Eat for the season with the best summer produce and simple recipes

Thu, Jul 3, 2025 (2 a.m.)

Kerry Clasby is the founder of Intuitive Forager, a dynamic company that brings some of the country’s best produce into the kitchens of local residents who’ve perused her farmers markets and to skilled chefs at acclaimed restaurants like Sinatra at Wynn, Brezza at Resorts World and Martha Stewart’s Paris Las Vegas dining room The Bedford.

The farmers market recently moved into the former Greyhound station adjacent to the Plaza Hotel & Casino (200 S.Main St., Fridays 9 a.m.-2 p.m., free parking) where it continues to provide organic fruit, vegetables, herbs and much more from small, family farms.

But freshness is only the beginning. Understanding what’s in season and available right now—and why peak produce is what your body naturally craves—will maximize your own foraging experience.

“My market is really a showcase for what the chefs are buying,” says Clasby, who also produces a monthly employees’ farmers market at Wynn. “Generally speaking, you want to eat for the season. I don’t know about you, but I crave tomatoes in summer, not so much in winter. Your body is craving the things that you need and right now, it’s hot, you’re sweating more, and you need to replace those electrolytes and natural minerals and vitamins that are all encapsulated in fruit.”

You may have the shopping part down, but sometimes the cooking part of the equation can be a little intimidating when working with sometimes unfamiliar seasonal product. The company’s website at intuitiveforagerblog.wordpress.com has some simple recipes to get you started, but Clasby has more to share about what we should be buying, preparing and eating this summer.

Melon
Rare finds like Sugarcube, Galia honeydew from Israel and orange and yellow watermelon are available at the Downtown market these days. Nothing cools better than these sweet fruits, and you don’t need to do much to create a perfect salad—just add feta and mint, or your favorite herbs with a citrus vinaigrette.

Heirloom potatoes

The potatoes we buy in the winter months have been in storage. We’re coming into the season now for heirlooms, fingerlings and baby marble potatoes. Take advantage of the beautiful colors with a red, white and blue potato salad.

Mushrooms

“[Chef] Nicole Brisson’s whole menu at Brezza is from our farms, all organic, even mushrooms,” Clasby says. “She’s very versatile.” Brisson is using seasonal mushrooms in a side dish with garlic, thyme and sherry to complement Brezza’s dry-aged steaks.

Lettuces

Leafy green salads are an obvious summer choice, but you can do more with these special varieties like little gems, Treviso radicchio and other chicories. Try grilling romaine and dressing with olive oil, salt and lemon. If you’re a fan of wild arugula or spinach, toss them together with blueberries or strawberries and a bit of creamy cheese and crunchy walnuts or pecans.

Cucumbers

Juicy vegetables will help you cool off just as efficiently as fruits. Throw together a great little cucumber salad with the Armenian serpentine, Persian and lemon cucumber varieties.

Passion fruit

This is Clasby’s pick for a lovely summer fruit that most people don’t use at home. “It’s packed with vitamin C, great in a cocktail or just added to your water with high nutrients and the flavor is just wonderful. You can use it in cooking, too,” she says.

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