Blackberries from South Texas are showing up in stores and at some farmers markets as the season for this superfood rolls north.

Blackberries are loaded with phytonutrients. That they're sweet and luscious is a bonus. If you select some that are not as sweet as you'd like, let them rest in a little sugar before using them. That's what chefs do.

And while peaches, raspberries and blackberries make a festive combination in this recipe (right, and pictured below), you could just as easily use peaches alone, peaches and raspberries, blackberries by themselves, blackberries and raspberries, and so forth, adjusting the fruit amounts. For a blueberry crisp, use 6 cups blueberries tossed with 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon or lime zest.

Kim Pierce

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 2- to 2 ½ -quart baking dish. Make the topping and set aside (recipe follows). To peel 2 pounds ripe peaches, drop them into a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds, then remove them to a bowl of cold water. The skin should peel easily.

Slice the peaches into a large bowl, in wedges ½ -inch thick; discard the stones. Add 1 cup blackberries and 1 cup raspberries, ½cup sugar and 3 tablespoons flour. Toss gently. Transfer fruit to prepared baking dish and cover with the topping. Set it on a baking sheet to catch the juices, and bake until the top is well browned and the peaches are tender when pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Crisp topping: Using your fingers or the paddle attachment of a mixer, work 6 tablespoons butter (cut into ½ -inch chunks) with ¾cup packed brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour, ½cup rolled oats or chopped nuts, ¼teaspoon salt, ½teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) so that each piece is coated and you have a coarse, crumbly mixture.

SOURCE: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books, $40)

Peaking or abundant: Eggplant, green beans, artichokes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli, cabbage, corn, cucumbers, greens (collard, turnip and mustard), herbs. Root vegetables, including beets, carrots and russet potatoes, turnips, red potatoes, okra, onions, 1015 onions, spring onions and spring garlic. Apples, avocados, grapes, strawberries, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, cantaloupes, honeydews, watermelons.

Starting: Valencia oranges, English peas, fava beans, bulb onions, early soft fruits

Spotty or out of season: Figs, citrus other than Valencias

Several farmers markets plan to open for the season this weekend. We'll continue to see spring onions and greens such as kale and turnips. At Coppell, there still may be some poke salet. But local lettuces and strawberries are finished. We'll soon see more squash, green plums, new potatoes, early peaches, blackberries and more. Each market has different farmers with different crops.

DALLAS FARMERS MARKET HIGHLIGHTS: Check out Shed No. 1 throughout the week for locally raised squash (patty pan, eight-ball, zucchini and yellow), onions, green beans, new potatoes, green plums, early peaches, blackberries, herb plants and food-bearing plants and local honey. Farm merchants are bringing in fresh peas and cantaloupes from South Texas.

Saturday only in Shed No. 1, look for organics at the Farmer-Rancher Network stall, including broccoli, kale, turnips with greens, collards, eggs from pastured hens, Italian sausage, Porgo (pork-goat sausage) and pastured chicken.

Saturday and Sunday, find Fred's Alaska Seafood in Shed No. 1. Friday and Saturday in Shed No. 2, Texas Meats continues to provide locally pastured beef, lamb, chicken, eggs and pork as well as cheeses and butter. Mawker Coffee is still in Shed No. 2 as well. Next to El Mercado just north of Shed No. 1, find Pastabilities and Koster Cattle Co. with locally raised black Angus beef.

Note: If you are going to the market for a specific item, call 214-670-5879 for availability.

East: Monkfish

West: Lots of fish coming in from the West Coast, including Copper River salmon, halibut, rockfish and Dover sole

South: Tuna

Imported: Swordfish from Costa Rica

Farm-raised: Redfish

SOURCES: Joe LaBarba, American Foodservice; Tony Johns, Dallas Farmers Market; Marianne Marcinko, Ocean Beauty Seafood Co.