Week of August 29, 2021

The harvest season is at its peak and many TAProots DELICACIES are enjoyed by family and friends. Of course the first delicacies of note are the raw fruits themselves, especially the currents, blueberries, blackberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and table grapes, with apples, pears, and Concord grapes yet to ripen. The best fruit is that picked from the tree and enjoyed on the spot, a rare treat for our city-dwelling grandchildren. Of course, freezer and cooked jams are high on the list, with blueberry and nectarine freezer jams and red current, blueberry, and plum cooked jams already in the fruit cellar. Blackberry and peach jams are planned. A special treat is plum sauce, both fresh and frozen as ice cream topping. Another seasonal treat for the grandchildren is pancakes loaded with fresh blueberries and served with maple syrup from the sugar maples above the Lakehouse. Another tradition is the TAProots boil, held at the fire ring at the barn, with a huge boiling pot of local sweet corn on the cob, red potatoes, sausages, onions, jumbo shrimp, cherry stone clams (occasionally lobsters), and gobs of Old Bay and other seasoning, poured out on large platters for the whole family. Another favorite at this time of the year is Caroline’s fresh peach pie with praline topping. These delicacies rapidly create lasting memories of summer in the Finger Lakes.