It is officially summer! June 20 brings thoughts of summer food and outdoor dining. So, clean off your outdoor picnic table and get started on a farm-to-table menu.
My fondest memories, which include food and gardening, are of summer dinners on the screen porch of my family’s small summer cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan in Northern Wisconsin.
Although we did not grow our own vegetables, our summer home was just two miles from one of the most productive dairy farms in Cedar Grove, a small Dutch-settled town with a population of 500 people.
It was the farm tradition for the husband to grow corn on the “back forty” and for the lady of the house to grow vegetables and flowers next to the house, in a plot aptly named the kitchen garden.
Mrs. Watry, the farmer’s wife, had a kitchen garden filled with vegetables grown for her summer farm stand customers. Her sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and the sweetest cantaloupes brought both beachcombers and locals to her stand seven days a week.
We knew her corn was fresh, because when she asked how many dozen you wanted, she walked the few feet away into the corn patch and picked them just for us!
She demonstrated how to tell when the corn was fresh. With her well-worn farmer’s hands, she pulled back the bright green husks and remarked, “When you pull back the husk, you take your thumbnail and press gently on the kernel. If it pops, it’s fresh! If not, don’t buy it!”
I have remembered this trick as an adult while shopping and it works every time!
THE TIMING OF THE MEAL
If you have ever lived in a rural area, you may have heard the saying, “The perfect corn is to be had when you get the pot of water boiling just after the corn is picked.”
So, in our house, my mother, aunt and grandmother got all the cold dishes ready on the porch table. My uncle was assigned hamburger and bratwurst duty at the outdoor grill. My brother and cousin were awaiting the arrival of my dad and me with the precious corn, having prepared their area for the shucking process on the back porch.
I will always remember shucking the corn as we ripped off the bright green husks. The huge pots of boiling water were ready on the stove, and in exactly 12 minutes the corn was done.
It was placed on the table with two fresh sticks of butter and salt shakers, and we all rolled our corn in the butter, added salt and tasted the first bite of summer.
My dad was in his glory and as he bit gleefully into the yellow and white kernels he exclaimed, “This is what summer is all about! It doesn’t get much better than this!”
FIND YOUR FARM-TO-TABLE PRODUCE IN NORTH COUNTY
Now, I was just a young teen at the time, and although the dinner was great and it was fun to sit down with the relatives, I had no idea what I was tasting. The freshness of the produce from small farms in Wisconsin, and as I later tasted in Upstate New York, cannot be found in a grocery store.
So, seek out your local farmers market or farm stand to find the best produce in North County. And if you buy corn, don’t forget Mrs. Watry’s freshness test!
Click here for a complete list of all farmers markets in North County and San Diego. If you find a local farm stand that you enjoy, send me the information at [email protected]
LILY’S SOUR CREAM CUCUMBER SALAD
Here is our family recipe for Sour Cream Cucumber Salad. This salad was always the hit of the cold dishes for the summer meal.
The cool, refreshing taste of the fresh cucumber, paired with the smooth sour cream and slightly acid white vinegar made this a family favorite.
INGREDIENTS
• Two thinly sliced cucumbers
• One 8-ounce container sour cream
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt (for brining)
• ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
• Fresh dill springs, chopped
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Place cucumber slices in a container and cover with cold water and 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Refrigerate four hours or overnight. Drain in colander and rinse.
- Whisk sour cream, sugar and vinegar in a large mixing bowl until sugar has dissolved.
- Squeeze out excess water from cucumbers. Add cucumbers to sour cream dressing and toss to coat.
- Chop sprigs of dill in fine pieces, adding seed if desired. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve cold.
Jano Nightingale is a horticulturist and Master Gardener who teaches vegetable gardening at the Carlsbad Senior Center community garden. Contact her at [email protected] for upcoming classes and consultations.
