What to Make with Summer Produce from the Farmers Market

By AVERY ZEMLAK | Intern

On Sunday mornings I love to go to Pacific Palisades Farmers Market and look for inspiration. With all the summer fruit and vegetables available, my mind spins with endless possibilities.

I have decided to share some of my favorite ideas with you after a trip through the market.

Tomatoes. So many varieties, from the traditional red to heirloom and cherry tomatoes. Tomato season is the best season.

Some of my favorite dishes to make are bruschetta, fresh tomato sauce, caprese salad and, of course, just pop the little ones into my mouth for a snack. Don’t forget a fresh bouquet of basil and a bulb of garlic—all which can be found at different stands.

For the bruschetta, I just dice up a bunch of tomatoes, grate some garlic, a couple pinches of salt and a swirl of olive oil. I stir it up and let it chill in the fridge.

When I’m ready to serve it, I either use it as a dip or top toasted slices of baguette. Then a chiffonade of basil. It’s my signature dish.

You could serve these tomato dishes with a baguette, or you can pick some fresh pitas from Mother’s, Brothers’ and Aliki’s stands. They also have feta and kalamata olives, which pairs nicely with these dishes. If you pick up any of their dips, you can make a fresh vegetable platter, filled with gems like Persian cucumbers and snap peas, and it’s always fun to get different colors of cauliflower.

The strawberries are so vibrant, and make for a great base for fresh strawberry ice cream or a strawberry shortcake. At night, if I really want to satisfy my sweet tooth, I’ll melt some chocolate and dip my strawberries in it. If I’m patient, I’ll put them in the fridge for 20 minutes until they harden, otherwise, it becomes a makeshift fondue.

Sliced up they make for a sweet filling in a yogurt parfait. Just take your favorite yogurt and layer it with strawberries and granola. Perfect for breakfast or a snack.

Summer blueberries are the best. The exterior has a nice snap to them, and when you bite into them, you taste the sweetness. My two favorite uses for blueberries are in a cobbler or in blueberry muffins.

The recipe we always use is Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffins as published in The New York Times. Otherwise, my mom uses them to dot her Saturday morning blueberry pancakes.

Corn! I love opening up each husk to make sure there are no worms. I’m kidding, I don’t love that, but you definitely need to check out each ear before you get home.

We will either eat it boiled or on the grill. If there’s leftover corn, it gets cut off the cob and used in salads or gets turned into cowboy caviar—a real simple combination of black beans, corn, chopped tomato and avocado. Add a squeeze of lime and some salt, give a stir, and serve with tortilla chips.

Additionally, buying flowers every Sunday really helps brighten up the house. I love how you can choose from so many varieties. The sunflowers really spoke to me this week.

I hope this has encouraged you to shop at our local farmers market—and inspired you to create some of my favorite dishes I mentioned above.

Pacific Palisades Farmers Market is located along Swarthmore Avenue and Antioch Street each Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Happy shopping and cooking!