New Jersey is ripe with farms that offer mouth-watering goods in the warmer months - driving south on the Garden State Parkway you couldn't go more than 1 mile marker without passing homemade signs advertising fresh Jersey corn, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, alongside other varieties of locally grown fruit and vegetables. We would stop at any one (at least one - more often than not we would stop at multiple) of these stands and purchase enough fruit and vegetables to feed a tiny army. My favorite were the peaches. Soft and juicy treasures, warmed by the sun, these gems made my mouth water. The best way to savor these is on the beach, fresh from a cool dip in the Atlantic.
We'd arrive in Ocean City and bustle into my grandmother's, a whirlwind of hugs, kisses, bags, and groceries. In a few hours time we'd be off the beach a few blocks away, a cooler always alongside the towels and chairs. The peaches would have been sitting in a brown paper bag, warmed by the sun and ripened in the farmer's orchard. Reaching in, you'd pull one of these deliciously plump fruits out of the bag. The warm sweet juice would mix with the salt on your face from the ocean and it would be pure heaven.
About a week ago, I took a day trip to the beach and packed along a few peaches from Kauffman's, a farmer we patronize fairly often. The sun was hot, the water was cold, and when I bit into that peach I smiled.
So dear readers pray tell, what are your fondest summer food memories?
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We would always eat peanut butter sandwiches without a lid (open-faced) when we got back from the pool when I was a kid. Oodles of Peter Pan Peanut Butter on white bread; that's summer. ;)
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