Pike Farm, Sagaponack, Jenn Halsey at Milk Pail, Water Mill

by Fiona Murray
Photographs of tomato stand and Halsey farm from True East by Wendy Chamberlin.
Photograph of Pike stand by Lianne Alcon

Do you remember how a tomato used to taste? They weren't necessarily pretty or uniform in size, but they were sharp and sweet and juicy and, well, tomatoey. Or the carrot; this misshapen character was dirty and gnarly, sprouting shoots and resembling a witch's nose. These days, most supermarket carrots are fluorescent orange, suspiciously smooth and torpedo-sized. They also taste like moist wood. We are beleaguered from both sides with the dietary perils of not eating enough raw foods, but what is one to do when eating fruit isn't quite the sweet indulgence we remember, or vegetables need a lot of coaxing before they'll give up their flavors? That is when you know it's time to hit the road.

The old-school farmstands that dot the highways and backroads of the Hamptons are veritable jewels in the crown of Long Island. And as we approach the tailend of August, the quality, taste and variety of produce you will find here are a late-summer's-day dream; country-cousin fruit and vegetables taste as delicious and succulent as any you remember-a sharp reprimand to their cold-store relations. Piles of husky corn cobs, the white or mottled varieties so sweet and succulent they can be nibbled raw; trays of bumpy local field tomatoes, deep in color and rich in flavor, delicious when married to a red onion in a salad and dressed with olive oil and red-wine vinegar; juicy yellow wax beans, a perfect candidate to toss with waxy boiled potatoes then drizzle with pesto and oil; shapely pears just picked from the tree; a variety of muddy potatoes; fresh-cut ever-friendly sunflowers; then rows and rows of sweet ruby-colored strawberries, and the blueberries... Late-season farmstands are a cheerful place to be, and their delicious produce is the kind you'd be proud to take home to mother.

For more than a century, city folk have headed out east seeking an escape from the Manhattan hustle. Some find swift rural alignment in the hokey activities of hayrides or corn mazes, but dropping by the local farmstand is more than just a quaint pastime to satiate any down-home leanings. There is an emotional connection that comes with buying produce from the person who has planted and grown it-the ultimate slow-food-sustaining the land and his family. After a recent purchase at the Pike Farm stand in Sagaponack, I munched on an apple while surveying the expansive backdrop field, the very field from which most of my vegetables had sprung, and breathed in the aromas of freshly tilled earth. I felt wholesome just being there. The emotion continues when you serve up the delicious and noble meal you've prepared that evening. The simple pleasure of shopping for, and cooking, produce picked from a farmstand cart can turn a self-catering weekend in the country into a life-affirming gastronomic treat.

It's hard to believe when you drive around the Hamptons and glimpse a working farm nestled amid the current scenery that they were here first; that Long Island was once just a tapestry of agriculture, a long island expanse settled from west to east, weaving seven small townships along the way. And around these villages, stretched a temperate pastoral landscape framed by fields and woods and ocean. Those farms are now a dwindling bunch-Long Island farms totaled nearly 3,000 in 1950, but there were 700 in 2005-checkering the modern landscape in an anachronistic manner; a farmer riding a tractor seems almost medieval surrounded by the golf courses, boutiques and McMansion developments of the Hamptons.

White peaches in rosewater syrup Serves 4 Ingredients 2 ¼ cups superfine sugar 1 tablespoon rosewater 4 white peaches To serve 2/3 cup chopped pistachios and plain yogurt 1. Place sugar and rosewater in a saucepan with 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Cut a small cross in the skin at the top of each peach with a sharp knife, then add peaches to saucepan and gently simmer for 5 mins or until tender. Take peaches out of syrup and slip off skins. Put skins back into the syrup and cook for 10 mins or until syrup has reduced by half. Strain syrup and cool. 2. Serve peaches with some syrup, a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Tomato and olive salad with grilled herbed ricotta Serves 6 Ingredients 3 cups fresh ricotta, cut from a wheel 4 tablespoons olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Chopped fresh sage, thyme and oregano ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 6 vine-ripened tomatoes 1 cup fresh basil leaves 24 Greek olives 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1. Distribute ricotta and oil among six ½-cup small baking dishes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then scatter some sage, thyme and oregano over top and drizzle with a little olive oil. Grill under a high heat until bubbling. 2. Cut each tomato vertically into five slices, keeping the shape of the tomato intact. 3. Arrange the tomatoes on platter, then top with basil and olives. Drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle with vinegar. Season, then allow to rest for 5 mins so flavors can develop. Serve with ricotta and crusty bread.

Despite the looming threats of extinction, Long Island farmers are the most productive in New York State, adding more than $200 million to New York's annual economy, but they do face a different set of challenges compared to farmers in the rest of the country. The farmlands here have become prime top-tier real estate, family properties increasing so much in value that they are worth far more than their occupants could ever possibly yield with farming. The other major challenge is paying federal inheritance taxes and maintaining possession of their land in the meantime. Never has a farmer's decision to carry on the traditions and commitment of ancestors, rather than cash in and live the high life, involved as much dedication and sacrifice as it does here.

John v.H Halsey, president of the Peconic Land Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Long Island's working farms and natural lands, founded the Trust after he returned to his family's home in Southampton to find the neighbor's 10th-generation farm sold off to pay a $2.2 million inheritance tax. Through either the outright purchasing of farmland (their most recent acquisition prospect being land that houses the beloved Pike Farmstand), or helping with the purchase of development rights (a farm-preservation technique that allows farmers to sell off these rights, not only providing them liquid cash without giving up their farms, but also ensuring that the land can never be built on), the Trust is an active custodian of an at-risk agricultural future. Preservation of a rural community is indeed a mighty work, but protecting the open farmland of the Hamptons from development is a commitment almost as critical to the social infrastructure. Just for starters, can you imagine trying to enjoy a Hamptons-lit late afternoon without the potato fields and open pastures to appropriately host it?

Apple and blueberry shortcake Serves 8 to 10 Ingredients 4 large Granny Smith apples Finely grated zest from 1 lemon 2 tablespoons sugar 4 ½ oz. unsalted butter ½ cup superfine sugar 1 egg 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup blueberries Sugar, for sprinkling 1. Peel apples, remove the cores and cut each into about 16 slices. Put apples, zest, sugar and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium saucepan. Cover and stew over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until apples are soft but not mushy. Allow to cool. 2. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy and smooth. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour and baking powder into mixture and stir until combined. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide into two and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 3. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll each half of cake dough into a round approx. 82 inches across. Press one round into a 9-inch non-stick springform cake pan. Spread apples over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge. Sprinkle with blueberries. Place the other round of dough on top and press the edges together. Brush with water and sprinkle with sugar. 4. Bake 35 to 40 mins. Let cool in pan for 20 mins before removing. Serve with whipped cream.

Orange, beets and goat's cheese salad Serves 4 Ingredients 1 bunch watercress 4 medium-sized beets, scrubbed Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 7 oz. green beans 4 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds 4 ½ oz. goat's cheese or goat's curd Dressing ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1. Preheat oven to 400F. Pick tips off watercress and discard stalks. Place beets on a sheet of foil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Wrap securely, place on baking tray and bake for 12 to 2 hours, or until beets are tender when pierced. Allow to cool, then cut each beet into 8 wedges. 2. Blanch the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh them in cold water and slice each in half lengthways. 3. Whisk olive oil and vinegar and some salt and pepper in a small bowl until combined. Divide orange slices, beans, beets and watercress among 4 plates. Add 1 heaped tablespoon of goat's cheese to each. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

As any of us with a predilection for end-of-the-affair occasions will tell you, late summer is a wonderful time to be in the Hamptons. The weather is warm, so is the ocean, everyone is gearing up for a last hurrah, oh, and the farmstands are bountiful with top-shelf seasonal produce. So grab your appetite and hit the trail, meandering along country roads and byways to discover some of the 80 farmstands that are scattered across Long Island. From organic sour cherries and rhubarb pies, to heirloom tomatoes and local honey, to berries you can pick yourself, the Hamptons is a locavore's dream run. Approach your produce safari much as would a chef; don't plan your menu ahead of time, but rather allow the exceptional quality and variety of what is on offer inspire your meal. (Our dessert and salad recipes on the following pages incorporate local organic fruits and vegetables.) And remember, when you make it back to the kitchen, less is more-the flavor of this produce is all where it is meant to be.

Of course, most locals have staked out their favorite destination farmstands, or maintain a loyal following for their neighborhood farm. But if you're just a Hamptons sojourner who drives back to the city after the weekend, make sure you swing by a farmstand so you can hit the highway with at least a crate of peaches in the backseat. At this time of year, it would be sinful to head out of the Hamptons with nothing more than a tan.

Follow the trail of feisty tomato lovers this weekend, as they make their way to the Channing Daughters vineyard in Bridgehampton for Molly Channing's first inaugural heirloom tomato sale.

As the wife of artist and vigneron Walter Channing, Molly is a woman familiar with a life lived among the vines, but of late these vines have branched out somewhat, to now include her latest bumper crop, a harvest of organic heirloom tomatoes.

As an esteemed supplier to local restaurants and Gourmet Garage grocery stores in Manhattan of this hard-to-come-by produce-heirloom and organic-Molly is a true artisan of the boutique tomato; lovingly tended varieties, selected purely for taste and quality rather than yield. Molly's Most Luscious Organic Heirloom Tomatoes, as they are called, include a harvest of 40 varieties (Black Krim, Green Zebra, Chocolate Stripes, Thai Pink Eggs, White Queen are just a few of the colorful characters that will be on offer), and this will be the first time during the season that the whole "family" will be out and on show. The produce market will be held on the beautiful vineyard property where the tomatoes are grown (maybe another reason they taste so delicious), and is a one-day-only sale open to the public. So bring your shopping basket, don't squeeze the merchandise (heirlooms are a delicate breed!), and plan to make a luscious salad for dinner.

Sunday August 17, Channing Daughters Winery, 1927 Scuttlehole Rd., Bridgehampton; 631-537-7224

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