At the market this week: peas, herbs, and cucumbers, oh my! I was running late and the harvest staggered me. Utterly overwhelmed, I sheepishly bought asparagus once more and made mental notes for next week.

But I did get some peas! Fresh shelled peas are absurdly sweet and tender, and they stood out like gems in a salad made up of the tiny beauties with a small handful of mesclun, some shaved onion, and fresh basil; alongside was a homemade cornmeal biscuit split and filled with some good ham.

So, then, the weekend unfolded. And it was hot. It was (and is) Southern hot. I made said cornmeal biscuits. Peas, ham, and corn biscuits can’t really be beat; they match perfectly well with the sticky and suffocating air. They have a certain cleanliness to them; they are unassuming and simple— unfussy: a slip of mustard here, a pat of butter there, and you’re done. There was also a chopped salad of roma tomato (yes, I bought more), red onion, parsley & baby greens and chopped hard boiled egg. Eaten directly in front of the fan, it was summer on a plate. Cool and juicy and just-rich with the egg. There were strawberries stewing into jam. The sweetest smell in the world wafted up, pure and unapologetic in its syrupy glory.

A cornmeal biscuit with butter and fresh strawberry jam this morning, some plain yogurt on the side, and I was fueled for a sweaty, dragging day of Amy’s Bread in Chelsea Market, a brilliant iced macchiato, radishes in vinaigrette alongside roasted asparagus, tomatoes slow roasting in the oven for later. Like me.