Summer Foods

The official day of summer starts tomorrow, Saturday, June 21, 2008, but for those of you in very hot climates like Arizona, summer started 2 months ago!  Summer time for most people is a time for activities like vacationing with family, relaxing by the pool, or swimming.  As for me, summer time is about cooking and eating wonderful fruits and vegetables that I get from my local Farmer’s Market.

 

Eating foods when they are in season makes for an awesome dining experience!  When foods are in season, this means that they are at its peak of the growth cycle—the fruit is very sweet!  Do you remember what happened when you bought a peach from the grocery store in December? I’m sure that it was bitter!  This is because peaches are a summer fruit.  Most of the fruit sold in stores year round even though they are not in season are grown in a controlled environment—sometimes it may be sweet and other times it may not be. 

 

Some of the delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs that are (or will be) in season for June and July are as follows:

 

Fruit	Vegetables	Herbs
Peaches	Summer squash (yellow crooked, zucchini, etc.)	Basil
Nectarines	Corn	Rosemary
Apricots	Tomatoes	Mint
Figs	Green Beans (snap beans)	Cilantro
Melons (cantaloupe, Honeydew, water, etc.)	Okra	Garlic
Strawberries	Asparagus
Plums	Cucumbers
Berries (black, rasp, etc.)	Artichokes
Cherries	Eggplant
Grapes	Chiles
Pears	Potatoes
Pineapples	Kale
Mangos	Onions
	Peppers (sweet/bell)

 

Please note that peaches, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, grapes, green beans, cucumbers, raspberries, and plums are ranked in the top 20 worst produce impacted by pesticides, so please try to buy these items organic (for more information, see Newsletter May 16^th).  A good place to buy local, seasonal, and organic produce is at your local farmer’s market.  To find a farmer’s marketing new you, please visit http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets/.