Summer’s here!

There’s a particular kind of relief that arrives in June. It’s my birthday month, and the grey has lifted, the soil is warm, and the farm stands are filling up with things that actually have colour again. After months of root vegetables and whatever was kept in cold storage, the shift feels almost emotional. You didn’t realize how much you missed genuinely fresh food until it’s right there in front of you.

June in PEI is the season of beginnings. Asparagus is still shooting up from the ground, strawberries are ripening at the tips of their runners, and the first tender heads of lettuce are ready to pull. Radishes are perfectly crisp. Sugar snap peas are sweet enough to eat standing in the garden. Rhubarb stalks are thick, tart, and demanding your attention. None of these ingredients are complicated. They don’t need to be.

Start with asparagus, because it won’t wait. Snap the woody ends off, toss the spears with a neutral oil and flaky salt, and roast at high heat until the tips start to catch. Lay them over warm lentils or farro, add a soft poached egg on top, and you’ve got something worth sitting down for without having done very much at all.

The strawberries deserve their own moment of honesty. PEI strawberries are small, intensely red all the way through, and sweet enough that they barely need anything done to them. They’re nothing like the pale, oversized ones that travel from away. Slice them over plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of local honey and some torn fresh mint, and you’ve covered breakfast, dessert, and a Wednesday afternoon at the same time.

Leafy greens are at their peak right now, too. Spinach, arugula, and kale from a local grower taste nothing like the bagged versions that cross the country in a refrigerated truck. Dress them simply with lemon and olive oil, then finish with whatever fresh herbs you’ve got on the windowsill. June basil, parsley, and mint are intense and bright. A generous handful of them turns even a plain bowl of grains into something you’d proudly serve a guest.

Rhubarb is June’s most underused opportunity on the island, and the best thing you can do with a generous armful is make a long-boil jam. It takes patience. The result is worth every minute.

The island is handing you some of its best ingredients right now. Pick them up, bring them home, and cook something real.

Long Boil Rhubarb Jam

Makes approximately 2 cups

Ingredients: 

4 cups rhubarb, chopped into 2 cm pieces
2 cups granulated sugar
Juice of half an orange

Instructions:

1. Combine rhubarb and sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot. Let sit for one hour until the rhubarb releases its liquid.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring and skimming occasionally, until thick and deep rose-brown in colour.
4. Stir in the orange juice during the final ten minutes.
5. Pour into sterilized jars and seal while hot.

Spoon over toast, stir into yogurt, or serve over some vanilla ice cream.