Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Empire Beer and Whisky Dinner Recap

It seems that every week there are more wonderful things happening in the Syracuse area food scene.  Indeed, there's more cookin' in the 'Cuse than I can handle.  I've always longed to have "field correspondents" who could help report on the various tastings, restaurants, and events that make Syracuse such a great place to be a foodie.  I'm delighted to bring Marty Butts on board with this post on an Empire Brewery event.  Marty is not only well known as the merchandise manager for the Syracuse Real Food Co-op but he's a locavore who's helping to bring about a sustainable food network for Central New York.  Plus, the man can cook, as his Men Who Cook trophy attests.  Welcome Marty!

When Jennifer recently asked me to write an entry for her blog, I felt as if I’d been asked to sit in with my favorite band. Excited, and a little intimidated, I pick up my pen to tell you of the Empire Brewing Company’s Beer & Whiskey Dinner, held June 2.

For $40, attendees were treated to 4 whiskeys and 4 beers, each expertly paired with 4 delicious dishes, each created specifically created for the evening’s festivities. Each course was introduced by Tim Butler, Empire’s Director of Brewing Operations, Jeffrey Lewis, Empire’s Head Chef, and a wonderful and knowledgeable woman who works for a spirits company, who’s name has since escaped me. 4 beers and 4 whiskeys can do that to a fella.

For our first course, we were treated to diver sea scallops in local lavender honey with a pressed couscous salad. I’ve never been a big fan of scallops in the past (the memories of rubbery, tough scallops never does seem to fade, does it?), but these were tender and rich. The dish was matched with one of Empire’s newer beers, the Aphrodisiac Ale (a personal favorite of mine), and Chivas Regal 18 year Blended Scotch Whiskey. The Aphro Ale is a complex and unique beer brewed using fresh ginger, local organic honey, and lavender. All of those flavors showed up in the couscous salad as well. With the Chivas echoing the honey flavors of the other items, I think this may have been my favorite pairing.

 

The Season is On So Get Out There!

Last week's Taste of Syracuse is my signal that things are really popping and any winter hibernation is over.  This week, CSA distributions have begun, the CNY Regional Market is flooded with both food and people, and there's more to check out than ever before.  Here are just a few things on my to do list in the week to come:

Pick some strawberries.  Today is opening day for strawberries at Cobblestone Valley Farm--check their link for the details.  I'm going to run out there before (the much desired) rains come.

Get my Regional Market shopping list together for next week.  Over the past couple of weeks I've discovered new to the Market folks like Maple Avenue Farms (Sun Fed Beef) and  Pasta Classics (fantastic homemade ravioli) in addition to the regulars.  Meg over at the Wake Robin Farm stand has their new and delicious Grassiago fresh asiago cheese (available only while the cows are on pasture).  This mild cheese is not like the aged stuff you're used to grating over pasta--I've been eating it both unadorned and on breakfast sandwiches like the one above--made with local bacon and farm eggs on a Heidelberg Baking Company olive roll.

Check out the new and newer farmers' markets in our area.  Just about now you can shop for local, organic farm fresh produce most days of the week--right here in Syracuse.  Can you believe it?  Here's how I figure:

• Tuesday:  Downtown Farmers' Market from 7am to 4pm
• Wednesday:  Local, Certified Organic Farmers' Market at Green Hills Supermarket (South Salina) in the Valley from 3pm - 6pm
• Thursday:  Syracuse Eastside Farmers'  Market at Loguen Park off E. Genessee Street from 2pm to 7pm
• Thursday: Wyllie Fox Farm at Natur-Tyme in East Syracuse from 3pm to 7pm
• Saturday:  Central New York Regional Market from 7am to 2pm
• Sunday:  Well if you don't mind driving--the Ithaca Farmers' Market has lots of great food and produce from 10am t0 3pm

And, if you're not able to venture out, check the web and explore Creekside Meadow Farm's new site.  They grow wonderful pastured chicken, turkey, lamb, pork and beef--just 15 minutes from Syracuse. 

And not that I look to outsiders for validation but my friends who were visiting from Seattle last week have declared that "Syracuse has got it going on"--but we already knew that.

Meme-ories

It seems like forever since I last did a meme.  With all of the other things I have to do, this is an indulgence in pure procrastination and a little nostalgia.  Plus, I can't say no to Jen who tagged me.  So instead of contemplating the tomato scare or the protests in South Korea over American beef imports, here is something decidedly lighter...

What was I doing ten years ago?

1. Ten years ago today, I was celebrating my first anniversary of ordination to the transitional diaconate.
2. Playing lots of tennis, running lots and preparing for my first Women's Quest retreat.
3. Learning how to grow herbs and spinach on my shady apartment balcony.
4. Working on the restoration of a small family chapel in Pennsylvania.
5. Oh yeah, I was living in Johnson City in the Southern Tier (outside of Binghamton, NY)

What are were five non-work things on my to-do list for today?

1. Hour-long spinning class
2. Create mileage plan for the Boilermaker Race--just a month away!
3. Weed raised beds at both Dorset Harvest Farm and Seeds of Grace gardens.
4. Hair conditioning treatment at Salon 100
5. Laundry

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Tierra Farms honey-glazed cashews
2. Lara Bars--Cashew Cookie flavor
3. pretzels
4. apple slices with almond butter
5. Upstate Harvest Granola

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Restore the tower of Grace Episcopal Church
2. Endow a scholarship fund for African American women to attend Smith College
3. Create a foundation to fund hunger relief projects around the world
4. Purchase a home in Asheville, NC for mom.
5. Buy a house in Portland, Oregon decked out with my dream kitchen.

Places I’ve lived (in no particular order):

1. Syracuse, NY
2. Brooklyn, NY
3. Berkeley, CA
4. Morristown, NJ
5. Northampton, MA

Jobs I’ve had:

1. foot messenger
2. environmental and social policy research associate
3. conditions inspector in the registrar's department of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
4. reporter for college paper (covering science and the alternative music scene)
5. Priest

…and the food blogger twist on this meme...

Food related books on my wishlist:

1. Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes
2. Secret ingredients:  The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink
3. Outstanding in the Field:  A Farm to Table Cookbook
4. Jamie at Home:  Cook Your Way to the Good Life
5. The Taste of Place:  A Cultural Journey into Terroir

I won't tag anyone but if you feel inspired consider yourself tagged!  Coming soon:  Guest Blogger Marty Butts on Syracuse's Empire Brewery.

Archive Alert:  On this date in 2007 I was cooking up a risotto dish on Food for Thought on WCNY TV. 

Seeds of Grace Garden on MSNBC.com

Okay, even though it's my voice doing the commentary this isn't about me.  This video story from MSNBC.com is about the congregation I serve in Syracuse--Grace Episcopal Church and their commitment to feeding people sustainably.  We've begun to convert part of our parking lot to an organic vegetable garden.  Click on the box above or check it out here. It's only about a minute and a half long.  This is yet another reason why I love being here.  My gratitude goes to Jen Maiser at Life Begins at 30 for getting us linked with the folks at MSNBC.com.

(And thanks to those of you who helped me in my attempt to get the video clip on the blog--Mark and Steve, you're awesome!)

Bread, Body, Spirit

I've had the good fortune to contribute chapters to books in the past but being included in Bread, Body, Spirit:  Finding the Sacred in Food gives me unspeakable joy.  It is a collection of short essays, poems, and prose spanning the ages with work ranging from the Quran to Barbara Kingsolver.  The essays are grouped into themes such as The Garden, Cooking, Serving, Compost, Feasts, Eating, etc.  My piece:  Lemon Love, about the transformative power of a Meyer lemon tree is in The Garden section. 

What I'm most proud of, however, is opening the table of contents to find my name listed with such luminaries as Grace Paley, Mary Oliver, Ram Dass and Lauie Colwin.  It is a book that celebrates the things I truly love the most--food and the sacred.  I can't wait to read it all. 

Bread, Body, Spirit is published by Skylight Paths Publishing, a small publishing house out of Woodstock, Vermont.  You might be able to find a copy at a big box bookstore or even a small independent one.  Ask them to order it if it isn't on the shelves.  You can also order it here.  I won't collect any royalties--I just want to share what I think is a book you'll turn to for inspiration time and time again regardless of your spiritual tradition. 

Yay!!!!