Favorite Seasonal Foods

[CathyL]

Rambutans?

Never had em...tell tell please..info forthwith and forthright please!

Rambutans are lovely. The pushcarts in Chinatown carry them in season.

[=Mark]

Blackberries from my backyard patch. They are ripening as we speak. I like to make yogurt and add the blackberries.

Unfortunately the patch of ivy that I've been encouraging to take over my back yard (more ivy = less mowing) seems to be decimating the berry patch.

[anil]

Fresh Gaspacho soup made from summer vegetables

[buttermonkey]

Yes, Gaspacho made with over ripe tomatoes, very fresh cucumber, sweeet pepper, good sherry vinager, what better is there?

I'm drunk

but I mean it

[foodie52]

1015 onions ( very sweet )

Stonewall, Texas peaches

Satsumas

fresh blackeyed peas

Pecos melons

[Varmint]

Once again, I'm in agreement with Southern Girl:

FIGS!! (from the tree in my front yard -- the birds get them very quickly)

Purple hull peas

Wild strawberries

[lamb]

WHITE CORN! There's a local farm called Samaha's in Matawan between the GSP and Rte 34. Best corn out of all the locals I've tried over the past 20+ years. Lovely delicate little kernels of white corn. Eat them right out of the pot, nothing added. You have to make them the same day they are picked, so time it so you are at the stand as the truck is offloading them into the bins. I made 12 ears last night, and my husband, two kids and I finished off the entire batch.

[tommy]

WHITE CORN!  There's a local farm called Samaha's in Matawan between the GSP and Rte 34. Best corn out of all the locals I've tried over the past 20+ years

this is in NJ, USA, for all of you foreingers.

[Stephanie]

WHITE CORN!  There's a local farm called Samaha's in Matawan between the GSP and Rte 34. Best corn out of all the locals I've tried over the past 20+ years.  Lovely delicate little kernels of white corn.  Eat them right out of the pot, nothing added.  You have to make them the same day they are picked, so time it so you are at the stand as the truck is offloading them into the bins.  I made 12 ears last night, and my husband, two kids and I finished off the entire batch.

Omigod! I'm from Matawan, and we went to Samaha's religiously in the summer. They've always had the BEST corn. My folks still live there and still go. I'm glad to see it's still around and that their little corner of land hasn't been developed yet.

[LaNiña]

I bought some corn at the Union Square greenmarket yesterday - the ears were small, yellow and white, and while it wasn't the best of the best, it was pretty darn good.

[helenas]

Concord Grapes! When in season, i bake a schiacciata con l'uva (grape focaccia) almost every day.

[lamb]

Omigod! I'm from Matawan, and we went to Samaha's religiously in the summer. They've always had the BEST corn. My folks still live there and still go. I'm glad to see it's still around and that their little corner of land hasn't been developed yet.

[Stephanie]

BkylnEats,

It's kinda ironic, because I grew up in Brooklyn, but now live in NJ.  (I'm assuming that with your moniker, you are in my old 'hood!)

Out of all the farms in the area (Cheesquake, Casola, Mendoza) Samaha is at the top of my list.  My husband and I alternate going during the week, but our kitchen is always full of their goodies. Long Live Samaha!!!

Born in Brooklyn, raised in Matawan, came back to NYC in '93.

I know this is so off topic, but what about Delicious Orchards? I think it's a great place, but it's not really a farm anymore (though I think they still have the apple orchards & make their own cider).

[KarenS]

I love to eat, so there are many.

mangoes (Hawaiian are much better then Mexican)

lychees

Black mission figs

raspberries

blackberries

boysenberries

blueberries

fraise du bois

tomatoes

sweet corn

Frog Hollow peaches

white nectarines , plums, apricots

pluots

galia melon

asparagus

hass avocados

artichokes

sugar loaf pineapples

blueberries

porcini

chanterelles

[bigbear]

Fiddleheads.

[aliwaks]

depends which season summer :mm heirloom tomatoes, the really dark red nearly black ones that look like fresh meat with garden mint,olive oil & salt..alternatively black raspberries I think they are available about 2 weeks a summer then later on black mission figs, ginger-gold apples

for springtime: ramps, fraises de bois, fresh lamb, fiddle heads

then there are meyer lemons..hard to choose a favorite isn't it

[nyfirepatrolchef]

I love to eat, so there are many.

mangoes (Hawaiian are much better then Mexican)

lychees

Black mission figs

raspberries

blackberries

boysenberries

blueberries

fraise du bois

tomatoes

sweet corn

Frog Hollow peaches

white nectarines , plums, apricots

pluots

galia melon

asparagus

hass avocados

artichokes

sugar loaf pineapples

blueberries

porcini

chanterelles

Karen....cant make up your mind eh? Great minds! I cant pick just a couple either!

[Michael Laiskonis]

Greengage plums. Totally missed them this year.

[APPS411]

Blood Oranges at peak ripeness.

[LaurieA-B]

Rainiers are in my grocery store now and they're a golden color with some red blush. They're hideously expensive, but I plan to try some when I have time to go to the store and "cherry-pick" some good looking ones. Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun 

Just bought Rainiers at Pike Place Market for $2.50 a pound, which is cheaper than both the farmers market and grocery store here. I've never pitted, prepared, or cooked fresh cherries--just eat them. We also bought blueberries and red currants at the farmers market on Saturday. I am longing, longing for the tomatoes and peaches that will be ripe during August...

[browniebaker]

marrons glacees, only in the autumn

[hotle]

morels. i remember going to find 'em with my dad on my aunt's farm. we'd fill up 2 or 3 of the old brown paper grocery bags, bring them home, and that would be dinner for the next 2 nights.....egg wash and cracker crumbs, with lemon on top. sheesh, we were POOR and were eating $100 of mushrooms a night!

corn. being from iowa, i have a real hard time with transported corn, which loses so much sugar content so quickly. we can get some good corn here in the chicago area.....picked same day, and that comes close, but only for about 3 weeks a year.

asparagus. just planted some 2 years ago, and this was the first year it really came up. there's no substitute to cutting the spears, bringing them to the grill, evoo, s&p, lemon juice.......WOW!

vine tomatos from the garden. again, no substitute, even from the farmstands.

[bloviatrix]

I'm counting down the days until tomatoes show up at the greenmarket. And apricots. I've been told they should appear in 2 weeks.

[Stigand]

Cloudberries!

Only around in late summer, and absolutely wonderful.

Out of interest, does anyone know if cloudberries are available to buy anywhere outside Norway/Finland/Sweden? Some quick googling suggests that they grow in Alaska, northern New England and perhaps Canada - has anyone seen them for sale there? What about Scotland?

[marie-louise]

My practice is to eat enough of what's in peak season that I get sick of them. Usually, by the time I am craving it again, it is almost time for them to be in season again. Belonging to a CSA helps-week after week, mass quanities of perfectly ripe, perfectly wonderful fruits and vegetables arrive at your doorstep. Two things this doesn't work for:

Apricots-they're in season for what, about two weeks

Tomatoes-even though you can get great ones in California for about four months, that's not long enough