Summer is for Foodies

There is no doubt that Americans are spoiled rotten in the area of food, especially produce. Back in “the day,” you were aware that fruits and vegetables had specific seasons in which they were available. If you wanted something that was out of season, you either settled for a really bad version of it, paid an exorbitant price for it, or both! Back when I worked for a caterer, we had a January bride insistent upon having at her reception a basket cut from a fresh watermelon and filled with summer fruits. After much searching, we found a nice, big watermelon for which we paid just over fifty dollars. Now, of course, you can get those “personal” watermelons year-around, but they never taste quite as good as an in-season watermelon.

Even in this day of having all manner of greenhouse and hydroponic vegetables and fruits along with those flown in from other hemispheres, it is still hard to beat the flavor of a tomato grown in someone’s yard. My son has recently discovered the deliciousness of Fleur de Sel de Camargue. While this sea salt is delicious on anything, including your finger, it is pure heaven sprinkled atop a slice of home-grown tomato with a fresh basil leaf garnish. This is a pleasure that can only be experienced in the summer.

In a rural community like ours, one hears lots of complaints this time of year about squash. I have heard stories of people refusing to answer their doorbells for fear that someone is going to try to give them zucchini or of grocery sacks of yellow squash being anonymously left on someone’s front porch or in the bed of their pickup. What an embarrassment of riches! Last week I confessed to having purchased squash at the grocery store, much to my gardening friends’ horror.

Then there are the peaches—unless it has been a very unfortunate weather year. Last week I bought some California white peaches at Central Market. They are good, but a poor substitute for a peach bought right out of the orchard. On a trip through central Georgia two years ago we bought some peaches—the kind that require several paper towels to mop up the juice that runs down your elbows. I can still remember that wonderful fragrance and how perfect they looked with that deep pink blush along one side.

One of my favorite things about summer is fresh basil. I do not have any right now, but will be starting some soon. I have grown every kind of basil imaginable—globe, Genovese, cinnamon, Thai, purple ruffles, etc. Besides being tasty, basil is a beautiful plant and is very fragrant. There is no substitute for fresh basil. All of the preservation methods I have tried fail to capture the full flavor, so this is truly a summer-only experience.

There are so many more summer foodie experiences I could list—sweet corn, fresh Hatch chiles, Pecos cantaloupes, berries of all kinds—so dreamy! What are your favorite summer foodie experiences?