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With summer drawing to a close, I'm still not ready to say goodbye. My garden, though less productive, has a lot of vegetables that are still ripening. But, alas, the cooler weather and shorter days will bring an end to summer's bounty. But with all the beautiful late summer produce available at farmers' markets, like squash, peppers and tomatoes, there's a lot of summery cooking that can still be done.

Take the opportunity to make a tomato sauce, soup, saute or stir-fry. I love stir-frying because it's such a fun and easy method for cooking up a meal quickly. Plus, you can pack it with vegetables. For this late summer stir-fry, I use zucchini, bell peppers and oyster mushrooms. And one of my favorite herbs, Thai basil, makes an aromatic and flavorful addition. What could be a better dish for using up summer vegetables than this?

With Thai flavors, much like Pad Thai, I use sweet tamarind paste and savory fish sauce to flavor the dish. Soy sauce, garlic and ginger round out the flavor profile. It's all served over rice noodles, but there's one thing to keep in mind. The secret to a well-made stir-fry is cooking the dish in smaller portions so that everything stays crisp instead of steaming under the weight of a full wok of vegetables. Take a few minutes to toss together this healthy and colorful dish. You won't be let down by these summer flavors.

End of Summer Vegetable Stir-Fry

Serves 4

For the noodles and sauce:

6 ounces rice noodles (banh pho)

2 tablespoon tamarind paste

2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)

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