Hey everyone! Hope you survived Hurricane Irene and that your homes and possessions didn't suffer too much damage. I, for one, hunkered down with Leo and Chloe kitties and enough food to keep me going for a month and rode it out. Why were people convinced that we were doomed to suffer the great Wonder Bread famine of 2011? My local supermarket was picked clean of every last crumb of bread while everything else was fully stocked.
It has been a while since my last post but I wanted to rewind a bit and talk about some wonderful local veggies I got my hands on a couple of weeks ago.
Greg and I went to visit our friends, Tom and Meaghan, who have a fantastic little garden they made out of a patch of land in the parking lot behind their house. The irony of this is not lost on me. Instead of turning paradise into a parking lot, they turned a parking lot into paradise! I enviously gazed at the gorgeous fat red tomatoes beside their adorable little cherry tomato cousins, beautiful cucumbers, peppers, carrots hiding just under the earth with only their greens exposed (to which I had to make the obligatory "I'll never go hungry again" Scarlett reference). After a nice visit we said our goodbyes and they handed us a paper bag filled with goodies from the garden! Earlier that day, Tom had given Greg a big handful of jalapeno peppers and they now resided in the cupholder of the car.
On the way home we stopped at a little farmstand in Orange, CT, called Field View Farm. It was founded in 1639 and apparently you used to be able to get all sorts of wonderful produce there as well as amazingly fresh dairy products made from the milk of their own cows. But now they sell a limited number of fruits and vegetables and some fantastic homemade ice cream. The first time we went there Greg's mom bought us ice cream and I had the Maple Walnut...yum delish! But on this visit we picked up some zucchinis, fresh ears of summer corn and a few tiny purple plums. We followed the mooing to the huge open pen and visited the cows. They seemed so happy and healthy out in the fresh air and sunshine all day. We said hi to them and assured them that we came in peace and would eat neither them nor any member of their family. I invited them to read this blog but I don't think they are quite so computer savvy just yet.
The next day we planned to visit Greg's parents so I decided to make a simple preparation of our treasures. I wanted to keep the integrity of each vegetable and not let them disappear among too many other ingredients.
I chopped up the big fat red tomatoes, and a few of the cherry tomatoes and cooked them down in a medium saucepan with olive oil, shallots and garlic until they released some beautiful liquid but still had chunks of tomato. I added a little fresh thyme and oregano and tossed in some organic pasta we had on hand. The zucchinis I simply sliced and placed in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzled them with olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and crushed black pepper and sent them into a 375 degree oven, turning them over midway through the cooking process so they browned on both sides. The entire cooking process was maybe 20 minutes. I cleaned the corn of their husks and silk and Greg's mom cooked them in boiling water for ten minutes and we ate them with butter and salt. Finally I chopped the cucumber and tossed them with the rest of the cherry tomatoes for a simple salad to which his mom added a bit of fresh mozzarella, sliced Vidalia onions and a little olive oil and vinegar.
We had the most amazing feast that evening! The summer corn was indescribable....so sweet and plump and perfect. The zucchini was nice and caramelized and had such a beautiful fresh earthy flavor. I really prefer this method to sauteeing them because I find they tend to release alot of liquid in the pan and they end up steaming and getting mushy rather than brown and keep their structure. The pasta was nice and simple with the beautiful August tomatoes as the star of the dish.
As I have said in previous posts, eating things that have been grown locally is so important. I love knowing exactly where my food comes from and knowing the earth wasn't damaged in order for me to enjoy it. No jet or diesel fuel was used to bring it to me. Nor were chemicals introduced to mass produce anything which could then seep into the earth and affect other plants, animals, and eventually us. Besides, it just tastes so much better.
Please go and visit your local farmers' markets or any friends who may have their own garden and enjoy! Everything is so good in August.
This is Robin signing off....peace out!
Love,
Robina
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