One of my earliest memories of food is sweet corn and tomatoes that my family used to get from our local farmstand every summer.  There was just one small farm left in the New York City suburb where I grew up. And although much of their produce probably came from other farms further out in the country, they had corn and tomato fields right behind the stand along with other vegetables.
I remember having corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes from the Ramsey’s farmstand on July 4th, but that is almost certainly a false memory since the summer produce season back East doesn’t begin until much later.  Even here in California, most of the summer produce you will see in stores this weekend comes from the southern part of the state or even from Mexico.  In your TFF boxes this week, however, all of the produce comes from right here on our farm.
Neither fresh sweet corn nor vine-ripened tomatoes need much gussying up.  Whether you quickly boil it (Boil the water, add the corn and then remove when it comes back to a boil) or grill in it the husk (soaking first in water and removing the silk), our sweet corn is delicious all by itself.  Butter is an old trick to disguise tough corn, but if you can’t live without it…
And good tomatoes really just need a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to balance their sweet and tangy flavor.  Make sure to have some bread around to soak up the delicious juice that is left on the plate — or just slurp it down straight.  Whatever you do, though, do not refrigerate our tomatoes before or after cutting them as it will ruin their delicate texture.
I grew up a long time ago, when fresh corn and tomatoes were not available at the grocery store year round. But just because you can now buy them in November or February doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be an important part of your summer celebrations.  Whether they help you bring back happy memories of your own, or give your children, if you have them, experiences that will endure throughout their lives.  We were are happy that Terra Firma can be a small part of that.
Thanks,
Pablito