As a kid, my aunt took us to u-pick farms almost every summer. I remember bogging for cranberries in south Jersey and grabbing some corn off of a an old farm cart across the street from her house. At Nonna's, my cousins and I plucked the green grapes off of the crooked old vine, crushed them and added sugar - they were sour, afterall - and froze the juice in ice cube molds for our enjoyment on the sunken roof of the pumphouse. Mom trained me to decipher her vegetable beds at five. In truth, I spent most of my time eating the carrots instead of bringing them back into the house.
Even though I'm not exactly an avid gardener now, I continue to take joy in finding fresh fruits and vegetables in markets. Juan brought me to Old Hook Farms in Emerson, New Jersey, and since then my produce-nerdism has increased five-fold. Today, we bought a blueberry pie, blueberry tea bread, some jersey sugar plums, local organic milk, some organic butter, and a few things for friends (including three pints of blueberries). A pretty common produce haul consists of kale, rainbow chard, some arugula or spinach, corn, a sugar baby (watermelon), baby onions, many different kind of tomatoes, and possibly some other ripe, gorgeous fruits. All local, seasonal, and organic.
And the bread. Mind-blowingly beautiful ciabatta that I can only dream of replicating one day.
All in all, I endeavor to drag all of my foodie friends there before we both move to central Jersey - does it exist?- and have to make the hour-long trek back to deliciousness.
When in doubt, stay fancy.
Pro-tip: blogging on a tablet is not easy
