Seasonal Eating: June Veggies and Recipes

Birthday Gift to Self: Front Step Guest-Greeter

Calling All June Dragons

Although I enjoy every month for its unique gifts, if I had to choose a favorite it would be June. Longer days and warm weather boost growth in the garden. My birthday and the summer solstice are causes for celebration. School time ends and summer begins, heralding the season of vacations and staycations. The very short cherry season comes and goes, and raspberries and apricots ripen. In the northern hemisphere flowers are everywhere, both on the central CA coast and in places where winters are harsher.

Squirrel-proofed Young Basil

Today is the full Dragon moon of the Chinese year of the Water Dragon, the most dragonishly energetic day of the year, sparking both creativity and money-making. Closer to home, we call June’s moon the Strawberry moon, and indeed June strawberries are at their flavor peak. I’ll be visiting a farm (Live Earth Farm) to pick some, how about you?

With June’s wealth of fruits, I’ll be firing up my canning equipment to try making raspberry jam and perhaps my mother’s strawberry-pineapple jam. I’ll also be canning some cherries in light honey syrup, similar to my all-time popular post, Berries in Light Honey Sauce.

Roses Are Edible if Organic

Hotter weather and plenty of varieties of CSA lettuce inspire me to make more salads, and to post salad recipes. Perhaps we’ll even have local cherry tomatoes to add by the end of the month. Lots of CSA green garlic and cooking greens on hand, so I’ll be experimenting to see which greens work best with green garlic. Be sure to post a comment if you have some experience with this!

For those whose gardens are challenged by gophers, I’ll be posting some tips mid-month after taking a class in non-chemical gopher eradication. To the four-footed rodents who share my property: the third rose was one rose too many!

Enjoy your month, and happy almost-summer.