A Summer's Bounty

Sometimes even planning to prepare a dish, when you couldn’t ask for anything more than that container filled with the ripened, juicy tomatoes sitting upon your kitchen counter can seem overwhelming to the home cook.  I recall one of the first trips I took to a summertime farmers market as if I were in a race, snatching up an abundance of sweet ears of corn, cucumbers galore, and even one produce item I truly could not name one dish to prepare with it, rhubarb.

But then it hit me; a lady sampling her homemade jams running one of the stands I had stumbled across handed me a piece of crusty toast smothered with one jam flavor in particular, strawberry-rhubarb.   I peered down in my bag full of fruit and vegetables and gazed particularly at the rhubarb for a moment.  While the delectable flavor of the jam remained in my mouth, I thought to myself, why not try my hand at preparing my very own?

Remember to head to the Westford Farmer’s Market on the Common, open on Tuesdays from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.  Whether or not you are trying a fruit or vegetable for the first time, the farmers have an abundance of knowledge willingness to answer your questions on proper storage or even various preparation techniques with regard to their produce.   Also, here are some wonderful dishes to try out with your next bounty and impress your summertime party patrons!