Enjoy summer harvest fruits and vegetables with these delicious recipes. Having just been to a farmers’ market this morning, I found loads of varieties of tomatoes, plus eggplant, cabbage, carrots, okra, potatoes, blueberries, pears, peaches, lots of fresh herbs, and flowers too. Whether you’re finding fresh produce at local markets or growing yourself, here are some recipes to help you enjoy them or save them to have later too.
Fruits
Have you ever made homemade jam? I have not yet, but these recipes explain step-by-step how to do it, and preserve the goodness of fresh berries from a summer harvest.
Low Sugar Blackberry and Apple Jam – from Janice at Farmers’ Girl Kitchen. Try this easy and healthier version of homemade jam. A great way to use up blackberries and enjoy them longer – and it can be frozen, too! We enjoy picking blackberries at a lovely farm in our county in the summer. This jam is perfect for whole-grain toast or crackers.
Something I just learned is that we are currently under the blackberry moon for Native American Indians from the Pacific Northwest. This was from Valerie Segrest BSN, MS, a native nutrition educator and author who was a guest on Mary Purdy RD’s Nutrition Show podcast. (Here’s a brand new cookbook Ms. Seacrest has contributed to that may be of interest: Indigenous Home Cooking.) And here is more information about the names given to different moons by Indigenous American people.
Easy Gooseberry Jam from Jacqui at Recipes Made Easy is another great way to use freshly harvested berries. Having never had a gooseberry, I was surprised to see what they look like in Jacqui’s post: they made me think of tiny watermelons! Like grapes, there are several colors. They can grow in the northeast and the north-central U.S.
Growing gooseberries and currants was actually banned in the U.S. as of 1911, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, due to their part in a white pine tree fungal disease. While the federal ban was discontinued in 1966, they are still not permitted in some states. They are in season from late June to early July here in Pennsylvania (although not allowed in some areas, according to Penn State Cooperative Extension). As per the USDA FoodData Central, a 100 gram portion of gooseberries contains 4.3 grams of fiber (quite a good source!) and 198 milligrams of potassium.
Summer Harvest Vegetables
Fresh local vegetables are wonderful for salads bursting with flavor, homemade soup, roasting, and more. Here are some recipes for a creative sandwich and salad idea:
Try a Carrot and Zucchini Sandwich with cashew butter (instead of cream cheese for a vegan option) and mashed avocado for a cool lunch – easily packable for lunches too! This recipe is from Renu at Cook with Renu. The whole-grain seeded bread looks just right with it. The fresh scallions will add a lot of flavor, and you can use fresh oregano and parsley too!
Picnic Salad in a Jar is a fun concept from Kate at Gluten-Free Alchemist. Her version is gluten-free, of course, with a homemade balsamic-lemon dressing just right to bring out the best of fresh summer harvest vegetable flavors. it includes fresh vegetables and walnuts for healthy fats. This recipe includes pancetta and feta cheese, so they can just be omitted or substituted for other plant-based salad fixings like:
- Mushrooms
- Edamame
- Artichokes
- Broccoli
- Chickpeas
- Chopped apples
- Berries
- Quinoa
I definitely want to try this. I have been searching for a few mason jars anyway to make a sourdough starter and to try a plant-based version of a favorite dessert…hopefully, I will have more to share about that soon!
More Summer Recipes You May Enjoy
Here are some of my favorite recipes with berries:
And here are some of my favorite recipes with summer vegetables:
- To help you find the best of the summer harvest, here are my Farmers’ Market Tips for Finding the Best Produce.
- See also 25 Delicious Vegan Recipes for Fresh Spring Vegetables and Strawberries.
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What are some of your favorite fruits and vegetables from the summer harvest? Have you tried picking your own at a farm or garden? Are you looking for good recipes for any of these foods? Let me know in the comments below:
Lovely round-up Melissa! I’m hoping next year I’ll get more of a varied harvest so I can make more delicious preserves like these! Jess x
Great round up, I really like the blackberry jam recipe – we are going blackberry picking this weekend and this is the perfect way to use some up!
It’s the best time of year for seasonal deliciousness and this post captures some gorgeous inspiration.
Thank you for hosting and thank you for including my salad jar xx
Awesome post with so many easy and summer-friendly recipes. I am too canning my fresh produce and this post has all I can do with my blueberries and berries. Thanks for including my Zucchini Carrot sandwich.
Fab roundup! This is such a good time of year for ‘in season’ food. Eb 🙂
A lovely round-up. Thanks for including my Low Sugar Blackberry and Apple Jam. I really enjoyed reading about the Blackberry Moon as I hadn’t heard of that before.