In the kitchen: Za’atar and cherries

May is one of those months in Los Angeles when you kind of want to live at farmers markets. Between the lovely weather and the beginning of stone fruit season, it’s hard not to spend hours wandering between the stalls, treasure hunting for cherries or early peaches, not to mention all the rest of it. So we have some recipes to help you out some.

First, Noelle Carter (who is on vacation this week) details the cherry season, then food writer Jeanne Kelley writes about za’atar. If you’re not familiar with that Middle Eastern spice blend, you haven’t been going out to new restaurants lately, or been reading enough of British chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks. It’s addictive stuff, and we have recipes, not only for what to do with it, but how to make the blend at home. In other news, we have suggestions of what craft beer to pair with poke (also very easy to make at home), as well as a few more baking recipes. Because it’s picnic weather again, and there’s nothing like shortbread on the beach.

— Amy Scattergood

Make your own za’atar

If you spend a lot of time reading Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, and most of us do, then you’ll have run across not a few recipes for za’atar, the addictive Middle Eastern spice blend. Food writer Jeanne Kelley has a whole story about the stuff this week, plus some terrific recipes — including a basic one for the blend itself.

Cherry season is here

There are a few things that farmers market junkies wait for every year, trolling the stalls until they show up with a kind of obsessiveness that we try (badly) to mask. Fava beans, English peas, Blenheims — and cherries. Burlats, Brooks and Rainiers have started showing up in the last few weeks, so if you haven’t picked any up, maybe do that now.

What to bake? Try shortbread

It may not be peak baking season at the moment, but sometimes you just want to head to the kitchen and bake anyway. So what to make? Try these shortbread cookies, which are loaded with walnuts — and homemade praline.

Steak for vegetarians

Recipe: Cauliflower steak with romesco sauce.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Because not everybody likes their steaks from cows, we have a recipe for one using cauliflower. OK, sure, that’s not really a steak, but whatever: It’s very good anyway. And it comes with romesco sauce, which is a good enough reason to make anything.

What to drink with all that poke

Poke, the Hawaiian raw fish dish, is having a moment in L.A. Sure, you can go and order the stuff in one of the many restaurants devoted to the dish, but you can also make it at home. So after you’ve done that, what do you drink with it? Beer writer John Verive has some craft beer suggestions.

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