I can’t believe summer is almost over. (summer, for me, ends when I have to start wearing socks). And with it, what I probably lament the most, is the end of those incredible fruits and vegetables. Oh and rose’. I think I will especially mourn the end of the fresh tomato. Oh and rose’.
Out here on the North Fork, where NK and I spend our weekends, we have had a crazy fabulous foodie summer. Starting with asparagus and kick-ass strawberries, then we move into other berries, tomatoes (New jersey? Where’s that?), zucchini, eggplant, lettuces, peaches and corn (again, New Jersey? Yeah whatever). Hoping to make it last till November, I have been putting up the tomatoes (olive,oil, salt, slow roast for 4 hours at 200, then pack in more olive oil and place in snap lid jars) and freezing the corn.
As readers in the New York area know, we have fanTAStic farms out here on the North Fork. Some are wholesale only such as Satur Farms in Cutchogue. How crazy is it that, off-season, I buy my lettuce from Whole Foods in the city and drive the one + hours out here to eat something that is grown 4 miles away from me? Whatevs. But many other farms have their classic roadside farm stands. The problem becomes: which one to buy from?
I asked fellow NoFo-er MM which ones he liked and he said that he favors what he calls “sincere farms”:
“My criteria for farm stands are the same as for wineries: sincerity. By that I mean it really feels like it's part of a farm, the people who run it are farm-friendly and everything they sell is local. One that meets all of these criteria best, I think, is also one of the smallest - on Mill Road behind the Home Depot (once I didn't have enough cash and he said to just give it to him next time). Reeves (Sound Ave) and the one on 25 next to the Calverton post office ("Farmer Dan") are pretty sincere as well. Windy Acres has a real farm feel to it but is a little too commercial. Fox Hollow (Sound Ave just east of Twomey) is good too but scores low on friendliness. Lewin (on Sound in Wading River) is the opposite of sincere, flunking on all counts.
I also have a soft spot for the egg table on Sound just west of Edwards with the honor payment system. Can't get more sincere than that!”
Ty Llywd (pronounced Tee Clewed, dummy. Duh!) is one of my favs. It is close to home and I have to say most sincere. It seems that few of the stands are near their farms. Ty Llwyd is all in one: farm, farm house and farm stand. I can see the chickens from the road (so I know for sure they are free range, not just let out of their cages for 15 minutes a day) and when I asked for lettuce, we went into the garden and cut it from the ground. Yum.
These are the foods we grew up with and oddly, for most people, they are the hardest to find. How sad is it that it has become a luxury to eat good fresh tomatoes that are not mealy, are tasteless and have the texture of cardboard?
But enough talk about food. It’s Labor Day weekend. Say, who’s thirsty?
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