting time for food. I was a live-in nanny and was lucky enough to be able to shop for baby eggplants and squash blossoms at the legendary Chino Farm’s Vegetable Shop. Read about the world’s most famous farm stand here.

My go-to recipe for tomato pie is by Vivian Howard. Believe me when I tell you that roasting half of the tomatoes is worth it. And don’t skimp on caramelizing the onions. It is also worth the time and effort. If you must cut a corner somewhere use a store-bought crust. No shame in that game.

Also, use Duke’s mayonnaise, and gruyere and cheddar is another favorite combo. I normally use basil and thyme, but think dill would be amazing, perhaps with ricotta and fontina?

Recipe link  here