Elizabeth Kerle of Denison Farms put it so succinctly: It gets easier each week now to eat a more varied diet of local produce. Gardeners are burning both their muscles and skin under the unaccustomed sunshine, as they get gardens in and coax them through those tender first weeks.

Farmers' markets boast summer treats weeks ahead of the best backyard gardeners, thanks to hoop houses, years of experience and opportune weather.

Let's not forget that produce isn't the only local food coming into its prime. Eggs are in peak season now, and orders for fresh broilers are being taken by those who raise chickens for summer markets. Goat cheese is freshest now until October, and cows-milk cheeses are regularly sampled at local markets. Beef, pork and seafood also are more accessible directly from producers in summer, although they're available year-round.

Strawberries

Walking toward the farmers' market Saturday, I passed a couple leaving with a flat of strawberries. The fragrance almost yanked me into an about-face to follow them home. Rhubarb, radishes and strawberries were the red come-ons of the week. For sumptuous strawberry recipes, slide your eyes over to Jan Roberts-Dominguez's column. Although varieties ripening at different times stretch the season, it's still too short.

If you need an excuse to gorge on them (besides extraordinary flavor), their top-ranking nutrients are vitamin C and manganese. The phenols indicated in their red skins offer heart protection, as well as anti-cancer and anti-inflammation qualities. The milk, whipped cream or ice cream that beg to accompany them will add necessary calcium, vitamins D, B2, and other minerals. Right? So do your body a favor!

Sweet onions

Jan Roberts-Dominguez also is the resident onion expert. Literally. Her beautiful homage to those everyday ingredients - onions and their relatives - is "The Onion Book." My copy is dog-eared and stained (OK; I'm a sloppy cook but a passionate one). In it, she teaches us that seasonal sweet onions need to be treated properly so as not to ruin their unique sweetness and crunch. The sugar content is highlighted by caramelizing them (slow cooking until they're deep brown) or raw in salads or sandwiches. The latter is where nutrients are at their peak: chromium, which helps cells respond to insulin, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids. They're abundant at farmers' markets and grocers.

Garlic

Popular cousin of onions, also in the Allium family, garlic is in this season's delicious infancy but will reach adulthood in about a month. Devoted fans cherish the fresh mildness of green garlic and restaurants can't get enough of it. The green stage, like strawberries, is frustratingly short, but fortunately the dry stage keeps for months. One octogenarian attributes her longevity to eating raw, whole cloves. That's surely because of the manganese, vitamins B6 and C and selenium they contain. While I don't eat raw bulbs, I eat garlic daily and always multiply cloves by a minimum of four in any recipe. Life's too short for wimpy amounts of garlic.

Fresh Sheet alerts readers to the seasonal foods that make the mid-Willamette Valley such a rich culinary area. Through tips from farmers, ranchers, fishers, cheese-makers and other food producers, as well as chefs and restaurateurs, Chris Peterson tracks what's flowing from soil and sea to local plates. Contact her at localfood@peak.org.