While the summer brings us all the familiar crops - June peas, green and yellow beans, shiny eggplants and tender, sweet corn - it is actually in the fall that New England’s produce comes into its own. The New England farm stand, naturally decorated with nature’s bountiful crop of brightly colored leaves, feasts your eyes with mounds of vivid pumpkins, many varieties of variegated gourds and squashes, and barrels of ruby red apples - with their companion jugs of freshly squeezed cider.

The land is not the only source of New England’s abundance. The Pilgrims wrote about the bountiful "fruits of the sea." The early explorers returned to Europe with reports of a vast sea "covered with fish" - fish so plentiful they could be caught simply by lowering a basket into the water. Cape Cod was named after all the cod found swimming in the waters of the area. The cod were accompanied by haddock, striped bass, bluefish, flounder and shellfish in profusion. It was the sea that nourished the early settlers and, although no longer so plentiful, New Englanders still consider seafood a staple.

Today, much of the present day cooking can be traced to the English origin of the settlers who landed on Plymouth Rock and to the kind of food they found in the area when they arrived. The Pilgrims were helped by Native Americans. They learned that sugar (often in the form of maple syrup) provided added protection for the body during the bitter winters.

Blueberries (along with cranberries and Concord grapes) grow in profusion throughout New England and, when they are in season, we eat them fresh and use them to make all kinds of wonderful treats. Pancakes made with fresh plump blueberries and drenched with pure maple syrup is a treat that will long be remembered. The maple syrup should be heated gently and served hot.

Cranberries and blueberries are interchangeable in most recipes. The only difference is that cranberries are more tart than blueberries and usually require additional sugar.

Boston brown bread, traditionally made in 1-lb. coffee cans, is served with Boston Baked Beans. The baked beans were popular with the early colonists because their beliefs did not permit them to work on the Sabbath. The beans could be prepared ahead, from navy beans, onions, molasses, salt pork and spices, and provided good nutrition during the New England winters.

Clams are a favorite of New Englanders. Softshell clams are often served as "steamers" for a very casual meal or appetizer. Hardshell clams, or quahogs, also known as littlenecks or cherry stones - are delicious served raw.

New England clam chowder is justly famous. An equally delicious chowder can be made from fish that’s available all year.

The New England boiled dinner is a classic that has changed very little over the years. Tasty, hearty and nutritious it consists of corned beef brisket and vegetables, usually potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage and turnip. I have a friend whose New England boiled dinner is so good he could open a restaurant, serve only the boiled dinner and it would always be crowded.

Harvard beets, a New England favorite, extends the rivalry between Harvard and Yale. It seems as if the rivalry extends even to the way beets should be cooked. The Harvard version is made with vinegar; the Yale version is made with a mixture of orange and lemon juice.

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