What's in Season: June

Your guide to eating the freshest fruit and vegetables in June.

Dishes featuring the season's finest produce are sure to steal the show at all your gatherings. Get ready to harvest a bushel of compliments when you add the following to your menu:

Strawberries
Buying tips: Purchase strawberries that are shiny, firm and very fragrant. A strawberry should be almost completely red, though some whiteness near the leafy cap is acceptable.

Storage tips: Refrigerate unwashed strawberries with the caps on until ready to use. Just before using, wash and hull.

Recipes to try:
Strawberries With Lemon Cream
This simple recipe that's ready in 10 minutes is a delicious way to enjoy everyone's favorite summer fruit.

Strawberry Bliss Omelet
Who said omelets have to be savory? Try a new take on breakfast with strawberries and cream cheese.

Strawberry Sunshine Cake
Aptly named, this cake is sure to be a bright addition to your table.


Tomatoes
Buying tips: Choose nicely ripe, rich-colored, well-shaped tomatoes that are slightly soft. Tomatoes should be free of blemishes.

Storage tips: Keep unwashed tomatoes at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Keep out of direct sunlight.

Recipes to try:
Fabulous Fettuccine
Don't settle for a jar of sauce when you can easily use fresh tomatoes to make this dish.

Fresh Tomato Tart
This pretty dish is a treat to the eye and taste buds.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta
Red pepper flakes turn up the heat in this classic appetizer.


Summer Squash
Buying tips: Varieties of summer squash include pattypan, sunburst, yellow crookneck and zucchini. Buy squash that have glossy, smooth and firm but tender skins. Small squash are more tender and flavorful.

Storage tips: Keep unwashed summer squash in the refrigerator crisper drawer for up to 4 days.

Recipes to try:
Marinated Grilled Vegetables
Fresh veggies that grill up crisp on the outside and tender in the center are a great complement to grilled meats.

Zucchini Lasagna
Summer squash makes a surprising but tasty substitute for pasta noodles.

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Can't think of a way to use up all your garden's bounty? Make dessert!

From The Complete Guide to Country Cooking

 

• • Cooking Tips
• Family Dinner
• Father's Day
• Party Planning
• Summer Season

• Be a Fruit-and-Veggie Opportunist
• Sneak in your nine servings by the end of the day.
• 
• 2 Clever Ways to Store Fruit
• Smart storage ideas for fruit.
• 
• Easy Ways to Ripen Fruit
• Get fruit ripe and ready with these 2 tricks.
• 
• Antioxidant-Rich Fruits and Veggies
• Move this antioxidant-rich produce to the top of your shopping list.
• 
• Foods That Fight Disease
• Food can do much more than taste good; it can help you fight many serious diseases.
• 
• Functional Foods: Enhanced for Health
• Should you buy into super foods -- products with added vitamins, herbs and extracts? Here's what you need to know.
•