How do you stash tomatoes for offseason use? Roast them with herbs, then freeze the resulting goodness, says cookbook author Alana Chernila, for a wildly flavorful, versatile staple of year-round cuisine. She and I will host a daylong garden-to-table workshop celebrating tomatoes and garlic September 6 at my place, and she joined me on radio this week with recipes and tips to share.

what are birds up to in high summer?

Wonder why the living alarm clock outside your open window -- the one that's been awakening you at 4-something A.M. since spring arrived -- isn't sounding now? What suddenly happened to the insistent dawn chorus of birds? They're busy with other activities, like these.

plus: the easiest red sauce i know

I spend rainy days in harvest season 2013 writing, and reading, and streaming a bounty of BBC Television series, all the while with small batches of tomato sauce bubbling on the stove, destined for the freezer. Keeping things really simple, my basic freezer red sauce goes like this.

in case you missed it: epimedium madness!

Manager Andy Brand of rare-plant specialists Broken Arrow Nursery could have any plant he wanted, but what's his passion? Epimediums, one of the great alltime groundcovers, even for dry shade. The story.