Dan's Papers - September 12, 2008

I was checking out of Zaluski's farm stand the other day when Patrick leaned over and said, "You need to try these pears, you'll be back for more." And he was right, the petite yellow pears were juicy, sweet and not too grainy, perfect for a snack with cheese and bread, preferably a ripe moldy blue of some sort.

Women honk and wave at Pat as they go by, they call the farm stand and ask for him, wanting to know if there are more string beans or if the peaches are in yet. He gets teased by the rest of us for his easy gift of gab and mildly flirtatious nature. I was looking for sunflowers, tomatoes, string beans, blueberries, raspberries and corn. I could live forever - and very well - on that combination of fruits and vegetables. with the sunflowers crowning the table. For some reason they have also decided to sell fresh mozzarella, a perfect complement to the orange tomatoes so I added that into the pile. A box of slightly imperfect sauce tomatoes inspired me to make a low acid batch that night with some of my own basil.

Holly works with Pat at the cash register. As she rang up my bill she and I discussed the merits of yellow pear tomatoes. Sunny yellow, mealy and tasteless. OK, that was not her description of them but mine. However, we agreed that they were flavorless, and pasty, but she had tried them because they made a colorful salad addition to the orange and red cherry tomatoes. I had just had some fantastically sweet yellow plum tomatoes on the west coast and suggested that she grow them next year instead.

We all have our favorite farm stands, and in spite of Pat's charm it really is the corn I go to Zaluski's for. I have been a loyal customer for a long time, just like you are loyal to your favorite farm stand. Late summer is full of sayings like "Pike's has the best," or "I only go to the Green Thumb," "I can't wait until they start to pick the corn." But this year we decamped, I do feel a little disloyal but...

Last year we had a corn tasting. Friends from the North Fork brought Harbes' finest ears and we threw them on the grill with Zaluski's, all in the husk. I have friends who drive up to Harbes for their wares, which seems insane to me. A good farm stand is nearby, on the way to somewhere, or on the way back from the beach preferably, but nowhere near traffic or town, like Holly Hill, off of Deerfield. So why go all the way up to the North Fork?

It has to do with flavor, sugar and the toothsome quality of the kernels. Zaluski's grows many kinds of corn but maybe it's the Water Mill soil that make them all light, divinely sweet, of course, but delicate with smaller kernels. I just adore it, slightly burnt or not, and three ears are not too much. Harbes' kernels are beefy, deep, sugary sweet, distinctly corny and they stick to your teeth. The night of our corn tasting, butterless mind you, everyone who lived on the North Fork voted for Harbes' and all the friends from the South Fork voted for Zaluski. It was a standoff.

Is there an ear of corn out there that combines the best of both? Perhaps. I have tried growing old and new varieties myself and have found the labor unrewarding. Squirrels and raccoons know exactly when the ears are ripe and usually arrive before you do no matter how early a start you get in the morning. We even tried scotch taping the ears to the stalks to thwart the little devils, but really that all added up to way too much work when there is such an abundance around me grown by professionals who know their business.

We stopped at the other farm stand on head of Pond Road, where you can pick your own apples or hit the corn maze if you like. We checked out their corn. A quick roasting on the barbecue revealed bi -color kernels, which were deep, sweet and not starchy! Voila! My husband has sworn off Zaluski's for a week or two but they do not have to worry, he will return, as variety is the spice of life.

Head of Pond farm stand also happened to have some of the best peaches on the South Fork. They pick them ripe daily and I have developed a yen for the white peaches, which are unrivaled. Although I have to say no one, and I mean no one will ever replace Tod Bishop, who grew those delightful peaches that were sold over by the horse show in Bridgehampton. It was worth every minute in traffic to get those peaches. I see him around from time to time and keep forgetting to pump him for his secrets.

Eat as much local produce as you can. Stock up and bring it home with you to the city. Fall is here and so are the apples but the corn won't last forever. I have friends who have talked about canning. That is a lot of work and I admire their gumption, but I do not have ambitions in that direction. I considered freezing some string beans but that reminded me of horrid frozen vegetable concoctions from my childhood. I'll stick to making extra pesto and putting it in ice cube trays to freeze for the winter, as Karen Tureski so kindly instructed me.

For more than 20 years, April Gonzales has been involved in garden design, installation and maintenance on the East End, as well as specimen plant scouting and site supervision for landscape architects.