There are many reasons why I love the month of August. First and most importantly, it is the month my beloved husband was born. He definitely makes my world a better place. (Um, do those sweet words count as a birthday gift?)

I also love August because kids start going back to school and my mommy friends all have time to sneak off to lunch again!! (We do go to lunch with their kids but then we can’t giggle and talk about boys like we usually do.)

But the main reason I love August is because it means my garden is really producing some tomatoes!!! I swear those little beauties are multiplying like rabbits.  (I also have seen some rabbits in my garden but luckily they aren’t behaving too badly.)

I planted quite a few plants this year. I always do a few roma tomatoes and at least some variety of yellow tomato. I seem to buy a variety of small tomatoes but never really keep track of which plant I put where in the garden.

I like the surprise of watching the plant grow and seeing what pops out on the stem. (Okay, I really don’t like the surprise but I NEVER seem to remember to mark them until AFTER they start growing.)

So Bon Appetit must have known my garden was going to be tomato heavy in August so that is why they made this month’s recipe tomato-centric. (I live in a fantasy world where the editors of Bon Appetit make major cover decisions based on my bountiful garden.)

The recipe for August is their Tomato, Onion and Roasted Lemon Salad. You may think, “All tomato salads taste the same.” But I would disagree. (Well, I guess I wouldn’t know what you were thinking so I couldn’t disagree…unless I had super powers and then I would know EVERYTHING you are thinking.)

There are two things that make this salad interesting….roasted lemons and pomegranate molasses! First, the roasted lemons are sugar roasted INCLUDING the rind. You get an incredible mix of the sour, sweet and bitter. I would really emphasize slicing the lemons THIN. (Not paper-thin but they should seem a little delicate.)

The other big thrill in this salad (besides the awesome garden fresh tomatoes) was the pomegranate molasses* dressing. It was incredibly simple to whisk up and added a very mild, like a good balsamic, sweetness to the salad.

*I found the pomegranate molasses in the baking aisle on a high shelf that only giants can reach.

Finally, the salad is awesome because you really can make it your own. (I guess if you are making it, it is your own. Unless you like to share…sharing is nice.) I didn’t have any parsley so I just used some garden fresh celery leaf. And I used some arugula micro greens to add a little peppery note to the salad.

I’ll only have four more months of resolution obligated covers to cook. I enjoy the challenging ones (sort of) but must say I like the ones like this one that will become part of my regular menu repertoire.