Eat (High) Summer
This year there's been a bumper crop of cherries - it's even been mentioned in the national press! Dark, ripe and with an intense, fragrant sweetness, cherries are a great reminder of summertime's sweet abundance. There's still time to buy cherries direct from Blackmoor Farm's pop-up shop. Eat them just as they are, but they're also wonderful, pitted and served with ice cream or turned into a showstopper of a cherry tart.
So what else is in season at your farm shop or fresh from your box delivery service?
More soft fruits include blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, damsons, figs, gooseberies, loganberies, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries and tayberries. Perfect for jamming or doing versions of summer pudding.
Herbs are basil, chives, coriander, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. They are great for making flavoursome, vibrant salsa verde - a delicious accompaniment to fish and meats.
Veg and salad leaves are plentiful and include: aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chillies, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, French beans, garlic, globe artichoke, kohlrabi, lettuce, mangetout, marrow, mushrooms, onion, peas, peppers, potatoes, radish, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, sweetcorn, tomatoes, turnips, watercress.
As for the day's catch (check with your fishmonger for sustainability), there's: cod, coley, crab, dab, dover sole, flounder, grey gurnard, grey mullet, John Dory, haddock, hake, herring, mackeral, monkfish, plaice, pollack, prawn, red mullet, salmon, scallops, sea bass, sea bream, brown trout, shrimp, whelks. (Surely one of summer's greatest pleasures is a dressed crab salad!)
Game includes duck, rabbit and wood pigeon.