Summer has it’s own special treats. There’s fresh corn on the cob and cool Italian ice. For some people it’s fresh from the ocean/bay crab or other shellfish. (Not for this girl who is allergic.)
My favorite treats come from my father’s garden. The photo above might not be so hot, but that little orange yellow tomato is bursting with a flavor that is out of this world.
As I’ve said before, my father is truly a gifted gardener. The produce from his garden, which currently includes cucumbers and a variety of tomatoes, tastes better than anything you could buy. (Even from a fresh farm stand.) But those little tomatoes…there is just something about them.
He’s given me plants so that I can grow them myself. When I do, they come out good, delicious even, but there is something better, tastier about the ones that come from his garden at the N.J. shore. It could be the soil, but I think it’s the salty, ocean/bay air that gives them that special flavor. Along, of course, with the love and tender care that he puts into each one.
The come in droves in the summer. Too many and too fast for me to eat them all, but I wish I could. If I am lucky, they will keep coming until the early fall.
They are perfect alone or in a salad. (Last year I found out how awesome tomato peach salad was. I’m hoping to recreate the experience again this year.)
My summer is not complete until I’ve picked on right off the vine and popped it into my mouth. Warm and delicious; not unlike sunshine.
So you can have your corn on the cob and your treats from the sea. I will take a bucket full of these little treasures. (Maybe along with a glass of wine.) It’s the perfect summer treat.
Beth Shorten is a life-long resident of Verona. For more than four years, she has been chronicling life here on her personal site, Bfth’s Boring Blog.
