Eight Cooked Summer-Vegetable Recipes for When the Produce Aisle Comes With an Outbreak Warning
Summer vegetables are supposed to be the uncomplicated part of the season. You buy tomatoes that smell like tomatoes instead of refrigerated packing material. You acquire enough zucchini to suggest that you have either started a small farm or lost control of your judgment. You bring home corn, peppers, green beans, eggplant, squash, and herbs with the noble intention of becoming the kind of person who casually prepares beautiful meals from seasonal produce. Then the public-health alerts arrive. As of July 18, 2026, the CDC is investigating a five-state outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to shredded iceberg lettuce. More than 1,644 cases and 94 hospitalizations were associated with that specific outbreak, with no deaths reported. Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, including products distributed to stores, restaurants, and food-service customers. The CDC’s instruction is refreshingly unambiguous: do not eat recalled lettuce. Return it or throw it awa...
