Indian Summer

We are in the midst of an Indian summer. The weather is so warm and sunny that I crave sea and sand. So with a hop, skip, and a four-hour drive it was off the Hamptons I went yesterday. I dropped by McCarren Park's Greenmarket to stock up on some apples for the trip, and James picked up the CSA goods.

Broccoli
Peppers
Bok Choy
Lettuce
Scarlet queen turnips
Garlic
Onions
Daikon radish
Delicata squash

An interesting and useful array of food. I am really looking forward to the delicata squash. It is like a sweet potato, my favorite kind of potato, and a squash. I am a huge fan of all squash.

I had never been to the Hamptons, and I was pleasantly surprised. The landscape is beautiful and peaceful, dunes filled with wild flowers and blue gray water lapping against the shores of bays and coves. A sharp contrast to the Long Island I know filled with expressways, thruways, highways, parkways, strip malls, and diners. I was however, unimpressed by the obscene amount of wealth. For those of you who were unaware, as I was, the Hamptons are not just rich, but obscenely rich. It is laughable, and a cliché of itself. I rarely passed a car that cost less the 50k. And I passed a lot of cars because that is the preferred mode of transportation. This creates traffic that would make you want to tear your hair out were it not for the ancient trees and salty breezes that roll by. There is so much money there that even the ATM's are expensive. I was offended when the ATM machine asked to charge me $2.50 for my own money. I declined the transaction with an angry push of the button and resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to buy anything from the many farm stands that line Route 27.

I decided to stop and check out a big farm stand anyway to get a vibe for the hood and see what’s growing. Apparently money grows on trees along with everything else. There were a lot of pumpkins, gourds, corn, apples, watermelons, tomatoes, and cabbage was really popular. I also spied some figs and raspberries.





It was called Hayground Farms and a watermelon cost me $11.00. To be fair, it is a huge watermelon, and it is the end of the season. Remember how I didn't have any cash? I shouldn't have worried, farm stands in the Hamptons take plastic. That’s right, you can buy farm fresh corn and pumpkins using Visa, MC or Amex, no Discover though. It worked out well for my mighty watermelon and I.



I drove home with sand between my toes and the watermelon buckled in the back seat. I came home with some great photographs and was grateful to find James had prepared me a dinner of broccoli, roasted chicken, and sea beans. I wish we were always in the midst on an Indian summer.