From onions to albacore, the harvest is choice

Summer’s bounty is rolling in! Doesn’t matter that it’s a bit late; it’s welcomed with open arms and our biggest baskets. Naturally, we expect to be rewarded for the delay with a long, warm fall. But, that’s never guaranteed so let’s make the best of the best, be it eating slightly past full or preserving all you can get your hands on.

Opening a jar of pesto in January is an instant mini-vacation to summer. If you don’t have the time, space or temperament to garden, there are farmers’ markets, farm stands and u-pick fields. Find quantities of whatever you want to preserve under Good Things to Eat in the classified ads or at www.tenriversfoodweb.org. Click on the Local Farms Directory, key in the item you’re looking for, and a list of farms pops up to choose from. Among the likely candidates:

Sweet onions

These sweet babies have been around for weeks, so it’s easy to think they’ll last forever. But they won’t, so enjoy them now. Though they’re mild enough to eat raw like an apple, my favorite is to saute them until well browned, then scatter them on homemade focaccia or pizza. They’re a sweet counter to roasted tomato sauce that makes you sit up and say, “Wow!” Red or white sweet onions work equally well. Even easier is to layer them in sandwiches with basil, fresh tomatoes and a good mayonnaise. So simple, so delicious, so fleeting.

Summer squash

As ubiquitous as they soon become, gardeners are tickled to harvest the season’s first summer squash. The colors and shapes make it possible to create an artistic meal of it alone, from pale green to blinding yellow, striped, warted, shaped like pears, teardrops, space ships or trombones. Countless savory and sweet dishes can be concocted from this simple vegetable. It contains manganese, vitamins C and A, magnesium, fiber and other minerals.

Albacore tuna

This eagerly anticipated annual treat comes fresh from the Oregon coast. Like produce, albacore is about a month late this year, but it should last into September or October. Albacore follow the warm currents that their food sources (sardines, mackerel, etc.) chase. When they’re about 50 miles out, these torpedo-shaped fish are trolled into canning pots, barbecues and restaurants. Get it at your favorite restaurant, fishmonger or directly from boats at the coast.

People who can their own tuna say it’s very simple, but it does require a pressure canner. If that’s not the level of self-sufficiency to which you aspire, local canners do a superb job. Oregon’s Choice Gourmet from Winchester, Chuck’s Seafood in Charleston and Sweet Creek in Elmira are a few of the remaining canneries. One taste proves that albacore is superior to the light tuna packed in popular store brands. The albacore caught off our coast has been found to have far less mercury and more Omega-3 fatty acids to protect against heart disease and cancer, according to Michael Morrissey, director of OSU’s Seafood Lab in Astoria.

Eating local is incredibly simple this time of year. Bon appetit!

Contact Chris Peterson at localfood@peak.org.