This is the way it's been at Duffield's Farm for more than 80 years.
Right now, their 400 acres in Sewell, New Jersey are ripe with summer's bounty. "Our biggest crops are sweet corn, strawberries, peaches and tomatoes of course... These 'Jersey Fresh' tomatoes."
There's also pickles, cucumbers, squash, string beans. Starting Sunday, 30 New Jersey restaurants are plucking the cream of the crop and creating four-course prix fixe menus for the 6th annual "Farm to Fork" week.
"We are in the 'Garden State' and that's who we are and what we do," says Anthony Iannone, owner of Anthony's Restaurant in Haddon Heights. "These farmers do give us so much to work with!"
Chef John Pilarz at Anthony's Restaurant whipped up one of his farm fresh favorites: Corn salsa with a few ears we picked at Duffields.
"You basically husk the corn and you take a very sharp knife and cut the corn right off," Pilarz told us. "I'm going to take a green bell pepper... a quarter of a jalapeno - diced and seeded... a little bit of lemon - a little bit of lime zest... cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix it up, mix it all up!... and serve it up. Try it with grilled shrimp or chicken."
RECIPES
Corn Salsa
Ingredients:
2 ears of corn (cut the corn off of the ears)
1 green pepper (finely diced)
2 oz. of olive oil
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
Juice and zest from 1 lime
¼ jalapeño (finely diced)
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour and then serve. Can be served over grilled chicken or shrimp or fresh fish
Bruschetta
Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes sliced and diced
2 tablespoons of chopped basil
2 oz. of olive oil
1 tablespoon of garlic chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour and then serve. Can be served over grilled chicken or shrimp or fresh fish