Hi Reader,

By July, something shifts here in California. Winter in the Sierra has us braising and roasting because it’s dark by five and there’s snow to the windowsills. Then summer starts, the weekly market sets up in town, and we leave the hearty dishes behind. It’s more assembly than cooking...slice a tomato, salt it, tear some basil, and that’s dinner.

That kind of eating only works when an ingredient is ripe enough to be the star of the show. That window lasts about six weeks a year, and we’re in it right now!

Farm-To-Table At 8,000 Feet

Here in Mammoth, our weekly market is small. Held together by a handful of people who make it a community instead of a transaction. The backbone is the nearby Blue Heron farm, and going on a Wednesday has become more ritual than errand.

Between market days, we lean on our Talley Farms CSA box, which arrives with whatever’s peaking at the farms on California’s Central Coast. This summer the standouts have been strawberries, peaches, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

The Markets We Plan Trips Around

Here’s a travel truth I live by: if you want to quickly understand a place, go to the farmers market. You’ll see what people eat, in the actual season, and get to taste the region before you’ve sat down to a meal.

Speaking of, here are a few markets we love: the Hilo Farmers Market on the Big Island for tropical fruit you won’t forget; Marché Raspail in Paris, the largest organic market in France; Sant’Ambrogio in Florence, where locals shop while tourists line up at the Mercato Centrale; and the Ferry Plaza market in San Francisco, a longtime favorite.

What We’re Cooking Now

Again, it’s more about fresh flavors than firing up the grill or oven.

The tomatoes go straight into classic bruschetta, the real Italian way I was taught when I lived there. As in, no balsamic, no cheese, no onion. Just great bread rubbed with garlic and tomatoes that taste like summer.

The peaches become a grilled peach panzanella, which is really an excuse to eat bread salad for dinner and call it a meal.

When it’s too hot to want anything but something cold, strawberries turn into a rosewater cardamom lassi, melons star in this watermelon pistachio feta salad, and cucumbers fold into this whipped feta dip.

The one thing worth turning the oven on for is broiled stone fruit with rosemary honey and mascarpone. Ten minutes and you have dessert (and the kitchen smells heavenly).

Caught Our Eye

On the subject of cooking, the pantry ingredient I can’t stop reaching for is K&K Ranch Peach Chili Salt. The right finishing salt is the laziest (ahem, most pro) way to make your meal taste like you tried, and this one is a workhorse: try it on caprese, grilled tri-tip, even ice cream. The catch, and honestly the charm, is that you can only get K&K by showing up to a Southern California farmers market.

If a California farmers market isn’t a possibility for you, order the Boonville Barn Collective piment d’ville. Stirred into flaky sea salt...it's tied for favorite summer salt garnish.

Now hit reply and tell us: what’s the best thing at your market right now, and what are you making with it?

If you’re planning a summer trip anywhere in California, we’re here to help. Check out our California guides and reach out whenever you’re ready. We’re your friends on the inside, after all.