Recipe ideas to make the most of what’s in season

  • Wednesday, June 19, 2013 1:09pm
  • Life

This is the best time of the year to eat. Farmers markets are in full swing and grocery stores are overflowing with the bounty of summer.

Here’s a selection of what’s in season right now (mostly what I’ve spotted at the farmers market) and a bunch of recipes to help you make the most of it.

Strawberries and rhubarb

I can’t say enough about the superiority of sweet, tender Northwest strawberries. Only peaches taste more like summer to me. Unable to resist buying more berries than one person can reasonably eat, I used up the excess in strawberry lemonade bars and strawberry rhubarb bread (both of which were quickly consumed when I brought them to the office). Now I’m eyeing some ideas from columnist Jan Roberts-Dominguez, such as strawberry mousse, berries with Grand Marnier and cream, and these two rhubarb desserts.

Lettuce and other greens

Yeah, yeah, I know. Lettuce. Could I have chosen anything more mundane? But I beg you: if you haven’t yet, give farmers-market lettuce a chance. There is nothing mundane about it. Fresh-picked butter lettuce, for instance, is crisp, delicate and slightly sweet, and it makes an altogether more delicious salad than the green-leaf lettuce you get in the middle of winter. I like to toss it with chopped hazelnuts, sliced strawberries or grapes, chunks of goat cheese and a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a quick lunch. If you prefer something heartier, check out this recipe for fennel-cumin steak salad, or this grilled steak and spring vegetable salad, which stars arugula and asparagus. And to make salad-making of all kinds easier, consider these tips for storing and prepping lettuce.

Peas and young onions

Since I’m basically a human vacuum where sugar snap peas are concerned, eating them raw as quickly as I can shell them, I never cook with them. But both sugar snaps and English shelling peas are abundant at the moment, and if you have more self-control than I do, 101 Cookbooks’ recipes for peas with butter and crostini with pea puree might be right up your alley.

Both peas and the young onions would also be good in another of my favorite quick meals, perfect all summer long: a noodle bowl with chopped vegetables.

Thinly slice your favorite crunchy vegetables, such as peppers, cabbage, broccoli, or carrots (lettuce is good in this, too, if you cool the noodles first). Cook a handful of long noodles, such as vermicelli, udon, rice or soba. Mix 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tsp honey and a dash of chili oil or hot sauce (this sauce is to my taste, so if it’s not to yours, experiment with different ingredients or proportions). When the noodles are done, toss them with the vegetables and sauce, and then consume with gusto. Shimp or chicken are good additions if you want more protein. For a noodle meal with less chopping, try Nigella Lawson’s soba noodles with sesame seeds.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.