Coming Summer Bounty

What is it about the bounties of summer that are so entrancing? Maybe it is that they seem to follow, one upon the other, in quick breathless succession. Or maybe it is that they beg to be conserved in some way, a bulwark against the scarcity of the next seasons. Or maybe it is the tantalizing colors and textures appearing in such diversity. It seems that we were just beginning to enjoy the tender lettuces of springtime! Wallace simply adores butter crunch, by the way, also known as Boston lettuce. Who knows why it is named for Boston? Was there a grower there who specialized in this variety? That is true of Bibb lettuce, its approximate equal, which has Kentucky origins. Boston gets the credit in name for bringing us lots of good things, including cream pie, baked beans and terriers, so I am not complaining.

What was I saying? Oh yes, the summer harvest. What would it be, at least in the United States, without tomatoes and corn? We are crazy about both. Real vine-ripened tomatoes from a farm stand or the garden are unequaled. My grandmother liked to slice, salt and pepper them and drizzle a little vinegar on them. You can call that a salad of sorts. If she were really going all the way there might be some juicy bacon bits, the real kind, liberally sprinkled on them. She put bacon into just about everything and I can't think of any harm that it did anywhere at any time. For sandwiches, what is possibly finer than bacon, lettuce and tomato on homemade bread with mayonnaise? Sitting in the shade on the front porch, we could have eaten those until we burst if we hadn't had some bicycle exploring down at the creek to do that very afternoon. Fortified by those BLT's we could accomplish just about anything.

Corn can't come to market soon enough to remind us of how we savor it every year during its productive season. Low in glamour, high in returns, this is what Americans crave no matter what state they come from. The hybrid magicians have created some very tasty types without resorting to the dreaded genetically modified route. Driving through the countryside recently I could tell it is going to be a great year, at least for field corn. The stalks seemed to be taller and stouter than I ever remember and the dagger like leaves appeared to be downright dangerous. Europeans mostly grow corn for livestock and there are few places where a steaming plate of sweet corn arrives to the table there to such unanimous delight as it does in America.

Really, it's all about the butter, if I must be honest. Corn on the cob has a wonderful flavor but its charms are greatly magnified by the generous application of fresh butter. If you haven't sampled some of the artisanal butters that have begun appearing at markets, then you owe yourself the favor of procuring some in order to exalt fresh corn to its proper rank in the firmament of summer stars. Don't be shy about flavored butters either! They can provide an undreamed-of enhancement to the experience. And be sure to wear a bib of the kind that protects your summer chemise from excessive enthusiasm!
Still, Celeste