Seven Reasons to Get Excited About Late Summer
- Leah Craig
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Produce has always been at the heart of Simply Fresh Market. And when it comes to fresh produce, there's no time of year like late summer. This is when picking up produce stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like an event.
All seven of the items we're featuring this week come from Joyful Harvest, an Amish community in Blanchard, Michigan. It's all locally grown and all certified organic, which means it was raised without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers by growers who went through the process to prove it. When you buy this produce, you're buying from a family a couple of hours down the road who picked it by hand, not from a warehouse three states away.
Here's what we're excited about this week, and why now is the moment for all of it.
Tomatoes
Nothing says late summer like ripe, vibrant tomatoes. We've got beefsteak for slicing thick onto a sandwich, heirloom for the ones that don't look perfect but taste unforgettable, and cherry tomatoes for popping straight off the counter before they ever make it to a plate.This is the flavor that grocery-store tomatoes spend all winter trying (and failing) to imitate.
Lettuce
There’s been a lot of lettuce-related anxiety lately. That's exactly why knowing where your greens come from matters. Our red leaf and green leaf lettuce come from growers we can point to by name, picked tender and crisp with none of the bitterness that sets in when lettuce gets stressed by heat or long-distance shipping. Cool late-summer mornings are when leaf lettuce is at its best.
Cucumber
Cool, crunchy, and endlessly useful. They're the easiest way to make water more interesting. They’re the backbone of a quick summer salad. And they’re the one thing your fridge should never be without in August.
Broccoli
Let’s be honest: Broccoli tends to get a bad rap. It's the vegetable that shows up on the plate as a negotiation. That, and it’s all too often used as a side dish to something more exciting. But that’s not the broccoli’s fault– its versatility is actually its greatest strength.
When people hate on broccoli, it’s usually because it’s handled badly: it’s old, limp, and sad. That’s not the case here: when you get it fresh and organic, it becomes a whole new food.
Zucchini & Yellow Squash
Zucchini is perfect for shredding into just about anything, while yellow squash brings a slightly sweeter, softer note. Both are great for slicing and grilling, making them a quick and easy way to add color to your plate.
Rhubarb
Tart, bold, and unapologetic, rhubarb is the underdog of August produce. It’s the perfect centerpiece for your late-summer pies and pastries, not to mention it pairs well with yogurt.
Kale
If you’ve ever perused our salad bar, you know that we’re big fans of kale. And these greens have earned their place in our kitchen: the curly kale you'll recognize from our salads, sturdy enough to hold its texture under any dressing we throw at it. We've also got lacinato, the flatter, deeper-flavored cousin that's at its best sliced thin and massaged raw. Both are fresh and hearty– just like kale is supposed to be.
Seasonal means exactly what it sounds like, though. This produce is here now, and then it isn't. Stop in this week while the tomatoes are ripe and the greens are crisp, and taste the difference for yourself!
Comments