Cookin' in the 'Cuse

To bed to bed

I'm not sure why gardeners speak of putting the garden to bed.  If only it were as easy as it sounds.  Instead, today's effort reminded me once again of what back breaking work gardening can be.  As I pushed my luck with all this warm weather and constantly found other things to do but get in the garden to do what must be done, I often wondered if it was all worth it. 

Today I pulled out the last of the Swiss chard and kale (there will be lots to freeze for the winter) and turned over the soil and planted most of the garlic.  I cleaned out the large pots that once grew tomatoes--determined to plant them in the ground next year.  And I scattered leaves and mulch across most of the ground in the hopes that my healthy colony of earthworms and beetles will continue to do their thing out of sight.

I hauled out three loads of "yard waste" in the hopes that the folks who come to take it away will make one last trip.  I dumped another load in the rear of the garden in hopes of beginning a compost pile.  I'm tired. 

But listening to and living by the seasons reminds me that the earth is tired too.  It is ready for a long-deserved rest.  Rebuilding and restoration will continue to take place--for the garden it will be under the mulch.  For me, it will be in the warmth of the house.  Each time I look out the window to what looks like desolate ground I'll remember and give thanks for the bounty the garden yielded over the past six months. 

On Thanksgiving Day my mom helped me harvest the last of the collard greens.  Most of them were cooked up into the collard cobbler we served that night.  I really don't think I've ever had tastier collard greens.  So yeah, it is worth it.  A nice, slow, restorative yoga session tonight will ease my back, the taste of fresh greens will nourish my body, and the satisfaction of another season completed will comfort my spirit until it is time to begin again in the spring.

(Almost) Everything I Ate

   

I must have been crazy to think that I would make it through last week with a complete photo file of everything I consumed.  Yet, when Sam posed the challenge, I eagerly signed on.  Boy was this hard!  First, there is the mental thing to get around of noticing everything that goes in my mouth--then there's that remembering to have the camera ready to snap the picture.  One thing I noticed--and I do think this is typical--there is a lot less variety in my breakfast and lunch meals than I had thought.  And then with Thanksgiving--we'll then even the dinner became the same!

Actually, I was doing okay with all the photos till Thanksgiving.  And then I had a funeral to do on Saturday and couldn't bring myself to pull out a camera at the reception for the family.  Then Sunday--we'll that's a work day and I didn't take one photo--though I wished I had my camera for the impromptu trip to Kingston, Ontario to check out Chez Piggy.  Ah well, next time!

Monday, November 20:  Mountain Rise Granola/Tierra Farm Mulberry Pistachio Granola over Wake Robin Farm Vanilla yogurt and Supreme Breakfast tea with half and half; Larabar with ice water mixed with elixer; Chocolate Protein Punch Smoothie from Breathe Yoga--post yoga meal

Tuesday, November 21: Mountain Rise Granola/Tierra Farm Mulberry Pistachio Granola over Wake Robin Farm Vanilla yogurt, tea with half and half, Larabar with ice water and elixer, chicken with shallot and sherry vinegar sauce, Swiss chard sauteed with garlic and anchovy paste, raisin walnut levain from Essentially Breads (Jordan)

Wednesday, November 22:  Muesli mixed with Tierra Farm Mulberry Pistachio granola with milk and Supreme Breafast tea with half and half, pear and water snack, Swiss chard sauteed with D'artagnan rabbit sausage, and white beans; chocoloate protein punch smoothie

Thursday, November 23:  chocolate cake batter--just a lick!; muesli and Tierra Farm granola with milk and vanilla black tea with half and half; Swiss chard, rabbit sausage and white bean saute; figs topped with Lively Run chevre and maple glazed nuts, collard cobbler, roast turkey with marsala-truffle butter, gorgonzola and cornbread dressing, gravy, maple-glazed carrots, a glass of sauvignon blanc, chocolate cake (this is where the photos drop off)

Friday, November 24:  muesli and Tierra Farm granola with milk and supreme breakfast tea with half and half; Larabar (cashew/date); slice of chocolate cake; turkey, collard cobbler, dressing, and gravy leftovers

(No photos) Saturday, November 25:  chocolate protein punch smoothie made at home; Cashew/date Larabar; pasta witih tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, broccoli, bread, two cookies--at post funeral reception; chocolate cake at home with hazelnut/chocolate flavored tea

(No photos) Sunday, November 26:   plain donut at coffee hour;  half of a turkey sandwich on  French Peasant  bread with  pear/ginger marmalade,  and a touch of gorgonzola and cornbread dressing; small warmed spinach salad, half a roll, spicy baby back ribs with frites, water, at Chez Piggy in  Kingston, Ontario, and a slice of chocolate cake at home.

Thanksgiving 2006--The Menu

The shopping is nearly done, the menu is set and the cooking will soon begin--Thanksgiving is ON!

After a pretty tough week at work I've been really craving this holiday.  Nothing relaxes me like hours of cooking and I am so ready.  After last year's incredible cooking marathon, this year seems pretty scaled back, but that's allright.  What's on YOUR menu?

With Cocktails:  Dried figs topped with Lively Run Chevre and maple-glazed nuts
Roast Turkey with Maple Gravy
Collard Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuits
Mashed Potatoes with Crispy Shallots
Maple Glazed Carrots (guess there's a maple theme, huh?)
Chocolate Cake
2003 Downing Family Vineyards Fly by Night Zinfandel (Oakville, Napa Valley) with dinner
2003 Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc with dinner
2003 Hermann J. Wiemer Ice Wine with dessert

As for the 100 mile Thanksgiving Challenge--the turkey is from Cobblestone Valley Farm, the maple syrup is from the North Country of New York, the collards will be picked right out of my garden, the cornmeal and flour is locally milled from Champlain Valley, and all carrots, onions, potatoes, and  shallots are either from Green Rabbit Farm or Early Morning Farm.  The wine, not so local, but it must be drunk. 

Have a fantastic and delicious Thanksgiving!

What this blog is about

Today is the day before Thanksgiving and things are quite busy--so busy that I've not been reading the comments on this blog.  My goodness.

One of the many things that this blog is about is celebrating the culinary and agricultural life of Central New York.  In the one and half years since Cookin' in the 'Cuse started I've delighted in the food community that I've found--largely through those of you who post comments.  I am more grateful for this virtual community than you can imagine.

However, it seems that it is necessary to close and remove some comments on a couple of posts related to Lombardi's and Vince Specialty Imports.  This is a big step for me because I've never even moderated or limited comments on this blog--save for removing obvious unrelated spam comments.  But when the comments fail to spark helpful debate and conversation (as in the case of the CNY Regional Market discussion) I believe it best for our community--virtual and otherwise--to close them.  This is the case with the posts related to Vince's new store.  I would rather not have this blog be the vehicle for destructive rumor or conflict.

It is my hope that all of you who would post comments here would use that feature to inform, question, consstructively critique, and celebrate our food scene and your experience of it.  This has largely been true and I trust that it will continue.  Indeed, I hope more of you who currently lurk will join in the conversation by posting a comment and I will do my best to respond.   

Now.  I've got more shopping to do and lots of posts to write so keep tuning in--there's a lot  of wonderfully delicious news and photos coming your way.  And thanks so much for reading!

Vince is Open for Business!

 

Thanks to all for the heads up but in case you haven't heard, Vince's Specialty Imports is open on Route 11 in North Syracuse.  Think all the good stuff about Lombardi's with lots more light and space to appreciate what's in stock.  This week is the soft opening of the store but Vince expects to be fully up and running before Thanksgiving.  In the meantime, this is a great place to stock up on bulk spices, fantastic charcuterie, oils and vinegars, and dried pastas.  Vince is working out the details to sell fresh, house-made pasta as well as frozen desserts imported from Italy.  Resistance is futile--check it out. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Vince's Specialty Imports, 440 South Main Street, North Syracuse, NY 13212-- 315-452-1000

Quick Reads for Eating Local

It's a good news day when articles on eating local grace the front pages of The New York Times Small Business section and the Washington Post Food section.  While a stack of books still adorns my nightstand waiting to be read/finished, I'm thankful for newspapers and magazines that allow me quick reads during busy days.

Why Roots Matter More (reg.req.)  An article about the importance of local designation over organic.  The piece highllights mostly California farmers and artisanal producers but has implications for our area as well.  I particularly loved this quote:

For food evangelists--consumers who might shop at a co-op or who can explain terms like eco-gastronomy, food miles and the food shed--a local label is sometimes more important than an organic one.  That group, which market researchers say make up about 10 to 15 percent of food shoppers, are most likely to spend time in the store pondering whether an organic pepper from Chile is better than one grown in a nonorganic field less than 250 miles away.

The 100 Mile Meal.  All about eating real local as in the 100 Mile Thanksgiving.  The folks who put forward the idea for the 100 Mile Meal have been eating this way every meal, every day, all year.  A couple of dishes on the Thanksgiving table is a great place to start for the rest of us mortals.  Maryland Farmer David Smith makes the case:

The dollars for a local bird keep the local economy alive. "When you eat local, you are supporting family farms and their continued existence, which is what our agricultural system was built on in the first place,"

Finally, the theme of the November/December 2006 issue of Sierra magazine is Green Cuisine and it features a number of articles on food and sustainability--most of them available for reading on the web.

Finally, right here in the blogosphere Stefanie over at Couteau Bonswan chronicles the recent Syracuse Real Food Co-op Harvest Dinner held at bc on Sunday.  It was a bit of heaven on earth--what with all that great farm-fresh food, the chance to rub shoulders with farmers and producers, great wine, and Bill Collins at the helm, my goodness.  Read all about it and see the pics here.

Gal about Town

For many folks in the Syracuse area this is old news but I've only recently seen it.  And let me tell you--there's nothing like driving down the street and passing an image of yourself as it goes by on a bus!

It is all part of an exciting initiative in Syracuse called the Connective Corridor that is linking arts and culture from the Syracuse University Campus to downtown and back.  The church I serve is on the Connective Corridor and I've become one of the poster children for the program.  I'm in good company, though.  The only other time I saw my face on the side of a bus, Bill Colllins' smiling face (of bc restaurant ) was on the back of it.

Along with the great food and growing culinary scene here, the Connective Corridor is helping to make this a really cool place to live.

This Thanksgiving Make it Local

With Thanksgiving just ten days away I'm well into planning the menu.  There are some dishes which just have to be served because they have become part of the tradition of it all:  home baked breads, whipped butternut squash, dressing and, of course, a turkey.  Each year I take a different riff on these essentials--sometimes the turkey is maple glazed, other years it is done up with Chinese Five-Spice and currant glaze, then there's that fabulous version with the apple cider gravy-- but the table is never complete without them.  Extras like gourgeres, sweet potatoes, and pie are really like icing on the cake.

This year, I'm going to try a local riff.  There's a movement afoot called the 100-mile Thanksgiving and the challenge is to eat as much as your Thanksgiving meal as you'd like from ingredients procured from within 100 miles of your house.  How can I resist--especially knowing how relatively easy it can be in our area.

I've already ordered a local turkey from the Syracuse Real Food Co-op (they still have Cobblestone Valley [Preble] turkeys available, plus some wonderful birds from a farm in Vermont) and finding local squash, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, greens, flour, butter, cheeses, wines, and other meats is a cinch--check out the Local Food Source list to the left or check one of the local farmers' markets or the CNY Regional Market.

Like other Eat Local Challenges, I will be making some exceptions.   I've recently discovered a recipe for dressing (stuffing) that includes some gorgonzola dolce--there's no way I'm not making it.  But my aim is to find local sources for the rest of the ingredients.  In addition, I've got a cellar full of Long Island and California wines and I'm sure a bottle or two will complement the Finger Lakes Rieslings we'll be pouring.

This should be a cool experiement.  The other part of the challenge will be to see how many of the foods I traditionally prepare can be found locally--if my husband wants a taste of home (Bahamas) we'll be making more exceptions but all these exceptions will be made consciously.  And conscious eating is always a good thing.

One more thing:  there's that nagging issue of cost.  We have made some decisions about our food choices that I realize we are privileged to make.  We are paying more for our turkey (it is the single most expensive food item we purchase all year) but most of our vegetables are coming either from our garden, bulk purchases from local farmers, and the rest is a matter of diligent sale watching at the Co-op and Wegmans.  It all balances out in the end and the results of the meal because of the quality of the ingredients cannot be compared.

For inspiration, information and to sign up to participate in the 100-mile Thanksgiving, click here.

Icy Sweet--Wine Blogging Wednesday #27

There are  many perks to living in Central New York--really.  Affordable housing, beautiful topography, an ideal place to spend your "past peak oil" years, and, of course access to great wine.  Lots of places can claim that last one--wine is being made in all 50 states--but they can't all claim to be producers of delicious, authentic, ice wine.  Let's hear it for lake effect snow and freezing temps!

Okay, maybe not.  But the ice wine is still a wonderful thing and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards on Seneca Lake makes a fine one.  I had not even heard of ice wine when I tasted it on our big Seneca Lake wine tour over a year ago but once I did, I had to have it.  Ice wine, true ice wine, (allow me this purist tendency) is made when grapes are allowed to freeze on the vine and then are harvested with an unusually high sugar content.  I've not tasted the kind of ice wine that is made by freezing grapes in a commercial freezer but living in the northeast should mean having access to the real thing.

Problem is, you can't get this kind of ice wine every year.  The bottle I purchased in 2005 was a 2003 vintage and  Wiemer has yet come out with another one.  This is what you might call a limited release kind of wine and so I plan on enjoying every sip of my little bottle (375ml).  My little bottle that I paid $40 for.  And yes, it is worth it. 

But you have to like it sweet.  You don't have to know that this Riesling had over 32% sugar at harvesting.  You don't have to know how low the alcohol levels is--some 9.5%.  All you have to do is pour this full bodied golden nectar into the glass to know that you are in for a sweet treat.  This might be the only time when the descriptor "fruit bomb" is a good thing.  I tasted notes of pineapple and honey which, when paired with a chocolate cake, smoothed out and even allowed a slightly puckery (in a good way) citrus note to emerge.

Unfortunately, the winery is sold out of this wine but you might still be able to find it in wine shops that carry New York State wines--and Wiemer is relatively easy to find as it goes.  If you're looking for a nice dessert wine or something to serve with a cheese course, this is worth seeking out.  Maybe this will be the year when another bottling comes out.  And if you don't stumble upon a Hermann J. Wiemer release, check out other Finger Lakes or Canadian wineries.  You know how that lake effect is--all of our little microclimates might mean that another winery had a banner year for ice wine. 

Thanks to Kitchen Chick for suggesting this theme and hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday.

Hermann J. Wiemer 2003 Select Late Harvest Riesling Ice Wine, $40.

Lombardi's Update

So wouldn't you know it--I finally get around to posting about Lombardi's and now there's real news to report.  I was surprised to read in some of the comments posted by a member of the Lombardi family and others that Vince had "moved on to other ventures".  In my distraction I didn't follow up on that comment and then over the weekend I was alerted to an article from last month's Post Standard about just what Vince's new venture is all about:  a new import store in North Syracuse. 

You can read the details below.  There will be a follow up post to come.

Importer to open in North Syracuse

Sunday, October 15, 2006
BOB NIEDT
RETAIL NOTEBOOK

Lombardi Fruit & Imports Co. has been doing the import thing at Butternut Street in downtown Syracuse for more than 30 years.

Now, North Syracuse is importing a Lombardi.

Vince Lombardi, a co-owner of Lombardi Fruit & Imports, soon will open an import grocery similar to Lombardi Fruit & Imports, on Main Street in North Syracuse, in the former Crystal Photo building.

Vince Lombardi is opening the store with his son-in-law, Sam Mondello Jr., according to Lisa Mondello, Sam's wife (and Vince's daughter).

The new location will feature many of the imported food and other items that made the location at 534 Butternut St. famous. That includes pastas, olive oil and olives, meats and cheeses, beans, coffee, balsamic vinegars, fruit baskets and more.

They're looking at a grand opening around Nov. 1, with a soft opening coming as early as Oct. 23, said Lisa. The opening date and the name of the new business have not been set.