From a culinary perspective, late spring and early summer is a favorite season of the year. Perhaps it’s the anticipation of something other dark leafy greens, bolder colors, more abundant farmer’s market offerings, and the finally warmer weather that this season brings. There’s a gentle buoyancy and you can feel it in peoples moods. Nature has a way of doing that.
So do fresh berries and summer stone fruits. At least for me. I’m not by nature a dessert person, both making and eating, but if it includes sweet and tart fruits, you might see me reaching for the mixing bowl or a fork. I only have a few dessert recipes I come back to again and again, most of them coming from desserts I learned, or ate, at Chez Panisse, where i apprenticed, or Cafe Fanny, the sister cafe, where I cooked for several years.
