In season: melons

9 a.m. Saturday: Chef Robert Phalen of One Eared Stag, working with hot peppers. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com

10 a.m. Saturday: Chef Thomas McKeown of Grand Hyatt Buckhead. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

Chef demos are held at many farmers markets. Check your local market’s Facebook page or website for information.

FOR SALE

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From local reports

Unlike 2013, this has been a good year for local melons.

Last year, the rain melted the vines and turned the fruit into a rotted mess. This year’s drier weather has been a boon for local melon lovers.

John Mikle, who sells his produce under the name Farmer John, grows watermelon, cantaloupe and six different varieties of gourmet melons on about a quarter acre of the six acres he cultivates on a large property in Monroe. He gets out to Monroe about two days a week to tend the melons, corn, cucumbers and other crops he grows there. An 8-foot-tall fence keeps the deer away while he’s gone.

Back home in Stone Mountain, he grows between 400 and 500 tomato plants. He finds that tomatoes require attention every day so he keeps them close at hand. The melons and corn? They can go a day or two between visits.

Mikle says it was about seven years ago that he decided instead of growing vegetables and giving them away, he should see if he could at least sell enough to pay for his fertilizer and seed. “Once I saw that people were willing to pay for good fresh produce, I realized I could do this and make money at it.”

Now he sells his produce at the Friday night Lilburn Farmers Market. The last day for the Lilburn market’s 2014 season is Friday. They’ll start up again next June. He also sells to local restaurants and to a standing list of about 30 people who buy produce by the bushel to put up for fall and winter.

Mikle says his harvests have been so good and the response to his produce so positive that next year, he may expand to a second market.

Mikle irrigates his watermelon and cantaloupe crop, and applies liquid fertilizer every time he works on them. That’s the secret to the huge melons he prides himself on growing, and the 100-pound pumpkins he’ll have for fall.

Many of the pumpkins go to a first-grade class from a Lilburn Christian school. The class makes a field trip to the farm and the children all pick out a pumpkin to take home. “So many of the kids have never had the experience of picking their own fruit. Just to see the looks on their faces, it’s great,” he said.

This year, he had melons to offer in mid-July. It’s a crop he loves so much he laughs and says, “I can eat a cantaloupe sandwich without the bread! They’re chock-full of antioxidants, more vitamin C than an orange. You could almost live on cantaloupe.”

His favorite way to eat a melon? Fresh from the field, still warm from the sun. “That’s when they have the maximum amount of flavor,” he said.

He tells his customers they should never chill the melon until after they cut it, and that the same is true for strawberries, tomatoes and peaches. He finds once they’re cut, they start to lose flavor.

Aside from buying directly from the farmer who harvested his melons that day or the day before, how can you get maximum flavor from your melon?

Mikle says unlike a watermelon, which will never get any riper than it is when you pick it, a cantaloupe will continue to ripen once harvested. “I try to pick ones that aren’t completely ripe so our customers have the option of eating it over a three- or four-day period.” He recommends eating a completely ripe melon within a day.

“As the cantaloupe ripens, it will continue to change color and it will become more fragrant the riper it gets. I think cantaloupe has a beautiful aroma. It’s a shame nobody makes a cantaloupe perfume for women,” he said.

Chef Stacy Maple’s Cantaloupe, Avocado and Candied Bacon Panini

Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Serves: 1

Chef, food writer and food stylist Stacy Maple of Local Bounty Chef, frequently offers cooking demonstrations at the Lilburn Farmers Market, using in-season ingredients fresh from the farmers there. One of her creations is this melon-inspired twist on a grilled bacon-and-tomato sandwich.

No ciabatta on hand? Maple says any country-style loaf will do. If you have a panini maker, follow the directions for your maker instead of cooking on the stovetop.

3 slices bacon

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 1-inch thick slices ciabatta

4 1/8-inch thick slices fresh mozzarella (about 1 1/2 ounces), divided

3 1/8-inch thick slices cantaloupe

3 1/4-inch slices avocado

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Set a cooling rack inside the prepared pan.

Arrange bacon on rack. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven, generously sprinkle bacon with brown sugar and return to oven for 8 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Remove from oven and carefully transfer bacon to paper towel to drain and cool.

Preheat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat while preparing sandwich.

Create sandwich by stacking one slice of bread with half the mozzarella, arranged evenly. Top with cantaloupe, avocado and cooled bacon. Sprinkle with black pepper, top with remaining mozzarella and second slice of bread. Brush top of sandwich lightly with olive oil and place oil side down in skillet. Top sandwich with a weight such as another skillet or a plate and a heavy can. Cook sandwich until first side is brown, then brush top of sandwich with olive oil and flip in pan. Continue cooking until cheese is melted and second side is golden brown. Transfer hot sandwich to a cutting board, cut in half and serve immediately.

Per serving: 602 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 17 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 37 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 741 milligrams sodium.