Everything delicious is coming into season this month, so we thought we’d take a minute and post a round up of recipes and tips to get us all prepared for the bounty. Plums, strawberries, tender young lettuce and ripe cherries. The most exciting time of the year, and one that will find a lot of us vacationing in place, means making preserves, perfecting pie crust and getting the most out of all those damn plums, all seem feasible, and dare we say, even fun?
Consider this your primer for summer kitchen inspo:
First off, cherries. Let’s talk cherry pie and the secret to the perfect fresh cherry pie filling. Serious Eats has a deep dive into the crimson fruit and the absolute best starch to use to ensure a luscious filling that holds up when you slice it.
And to top it off, here’s a tutorial for a slew of pie crust designs.
The first tender lettuces are coming up, but when you’ve got a few heads of lettuce in the fridge the outer leaves often wilt. Save these for smoothies. Add them to your regular smoothie recipe or try this creation by The Cookful. High in fiber and vitamin A, lettuce is also tender and breaks down beautifully when you purée.
Strawberries! In pie, or shortcakes, or simply tumbled into a bowl and dusted with vanilla sugar; it’s not hard to enjoy the first batch of strawberries in the summertime. But they go so quickly. Hold onto them with this quick pickle recipe from Simply Scratch. Sea salt, white balsamic and plenty of sugar – you can use them in salads, cocktails, and any number of ways.
Plums will be arriving any minute now and a sticky plum upside down cake is the perfect vehicle for this stone fruit. This recipe from The Feed Feed includes lavender blossoms, adding a floral note to an ideal summer dessert. Martha Stewart’s recipe includes buttermilk in the batter, making for a tangy crumb. Both are ideal ways to use the first ripe plums of the season.
If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that we can cook, and that cooking for ourselves is actually a lot of fun. Especially with everything ripening right now, it’s a nice reminder that we are lucky to live where we do – in this incredible city surrounded by beautiful farmland. Makes you really grateful for all the farmers.
No matter how crazy it gets out there, you got this. Now go make a pie!