Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Man vs. Food in the 'Cuse

I can't believe they let this man loose in the 'Cuse.  I mean, how great is it that Adam Richman, of Man vs. Food, came here to take on some of the iconic eats of our area?  For the Travel Channel! 

I must confess, I hadn't watched this program till now--I'm a member of Slow Food.  So spoiler alert:  Richman doesn't visit our sustainable, locavore establishments to consume mass quantities of heirloom tomatoes and pork belly two ways.  He does, however, visit places that are known for throwing down some down-home delicious food.  So of course, he hits up the Dinosaur, and Heids of Liverpool, and then a surprise to me, Mother's Cupboard. 

That last one is a surprise because I'm always complaining about the lack of really good breakfast joints around here.  I mean, really good breakfast, because if I'm going to leave my routine, I want it to be good.  Richman's visit culminates in his attempt to tackle the 6 pound frittata at Mother's. 

If any of you have had this thing, drop me a comment--it looks amazing!  We're talking a pound of potatoes chunked up into home fries, broccoli, sausage, onions, pepperoni, and just a few eggs to hold it together.  It is massive and though I watched the episode on a full stomach, it still made me hungry.

You can check out the episode when it airs tomorrow night at 9pm on the Travel Channel.  Richman is hilarious, he shows up Syracuse for the great place it is and he even taught me a few things about these food institutions that I hadn't known before.  Plus you'll want to see how he fares against that enormous frittata.  

Man vs. Food, Travel Channel (channel 41 on Time Warner in our area) 9:00pm, September 1.

Photo courtesy of the Travel Channel website.

What basket are your eggs in?

Food recalls, contamination, problems in the "food supply"--these are fairly common news items these days.  It is unfortunate, to say the least.  I wasn't even going to comment on the latest salmonella outbreak, but the story of billions of eggs being recalled remains at the top of the newscast. 

I wasn't going to comment because we  have been here before.  In fact, if you dig a little deeper you'll find recalls and questions about our food safety are being raised all of the time.  This time it is eggs--but remember the spinach scare of 2006?  Did you miss the spinach recall last month?  Beef, chicken, pork--they've had their day too.

But here's what really got me:  when I heard the story being pitched as a problem with the FDA and our system of inspection I nearly lost it.  The problem isn't whether we have enough inspectors to catch the problems in the food supply--the problem IS the food supply.

As commenters on my previous post have stated--we are so glad we have access to good local eggs.  Many of us, even when not purchasing eggs produced by organic feed supplemented, pasture raised hens, have access to, and can afford to buy local eggs.  Why would we buy eggs from Iowa?  Why would we think confinement factory chickens would only produce problems concerning meat chickens and not the eggs laid by the hens? 

I know that buying local eggs is no guarantee against food-borne illness.  But I also have the email addresses and phone numbers of the three farms that produce the eggs I usually purchase so if there ever was to be a problem it wouldn't take too long to get to the bottom of it. 

I just have to wonder, how many recalls, sick people, and wasted food will we have to endure before we realize that our "conventional" food system isn't working?  Small family farms--as much as I rely on them--aren't the total answer to feeding the voracious American appetite either, but between these two poles there has to be a better way.

How Good We Have It

My last post was titled, "How I like to start my day".  The photo above shows what can come after breakfast.  (I'm in there somewhere on the shores of Oneida lake just prior to the start of the Iron Girl Triathlon.)  If this blog has been extra quiet, it is partly due to the time that I transferred from blogging to swimming, biking and running. 

Though I've gained lots of new skills, met some amazing new friends, and have caught the triathlon bug, what hasn't changed is my need to eat--and to eat a lot, especially during high volume training.  I've always loved Jen Ward's Fresh Cracked Pepper blog, but now I'm needing to comb her archives for more great recipes like home made energy bars.  In case you didn't know, Jen and her husband relocated to San Diego where she writes the web content for a cool new triathlon magazine named Lava.  She continues to write about food for them too. 

More than just updating you on my recent activity, I wanted this post to be a big "thank you" note to all of the great food producers who have been fueling my workouts.  If I had a sponsor, I only half kid that it is Mu Mu Muesli.  They are such health nuts over there and I don't know how I'd get through some of my morning workouts without them. 

But then there are all the amazing organic produce growers like Monarch and Sundance farms near Skaneateles), and distributors like Finger Lakes Family Farms who bring pasture-raised meats, milk, cheese, and Red Jacket juices to the Regional Market.  This summer is filled with great memories of snacking on sugar snap peas, and fluffy omelets filled with local Swiss chard and one of the several Wake Robin cheeses we always have on hand.  And Flour City Pasta takes carb-loading to a new level.

Places like the Syracuse Real Food Co-op and Green Planet Grocery kept me stocked in organic grains for the bread I've been baking each week.  And when a 7:00am pool session and early work meetings prevented me from making lattes at home, the guys over at Funk 'n Waffles pulled some beautiful shots of Gimme! and kept me going.  And when time for cooking eluded me, Sakana-ya was a go-to place for nutritionally balanced meals on the go.

This is just a sampling of all the goodness that is available and aren't we lucky?  I mean, even on a gray, stormy day like today it is hard to imagine a better place to call home.  The incredible food we have access to and the phenomenal multisport community make Syracuse and Central New York a spectacularly special place to be--and I promise, that's not just the endorphins talking!

How I like to Start my Day

Recently I read somewhere that breakfast is the one meal where most folks don't deviate very much.  I can testify to that.  I'm happy eating pretty much the same breakfast for years at a time--seriously.  Right now I have two primary breakfast meals in rotation.  Breakfast one is a bowl of Mu Mu Muesli, fresh fruit, soy or cow's milk, and if I'm feeling really "crazy" I'll throw in a small scoop of Mountain Rise granola or some from Tierra Farms.  This is my power breakfast and several times a week I'll get up at 4:30am in order to get this meal in before a long bicycle ride or a race. 

Breakfast two is sunflower seed butter on toast with sliced bananas.  If I've had a particularly hard workout or race I'll eat breakfast one pre-race and breakfast two post-race.  And maybe half of a walnut cranberry scone from Rock Hill Bakehouse for a treat.

What never really changes, until recently, is my coffee.  If I'm in a rush, it's a cup of French press.  If I have more time, I'll pull some shots for a latte.  These are the drinks that start my day (along with two glasses of water).  But now that I've fallen in love with Forty Weight Coffee Roasters out of Brooktondale, my morning has been filled with ever-changing variety.

Founder Andrew Ballard moved to the Finger Lakes area after some time in Seattle.  After years of wanting to enter the world of coffee roasting he finally created Forty Weight.  If you're tired of the same old, same old super standardization of espresso, then Andrew is your guy.  Fair-trade, check.  Small batch roasted--yup.  Full-on flavor--absolutely.

Most Saturdays I get to the CNY Regional Market and look for Forty Weight--often in C shed--and ask to taste one of the many roasts that Andrew and his crew is pouring that day--Guatemalan, Ethiopian, Sumatran, Costa Rican--and a few more are usually on offer.  He's got a full set up--multiple grinders, press pots, and drip situation going.  You can taste most everything he's got if he hasn't run out.  If you don't have a grinder at home, he'll grind his freshly roasted beans for you. 

Then comes the inevitable question--what's in the espresso blend this week?  I've had maybe six or seven of Andrew's espresso blends and they are never the same.  This is not by accident.  Andrew seems to enjoy playing with all the possible blends for espresso and each time I fall in love with one, I have to be almost Zen-like in being willing to love it and let it go.  Because it isn't coming back.  And that's okay because when you have a roaster who is as dedicated as Andrew, you learn to trust the roaster.  Each time I pick up a bag for my espresso I learn something and treasure it even more. 

And that's perhaps Andrew's greatest gift--he and his crew set up at the market and teach us to love coffee in all of its complexity, nuance, and creativity.  The blends can change at Andrew's whim as long as the quality remains high and what ends up in my cup is delicious--because I really drink coffee for the taste--and it had better be good.

Check out Forty Weight Coffee Roasters at the CNY Regional Market on Saturdays and at their website here.

Dey's Market--A dream whose time has come

If you enjoy the funky and urbane atmosphere of Armory Square in downtown Syracuse with all of its independent businesses, great restaurants, and cool apartments, then you can thank Bob Doucette--one of the visionaries beyond this Syracuse gem.  Bob didn't just visualize this downtown district, but working with other imaginative leaders, he put his real estate developer money and moxie behind it to make it happen.

Now its time for Bob to make another of his dreams come true--the opening of a full-time market in downtown focused on providing local and sustainably grown produce, meats, fish, cheese and dairy products, baked goods, pasta, coffee and tea, and other food stuffs.  There will also be a teaching kitchen.  If you've been to Pikes Place market in Seattle or any of the great public markets like Reading Terminal Market in Philly--then you get the idea--just on a smaller scale.  Here's how he puts it:

Our goal is provide fresh food that comes from goods grown or raised within a 100-mile radius whenever possible.  In addition to promoting sustainable living, an important part of our mission is to increase the growth of Central New York’s agricultural economy as well.  We as a community are extraordinarily fortunate to have access to have such high quality food grown close by, and so we must support our local farms by buying their products and opening up new markets to them.  As such, we intend to showcase many quality foods grown or raised locally at the market. 

Dey's Fresh Market is poised to be game-changer for downtown Syracuse.  There are increasingly good options for obtaining the great local foods of our area but none downtown.  Folks who live downtown currently have no place to shop where they can reliably purchase food to make a meal.  I live a block west of downtown and have to get in the car to get milk--that's crazy. 

Dey's Fresh Market will bring the fantastic vendors of our farmers markets to one location all year long.  But to make it happen, Bob is looking for creative and visionary vendors who want to invest in this dream.  If you are interested in selling at the market--or know someone who would be a good fit--contact Armory Development and Management for more information and a tenant application.  Note, if the products is not food related, it will not be permitted for sale at this market.  

Armory Development
108 W. Jefferson Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
Contact: Robert Doucette
Telephone: 422-5381

Back in Gear

My distractions continue--swimming and triathlon training are a bit off topic from this blog but that's where I've been. But a drive through the Finger Lakes and one of my last days of vacation have brought me back to my senses--meaning the smell, taste, and beautiful sights of our region. Don't tell my tri coach but I just had a dish of salted caramel ice cream at Cayuga Lake Creamery chased down by a wine tasting at Eleven Lakes Winery--both on route 89. Don't worry, because I'm still in training (taper no less), I took full advantage of the spit bucket. I hope to post more on Eleven Lakes soon but had to post a little something from the road. I love what they are doing--it was their Cab Franc that we used to wash down the amazing Zach pizza from Niles Country Bistro. We left today with a bottle of their Crooked Lake Red, a semi dry red blend. This one year old winery is one to watch.

Green Planet Grocery Opens in Fairmount!

Consider this Grocery News Week.  This is the first of several postings on all the exciting news happening on the grocery store front.

So you know "these times they are a-changin'" when an independent grocery store specializing in healthy, local, and organic opens on the west side of town.  This one caught me off guard but I couldn't be happier about this new addition to the food scene here in Syracuse.

Located on West Genesee Street in Fairmount (across from the Wegmans, Target, etc.at Fairmount Fair and next door to Metro Mattress) Green Planet Grocery opened last Saturday.  A quick run through yielded some pics and the following observations about what is on the shelves:

• Shelf space for Flour City Pasta--now you can get them every day of the week!
• A bulk selection with more flours than I've seen in one place  in a long time (it could go toe to toe with Whole Foods and even the Berkeley Bowl on that front).  There were flours I'd never seen in bulk.  They have panko bread crumbs in bulk--I'm impressed.  As for cereal, they carry Mu Mu Muesli in bulk too.
• Remembrance Farm greens (Trumansburg)

• Other things of note:  A juice bar is on the way and a raw food chef is on deck so I'm imagining delicious juices and smoothies!  Also, lots of parking (which given the area, matters a lot.) 

Their hours are Monday-Saturday, 8am - 10pm and Sundays 10am - 8pm.  Check them out!

The store has a bright and airy feel.

Do you see this bulk aisle?  Those are the flours on the bottom--makes me want to bake like crazy!

Recess Coffee is among several roasters they carry.

There it is--Flour City Pasta--now you can get it when you can't get to the Regional Market--any day of the week!

Love the chalkboard signage.

Green Planet Grocery, 3514 W. Genesee Street., Syracuse NY 13219

Foodie Town? This is part of what it takes...

 

Take a look at any city where there is a high appreciation of food and wine and you'll find some common elements:  access to great ingredients, diners with curious palates, risk-taking chefs, and places to learn and experiment.  Believe it or not but Syracuse has all of those things.  The Syracuse Community Test Kitchen is the special place where all of these come together.

Since its opening in March 2008 the Test Kitchen, located in the South Side Innovation Center, has been an incubator for entrepreneurial cooks looking to take their favorite home recipe to the big time of retail sales.  More recently, it seems, its mission has expanded to get as many people in the doors to learn, experiment, and get access to the great food resources of Central New York.

First, there are the cooking classes.  Abigail Henson, a sous chef at the Restaurant at Elderberry Pond in Auburn (and writer for Edible Finger Lakes magazine's Syracuse section) is on tap to teach a class Thursday night featuring healthy recipes made with whole grains and seasonal vegetables. 
Her menu includes Quinoa Swiss Chard Casserole, Cilantro Pesto Potato Salad, Zippy Greens with Horseradish Dressing and the "Not so Deviled Egg".  How great is that?  Well, what's great is that she'll be teaching to a capacity crowd and that there are 32 more classes featuring 11 chefs slated for late summer/fall.

Second, the Test Kitchen is the latest pick up spot for CNY Bounty.  In fact, it is the only pick up spot in the city of Syracuse at this time.  CNY Bounty brings some of the best dairy, baked goods, meats, and prepared foods straight to you.  Several years ago I remember having to drive all around the region to get some of these products.  Now all you have to do is place your order and pick up your haul.  Place your order by Monday the 21st and you can pick it up at the Test Kitchen on Thursday the 24th.

This is all such great progress.  I began this blog over 5 years ago and am constantly amazed at how much growth there has been in that time.  The Test Kitchen is just one more critical piece of the puzzle of what it will take to transform and strengthen our food scene.  Sign up for a class, pick up your Bounty, download a recipe from previous classes, and check out the cool things that are going on there.  And Believe.

Syracuse Test Kitchen, 2610 S. Salina Street Syracuse, NY 13205 (Salina at Brighton--next door to the Dunk and Bright showroom)

Delicious Karma

I like good karma as much as anyone but what I'm all about these days is the delicious karma!  Behold my latest obsession:  Karma Bakery's chocolate chunk walnut cookie.  You can meditate on it or you can get yourself one of their cookies and experience true bliss.

Karma Bakery, out of Auburn, is a small operation run by Karmen Canestaro.  With a mission that is all about good health, local and organic ingredients, and putting out real, delicious food, Karma Bakery is quickly becoming the darling of the CNY Regional Market.

I've not had one of the beautiful multi-grain loaves they sell but I'm all over the cookies.  I love the banana nut and peanut butter versions but the chocolate chunk walnut cookie is so good, it has me at the market before 7:00 am to pick up or reserve my stash before they sell out.  There is something about the slightly nutty taste of spelt flour, ground oats, walnuts and slabs of dark chocolate chunks that takes me to a happy place.  There are other healthy ingredients in there like flax meal and maple syrup (no refined sugar or agave--check out their website to read why). I can serve them to my vegan friends without worry and to my non-vegan friends without apology.

All I know is that after a busy day of work, a long run or other training session, and the other things life throws my way, sitting down to a cup of tea and a bite of one of these cookies is the best karma there is.

You can buy Karma Bakery's cookies and breads at the Regional Market on Saturdays from 7am-1pm and beginning this week you should also be able to find them at the Syracuse Real Food Co-op.

10 Things I'm Loving about Syracuse

Lately I've been walking and biking around Syracuse exclaiming--"What a great place to live!"  While it can be too easy to be the jaded and cynical Central New Yorker who complains laments that there is nothing new under the sun here there is a lot that is quite exciting.  So here's a little 'Cuse love (and no, I'm not collecting a paycheck from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau).

1.    In the last few months 12 restaurants have opened up in downtown Syracuse.  Not across the city--just in downtown alone!  I ducked into a couple of them today and can't wait to get back for a proper meal.  I'll post first impressions as I do.  These tiny, and not so tiny, eateries span the gamut from diner to Lebanese to real Brooklyn-style Pizza (with 1970s era pinball machine to match).  

Darwin on Clinton is an off-shoot of Riley's (the neighborhood restaurant every neighborhood wants to have).  David and Daryl have put together an extensive sandwich menu that will change often.  They're open from 9am -2:30 pm Mon-Fri--and later on Fridays when do their Fish Fry Frydays).  I'm looking at those cafe tables on a nice day like today and thinking "this is THE spot!"

It is easy to forget how large an area the Mediterranean really is.  For Byblos, it is centered on Lebanon so their menu not includes baklava and spanakopita but Labneh, a delicious Lebanese cheese dip made from yogurt.  They also brew up Turkish coffee.

2.  The Downtown Farmer's Market is now at Clinton Square.  On a day like today, with bright sun and a nice breeze, Clinton Square seems like the best place to be for Tuesday market shopping.  Actually, the market was a Clinton Square a couple of decades ago so this is a bit of a homecoming.  Today I picked up some early season, local, strawberries and was delighted to discover that Second Story Cafe will be at the market this year.  They are serving up delicious iced Gimme! coffee (and selling bags of Gimme's latest roasts), cookies, fresh, cool, salads, and Ciao Bella gelato sandwiches (ice cream sandwiches for grown-ups).  

3.  Cycling.  I went out with a friend yesterday and biked from downtown, to the Westcott Nation to the Jamesville quarry and then back home to downtown and it was glorious!  That I could be out in what at times felt like the middle of nowhere with incredible views of hills and valleys and then down in the Monday morning rush hour of commuting traffic downtown in the space of 30 minutes just stuns me.  

4.  There are places where people know your name.  I walked into Sakana-Ya (downtown) for lunch yesterday and was greeted like a long-lost friend by Yurah--it was like coming home.  She said it had been a long time since I'd been in and she was right--a month is WAY too long to go without their delicious sushi--never again!  And the new Korean fusion place next door, Namu, is owned by the same family.

5.  As a rule, I'm picky about my sausages and hot dogs.  But there was one at the Taste of Syracuse that I absolutely had to try--it was Lieh's and Steigerwald's chicken wing sausage.  Because you know, one has to wonder how they get the wing in there.  But OMG--what this is is the best of a buffalo wing with the blue cheese dipping sauce folded right in.  It sounds crazy and it totally works.  You all have probably been eating these for years so I'm a little late.  I must get a pack of them right away!

6.  The Saturday CNY Regional Market.  I know--I haven't always shown the love for this market but though it can still be tricky to navigate, there is a lot of wonderful stuff there.  Like Keeley's farmstead cheese.  I let a slice of this Brida melt on top of a burger that rested on a toasted English muffin slathered with caramelized onion fig jam--incredible!

7.  This is a community that rallies when help is needed.  I recently received a Facebook message that the grant program that puts fresh food into one of our local public schools was being threatened because the school didn't meet the new criteria for poverty.  What?  Farmer and school teacher Megan Luton is trying to do something about it.  Become a friend of Stones Throw Farm on Facebook and find out how you can help.

8.  Stretch Bread.  There's nothing like it.  And it's ours. 

9.  Onondaga Lake.  Yes it still has a long way to go to get cleaned up but how lucky are we to have such a beautiful body of water in the midst of our city?  I've been spending Saturday mornings cycling around the lake and have even gotten out there on a Sunday at 7am to "Listen to the Lake" as a form of meditation and healing for this precious resource.  As I watch what is going on with the gulf oil spill, I'm especially thankful to those who have been working tirelessly to correct the environmental wrongs we have done to Lake Onondaga.  And if you watch and listen carefully you'll see there is reason to be hopeful.

10.  The Syracuse Real Food Co-op is really moving!  Have you seen the preliminary store drawings?  I know they'll change but my it is exciting.  Go Co-op!