DEAR DAME EVELYN , A friend has a small farm in the warm country (you know what I mean: inland valley), and always at this time of year I am invited to visit, and when I leave, I am handed sacks and sacks of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, ears of corn, etc. It isn't fancy, but it is good, homegrown organic stuff, and I love it. The problem is that when I get home, I feel just overwhelmed. I can't figure out what to do with it all! And a lot of it rots and gets all smelly and slimy, and I have to throw it out (at least now it can go into that compost bin instead of the trash), and then I feel guilty and ungrateful. And my farmer friend always asks me how everything is! And I say wonderful! Am I lying? Am I a bad person?

Sacked

Badness, Dame Evelyn has one word for you: ratatouille. Ratatouille evolved for just such crises as you describe: you just chuck everything into a big pot and stew it until it's soft and savory. Of course, it's slightly more refined than that (garlic, onion, and herbs are involved) but not much. Related hodgepodge dishes include caponata and gazpacho; each is a variation on a theme of summertime abundance, or overabundance. Another useful outlet is pasta: make the tomatoes into a sauce, sauté the corn kernels and zucchini, add to the sauce with cooked linguine, and toss with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Voilà.

Corn, incidentally, makes excellent, and simple, soup. Brown a chopped onion (or two) in a big pot, add all the corn kernels you dare and let them cook a few minutes (I add salt at this point), add a goodly amount of chicken stock – homemade is of course best – bring to a simmer, and cover for 10 minutes or so. Then puree it with one of those wand blenders, if you have one, or in a regular blender; run the mixture through a food mill to remove the skins. Season to taste; serve with crème fraîche (see last week's saucy column) or a pepper puree. Or freeze it until corn season has ended and you are nostalgic for a little memory of summer.

Warmly,

E. G.-S.

Dame Evelyn is in the garden, with a wi-fi laptop: dame.evelyn@comcast.net.