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WHAT'S IN SEASON? JUNE: Vegetables: Arugula, Asian Greens, Asparagus, Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Collard Greens, Garlic Scapes, Herbs (perennial), Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Onions, Pea Tendrils, Peas,Rhubarb Fruit: Strawberries JULY: Vegetables: Arugula, Asian Greens, Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Collard Greens, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Herbs, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabaga, Spinach, Summer Squash, Swiss Chard Fruit: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries
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Right Food for the Season -
Early Summer
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Written by Jon Ross-Wiley
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 I mentioned this little snack to a few people and posted it on Twitter, and there seemed to be enough interest for me to publish a Quick Post here. While perusing the bins under the Stillman's Farm tent at a farmers' market in Jamaica Plain, I found a few cartons of okra. I was surprised to see them there. Not sure why, but I was intrigued enough to buy some and sort out what I would do with them later. Here is a very simple preparation that is quite tasty. As I've told a few others, it could have used a dipping sauce of some kind, though, to really elevate it. Ideas? Feel free to comment below, or send a tweet @localinseason. |
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Right Food for the Season -
Early Summer
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Written by Jane Ward
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 My cook’s mind kicks into overdrive each Wednesday when I pick up my CSA share at Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, and before I have even left the farm I have decided what will happen to the week’s haul. The two smooth-skinned zucchini will get turned into fritters. The chard will wilt down in some stock for soup. As for the rest, the bunch of beets and the group of small cucumbers and the green beans, I will have determined which I’ll be pickling, what will get frozen for later, and what will taste best right away, raw in a salad. Best of all, with all of these meals and sides, I am able to make a few of one vegetable go a long way to feeding a whole family, allowing each of us a taste of the week’s wealth. Divvying up fruit, however, proves a little trickier, especially if the favorite way of eating the fruit is whole and unadorned, given only a rinse. This past week’s small container of raspberries and first few peaches of the season made me nervous. This amount of fruit for four people? I live with someone who would consider the raspberries a snack. Er, make that a snackette. Myself, I could eat two of the peaches before someone could say “two peaches.” The fruit would have to be stretched to feed us all, but how? |
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Right Food for the Season -
Early Summer
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Written by Lara Zelman
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 Local farmers markets aren’t just for freshly harvested fruits and vegetables anymore. Stop by almost any market and you’ll find a wide variety of vendors. You’ll definitely see the traditional farm stand booths – with items like tomatoes, greens, corn, and berries. But you’ll also meet food entrepreneurs with prepared salads, jams, baked goods, smoked fish, and more. Almost every market around the Boston area has booths with freshly made cheese and locally raised meats. With the availability of so many diverse products, it is easy to make the farmers market your one-stop-shopping destination. I’ve been able to change my food buying habits to reduce the amount of meat and fish I buy at the grocery store. |
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Right Food for the Season -
Early Summer
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Written by R. Patrick Kent
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 Two weeks in. The CSA train has left the station. We are now picking up the bags on Tuesday evening and I'm coming home from work excited to see what has come in from the garden each week. So far, it's been lots of leafy greens: Chard, kale, red and green leaf lettuce, and collard greens. In addition, we have beets, radishes, and snap peas (picked ourselves!) The weather so far this year has been great for growing and the bag has been brimming with produce each week. This is a stark contrast to last June in New England when it rained 70% of the time and it was slim pickings for the first few weeks. (Hello, 3 lettuce leaves and a radish!) |
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Right Food for the Season -
Early Summer
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Written by Jane Ward
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 Almost exactly a year ago I was in a restaurant in New York’s midtown east lunching on a pea flan. Any good custard – whether sweet or savory – should taste rich, creamy, almost silky, and this lunch’s flan was very, very good. Perfect really, with a slight quiver at its center. But the purée of English peas, the soul of this custard, was what gave the dish its character.
The restaurant’s presentation was simple but flavorful: the flan with its delicate sweetness and the pale green color of a very young moss was front and center, garnished with a scattering of local fava beans, new spring onions, tiny red-gold mushrooms. A foamy butter sauce pulled it all together. The dish was earthy and sophisticated at the same time, a testament to a sure hand at the helm of the kitchen.
And a testament to the pea itself. Fresh, the vegetable is humble in size and attitude but at the same time possesses a refined and almost elegant sweetness. |
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