I've been in the restuarant business for nearly 9 years now, and I have never worked with produce as beautiful as I've been getting this year. Working at the U of M, I've got access to Cornercopia, the student-run organic farm on the St. Paul campus, where they're growing cool things like currants, new types of strawberries that are still being developed and aren't available to the public, bright orange Turkish eggplants, and as of last week, the farm's first three pretty little eggs. Light blue, and pink, they're straight out of an airbrushed issue of Martha Stewart, only real!As the Minnesota State Fair approaches, and I start seeing apples and squash showing up on my order guides, I want to gather every crazy-shaped, sweet, juicy heirloom tomato in our cooler, and just . . . just hug them, really. There is nothing worse than a store-bought tomato, unless it's from the co-op, and even that's really not the same. I bought some heirlooms at the St. Paul Farmer's Market a week ago and cut thick, misshapen slices for a hummus sandwich on pita bread. I tucked in some crunchy lettuce and whole basil leaves from my herb garden, and chowed down. Tomato juice ran down my arms, to my elbows as I gobbled it down, giddy with summer. It goes by too fast.
