In the Kitchen this June

Throughout June local vegetables have just been coming into season. In this salad early in the month: local lettuce, deviled
eggs, palm hearts from a jar, and a purplish kumato tomato -- this was before local tomatoes started arriving.

In my kitchen for the month of June: new local vegetables in season each week, many from Argus Farm Stop, the consignment market for local farmers. Also, fruits and vegetables from further south where the season is more advanced. It's so great to be able to use these fresh tastes for simple dishes! Besides food preparation using the best and most local ingredients I can find, I also have a few new kitchen items to show you this month.

For other people's kitchen wrap-ups this month, see the blog posts linked at Sherry's Pickings, a blog from Australia that allows many bloggers from around the world to share what's new and amazing in their kitchens in early summer in this hemisphere and at the beginning of winter down under.

White beans with tomatoes, lettuce, and more.

Left: tuna salad. Right: cut up grilled steak with bell pepper, celery and other not-so-local vegetables.

Finally, mid-month: some really tasty tomatoes from a local hoop house.

Local yellow tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado (which is never local).

New: a Kettle and a Ceramic Dish

Our new kettle with a long spout for more convenient pouring.

Ceramics from the Ann Arbor Potters' Guild.

New from the Potters' Guild June sale: a beautiful covered dish, a mug, and a small bowl: all in the same ash glaze. Now I have two almost-alike mugs. The first is from an earlier Potters' Guild sale. The new one is similar, not identical. I prefer a bit of variation in hand-made items. While we haven't used the kettle yet, we  have used the ceramics quite a few times.

Potato salad in the covered dish. Chives are from our garden.

Rice with dried fruit and Moroccan flavoring. Part of a
Moroccan dinner, blogged HERE.

Roast carrots, fennel, and pork tenderloin in a simple brown sauce.
Leftovers went into Cuban sandwiches, blogged HERE.

The Simplest Food: Hamburgers!

Melting the cheese onto the bun is easier than melting it on the burger.

More Simple Food

Roasted cauliflower with almonds and dates.

Sardines and goat cheese on an onion roll with more of those local yellow tomatoes.

What could be simpler than hash-brown potatoes?
We ate them with scrambled eggs. Very very simple.

Michigan strawberry season is only a few weeks long. Such fragrant little berries! And it's all over now.

So in my kitchen this month, I have few new items, and I've been using the season's best fruits and vegetables as much as I can. Have a great July, everyone!