Summer's Basket Runth Over

Sure complain about the oppressive heat – I will never. As the sun bakes the city's pavement causing us denizens of the urban jungle to pop in and out of over air-conditioned shops my friends working the land scamper to collect their burgeoning harvest. The intense heat and powerful solar conditions takes most of our summer fruits and vegetables to that moment of release. We do our best to reap the pleasure of nature largess just prior to that – unless you are looking for seeds to sow for the future.

As summertime reaches its zenith my senses go into overdrive-- the brilliant colors adorning the markets that no paint chip can every match; the sweet, musty siren’s call of a cantaloupe makes you wonder what went wrong with the supermarket’s offering, and the crunch of all those fruits and vegetables saturated with a sweet libation promising a hangover free happy-hour buzz.

Don’t walk run to the market, and revel in the glorious wealth of our land, heritage and labor.


Marinated Grilled Swordfish - yields 6 servings
2 stalks Lemon Grass
1/2 cup chopped Thai mint - leaves only (or a combination of mint and basil)
1 Red Asian chili - seeds removed and diced (or any hot chili pepper will do)
1 inch long piece of ginger - peeled and finely diced
2 pounds swordfish fillets – cut into serving portions
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil

Trim the lemon grass at its base and then trim off the green top portion. You discard the lemon grass where the green top starts to into fade into white bottom. Finely chop the lemon grass, Thai mint and combine with the chili and ginger. Rub the mixture into the swordfish fillets and wrap each individually in plastic wrap. If you use your hands to spread the marinade onto the swordfish I strongly recommend you wear plastic gloves. Refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.

Pre heat an indoor stove grill or outdoor grill.

Remove the plastic wrap and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a very hot grill for about 10 minutes. Drizzle the sesame over the fillets as they come off the grill.
















Glistening ripeness
.............................Weighted by maturation
.................................................Elated by your gift












Corn Ice Cream – yields approx. 3 quarts

5 ears white corn
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 quarts milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Remove the kernel from their cobs. Puree the corn kernels to liquefy – it should yield approximately 3 cups.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together to a pale yellow.

In a 4 quart sauce pan heat the milk to just the scold – do not let it boil. Then slowly add some the hot milk into the eggs to temper them. Add the egg mixture and pureed corn into the remaining milk, and stir over a medium-low heat to slightly thicken.

Pour the milk mixture through a fine sieve into a container, and chill completely. Stir in the vanilla, and freeze according to your manufacture’s instructions.