Meat-free Monday -- on Saturday!

Once again, we are celebrating on Saturday so we can do the meal in person! We'll meet at Pure Vegan Cafe in Durham to sample their diverse menu.

June Food for Thought: The farmers' markets are back in "full swing" with new crops coming in each week. According to the NC Crop Calendar, we should be starting to get local blueberries and raspberries, not to mentions peas and yellow squash, and there are always greens of some kind at the farmers' markets.

Real Food for June: From the beginning of June to the end of August, a number of different fruits, herbs, and vegetables are in their peak form. So what’s in season. Here’s a quick rundown: apricots, cucumbers, basil, bell peppers, blackberries, blueberries, butter lettuce, cherries, corn, eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, honeydew melons, limes, mint, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, shallots, strawberries, summer squash, watermelon, and zucchini. WHEW!

Whether you’re planning a summertime picnic, poolside cookout, or an afternoon at the beach, there’s plenty of opportunities to create some fresh, summertime cooking. From plant-based cobblers and crisps to cold soups, salads, and sandwiches, there’s no excuse to not eat well this summer. There are lots of seasonal plant-based recipes

The treasure this month is cherries: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Some named varieties are Commercial Cherries, True Cherries, Bush Cherries, and Bird Cherries; black cherries, a native wild species, can be eaten although there is not much fruit on each cherry and you have to beat the birds to them.

In the United States, most sweet cherries are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Native and non-native sweet cherries grow well in Canada's provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. Compared to sweet cherries, raw sour cherries contain 50% more vitamin C per 100 g (12% DV) and about 20 times more vitamin A (8% DV), beta-Carotene.

More information: https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/meatless-monday