Lauri Waterfield Fine Art

I love this time of year for the incredible produce, and I found the world's best produce stand when I moved here to Martinsville.

Can't read the signs? Here they are a little larger…

  "These cantaloupes are sweet enough to knock a billy goat brains out?"

 "These honey dews are sweet enough to make a hog to break out of its pen"

Is it any wonder I love this place? Savonne & her daughter Shawna run the place with constant interference from Savonne's husband, Junior, who was responsible for the signs. He also tends to buy the odds and ends that interest him- one year it was brussel sprout plants, last year it was a short stint with eggplant inside- right now it seems to be Cherokee Tomatoes. This one, I have to say, may be a winner.

On the left is a Cherokee tomato, a "heritage"variety and non-hybridized, it's an unusual dusky burgundy color, and I'd have a hard time telling when it was ripe on the vine. (That's the covered, built-in cast iron griddle on my ancient stove. When the Realtor showed me this place, he immediately suggested I replace it with a spiffy new stainless steel one- and I think he was more than a little shocked that I loved this stove right off the bat- it's got a little warming oven on the side too- just made for pancakes on a Sunday morning)

The skin of the Cherokee is a bit tough, like a Roma, but the flesh is like a cross between a mild yellow tomato and an acidy Beefeater. Just right for my favorite lunch- a mater samich & iced tea.

Today's version though, is sans bread (traditionally it would be the freshest white bread available) and the tea "neat" and unsweet. I had driven home with thoughts of that tomato and could hardly get to it fast enough, so I didn't bother with bread or ice. Tonight though, I'll "do it up right", with fresh sweet silver queen corn and butter and another tomato plate, this time what I've started to call "Southern Style Antipasto". Instead of deli meats and pepperoncini, my Southern style is tomato chunks, cucumber and Greek olives with a little Duke's mayo and, to make it "upscale", a dash or two of aged balsamic vinegar. Ahhhhhhh    (Darn! Forgot to get cucumber….)

I'll have fried green tomatoes too! I eat them rarely, because they're such a mess to make (at least for me)- but Collinsville Produce is the only place around that sells green tomatoes- to make for yourself anyway.

 I've been promising myself I'd go to this deli one day. Places that look as non-descript as this usually have the most incredible food. You can't really see the sign in this shot I took from the road, but they always announce the day's special, and today it's Fried Green Tomatoes.

Collinsville Produce also looks pretty plain, even a little run down along the edges, but a real jewel of a find. Pulling open the weathered front door, I'm often greeted with a "Hey Lady!" and a wide-open smile from Savonne. One Mother's day she found herself telling me that she had lost four sons at various ages, and in that moment I was nearly brought to my knees with the thought of the grief endured….yet she has never faltered in giving a smile or sharing a laugh (often at Junior's expense). I go to Collinsville Produce for much more than a sack of tomatoes. Walmart may have cheaper prices on one or two things, but what I get from Savonne & Shawna is priceless. I hope you'll find something similar close to you and support their efforts- you might just get more than you bargained for.

Signs behind the counter: "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Regardless of who you think you are!!"

"Opinions are like secrets they are best kept to yourself"