Are you heading to the beach for the day, camping for the weekend or having the neighbours over for a barbeque? Grab some local seasonal produce to enjoy along with your summertime fun.
There are so many great reasons to eat locally grown foods, but my favourite, by far, is the flavour.
Produce fresh from your garden, a farm stand, or a farmer’s market is picked at the peak of ripeness and is brimming with flavours that make summertime so special.
It’s a bonus that local foods are better for the environment, keep our hard earned money in the community, and are more nutritious than foods that come from afar.
For me, summer is a time for:
• Fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and a mint leaf bobbing in a tall glass of sparkling water, sipped by the lake
• A colourful parfait layered with yogurt, whole grain cereal, and freshly picked huckleberries enjoyed while sitting on the patio
• A big leafy green salad loaded with spinach, kale, tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, and shredded beets carried next door and paired with the entrée on your neighbour’s grill
• Crunchy ears of corn with fresh dill from a food truck, bright red juicy cherries from the Farmers’ Market
• Tomatoes and herbs from a Community Garden tossed on a whole-wheat pizza and cooked in an outdoor oven
• A homemade fresh fruit Popsicle enjoyed by a child after an afternoon of running through the sprinkler
• Watermelon sliced and slurped while sitting at a picnic table surrounded by trees
• Celery stalks dipped into fresh salsa made with tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, chili peppers, onions, and passed around the campfire
Check out what’s in season now at bcfarmersmarket.org.
Let the sights, sounds, smells, and flavours of summer tempt your senses.