Summer’s landscape is fall’s bounty
By Sheila Martin
Several times a year, my parents pack a suitcase and travel
south from Oregon en route to visit old friends in southern
California. Hollister is a sort of halfway point, and Mom and Dad
find rest and grandchildren at my house. Each visit includes an
afternoon with Mom and a shopping list of fresh produce promised to
her friends to the south and to the north.
”
Five pounds of cherries,
”
it might say, or
”
fresh apricots for jam.
”
Summer’s landscape is fall’s bounty
By Sheila Martin
Several times a year, my parents pack a suitcase and travel south from Oregon en route to visit old friends in southern California. Hollister is a sort of halfway point, and Mom and Dad find rest and grandchildren at my house. Each visit includes an afternoon with Mom and a shopping list of fresh produce promised to her friends to the south and to the north. “Five pounds of cherries,” it might say, or “fresh apricots for jam.”
I couldn’t help but ask if Oregon was deficient of grocery stores.
“The best produce in the world is grown here in San Benito,” mom would always say. “Buying it direct from the grower means it is the best and freshest available.”
There is something earthy and magical about a road side farm stand. These simple barn-like structures that appear along a country road beckon with baskets and crates brimming with the jewels of the season.
October in San Benito is when summer’s landscape is harvested, iced, boxed and crated, then shipped to destinations throughout the United States. A small percentage of that produce is hefted into the back of a pick-up truck and taken a mile or two down the road to Hollister’s road side farm stands. October is also when the air cools slightly, yet the earth is still warm. The quick-fix summer meals prepared pool-side on the grill give-way to simmering pots of the aromatic comfort foods of fall that permeate the whole house.
Placing a large empty basket in my car along with a frozen ice-pack, a generous wedge of bleu-cheese, a sharp knife and my camera, I set out for Hollister’s produce stands. Driving along, I noticed how lovely the fields around me were. The colors timely with the season; deep green leaves, rich red bell peppers, new baby lettuce and purple tomatoes. Yellowing stalks of corn bent in the breeze, and acres of pumpkin vines with yellow blossoms still setting.
My basket brimming with produce, I took pause at a well placed picnic table to appreciate the beauty around me. Carefully choosing a tree ripened Bartlett pear, I sliced it with a knife and spread a thick layer of bleu cheese on each half. From a small green basket I gathered several fresh figs. Savoring the abundance of the day, I was thinking of mom, who had taught me on those shopping list outings that it doesn’t get any better than this!
San Benito Farm Stands
Bertuccio’s Farm Stand
2410 Airline Hwy., 636-0821
Open Mon. – Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 5:45pm, year round
They sell watermelons, fresh sweet corn cobs, onions, garlic, lettuces, pumpkins and ornamentals as well as dried fruits and nuts, jams and jellies, olives.
Phil Foster Ranches Organic Produce
400 Duncan Ave. in San Juan, 623-9422
Open Saturday’s 9:00am to 1:00pm
Fall produce includes apples, basil, beans, beets, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, cucumber, fennel, figs, garlic, leeks, lettuce, melon, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, shallots, squash , tomatoes and Zucchini
Swank Farms General Store and corn maze has just closed for the season, but will reopen in May 2008.
2600 San Felipe Road, 637-4704
Open daily 10 – 6 through May through October
Super Sweet corn cobs, butternut and winter squash, onions, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, green beans, watermelons, cantaloupes and pumpkins and beautiful ornamentals overwhelmed my senses.
Mom’s San Benito Heirloom Tomato Soup
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 med. onion, finely chopped (about 1 c.)
4 tbsp. Pietra Santa Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp. fresh ground Sea Salt
4-5 lbs Swank Farms Extra Ripe Heirloom Tomatoes, blanched, skins and stems removed
1 handful fresh Basil leaves, finely chopped
4-6 baked herbed croutons
Over medium heat, in a large pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until garlic is slightly toasted and onion becomes translucent. Remove pot from burner, and holding tomatoes over the pot to catch the juices, cut tomatos into chunks and release into pot. Replace pot over burner and increase heat to medium. Add sea salt. Cook at a gentle boil until tomato juices are released. Stir often pressing tomato pieces against side of pot to crush, about 12-14 minutes. With electric emulsifier (or let mixture cool and process in a blender in small batches), until smooth. Add basil and fresh ground pepper to taste. Heat through.
To serve, pour into individual soup bowls and float crouton on top.
Makes 4-6 servings or approximately 6 cups.
Theresa and her husband Jim, own and operate Night Out Limousine Luxury Transportation LLC, the 2007 Chamber of Commerce Service Business of the Year. She is an active member of the Hollister Downtown Association, the San Benito Culinary and Hospitality Foundation, and the San Benito County Tourism Committee. She can be reached at [email protected]
