Fresh, glorious produce in the Hudson Valley has never been a problem, thanks to the numerous farms in the area farming this rich land. In fact, I was just watching Splash the other night (a great compromise for a mermaid obsessed daughter and her mom who wants to watch rom-coms), and the produce pier in New York City that is run by Tom Hanks gets a shipment in of cherries from upstate NY.
Finding good produce at Key Food has been possible since the new family of owners came in five years ago, but this summer they stepped it up by bringing in farm fresh lettuce, corn, purple bell peppers, green and yellow squash, carrots, scallions and tomatoes from a farm in the Garden State itself, New Jersey. Other big grocery stores in our area have brought in farms, including Hannaford during the Fall when winter squashes are harvested locally. You also might notice it at your own Whole Foods when they label which farms they are working with.


The selection of independent and interesting brands still pops up with surprises on Key Food's shelves in Beacon, like the "Don't Bake It, Eat It" cookie dough from The Cookie Dough Cafe found in the dairy section next to the traditional roll of Nestle cookie dough. But The Cookie Dough Cafe's brand of cookie dough, branded as "gourmet edible cookie dough" is much, much tastier and creamier. With more vanilla and butter in every bite, you can select from chocolate chip, monster (which is M&Ms and chocolate chips), and an Oreo cookie flavor. With a butter/sugar base, it easily turns into a spreadable frosting on these freshly baked Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies for a summer cookout.

You may feel compelled to pick one of all of this produce and then cook up a summer salad with fried mushrooms, scallions, squash and salmon! You'll need it if you OD on the cookie dough...