At Last – Summer Farm Bounty

By Frank Whitman

The BLT is one of my most-anticipated Summer traditions. The first one signals the annual debut of vine-ripened tomatoes. Tomatoes are a pleasure to be savored over the next few months, but for me, that first BLT is their highest calling. 

This year’s sandwich, one of the best in recent memory, included as many  local ingredients as I could find: Buttermilk-white hand-sliced from Wave Hill Bread in Norwalk; first pick tomatoes (not the big ones that come later, but tennis ball sized) perfectly ripe and juicy from Story Farms in Catskill, NY; head lettuce from the same source; and salty, smoky thick-sliced bacon from the family-owned Stoltzfus Meats in Intercourse, PA.  Without a ready supply of pesto to flavor the mayonnaise (Dukes of course) I shredded some fresh basil leaves to scatter on the lightly toasted bread. 

Heavenly!

We’ve been enjoying the Hudson Valley for a few weeks. Our local source for all things fresh is Story Farms at the corner of Rt 32 and Rt 23A. Irene and Jim Story are the current (but not the first) generation to head up the operation.  Their children farm the land while the grandkids man the busy roadside stand.  They greet neighbors and summer visitors alike – we’ve all been coming for years. In addition to their own produce, they sell from neighboring bakeries, egg farmers, pickle makers, apiaries, and more, bringing together the local food community. 

I’m a big fan of our farmers markets at home, but the Story farm stand is a different experience.  The dairy herd is milked in the barn across the street. The fields of corn, tomatoes, melons and more line the roads on all four corners, carefully tended and picked in plain sight. First-hand advice is always available, “The melons won’t be ready till next week, rhubarb is all done, the blueberries and cherries are local, but not ours.  There are still a few everbearing strawberries.” 

The vegetables are as fresh as can be, but right now it’s the fruit that grabs me. Blueberries, in particular, are the tiny ones – firm, crisp (almost crunchy) bursting with tart flavor. When they appear on the Story fruit table, I know it’s time for a batch of muffins. 

A few years back we hosted a blueberry muffin taste off, trying several well-regarded recipes using the local berries.  Our panel of tasters thought them all delicious but overwhelmingly agreed that this one was the best.  The results this summer were just as good. 

Peaches and plums are just starting to come in. Their season never lasts long enough. Melons too, are about to be picked.  Field-ripened cantaloupes are almost as amazing as the tomatoes, although with a shorter season. 

All this fruit makes me want to bake. We recently enjoyed a blueberry buckle from the Shandaken Bakery in Tannersville, NY.  Very much like a blueberry coffee cake (and there’s nothing wrong with that) it reminded me of the complex taxonomy of American baked fruit desserts. 

Depending on where you’re from and who’s talking, a summer fruit bake might be called a cobbler, crisp, slump, grunt or even pandowdy.  There’s also a Rotten Fruit Cake for when an overabundance of fruit ripens faster than it can be eaten.  The definitions are subjective and loosely defined, but the results all share irresistible flavor and a common affinity for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

A neighbor dropped off a basket of eggs so recently in the nest that bits of straw were still clinging to them. “No need to refrigerate them,” she said, “just wash them off before cracking.”  It’s well known that fresh eggs make the best loft in baked goods. Guess I better get busy. 

It’s a good thing I get a little more exercise in the summer, because I can’t resist the bounty.