Cookin' in the 'Cuse

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.

Harvest Dinners on the Farm--Start Tomorrow

Harvest Dinner prep at Stick and Stone Farm, October 2008

Attending one of the Harvest Dinners (the one hosted at Stick and Stone farm) was a highlight of the year.  These events are a winning recipe of gorgeous location, amazing local chefs, exquisite local food products, and tables filled with people who grow the food and love the food of our region.  The icing on the cake is that the meals are actually fundraisers for Healthy Food for All--making it possible for the economically challenged to participate in CSA programs. 

This year's list of dates, farms, and chefs has been released and the first dinner is tomorrow night at Remembrance Farm.  I think there are still tickets available but if you're looking at the other dates--get your tix soon--one of them has already sold out. 

Liz Karabinakis from the Healthy Food For All program describes the events this way:

Imagine fine dining in the fields with a menu featuring ingredients harvested from just steps away and neighboring farms. Come taste ordinary foods made extraordinary by well renowned chefs cooking right in front of you. Bring out the delicate flavors of the region with wine paired with each course by one of our finest Finger Lakes wineries. Hear the stories from the farmers, winemakers and chefs themselves throughout the evening and peruse the fields that are growing your food.

These truly are unique and memorable culinary experiences not to be missed. All proceeds go to the Healthy Food for All Program, a collaborative effort of local farms and Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County to provide subsidized CSA shares to low-income families in our community.

Tickets are $75.  To purchase tickets and for more information go to www.healthyfoodforall.org. Reservations are required and seating is limited so don't delay.

Remembrance Farm, Trumansburg
Chef Samantha Izzo from Simply Red Bistro
Damiani Wine Cellars
August 23 Click here for menu

Sweet Land Farm, Trumansburg ---SOLD OUT---
Chefs Christina & Jonah from Hazelnut Kitchen
Atwater Vineyards & Billsboro Winery
September 13th  Click here for Menu

Early Morning Farm, Genoa
Chef Sean O'Brien of Serendipity Catering (formerly Chef-Owner of Willow Restaurant)
Bet the Farm Wine
September 20th

Stick & Stone Farm, Ithaca
Chef Hans Butler of Watercress Restaurant
Hosmer Winery
October 11th - Click here for menu

West Haven Farm, Ithaca
Chefs Jen & Stan from Just a Taste
Specialty brews from Ithaca Beer (wine is BYOB)
November 8th

Food Inc. Showing in Auburn--Get There! Update: Shows in Manlius Too

Last week I went to see Julie and Julia.  It was a great food movie--I laughed.  I cried.  I remembered how much I enjoyed watching Julia Child as a seven year old playing in front of my Suzy Homemaker oven.  I teared up watching the scenes of her sister, Dorothy, who was a member of a church I interned at in Sausalito.  I plan to get the DVD (or whatever it is people watch movies on nowadays).

Food Inc. is another must-see movie.  I haven't seen it yet but I know I'll probably laugh a good deal less and cry a good deal more over it.  It is playing in very limited release in Auburn over the two weekends--mark your calendars and make the trip.

Here are the details--scroll down for the movie description.

"Food, Inc.", an eye-opening movie about the industrialization of farming and food production, will be shown over 2 weekends at the Auburn Public Theater in downtown Auburn, NY.

 

Friday Aug 21   Sat Aug 22    Friday Aug 28   Sat Aug 29

All showings at 8PM.  $5 at the door or $4 on-line purchase here. 

 
Information will be available about how you can buy and enjoy foods that come from healthy, sustainable farms and businesses, as well as updates on legislation in Washington and Albany about school meal programs.

The movie theater is quite small, so come early or buy your tickets on-line to guarantee a seat.

Also playing in Manlius at the Manlius Art Cinema, tickets are $7.50 for all shows
Beginning Friday, August 21 running for a week--through August 27
Show times are Friday at 7:30, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00, 5:00; and Monday through Thursday at 7:30. 

Hat Tip Amber--from the comments.

FOOD, INC.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

--From the official Food Inc. website

Hat tip to Glenda Neff!

Madison County Buy Local Week--Eat it Up!

 I know you didn't really need a reason to want to eat local but the folks in Madison County are sure making it easy to do.  There is an amazing range of activities and opportunities for discovering local edible treasures all this week.  If you haven't yet had a chance to discover the good food and agriculture of Madison County, or if, (ahem) it's been a while--now's your chance to check out what they have to offer.  See below for a listing of events and check here for more information. 

Event Details:

Buy Local Week kicks off with the Local Food Showcase – five restaurants were invited to prepare either a prix fix menu or an entrée item with all the ingredients
sourced locally. Each day a different Madison County restaurant will take the spotlight and restaurant patrons can expect an epicurean delight.

Participating in the 2009 Local Food Showcase are:

Today--Tuesday, August 18th:  The Copper Turret - 17 W Main St, Morrisville |

Wednesday, August 19th:  Zabroso - 170 Kenwood, Oneida | Chef:  Ruben Lopez
Friday, August 21st:  Circa - 76 Albany St, Cazenovia | Chef:  Alicyn Hart

Saturday, August 22nd:  the Colgate Inn - 1 Payne St, Hamilton | Chef: Kris Angle

Sunday, August 23rd:  The Poolville Country Store - 1245 Earlville Road, Earlville | Chefs:  Roger J. Foster & Charles E. Wilburn

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Thursday August 20th is FRESH! The 2009 Buy Local Gala featuring a full tasting menu, a variety of local microbrews, music by the Julie Falatico Trio, and a silent auction.  Commissioner Pat Hooker, Senator Dave Valesky, and Assemblyman Bill Magee will be on hand to show their support for Madison County Agriculture.

FRESH! promises to be a good time and will be held at Brick Farms in Cazenovia (5753 Rathbun Rd) on August 20th from 6.30 – 10.30. Tickets are $35 per person ($60 per couple) and $20 per person ($35 per couple) if you are a farmer.  Price includes all food and drink.  Tickets can be purchased at the Price Chopper in Madison/Hamilton or Oneida as well as online at this website.
--

Buy Local Week culminates in Open Farm Day on Saturday August 22nd and this year 24 farms and 3 farmers’ markets are throwing open their doors offering a behind the scenes glimpse at what goes into the food you eat.  There will be farm activities and demonstrations, farm animal petting, barn tours, farm-raised products for sale, samples to taste, and much more.  Pick up your passport at any Madison County Price Chopper (Madison/Hamilton and Oneida), outside the Madison County DMV in Wampsville, or look for them as inserts in the Mid-York Weekly and Hi-Nieghbor and visit farms throughout Madison County.

Just me...

Self Portrait on the Occasion of my Birthday.

No recipe.  No food pics.  No market recommendations. Just deep gratitude for another year of life--the good, the bad, and the ugly.  But overall, mostly good.  Really.  And many of you know what a year it has been. 

On the phone with a dear friend I remarked on the numbers of friends who are no longer with us but should be--died way too young.  Makes me grateful for all the things--large and small--that keep me alive.  Or, to answer the question posed by the Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, these are some of the things that are saving my life right now--and I'm profoundly grateful for each and every one:

• A weekend full of memories of being with mom, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Lots of cooking, food, and laughter.  Reconnecting to the people who helped make me who I am.

• A loving husband who never fails to surprise and delight. 
  

• Amazing friends who are endlessly loving and forgiving.

• Days that begin with a cup of good coffee, morning prayers, and a few minutes of knitting.

• A dog that keeps me laughing hysterically.

• The health and strength to run and practice yoga and a body that feels healthier now than even four years ago.

• Living in Syracuse and knowing how good we have it.

• Hope for another day and the year to come.

• Gratitude that you, dear reader, are willing to share the journey with me.
  

Market Fluctuations

Today was the Tuesday Downtown market--I didn't make it.  I'm sad to say that I've not been to the Tuesday market all season especially given the fact that it's about a 5 minute walk from home. 

Tomorrow is Wednesday and there are several farmers' market choices in the Syracuse area  There's the new market at Shoppingtown Mall in Dewitt--open from 10-2pm.  If you miss that one, you can catch the farmers' market at Green Hills Market over in the Valley.  And if you're near the Westcott neighborhood you can catch the Loguen Park market on East Genesee Street.

Thursday brings the Skaneateles farmers' market, Friday is a rest day and then Saturday offers the big CNY Regional Market, the Ithaca Farmers' Market, the Greener Bean organic market in Skaneateles, and for those back east--there's the Cazenovia and Hamilton markets.

We have a lot of markets and this is a good thing.  The thing is...we Central NY is still a place where folks will walk past good, local, affordable produce being sold by the farmers who grew it--to get to shipped in produce being sold in the grocery store.  Several of our markets are located quite intentioally in supermarket parking lots (to make it easy for errand-running) but many folks never even stop and look at the incredible produce being sold.  Others come week after week and never make a purchase.

What's up with that?  Really.  Michael Pollan makes the point that cooking has become a spectator sport--who needs to buy produce if one doesn't plan to cook it up?

We have lots of markets, but I fear that they can't be sustained if more people aren't shopping them.  Like me, many of you already support these markets--on top of subscribing to a CSA share AND growing your own.  There's only so much one can do. 

I'm used to preaching to the choir for my day job, so I won't do that here.  I just hope we can get more of our neighbors to support the small markets that are doing everything they can to put delicious food on our tables.  I don't want us to begin losing markets or farmers because they couldn't make it.