The corn and tomatoes are in, signaling high summer. My refrigerator is ridiculous, bursting with cucumbers and chard from the garden, and okra and padrón peppers from the farmers' market. Never refrigerate your tomatoes, it ruins the flavor and texture. Just leave them out on the counter in a cool spot. (This is a tip I learned from Martha Stewart many years ago and I have never forgotten it.) On Monday, August arrives, and with it my last post for a while. Time for a little vacation—staycation, really, as G's leg is still healing and travel is not yet a possibility. We may take some local trips, inspired by this recent article on great spots in the Catskills from the most recent issue of Travel & Leisure. Here are a few more ideas for things to make, see, do and get (oops, sounding a little like Goop) as the mercury rises...

I'm making fried chicken (this is the best recipe ever) for a crowd this weekend, and I plan to serve this unusual-sounding and very refreshing tomato lemonade (spiked with gin) to start.I'll also be checking out the fabulous herbal bitters and tonics from Urban Moonshine.And possibly investing in one of these gorgeous Edward Wohl cutting boards, available online from Heath.And definitely cooking from my latest acquisitions, Tender and The Japanese Grill.And making batch after batch of this dead simple and unaccountably decadent corn pudding from this week's New York Times.And trying to decide between this new juicer or this potentially game-changing kitchen beast.And while we're on gadgets, I'm also pondering adding a dehydrator to my vast collection, so I can make my own jerkies and fruit leathers without constantly running the oven.I'm going to throw gluten-caution to the wind and make these garden beignets from genius chef David Kinch.And speaking of the garden, I'm going to get ready for fall by putting in a big order for bulbs, including voluptuous Van Gogh irises and black lilies and sunny rudbeckia, from van Bourgondien.Have a beautiful weekend!