The weather seems to finally have turned, and I’ve really been craving lighter, brighter flavors. It’s perfect timing, really, because the farmers’ markets around Boston are finally open for the season, which means that we can now shop at a farmers’ market in Providence or Boston nearly every day of the week. It’s really the beginning of the very best time of the year to cook and eat around these parts.

The warmer weather also means that I love to escape from my windowless office whenever possible and take a lunchtime stroll up the North End to visit my favorite fishmongers. Liz and Keri always have beautiful fresh seafood, and it’s always a treat to visit their adorable shop, chat with them, and know that I’m bringing home something delicious to cook up.

For the second week running, one of those delicious offerings from the sea was soft shell crabs, in season right now, and particularly sweet and tasty. Last week I soaked some in buttermilk, dredged them in flour, and served the crispy little guys on a “broken” basil and lemon puree; this time around I went with a different take. They got a super light coating of seasoned Wondra flour, then a brief saute in a hot pan slicked with a little bit of grapeseed oil, then I served them up with a sprinkle of slivered almonds and a dipping sauce composed of tamari, mirin, rice wine vinegar, shaved green garlic, and a little toasted sesame oil.

On the side, I served up a salad of cucumber ribbons dressed with a light rice wine vinaigrette, slivers of nori from She Sells Seaweed, and black sesame seeds, very much inspired by a dish we had at last years Farm Fresh RI Local Food Fest.

Last night’s seafood preparation was even simpler. I had two gorgeous pieces of mahi mahi, which I salted, dried well, then seared in a bit of grapeseed oil until the skin was crackly-crisp. When I flipped the fish so the skin side was up, I added a nub of anchovy butter, which soaked into the flesh of the fish, infusing it with more rich flavor, and I served the seared filets on top of a basil and garlic scape citronette, with simply halved and salted tiny heirloom tomatoes from Kimball’s Fruit Farm scattered around. Quick, simple, delicious.

This was quite the fun- (and food-) filled weekend for us. We kicked things off with some fun cocktails made with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and later dined on smoky, crispy soft-shell crab “BLTs” – I sandwiched the crabs between thick-slices of pancetta, and we grilled them over high heat until they were crispy all over. I spread slices of Bread Alone’s wholegrain sourdough with a garlic scape mayo, laid slices of ripe tomato on top, added the pancetta-wrapped crabs and finished each sandwich with a handful of wild arugula to add a nice peppery bite.

We picked up some grass-fed flatiron steaks from Elk Trails while on our regular Saturday food safari, which Mike grilled up for dinner that night. I made a crunchy chopped salad with red butter lettuce, chopped heirloom tomatoes and blue cheese vinaigrette, and I topped our steaks with a pile of onion rings – thin slices of red onion which I had salted and marinated with a tablespoon or two of Sriracha, then tossed lightly with flour and fried briefly until crisp.

I also spent some time on Saturday assembling items for a picnic lunch – we had plans to head to Central Park on Sunday to catch a Summerfest show and would need to get there early, so I wanted our stuff to be ready to go. Mike brought home a loaf of crusty sourdough which I sliced lengthwise and hollowed out. Rather than layering the ingredients as is traditional, I mashed few anchovies into a basic sherry-Dijon vinaigrette and tossed my chopped olives, tomatoes, and capers with that. I mounded it into the hollowed-out bottom bread shell, layered roasted red peppers and arugula on top, added the top of the bread and wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and foil.

I also put together a pesto of garlic scapes, parsley and chervil to toss with rotini pasta and halved cherry tomatoes. When Sunday came, we grabbed our picnic blanket, packed up our sandwich and pasta salad as well as a lovely little wheel of Capriola cheese from Saxelby Cheesemongers, and set out for the park. The music was great, the food was tasty, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous – what a perfect way to wind down the first weekend of summer.

Soft-shell crabs are like the potato chips of the seafood world; they’re crunchy and addictive, and I eagerly await their season every year. I’m a little disturbed by the fact that they seem to be arriving earlier and earlier and what that means ecologically, but I don’t want to go on a rant here. I ate the little buggers, after all, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. This meal was so ridiculously fast and easy I almost feel like it’s cheating to post about it, but if you have access to a grill, I’m going to insist you try this.

Take your soft-shell crabs and clean them if they aren’t already (Cook’s Illustrated has a good how-to here). Season both sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper, and drizzle with good olive oil. Place them into a grill basket with the bellies facing up. Place the grill basket onto a hot grill (hardwood charcoal is preferable – I don’t like lighter fluid and neither does my food). Cook them on the first side for 5 minutes, flip them so they are belly side down, and cook them for just another minute or two.

Remove those crispy little critters from the grill basket and serve; you could accompany them with your favorite dipping sauce (I did a tamari/lemon/wasabi mixture with some slivered almonds tossed in), but you probably won’t need it. The crabs will have a wonderful sweet and smoky flavor that really doesn’t need further embellishment.

I tossed a mixture of wild baby arugula and arugula blossoms with lemon vinaigrette, opened a bottle of Lieb Cellars Reserve Chardonnay, and we sat down to a light and elegant meal that was literally ready in minutes.