Aloo Posto With New Potatoes From My Yard

August in Washington is a sly, mysterious month. You never know when the days will pour down with the furious heat of July, or simmer down to September's mild temperatures. And then there's the rain. You can go by for weeks without a drop, and then-- all of a sudden-- you are slammed by a vivid display of lightning, thunder, and a downpour such as you never saw before.

Right now, we're in a bit of a drought. I wake up every morning, look at my thirsty garden, and pray to the rain gods. Well, not literally, but I do tune in to the weather channel with lots of hope in my heart. Because if there isn't going to be any rain, it's me that's going to have to water the vegetable garden. And because watering the garden is my least favorite chore to do, I don't do it as often as I should.

Despite the neglect, my vegetable garden has been fairly productive this year. The okra's been churning out armfuls of slender green fingers, the eggplant's prospering, thank you, and the zucchini's been surprisingly temperamental but still active enough to keep me from complaining.