Cookin' in the 'Cuse

I want one of these...

for Syracuse.

It actually comes from a cool grocery named Farm to Market--we already have one of those--we call it the Syracuse Real Food Co-op.  But I just had to have this t-shirt.  So if you see me sporting it around the 'Cuse just know that it is a placeholder till I get one from the 315. For what it's worth--here's the front:

Oh, and please excuse the hazy iPhone pics...

The Least I Can Do

I know exactly how it happened.  I got busy and the beets began to pile up.  They began to pile up on top of the piles of carrots.  They were making it impossible to fit another celery root in the vegetable bin.  I got too busy because...well, that's just how life is too often.  You know how it is.  But I couldn't let my busyness mess up all the good work the farmers had done--good, hard work. 

Six years ago I lamented that our produce CSAs (community supported agriculture farms) are mostly half-year affairs in our area.  Over the past few years, several year-round CSAs have popped up--joining long-standing Blue Heron Farm in providing local produce all year long--but they are still rare for the most part. As I listen to some of my farmer friends collapse with gratitude at the season's end (especially this past difficult growing season) I'm not anxious to make them work any harder than they already do. 

I only recently figured out that if I can and freeze all the bounty that I get from June-October, I not only get to feast all year long on local produce but I effectively get a year-long CSA program.  So one night a couple of weeks ago, I worked long into the wee hours scrubbing, sterilizing jars, and canning countless beets.  I did it because I didn't want all those beets to go to waste.  I did it because the thought of adding chunks of deep purple summer flavor to my winter meals just makes me happy.  And I did it because I can think of no better way to say "thank you" to the folks who grew those beets than to eat and enjoy every one of them.  It is, afterall, the least I can do.

Stand With Us--Tomorrow at 3:30 at Henninger High School

Tomorrow at 3:30 we hope to have 1200 members of the Syracuse Metro community gather for the ACTS Public Meeting at Henninger High School.  ACTS is the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse and it is our local inter-faith community organizing group.  Why am I posting about it on this blog?  Because tomorrow we are going to ask our state officials and Syracuse mayoral candidates to stand with us and make some changes around food access.

Maybe I've just been living in my own little world but until recently I didn't know that it is NOT illegal for corner stores to sell unexpired food.  Apparently there are no ordinances on the books that require these corner stores to sell any percentage of actual groceries--lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer make up the majority of sales.  For the South Side of Syracuse these issues are all the more shameful because there is no actual grocery store in that neighborhood. 

I thought the issue was bad enough when I understood that there was a huge food desert in the midst of our city.  It got worse when I understood how few people (children and elderly particularly) have little in the way of transportation to get them to, say, the Wegman's in Dewitt or the Regional Market--not without the trip taking the better part of a day, anyway.  But when I came to understand that the food available to them is more often than not, over a year past date--well I was through.

So if you have some time tomorrow afternoon come and stand with us to show our community and elected officials that we care.  Stand with us to show them that selling cereal that expired in June 2008 is unacceptable.  Stand with us and show them that a supermarket is needed in ALL parts of our city.  Come and support Mable Wilson (of the Newell Street Garden and Syracuse Grows) and show her that she and her community do not stand alone.

ACTS Public Meeting, Sunday, November 1

Henninger High School --600 Robinson St, Syracuse, NY 13206

I came, I ate, I had a Ball!

This was item number one on my still unpublished autumnal foodie bucket list--hitting the annual Testicle Festival at Rileys.  I finally made it yesterday for lunch and I have to say, I don't know whether it was the balls or the good company but after dancing on the edge of the flu this weekend I'm feeling MUCH better!  This is the last week for you to go nuts at Rileys so if you haven't checked out this neighborhood gem in a while--now is the time.  Their entire menu (which changes fairly often) is also great so you can go and have a great salad or salmon, or burger.  But for the record--the balls were delicious!  

Rileys  312 Park Street, Syracuse, NY 13203-1532
(315) 471-7111

Salt City Urban Art and Craft Market--This Saturday!

I've been looking forward to this for months!  If you remember my holiday shopping list from last year, then you'll know that having 40 of the best independent designers, artists and crafters from the area coming to Syracuse to sell their wares is a great thing.  This is a wonderful way to support our local talent.  I'm going to plan an early day at the Regional Market (well, my usual 7:30 am) to restock on muesli, yogurt, and biscotti, and then get to the Salt City Market to do a quick perusal before a work commitment--then back to the market in the afternoon to shop for real.

Check it out and support our local artists!

Salt City Urban Art and Craft Market, Saturday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Case Supply Building is located at 112 Wyoming St, between W. Fayette & Marcellus.

Rest in Peace Gourmet, and Thanks

So I'm away at a retreat center in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC--in a media blackout of sorts. But the sad news of the shuttering of Gourmet magazine reached me and  I am saddened beyond belief.  

There were rumors of Gourmet's pending demise earlier this year but I was unbelieving.  I understand the issues around ad pages and revenue streams and all the difficulties of paper journalism in these days but friends, we have lost more than a magazine.  We've lost an icon.  

Gourmet magazine was inspiration, beautiful photography, deep thought pieces on food politics and sustainability, and a connection to food around the world that was rarely surpassed.  And above all, Gourmet was motivation to fire up the gas burners, bring out the chopping boards and cook till no tomorrow.  A quick scan through many recipes here at Cookin' in the 'Cuse easily reveals my bias and love for Gourmet.

Before I left for this retreat I cooked up a big pot of stew from a recipe Ruth Reichl published in her memoir, Tender at the Bone.  It was her delicious pork and tomatillo stew from her days in Berkeley.  Though I had loved Gourmet for decades, I thought Ruth made it something really exceptional.  I wish her and all those who will be seeking new employment in the wake of this and other closures at Conde Nast all the best.  I hope we will be hearing from you again real soon.

HomeGrown-- Showing at Westcott Community Center this Saturday

Image courtesy of HomeGrown Website

Yes, it does seem that foodie flicks are all the rage these days.  It has been a veritable feast lately and now we have one more to add to our plates. 

"Homegrown is the inspiring true story of a family "living off the grid" in the heart of
urban Pasadena, California. They harvest over 6,000 pounds of produce on less
than a quarter of an acre, while running a popular website that is known around the world. The film is an intimate human portrait of what it's like to live like "Little House on the Prairie" in the 21st Century."

This film is showing in very limited release in our area.  Check it out SATURDAY at the Westcott Community Center.  Showings are at 10:30 am and 12:30 p.m. only. 

I'll be away doing continuing education and won't be able to make it, so if you go post a comment and tell us all about it.  For more information about the film check out the website here.

Big thanks to our friends at the Alchemical Nursery Project for bringing this film to the 'Cuse!

Farewell Summer

Can you believe it?  With just 24 hours and 12 minutes remaining of summer I have to ask:  where did the summer go?

I'll admit, though, that I'm ready to trade stories of tomato blight for tales of harvest.  And mindful of how things tend to wrap up. close down, go on hiatus during the crisp days of autumn I want to be a bit more intentional about enjoying as much as there is to offer as I can.

Stay tuned for my Fall Foodie Bucket List--things I HAVE to do/food I HAVE to eat before the end of autumn.

Excuse me, but...

I've seemed to have misplaced my blogging mojo.

 
Not sure what it's about.  It's a busy time of year; I'm too busy reading and running.  I'm tired of the computer.  So what else is new?  It isn't that there isn't anything to say--it is just the simple motivation to open up the Typepad software and say it that seems to be lacking.  What with all that's going on--the markets are bursting forth--the SU market is on for the next few Fridays--very cool; lots of foodie events and lots of good food to enjoy.  Lots of wine to comment on...  And yet...

So here I am with a meandering post about what I cooked today. 

I've got a book club meeting tonight--always a food and wine-filled affair.  But tonight we're discussing Tender at the Bone--Ruth Reichl's autobiography.  I can't believe I hadn't read it till now but I've been eating it up, as they say.  In addition to reading the book, we're supposed to bring a dish from our childhood.  Easier said than done.

I don't eat the way I used to when I was a child but I have lots of memories of cooking with my Mom and one of the biggest treats we could have for dinner was "real macaroni and cheese".  That meant, it didn't come out of a blue box.  It meant splurging on real cheddar cheese and cutting cubes of it while waiting for the elbows to cook and then sprinkling the orange dice over the macaroni so that it got all melty and cheesey in the oven.  We LOVED this dish.

So I'm bringing some tonight.  Trouble is, I'm almost positive that what I made today is not what my Mom used to make.  (She's helping people vote today and I couldn't ask her).  But I knew to keep it simple--we didn't have much money and the cheese was already a decadant purchase.  Nevertheless, I couldn't help myself and I made a little bechemel--but on the cheap the way we would have done it had I known what bechemel was back in the 9th grade.  About a cup of milk, a little flour, a dash of nutmeg, salt and pepper, and a handful of diced cheddar thrown in at the end.  I even "whisked" in the flour with a fork--kickin' it old school-style.

I boiled up some elbow macaroni, mixed it with some cheddar cut into dice, poured the "bechemel" sauce over it and mixed it gently.  Then spooned it into a baking dish (greased with a bit of butter) and added some more cheese on top to bake later.  In deference to my new eating habits, I omitted the pats of butter on top.

After that was done--took about 20 minutes--seemed to take FOREVER when I was a kid--I made lunch.

 

Again, boiled some water for some whole wheat spaghetti, sauteed some just-picked Sungolds in a bit of olive oil till they began to burst, chopped two large garlic cloves--threw that into the pan, added salt and pepper and then mixed in the spaghetti.  A warm slice of walnut levain procured from Manhattan the other day made for a simple, delicious, lunch that was so of the moment.

Now I'm off to go find that mojo--I know its around here somewhere...

Taking it long and slow

There is so much I need to post about here but time seems to constantly elude me.  Last week--or maybe it was before that--I was inspired by the current issue of Edible Finger Lakes to make something of the cipollini onions that came in my CSA share from Stones Throw Farm.  I super-slow roasted these little orbs until they were crispy-caramelized on the outside and tender but still slightly crunchy inside.  At 200 degrees I could have the oven on without heating the whole house.  And with a three hour slowwww cooking time my hands were free to do other things.  (Michael Welch from EFL says they shouldn't take that long but I may like my cipollinis extra tender.)

As it turns out olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey is a great combination for lots of other veggies too--I see lots of experimentation in my future.

A few simple ingredients:  olive oil, really good aged balsamic vinegar and local honey.

Layer cleaned and trimmed cipolini onions on a bed of rosemary stems--about 4-5 inches in length.

Drizzle onions with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey.  Roast at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours or desired doneness.  Consume as quickly or as slowly as you like--leave time for adequate finger licking.