Last week I expounded on the joy of eating my favorite summer fruits ONLY in season, and only locally. However, there is a caveat: There’s just too much of it to buy only just enough. It’s the old “eyes bigger than the stomach”…or the refrigerator… conundrum. So some concessions get made. To wit: It’s within seasonal bounds to freeze some of the bounty for enjoying even beyond the “legal” limit. Freeze it, cook it, even can it if you must. You’re in the no judging zone.
So someone just left 2 dozen ears of corn on your doorstep? Thank you kind stranger, but now what do I do? Believe it or not, sweet corn is one of the easiest foods to store fresh…just trim the stalk, peel back most (but not all) of the husk, cover lightly to keep it from drying out, and it will keep in your fridge for a week or better. Or if there’s just too too much of a good thing, you can freeze it, and serve it…still on the cob!!!…in November with the turkey! It will taste as sweet as the day it was picked. Just don’t forget you did this!
OK, we’ve avoided a corn crisis, but what about that bushel of big red Big Boys that seemed like a good idea until you got them home? You can actually hear them getting riper by the minute. For the freshest tomato sauce ever, grab your big box grater and a bowl. Take a tomato, as is, and run it up and down the big hole side. Like magic, the pulp falls away and the empty skin is all that’s left in your hand. You can freeze it in batches for later, but why not use some to make a light summer sauce for right now? Just a sprinkle of salt & pepper & a sprig or two of basil and you’ll swear you’re standing in a tomato patch. But for a little more depth and sophistication you can sauté up some mirepoix and give it a French Twist. Bon appétit.
Finally, take peaches…just not mine, please. I really think peaches should be consumed in their natural state rather than coaxed into some contrived recipe that requires one to turn on the oven in July…but if you are so inclined, Southern Living has 51 (count ‘em) ways to cook a peach. Out of the those, there are just a few that fit my bill of fare, like what I call Fried Pink Peaches; or simply subbing out the mango in your salsa recipe.
And in a blaze of brilliance using our triple-crown contestants: corn, tomatoes AND peaches all at once in a Peach, tomato & corn salad. And that’s how you say summer!
Not for nuthin’: to defuzz or peel a peach, simply drop into boiling water for a quick minute. Also, did you know that a nectarine is simply a fuzzless peach? You’re welcome.
This just in: Cantaloupe…They’re here! And with flavor so swoon-worthy you’d swear they were alcoholic. There are several good ways to tell if that ‘lope is ripe… from color to veining to stem-check…but the surest thing is the way your car will smell on the ride home. Amirite? And, OK, if you’re like me, once you’ve sliced that baby open there isn’t enough willpower in the world to keep you from just eating the whole dang thing au natural. But just suppose someone gifted you with a few of these globes, all orange ripe’n’ready and soon goin’ south. Whatchagonnado? This is what The Google was born for…finding not just one, but twenty insanely good recipes featuring that sweet orange flesh. But I’ll take mine au natural, please.
Well, I’m just about out of words at this point…but there’s still a note or two that needs mention:
In the Artist’s Tent: Margaret Moran and The Basket Tree. Maybe she’ll have just what you need to get those peaches and tomatoes home.
As per usual, change is always a possibility, so always a good idea to give a last-minute look-see to our FB page. And don’t leave here without reading the whole LFM newsletter. You don’t want to miss a thing!
See you on Saturday.
Terry Baraldi