The way home
The boys I spent the past week on Cape Cod.
As the sun set on Old Silver Beach in Falmouth, we made our way from the beach loaded
in our car with newly salted skin and the delicious faint smell of sunblock. As
we traverse the Falmouth back roads, we lazily follow a rusted Volvo my eyes
focuses on a faded bumped sticker "I am not telling you it will be easy I
am telling you it will be worth it" The sides are peeling and the color
faded but it seems to sum all things. And by things I mean all things.
Along these roads rests two farm stand spots
that my family has made stops at each day we have left the beach. First being
Tom CORN a farm stand that has rested along 28 since 1978. The boys love the
peaches here and devour them as we make our way to the next stop. The sweet
smell of flowery fruit covered their lips and the juice runs down their swim
shirt. By the time they hit the pit, we have made it to the Tomato Lady, who
sells flowers and herbs, but her prize product are tomatoes red as blood. It
amazes me the difference in taste in a locally grown freshly picked tomato vs.
a store bought. I know this can be said for all produce but for some reason a
tomato seems the most pronounced. Eli and Brody each pick one, which they eat
like apples for the rest of the drive and as the salty Cape wind kisses their
cheeks.
This is a wonderful summer day.
Recipe for locally grown tomatoes
Bread Salad
Ingredients
1 French Baguette
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
15 Local Cherry Tomatoes
15 Small Balls of Mozzarella
4 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
8 Tablespoons good Olive Oil
8 Leaves Basil
Salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic unpeeled
1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
Bread:
Cut the bread into bite size pieces- heat a
skillet and melt the butter add the bread and salt and pepper to taste, remove
from heat when the bread has turned a golden brown.
Dressing:
Preheat oven to 350 place unpeeled garlic
cloves on baking sheet roast for 30 minutes. Remove from heat allow to cool
squeeze out roasted garlic and mash in small bowl mix with mustard olive and
oil and balsamic vinegar
Tomatoes and Mozz:
Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into bite
size pieces
Add the basil
Dress the salad and add bread before you
serve.
This recipe reminds me so much of a time I spent with your family at Mr. and Mrs. Wood's house when Eli was so little that you had to stuff towels into his bouncy Tigger seat to prevent him from bobbling around as he jumped on one foot. On that night, after a long day at the grill and once the deposits were all made, Mr. and Mrs. Wood greeted me with a stack of cold mozzarella, and tomato and basil straight from their garden, drizzled with oily balsamic goodness. Your blog posts capture a lovely feeling of bliss--when food perfectly matches a moment. That appetizer, the feeling of a summer night after a long hot day at the grill, and that image of an infant Eli, I will never forget.
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