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It Was Precedented

Unprecedented.

That word is just so odious now.

The pandemic. Social unrest. On-again, off-again pandemic power outages with social unrest on the side. And now we need to make unprecedented decisions, supported by constantly changing information, about the school year, going back to work inside offices, how to vote safely, whether we can safely attend that party in the fall, whether we should hold that winter wedding or put it off for another year, which mask we should wear if we do go, whether the mask is keeping us and others safe and, either way, whether it goes with our outfit.

And don’t forget the hand sanitizer.

There is one thing this year that is going the way it has in past years, and as Mother Nature intended it in the northeast, and that is the growing season. For the most part, with some exceptions—and it is true some growers were hurt by Storm Isaias—but zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, and corn, for the most part, came in right on schedule.

“Totally,” says Aaron Taylor, from Four Root Farm in East Haddam, when asked about it. He gave out a laugh that sounded something like relief.

And that’s because so much of the year has been unprecedented for Taylor and other area farmers. Taylor, the market master for the Madison farmers market who also participates in several other farmers markets as well, also sells produce from his farm. While the weather was a little hotter and a little more dry than usual, he found that his crops have come in as expected this year.

It’s just about the only thing that has gone as expected this years.

Still, Taylor is reasonably satisfied with how shoppers and vendors managed to deal with new measures necessary to keep people safe at area farm markets.

“Certainly sales are down somewhat, but we’re much better off than many small businesses, so I can’t complain,” Taylor says. “I’m very pleased that, between the pre-order system and the socially distanced markets, we’ve continued to be able to feed people in a safe way throughout.”

Through the Fall and Winter

We can continue to support our local farms and growers through the end of the summer, through the fall, and even the winter.

The East Haven Farmers Market is scheduled to run 9 a.m. to noon Sunday and Wednesdays through Oct. 4 at the East Haven Town Green.

The Chester Farmers Market, a drive-through market, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays through Oct. 11. The market planned to move back to its Main Street location on Sunday, Aug. 23, from 23 Ridge Road, Chester, where it had been operating. Check the market’s Facebook page for location updates before going.

The Dudley Farm Summer Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31 at 2351 Durham Road, Guilford.

The Madison Farmers Market runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Fridays through Thanksgiving at the Madison Town Green.

Cityseed, a nonprofit based in New Haven, runs a series of farmers markets in the city year-round, including one at Wooster Square that runs to December, and a winter market that runs January through March, and several others that run through October. Check out their website for guidelines, pre-ordering information, and specific dates and locations: cityseed.org.

Tips and Tricks

Here are a few tips and tricks I found useful this summer while cooking enormous amounts of zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and eggplant.

For the zucchini, for several recipes, in addition to wringing it out in a tea towel after grating it, I would often spread it out on a sheet pan and blitz it under the broiler until it was further dried out and a bit caramelized. I found this made a nice difference when I made zucchini fritters, using my usual recipe. I ended up with fritters that tasted lighter because I didn’t have to use as much filling (eggs and breadcrumbs) to get them to bind together.

When it came to zucchini muffins, I switched to mini-muffins and, while still moist, they ended up being not quite so sodden in the middle like zucchini muffins can sometimes be. I also stuck a single toasted walnut in the middle of the little muffins, to give them a bit a crunch. Maple-glazed toasted walnuts are even better. And I used a recipe that included cinnamon, which gave them a nice warm flavor.

When it came to my corn chowder, after I cut off the corn, I popped the cobs into boiling water, made a corn stock, and then used that for the soup recipe. It made the resulting soup sweeter and more flavorful.

For my tomato sauce this year, I broke out my Instant Pot and food mill. I found I could cram a whole lot of tomatoes in the Instant Pot, along with some basil and lots of garlic, and cook it on high pressure for about a half hour, and end up with a decent rough summer sauce. I jarred some of it that way.

And then I took the food mill, and processed the rest down. I jarred some of that for soup. Then the rest of I cooked down and made a tomato sauce with the consistency of passata, a thin and very flavorful sauce that will go great on pizzas, on pasta, and as a base for many other recipes.

I have no special tips for you for eggplant, but if you have any tips or recipes for any of these vegetables, or any summer vegetables and want to share them with our readers, just let me know by emailing me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com.

Who’s Making What

When I asked my friends, I got these suggestions.

Kathy DeBurra of Madison is making lots of zucchini bread, which she says freezes well. She’s also making Mexican street corn, and lots of tomato sandwiches.

Bethanne McNulty, who used to live in Madison, is making zoodles and pesto, and a zucchini soup that includes a large chopped onion cooked in about two tablespoons of butter, then two cups of chicken stock, adding in about four cups of diced zucchini, along with salt, pepper, garlic powder, celery salt, and parsley. Cook it until the zucchini is tender, then purée it in a blender or using an immersion blender. Can be served hot or cold.

Mary Malachi Dodd of Madison is making one of my all-time favorites from Dorie Greenspan, The Almost Too Simple Provençal Dish. You can find that recipe at food52.com/blog (search “greenspan summer”). Mary says she makes it once a week during the summer and eats it right out of the pan, and I can endorse that notion.

Lori Schroeder of Madison also tried that recipe and tried to take a picture, but her family ate it all up before she was able to do that. “It was fantastic. Toasted up a nice loaf of garlic bread to go with it.”

Kat Lehmann Blount of Guilford is liking simple salads of chopped, raw zucchini with tomato and mozzarella, tossed with olive oil and balsamic, topped with fresh basil.

She also recommends ratattouille, as does Stephen Davis of Madison and his wife Clo Davis.

Ed Thereault of East Haddam suggested a recipe I will definitely be trying: Yotam Ottolenghi’s Sweet Corn Polenta with Eggplant Sauce (food52.com/blog, search “yotam corn”). Ed subbed in zucchini for the eggplant, and added in more seasoning since zucchini has less flavor than eggplant. “The fresh corn polenta is a great take on the concept” of polenta, he says. “It’s a new staple for us.”

A Few Recipes

Taylor from Four Root Farm says one of his family’s favorite summer recipes is something they call Sungold and Fairy Tale Pasta: A Simple Summer Delicacy.

It’s a sweet name derived from the delicious, almost candy-sweet Sungold cherry tomatoes and the cute little Fairy Tale eggplants. It’s a dish his family makes sometimes twice a week this time of year because it tastes like summer.

Zesty Lentil Enchiladas with Zucchini

From Vicki Littell, Madison

Serves four

Ingredients:

1 ⅓ cup water

½ cup lentils

¼ teaspoon salt

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced

1 ½ teaspoon chili powder or ground cumin, fried in hot oil for about 2 minutes to let flavors bloom

1 medium zucchini quartered and sliced, or about 2 cups

14 ounce can of chili-style stewed tomatoes or Mexican stewed tomatoes, or equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes cooked down with Mexican seasoning

6 ounces Monterey Jack with jalepeno pepper cheese, shredded

8 6-inch tortillas, wrapped in foil, heated for 10 minutes

Directions

1. Combine water, lentils, salt, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

2. Spray a rectangular baking dish with oil.

3. Combine carrots, seasonings, zucchini, and cook for about two to three minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lentils.

4. Add in half of the Mexican flavored tomatoes, and about half of the cheese to the lentil vegetable mixture. Spoon mixture into tortillas, dividing evenly. Place tortillas in prepared baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove the foil, bake for another 7 to 12 minutes until heated through and crisped.

5. In a small saucepan, heat remaining tomatoes, and spoon over cooked tortillas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for another minute or so until cheese is melted.

Corn Chowder

Pem McNerney

Ingredients:

8 to 10 ears of corn, husked, silks removed, kernels cut off, cobs placed in boiling water to make about 5 to 6 cups of corn broth

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 yellow onion, medium-sized, chopped

¼ cup flour

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups water or reserved corn broth (see above)

1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme or about ¼ teaspoon dried

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup half and half, or alternative milk such as cashew milk

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon honey, if needed to sweeten it

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh chives, to serve

optional, shredded cheddar and chopped bacon to serve

Directions

1. Melt butter, or heat olive oil in large enameled Dutch oven. Cook onion for about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add flour and garlic, cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Whisk in hot corn stock or hot water.

4. Optional but recommended step here: char about half of the corn kernels in a pan with olive oil.

4. Bring back to a boil, stirring. Add in corn (both charred and uncooked), reserving about ¼ cup of corn kernels, and add in chunked potatoes. Add thyme and bay leaf and salt and pepper.

5. Bring back to a gentle simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer about 20 minutes until the potato is cooked through.

6. Remove the bay leaf and allow soup to cool a bit. If using a blender to purée, remove the center cap from the lid of the blender, fill blender halfway, place a towel over the top of the blender to prevent spatters, and blend the soup. Do this in batches until it is all puréed.

7. Add mixture back to pot and stir in milk and, if using, honey.

8. To serve, sprinkle with reserved kernels, and cheddar, bacon, and chives, if using.

Sungold and Fairy Tale Pasta

The Taylor Family

Four Root Farm, Tater Hill Road, East Haddam

Ingredients:

Pasta (angel hair would be nice, but any pasta will do)

¼ cup olive oil

3 – 6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 pints of fairy tale eggplants, cut into quarters (you don’t want to chop the eggplant too small—nice, big chunks makes it creamier)

1 pint of sungold cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

1 hot pepper of your choice, or more to taste, finely chopped with seeds removed

Basil, coarsely chopped

A little Parmesan on top never hurts

Directions

1. Boil the pasta.

2. Put ¼ cup of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat, then add garlic.

3. Sauté garlic until it just starts to brown, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the eggplants, and salt to taste. Sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the eggplants are browned and tender but before they start to fall apart. Stir occasionally.

5. Add the tomatoes and peppers, Sauté for another five minutes.

6. Turn off heat and add basil, stir.

7. Serve over pasta.