Ten days away with perfect weather (sunny days, cool nights, no rain) is the stuff dreams are made of. It was great to be away, learn new things and get a perspective on all the old stuff. It was spectacular to feel cold again and reach for a blanket or a sweater in the evenings.
While on Martha's Vineyard I visited farms, farmers markets and farm stands. There was abundance everywhere. There is no more universal language than the expression of growing; the pride with which a farmer presents her/his crops or invites you to look inside their greenhouse or walk their fields. I shopped for veggies that lent themselves to easy eating in a hotel room with a microwave and a stovetop, and when I couldn't justify buying, I took photos so I could savor their flavors anyhow.
Microwaving fresh corn is awesome (3 minutes, shucked and wrapped in a paper towel) and I made some great quick ratatouille using a single pot and the hotel room burner:
Sautee 2 onions and 4 cloves of garlic till translucent, under 10 minutes (use more garlic if you love garlic)
Slice 2 small eggplants into ΒΌ" wedges and sautee till soft, about 10-15 minutes (I don't typically peel them.) You can use any sort of variety you find at the farm stand
Chop 1 red pepper, 2 small zucchini and add to the pan, sautee as well, about 5 minutes
Chop up tomatoes - 4 - 5 nice sized ripe ones and add
If you have some herbs - you can add them as well (parsley, basil, thyme). Maybe you can 'borrow' some salt and pepper from the hotel restaurant. If you happen to have some wine, add a big splash to the pot.
Let the pot simmer for about 25 minutes - till the tomatoes add their juiciness. Open your doors and invite in your neighbors!
I had many wonderful conversations - about how great a year it was for crops, at last; and listened to the history of the land; creative outlets for excess crops (seems like everyone is making pickles) and about the future. One farmer regaled me with his family story - he and his wife are both 95 and they have been married 70 years. Talk about having a green thumb! He purchased his farmland over 40 years ago and is wondering what the future will hold for the farm. His children and grandchildren cultivate the fields and he would like it to remain a farm forever - but he was not sure what his heirs might do. I suggested he contact the local land conservancy, thwart any future sale. We parted with a wink and a sigh.
I came across one of the most spectacular, massive, stunning heirloom tomatoes I have every seen, which I nicknamed Quasimodo. I rescued it from the stand and gently took it home. Though my friends thought it massively ugly, I could only see its beauty. That's love. I ultimately ate it, but with great relish and respect.
In the height of all the bounty, there were intimations of the season ahead. While the fields were the most provocative shades of green, there were small patches of leaves on an occasional tree that had turned from green to pale orange or yellow or red. Can a tree be "prematurely gray"? How hard it is to contemplate an end to this joyful season of color, flavor, productivity and bounty. Just when we are becoming expert at the rhythm of going to the farmers markets, eating locally, getting spoiled - it will change. Everywhere, the winter squash was growing, pumpkins - mostly green - were getting ready for their moment on the stage, and in a flash, it will be the end of the tomatoes and other summer favorites.
Time to preserve the harvest - for me with photos but also it is time to bring out the dehydrator for dried tomatoes, enough to get through the long winter. The metaphor of life cycles is powerful and a little haunting. Savor the moment; plan for the future; appreciate the premature graying of the trees; enjoy life in all its phases.
