Wow! What a bag! Curly kale for my power smoothie, a personal cantaloupe, Italian eggplant, bell peppers, basil, cherry tomato mix, sweet onion and some tony variegated bush beans that reminded me of an episode of Grace and Frankie in which Frankie (Lily Tomlin) tells Grace (Jane Fonda) “watermelon is basically celery in a Lilly Pulitzer dress.”

I plunged those little flirts into boiling water to blanch them for a couple minutes and then sauteed them al dente in extra virgin olive oil for an easy side dish that needed nothing more than a little fresh garlic, and salt + pepper. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper to the pan, as well, if you like a little heat.

The cantaloupe was perfectly ripe and sweet—a refreshing breakfast or snack that, served chilled, beats the heat during our long Lowcountry summers.

The rest of my Twenty Bag screamed ratatouille to me, so I searched for a recipe that spoke to me, and didn’t require a lot of time in the oven—as many did—in the middle of the summer. The preparation I found was that of renowned chef Alice Waters, and couldn’t have been more appropriate, coming from the creator of the farm to table movement. Dubbed Genius Ratatouille, the dish was a beautiful melange of the eggplant, squash, tomatoes, herbs—and quite fantastic to eat!