Summer on its way

Start planning your summer eating: The season’s bounty is about to hit the farmers’ market. I asked Jim Mills of Produce Express, who really knows area produce, what specifically local fruits and vegetables nobody should miss:

1. “Tomatoes, for starters. You’ll find great tomatoes from the middle of July to October.”

2. “Stone fruit. The cherries have started from Lodi, and because of the freeze it’s supposed to be a very good year for all kinds of stone fruit. It could be early this year, starting with apricots and then peaches and nectarines.”

3. “Varietal squash. More kinds of squash are being offered at produce and farmers’ markets beyond zucchini and yellow squash. Ronde de Nice comes to mind—it’s a small rounded squash, and Mexican gray, which looks like a small zucchini but with a lighter green color and a lot of flavor.”

4. “Local melons. The local casaba and Crenshaw always have a lot of flavor, and there’s a variety called Charlynn and Charentais that’s very sweet.”