june at the market
what's in season, eating notes + a playlist for cooking
Welcome to mama eats, a weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, June at the market, is free to all readers. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mother of three. If you have the means and find value in what I share, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Another month has passed, and here we are in June- the first month of summer, full of promise. I ring in summer with the first swim in natural water of the year, which always feels like a baptism, ceremonial, slipping in the cold water and emerging anew. Time seems to flow differently in summer, doesn't it? It’s more fluid, relaxed, it feels as if there is more of it- that we are richer in it, which feels like the most luxurious gift. The air in the evenings changes quality- there is not a sharp, crisp edge anymore; rather, the air is warm, enveloping, caressing: “balm of the summer night”, Louise Glück says.1
Some things to do in June: pack a lunch, with lots of snacks, and head to the beach. Read outside. Read in bed on a hot afternoon, with a bowl of cherries to idly eat. Take a walk in the morning or evening, when it is cool, without your phone or earphones or other distractions. Just notice, listen, smell, touch, observe. Bake a tart, crisp, or cake, tucking any of the glorious new fruits into it. Serve cherries or strawberries on a bed of ice as a fun end to a meal on a hot day. Make popsicles and eat them by a pool. Invite friends over, cook together, lazily enjoy a long meal at the table, with lots of conversation. Go cherry and berry picking. Watch a good summer film. Celebrate midsummer (June 24) with a dinner party and put flowers all over the house.