In season: potatoes

10 a.m. Saturday, July 11. Chef Josh Hopkins of Empire State South. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. Chef Kate Christian of Three Squares Kitchen. Decatur Farmers Market, Decatur. http://decaturfarmersmarket.com/wordpress/

Many markets offer chef demos on an occasional or regular basis. Check your market’s website or Facebook page for more information.

FOR SALE

Just coming into season: corn

Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chanterelles, chard, collards, cucumbers, dandelion, fennel, garlic, green beans, herbs, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, mushrooms, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, onions, peaches, pecans, peppers, potatoes, radicchio, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, rutabaga, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, squash blossoms, summer squash, strawberries, tomatoes, Tokyo bekana, turnips

From local reports

Consider the potato. Potatoes, like onions, seem seasonless; as kitchen staples, we expect to be able to find them year round. And we can. But what we’re usually buying are storage potatoes, a far cry from the freshly harvested crop you’ll find at local farmers markets right now.

In Georgia, potatoes are planted in the early spring, and they’re generally ready for harvest in mid- to late-June. Caitlyn Payne of Cedar Grove Farm in Stephens has been harvesting potatoes for a few weeks now.

Cedar Grove Farm is the creation of her husband Dylan’s parents, Jay and Marlene Payne. “It was always Jay’s dream to retire and move out to a farm. He bought 100 acres in Oglethorpe County in 2005, and we have 5 acres in field production now.”

They grow a wide variety of produce from kohlrabi to melons and sell at Atlanta’s Saturday morning Freedom Farmers Market and the Athens Farmers Market, as well as to local restaurants.

This year they’re growing five different varieties of potatoes: Yukon Gold as a good all-purpose potato; German Butterball, which they find to be great roasted; Colorado Rose and Purple Majesty, which hold their shape well and make for colorful potato salads; and Canela Russet. Russets are the standard for baked potatoes and french fries.

“We ordered seed potatoes from New Sprouts Organic Farms in Asheville and planted them in March. We have 13 150- to 170-foot rows of potatoes this year. We use a tractor to harvest them. The tractor pulls up the plants and the potatoes are all laying over the bed. Then we just have to pick them up. We cure them for about two weeks before we store them. If they’re kept in cool conditions, we’ll have potatoes to sell through the end of the year, or whenever we sell out,” she said.

Freshly harvested potatoes are moist and tender. Payne’s favorite variety is the German Butterball, which she says has a really delicious yellow, buttery flesh. “A lot of people think potatoes are not good for you but that’s not true. They have a lot of nutritional value.”

Honey Glazed Potatoes

This recipe comes from “Cooking with Honey” by Dianna Tribble of Tribble Farms in Cumming. Tribble Farms sells its honey and their cookbook at the Thursday Sweet Apple Farmers Market and at the Alpharetta Farmers Market on Saturdays.

This recipe is ripe for adaptation. Add a tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard if your household is fan of honey-mustard flavors, or stir in a little hot pepper jelly or a few red pepper flakes for a spicy version.

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

4 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Arrange potatoes in prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Pour over potatoes. Bake potatoes 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake 5 minutes more or until potatoes are lightly browned. Serves: 8

Adapted from “Cooking with Honey” by Dianna Tribble (Wilco Printing Co., $10).

Per serving: 210 calories (percent of calories from fat, 39), 4 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 25 milligrams cholesterol, 188 milligrams sodium.