Summer is a time for simple relishes

If you find your farmers' market shopping bag filled with the same produce -- cucumbers, tomatoes, corn -- week after week, you may need to get out of your veggie rut. Recently at the Davis Square market in Somerville, Savoy cabbages, with their distinctive wrinkly leaves , practically jump out at me from the Full Bloom stand. Aaron Piziali, a long-time hand at the East Whately farm, suggests sauteeing the cabbage with lots of ginger and rice wine vinegar and a little olive oil.

I hungered for something a little more piquant, a little crunchier, a dish that would pair well with grilled fish or steak for a weekend meal. A simple relish in ``License to Grill," by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, combines shredded cabbage, carrots, red onions, and lime juice. The cabbage has bite from chili peppers, an appealing color from the onions, and the advantage of keeping in the fridge for several days.

Schlesinger, who owns East Coast Grill in Cambridge, says he loves accompanying grilled meats with spicy relishes based on Latin dishes. ``Sweet, hot, sour, spicy matches strength with strength," he says on the phone. When his cooks get four cases of Savoy cabbage in the summer, they create ``quick pickles" like this dish. ``You can't have coleslaw every night." -- ALISON ARNETT