■ The chefs at Greentree Tearoom have planned their August menu around what’s available at farmers markets. Here’s the menu: chilled cantaloupe soup, asiago scone with herbed cream cheese and green tomato chutney, baked pear with blue cheese, ­poppyseed egg salad and French ­radish tea sandwiches, ginger chocolate truffles, strawberry cupcakes and Key lime ­custards. ­Greentree is at 521 West Short Street. Call (859) 455-9660 or go to ­Greentreetearoom.com.
■ Ramsey’s Diners’ owner Rob Ramsey says that despite the ­national drought, “our local corn from ­Shelbyville is as good of quality as we have had in years. Tomatoes are ­excellent as well.” Ramsey’s serves fresh produce specials throughout the season. Go to Ramseysdiners.com for restaurant locations.
■ Rossi’s Restaurant, 1060 Chinoe Road, has added items to its ­dinner menu: Dijon-crusted lamb chops, ­chicken minis, and po’boys. You can enjoy the new items on Rossi’s patio, which has plenty of shade. Call (859) 335-8788 or go to Rossis-restaurant.com.
■ City Barbeque, 3292 Richmond Road, is celebrating all things pork Aug. 6 to 12 with discounted menu items. Specials include a half-pound pulled pork sandwich, $4.99; pulled pork lunch sandwich, $3.50; 1 pound of pork, $9.99; and a bone-in whole pork ­shoulder, $7.99 a pound. Call (859) 317-4430 or go to Citybbq.com.
■ Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has added one of the world’s hottest ­peppers to its menu. The ghost pepper, or Bhut Jolokia, is 300 times as hot as the ­jalapeño and will be served on two burgers. The fiery ghost is a burger topped with ghost pepper sauce, fried jalapeños, and pepper Jack cheese; and the cry baby is topped with onion straws tossed in Sriracha dry seasoning, with more onions sautéed in ­Cholula hot sauce, pepper jack cheese and ghost pepper ketchup. Red Robin is in Brannon Crossing at 101 East Brannon Road, Nicholasville. Call (859) 971-1991 or go to Redrobin.com.
Farmers market reports
■ Azur Restaurant’s farmers bazaar is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays on the patio. The market features local farmers and artisans. Azur is at 3070 Lakecrest Circle. Call (859) 296-1007 or go to Azurrestaurant.com.
■ Bluegrass Farmers Market has corn, melons, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Locations and hours are: 3450 ­Richmond Road, in the Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs parking lot, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday; and 730 Millpond Road, in the parking lot of the Willow Oak Pool, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday. Go to Localharvest.org/blog/29529.
■ Woodford County Farmers ­Market will have its 12th annual Twilight Festival from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday in downtown Versailles.

It’s fun being among the first to visit a new restaurant, but it’s even better if it’s an ice cream shop.
Sav and Rachel Savané, who own Sav’s Grill & West African Cuisine, 304 South Limestone, are opening Sav’s Chill on Saturday. When the space at 289 South Limestone became available shortly after their son Bangaly graduated from Henry Clay High School, Sav Savané said, “I just saw this cute little space and I said, ‘Ice cream.’” Bangaly Savané will manage the ice cream parlor.
Sav’s Chill will serve 24 flavors of ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and sherbet made by Valentine’s Ice Cream in Winchester. Flavors include chocolate overload, Blue Monday (as in Ruth Hunt Candy), bourbon ball, raspberry sorbet, and Sav’s Chill’s signature flavor lavender gelato. The store also sell serve Kizito cookies and brownies from the cookie store at 1398 Bardstown Road in Louisville. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. daily. Call (859) 255-2445.

It seems impossible, but if you’re tiring of BLTs, here’s another idea for savoring the awesome tomato.

This month’s issue of “Notes from the Test Kitchen” has recipes for using up our wonderful supply of fresh summer tomatoes.  The newsletter provides recipes, equipment reviews, taste tests, original videos, and cooking tips from the public television shows America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen, and magazines Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country.

Here’s the staff’s updated technique for making caramel tomatoes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: In the original recipe for caramel tomatoes, the tomatoes started in the oven, moved to the stove top to continue cooking, and then returned to the oven. The staff at America’s Test Kitchen found that the second bake wasn’t necessary.

You can peel the tomatoes with a serrated peeler or use this method: Use a sharp paring knife to score an X at the base of each tomato and carefully submerged the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. They then cooled the tomatoes in ice water for a minute to stop the cooking, then used the knife to remove the skin. They didn’t skimp on the sugar here; it helped focus the tomato flavor.

 Peeling tomatoes may seem fussy but otherwise, you’ll be eating papery skins. Firm tomatoes are easier to peel.

 Caramel tomatoes

8 large tomatoes, peeled and cored

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

PREP TOMATOES: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange tomatoes in large oven-safe skillet, cored side up. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Dot with butter.

BAKE TOMATOES: Bake until tomatoes are tender and lightly browned, about 1 hour, basting with juices every 15 minutes.

FINISH ON STOVETOP: Transfer skillet to stove top. Simmer over medium-low heat, basting every 5 minutes, until sauce is thick and syrupy, 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Photo by Monica Matheny, The Yummy Life

This summer, my daughter Sarah is gathering recipes and ideas on how to make mealtime easier once school starts again.

She discovered this idea for a quick breakfast on Pinterest, and I decided to learn more about making refrigerator oatmeal. I found the instructions on Monica Matheny’s blog, The Yummy Life.

You’ll need:

•  Old fashioned rolled oats

•  Greek yogurt (regular yogurt is thinner; if you use it, you’ll need to reduce the amount of milk).

•  Milk

•  Ground flax seeds or chia seeds (available at Good Foods Market, Roberts Health Foods, Whole Foods,

• Half pint (1 cup) Mason jars

Place oats, milk, and yogurt, and seeds in jar, along with desired sweeteners or flavors.  Put a lid on the jar and shake to combine.  Add fruit and stir gently until combined. Place in fridge overnight and up to 2 days; maybe longer depending on the type and ripeness of the fruit. The non-banana varieties have been good after 4 days.

During the overnight soak, the oats and chia seeds absorb the liquid and soften. They have a great eating texture by the next day.

Mandarin orange refrigerator oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

¼ cup drained canned mandarin oranges (or fresh chopped orange)

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, honey and marmalade. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add oranges and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. Eat chilled.

Nutritional Info: 236 calories, 4 g. fat, 53 g. carbs, 8 g. fiber, 12 g. protein; Weight Watchers PtsPlus: 7.

Cherry chocolate chunk refrigerator oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon finely chopped dark chocolate

¼ cup chopped cherries (fresh or frozen)

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, honey and vanilla. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add chopped chocolate and cherries and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. Eat chilled.

Nutritional Info: 274 calories, 8 g. fat, 55 g. carbs, 8. g fiber, 12 g. protein; Weight Watchers PtsPlus: 9.

Tips

• Jars of oatmeal can be frozen.  Be careful not to overfill the jars; 3/4 inch of space is needed at the top of the jar to allow for expansion when frozen (and avoid exploding jars). Move frozen jars from the freezer to the fridge the night before, and your oatmeal should be thawed and ready to eat for breakfast.

•  Although the recipe is designed to be eaten cold, if you prefer, you can heat these jars of oatmeal. Remove the lid from the jar and heat in microwave for about 1 minute (assuming they aren’t frozen) to take the chill off and warm it slightly.
• Substitute ground flax seeds for the chia seeds

• Omit the chia seeds ( you may need to reduce the liquid a bit, since they absorb liquid as they soak).
• Substitute regular plain or flavored yogurt or non-dairy yogurt (soy, coconut, rice) for Greek yogurt.
• Substitute other liquids for the skim milk: coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, juice, etc. (this may change the flavor, but it can still be good with these substitutions–taste and make necessary adjustments to get it to your liking)
• Substitute agave syrup for honey, or any sweetener you prefer
• Substitute fruits (use fresh, frozen, dried, or canned); swap out different fruit flavors to create your own favorite variety
• Substitute quick, instant oats or steel-cut for rolled oats. The quick and instant oats aren’t quite as healthy, but they’ll still work just fine. Steel cut oats are much harder and don’t soften as much when soaked, so the resulting texture is nuttier and chewier.
• Visit Theyummylife.com/refrigerator_oatmeal 

Chefs are taking ­advantage of bountiful local produce to jazz up their summer menus.
The staff at Portofino is growing herbs in a small garden outside the restaurant’s kitchen at 249 East Main Street. The chefs are harvesting basil to make caprese salad with tomatoes from heirloom grower Roland McIntosh. The plot also contains thyme, chives, rosemary, oregano, lemon verbena, winter savory, mint, lavender and tarragon. Call (859) 253-9300 or go to Portofinolexington.com.
Portofino and its sister restaurant, Serafini in downtown Frankfort, recently received Awards of Excellence for 2012 from Wine Spectator. The magazine award recognizes outstanding wine lists and menu offerings. Serafini is at 243 West Broadway. Call (502) 875-5599 or go to Serafinifrankfort.com.
Billy’s Bar-B-Q, 101 Cochran Road, is serving locally grown tomatoes, with cucumber dressing, and sweet corn. Also new on the menu is a South Carolina-style mustard barbecue sauce. Call (859) 269-9593 or go to Billysbarbq.com.

Events

■ Evans Orchard will have its annual sweet corn festival from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Entertainment includes a corn-eating contest, pony rides and live music. The menu offers corn on the cob, pulled pork sandwiches and funnel cakes. The orchard is at 180 Stone Road in Georgetown.
■ Sondra Strunk will offer samples of her newest item from Sondra’s Wine Creations at Good Foods Market & Cafe on Saturday. She will have samples of red pepper-chocolate wine candy from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the market, 455 Southland Drive.
■ The next community table series at Oliva Bella, 400 Old Vine Street, begins Saturday. “Eat, Drink and Cook Italian” is “our version of a cooking class, which in reality will be more of an Italian cooking party,” owner Lea Ann Vessels said. The cost is $85 a session and includes an apron, a recipe book, food and beverages. Dates and ­topics for the classes, 2 to 3:30 p.m., are: Saturday, over-the-top summer antipasto platters; Aug. 4, rustic Italian summer lunches; Aug. 18, Italian summer pizzas; and Sept. 8, top five pasta sauces. Call (859) 983-3567 or go to Olivabella.com.
■ Sabio Restaurant & Bar, 380 South Mill Street, will have wine tastings, and chef Javier Lanza will teach food preparation classes 5:30 to 8 p.m. Mondays. This week, wines include Quinta do Portal Collheita Tinto 2009, Whiplash Redemption and Robertson Winery gerwurztraminer from South Africa. Sabio is at 380 South Mill Street, in the old Dudley’s space. Call (859) 368-9901 or go to Sabiodudleysquare.com.
■ Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant at Fayette Mall, 3395 Nicholasville Road, will celebrate National Tequila Day on Tuesday. Margaritas will be $5.95. Call (859) 971-0922 or go to Abuelos.com.
■ McAlister’s Deli, 836 Euclid ­Avenue, is having Free Tea Day on July 26. Guests who visit any McAlister’s Deli will get a free 32-ounce ­McAlister’s Famous Sweet Tea. No coupon is required, and no purchase is necessary. Go to Mcalistersdeli.com or call (859) 368-9880.
■ The Dish, 438 South Ashland Avenue, is celebrating its fourth anniversary July 28. Happy-hour specials, 4 to 6 p.m., include $2 off appetizers and $7 original martinis and cocktails. The Baja Yetis will entertain from 7 to 10 p.m. Jalapeño and corn bread crab cakes are back on the menu for summer. New items include scallops in tomato yogurt sauce; vegetarian paella; ribeye with blackberry and red wine sauce; and a variety of gluten-free dishes. Seating is limited for the anniversary party. Call (859) 317-8438 or go to Thedishlex.com.

Farmers market reports

■ Azur Restaurant’s farmers bazaar is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays on the patio. The market features local farmers and artisans. Azur is at 3070 Lakecrest Circle. Call (859) 296-1007 or go to Azurrestaurant.com.
■ Bluegrass Farmers Market has corn, melons, tomatoes and berries. Locations and hours are: 3450 Richmond Road, in the Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs parking lot, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday; and 730 Millpond Road, in the parking lot of the Willow Oak Pool, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday. Go to Localharvest.org/blog/29529.
■ Woodford County Farmers ­Market will have its 12th annual Twilight Festival from 6 to 10 p.m. July 27 in downtown Versailles. There will be kids’ activities, pony rides, food, live music talent show, and local crafts and artists.

Midway School Bakery has a variety of pastries and breads.

Ouita Michel and her culinary team from Holly Hill Inn have opened ­Midway School Bakery.
Pastry chef Carrie Warmbier is running the bakery, at 510 South Winter Street. The menu features currant and oatmeal scones, sugarless blueberry cheesecake squares, and handmade bagels with home-cured lox.
Hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call (859) 846-4336.
Also, Michel will celebrate the ­heritage of the French restaurant with Holly Hill Inn’s first Bastille Day Supper on Saturday.
All summer, Michel’s multicourse Tour de France menus have featured the best and freshest of Bluegrass farm products in her favorite French recipes. The Bastille Day Supper honors the influence of the French Revolution on the modern restaurant. The cost is $50; a sommelier’s pairing of French wines is $35.
Holly Hill is at 426 North Winter Street, Midway. Call (859) 846-4732 or to go Hollyhillinn.com.
Specials
■ Hanna’s on Lime, 214 South ­Limestone, is serving its farmers market specials on Wednesdays. Selections include corn on the cob, kale, squash, eggplant, green beans, peppers, new potatoes, tomatoes and melon. The cost is $8.25. Call (859) 252-6264.
■ Natasha’s Bistro & Bar, 112 ­Esplanade, is offering weekend fish ­specials with seafood provided by Lexington Seafood Co. This week at Natasha’s “All Summer Long Seafood Festival,” the menu features Portuguese-style mahi mahi with savory polenta cakes and grilled green beans. Call (859) 259-2754 or go to Beetnik.com.
■ Ramsey’s Diners are using fresh local corn in a variety of dishes for the next several weeks. The corn is grown in Shelby County by Gallrein Farm. Dishes include corn on the cob, fried corn, creamed corn and Parmesan deep-fried corn. Also on the menu are okra from Berries on Bryan Station and tomatoes from Lincoln County. Go to Ramseysdiners.com for locations.
Events
■ Winchell’s, 348 Southland Drive, is having a pig roast from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Sides include baked beans, potato salad and corn on the cob, with fruit cobbler for dessert. The menu ­includes smoked chicken chili. Call (859) 278-9424.
■ The Julep Cup, 111 Woodland Avenue, is celebrating Bastille Day on Friday and Saturday. The menu includes escargot and sweet bread torte, duck confit and frisée with poached egg; sole with vegetable ribbons; and entrecôte, a classic French steak, with house-made fries and French herb sauce. Call (859) 226-0300.
■ Thai Orchid Cafe will hold a Noodle Fest at West Sixth Brewing Co., 501 West Sixth Street, at 5 p.m. Monday. Dishes include basil beef bowl, coconut noodle bowl and won ton nachos. Call (859) 288-2170 or go to Thaiorchidcafe.net.
■ Oliva Bella is planning a trip to ­Sicily, and you can go along to ­experience the olive oil and wine ­harvests. Two 10-day trips are ­scheduled for Sept. 26 to Oct. 6 and Oct. 10 to 20. The cost is $5,882. Call (859) 983-3567 or email Olivabella@olivabella.com
Farmers market reports
■ Azur Restaurant’s farmers bazaar is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays on the patio. The market features local farmers and artisans. Products include produce, eggs, cheese, meats, pasta, hand-dipped chocolates, flowers, plants, baked goods and crafts. Azur is at 3070 Lakecrest Circle. Call (859) 296-1007 or go to Azurrestaurant.com.
■ Bluegrass Farmers Market has corn, melons, tomatoes and berries. Locations and hours are: 3450 Richmond Road, in the Pedal the Planet and Fast Signs parking lot, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday; and 730 Millpond Road, in the parking lot of the Willow Oak Pool, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday. Go to Localharvest.org/blog/29529.
■ Winchester/Clark County Farmers Market is open 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the parking lot of Bluegrass Heritage Museum, 217 South Main Street.