Early summer on the coast has its own particular feeling. The days are longer but still cool enough that you want something warm for dinner. The fields are producing again, really producing, but you can tell things are just getting started. Greens everywhere. Lettuces so fresh they’re still a little dewy. The first fava beans are showing up like a promise of what’s to come. It’s not the full abundance of August, and that’s okay. Early summer has its own charm.
Right now, an Otterbee’s box looks a lot like the season itself: tender, bright, and building toward something. Here’s how to put one together well.
Start with the Greens, Because There Are a Lot of Them
This is the moment for greens, and it would be a shame to ignore it. Kale, chard, and spinach are all coming in strong. They’re not the same vegetable, and they don’t cook the same way, so it’s worth having more than one on hand.
Spinach is the fastest. A handful wilted into eggs in the morning, or stirred into pasta with a little garlic and olive oil, takes about four minutes. Chard holds up better to heat. Chop the stems and sauté them first with garlic, then add the leaves and let everything soften together. It’s good alongside fish, or tucked into a grain bowl with whatever else you have. Kale takes the most time but gives the most back. Massage it with a little lemon and salt for a raw salad that doesn’t wilt in an hour, or braise it low and slow until it gets silky.
Microgreens are right there with the lettuces right now, and they’re worth picking up even if you’re not sure what to do with them. Scatter them on top of a piece of grilled fish or a fried egg. They add color and a little bite without doing much work on your end. They’ll be around through September, so keep them in mind for your weekly orders.
Lettuces and the Art of the Simple Salad
There are a lot of lettuce varieties at Otterbee’s this time of year, which means salads don’t have to be boring or predictable. Mix a buttery head lettuce with something more bitter. Add a handful of microgreens. Dress it with good oil, a squeeze of lemon, and salt. That’s it. The lettuce is doing the work.
If you have fish from Fishermen’s Direct, a simple green salad is the right partner. Fish this fresh doesn’t need much around it. Flake it over greens with some herbs and a light vinaigrette, and you have a real meal that took fifteen minutes.
The lettuces here travel almost no distance, which means they’re crisp in a way that lettuce from a grocery store bag usually isn’t. And the flavor is a whole different experience. That matters more than it sounds. Texture is flavor in a salad.
Fava Beans and What’s Just Around the Corner
Fava beans are one of the more exciting things about early summer. They’re just starting to arrive, and they require a little effort. You shell them from the pod, blanch them quickly, and then peel each bean from its pale green skin. It’s meditative work, honestly. The beans underneath are bright green and creamy, with a mild, slightly sweet flavor.
You don’t need a recipe. Warm them in butter with a little salt and eat them on toast. Or toss them with olive oil and fresh herbs and serve them alongside meat from Oat Hill Organic Beef. They pair well with almost anything simple.
Carrots are coming in the next few weeks, along with our summer berry harvest. When those arrive, they’ll be sweet and ready to eat without much cooking. Worth watching for. Perfect for those warm summer afternoons that sneak up in our area come July.
Filling Out the Box: Meat, Fish, and Pantry Staples
Produce carries the early summer box, but it’s not carrying it alone. Oat Hill’s beef is a steady anchor. A piece of beef alongside braised chard and a pile of roasted vegetables makes a weeknight dinner feel more intentional without being complicated. Fishermen’s Direct is exactly what it sounds like. Local fish, caught close by, that tastes like it. Grill it simply or cook it in a pan with butter, herbs, and a squeeze of lemon.
The oils, spices, and nuts at Otterbee’s are easy to overlook when you’re focused on fresh produce, but they’re what make those simple preparations actually taste like something. A good bottle of hazelnut oil, a jar of organic cocktail sauce, and some toasted nuts or fresh honey. These are the things that can fill out your order to help you cook every night of the week.
Early summer is a good time to start building that pantry alongside the produce. The seasons move fast. You want the right tools in the kitchen when everything hits at once.
An Early Summer Box That Tastes Like Right Now
There’s something specific about food that comes from here in June. The greens are cool and sweet. The lettuces are crisp. The fava beans are showing up for the first time and they feel like a small event. Meat and fish from local producers round it out into something that can feed a household for a week without repeating much.
It’s not the flashiest moment in the calendar. August will bring tomatoes and berries and corn and all the things people wait for. But early summer has its own quiet reward. The food is clean and fresh and green. The farms around Brookings and Crescent City are hitting their stride. Putting together an Otterbee’s order right now means eating something that was growing nearby a few days ago. That’s a hard thing to replicate.
Fill the bag with greens, grab a few lettuces, pick up some fava beans while they’re here, and add a piece of good fish or a cut of Oat Hill meat. Keep it simple. The season is doing most of the heavy lifting.
Anna Nelson is a writer and editor based in Smith River, CA. She writes about local food and seasonal shifts and is a proud OtterBee’s shopper and contributing author to the OtterBee’s Market blog.
