June Seasonal Produce

A real treat!

Jun 05, 2025

I’m finally emerging from an intense (and honestly chaotic) work season, ready to welcome one of my favorite produce months. I probably say this 3–4 times a year, but June really is up there.

June is that sweet spot between seasons. We’re still getting all the crunchy, zippy spring stuff (peas, herbs, tender greens) but also starting to see the first signs of summer abundance (especially the fruit). Strawberries, cherries, summer squash...I mean, how can you go wrong? It’s perfect. In the Northeast, fruit growing season is quite short. Most fruit grows and gets harvested less than six months of the year, so when strawberries finally show up at the end of May, I go all in.

Next week, I’m packing up and heading out of NYC for the summer—a now three-year tradition of trading concrete for garden beds, tupp lunches for fresh garden meals, and sticky subway rides for slow evening strolls. A nice change of pace! New York spring is lovely (even if it’s been relentlessly rainy this year), but I’ve learned to leave just before the city turns into a humidity chamber. I’ll be back in September when the days cool down and it smells a little less bad.

While I do cook a fair amount for myself in the city, it tends to fall into a rhythm, especially on busy weeks. My go-to as of late: rice, tinned fish, and whatever veg is hanging out in the fridge. It’s easy, functional, not particularly thrilling. When I’m cooking just for me, I naturally lean toward low-effort, high-reward meals. Something nourishing, quick, and tasty. But once I’m out of the city, I start getting excited about ingredients and flavors again. I’ll walk out to the garden and snip herbs for my breakfast scramble, grab a handful of arugula for a quick lunch salad, or build dinner around whatever’s ready to harvest. When the ingredients are that fresh, even the most basic meals feel elevated.

To celebrate the start of June, here are a few of my favorites (the ones that tide me over until tomato season).

Asparagus

Don’t sleep on asparagus. It’s way more varied than the green kind most of us know. There are thick white spears (my personal favorite) and even purple varieties. White asparagus is tender, slightly sweet, and delicate. No need to overdo it: olive oil, salt, maybe some garlic or fresh herbs. That’s all you need!

Cherries

Stone fruit season is here at last, and cherries are an early summer gem. I especially love them in yogurt bowls or on top of ice cream. Something about creamy dairy + sweet, tart cherries = a perfect match. Last year, I had an amazing cherry dish at Shukette, one of my favorite NYC restaurants, and I think about it often (maybe too often). It was zesty, spicy, sweet, and a total flavor bomb. I might just need to recreate it!

Garlic Scapes

The Ithaca Farmers Market was my garlic scape gateway. If you remember the scape lady at the corner booth with the scape pesto...you know. Scapes are the curly green stalks that shoot up from garlic plants. They’re garlicky, but a bit more subtle than a garlic clove. They sweeten when grilled or sautéed, but my favorite way to use them is in pesto. My mom and I make a wonderful dill garlic scape pesto that’s good on everything.

Green Peas

Peas are running a little behind this year because of the cool, rainy spring, but they’re coming. And I’m ready. They're crunchy, sweet, and are great raw or cooked. I love them in grain salads, especially for meal prep because they keep their crunchy texture. I’m hopefully landing at home right as the peas hit their peak!

Strawberries

There is nothing, I mean nothing, better than a red, juicy, ripe strawberry. The kind you can smell before you even see them. Tart, sweet, floral, fragrant. I love them on yogurt bowls, macerated, over ice cream, in a classic strawberry shortcake, or just eaten by the handful. I just adore strawbs!