Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Thank you sun--now bring on the tomatoes!

Have you noticed?  We've finally had more than 2 consecutive days without rain.  On the one hand, all the rain has been great--I've only had to water the garden about four times all summer.  But all that rain has my tomatoes big, beautiful, and green.  They're supposed to be red or orange or yellow by now.  It's gotten so bad that I've actually had a nightmare involving someone kidnapping my hard, green tomatoes and taking them off to some sunnier state.  Luckily, it was just a nightmare and the sun has returned.

Until my own tomatoes ripen I'm relying on area organic farmers to supply me with small numbers of greenhouse tomatoes, Early Girls, and juicy Orange Blossoms.  If it were not for them I'd be bereft of one of summer's most simple and delectable pleasures--the BLT!  Thanks friends!

Buy Local Week in Madison County

Are you looking for some "eat local" inspiration right now?  If you live in or near Madison County then you'll want to check out their Buy Local Week sponsored by the Madison County Agricultural Economic Development Program and the Cornell Cooperative Extension.  The emphasis of Buy Local Week, which begins today and runs through Satruday, is to support local farmers and help people learn how much food they can obtain from local sources.  You can even get a passport stamped at participating farms and at the Cazenovia and Hamilton farmers' markets.  They'll even hand out prizes for those who collect several stamps on their passports.  And there's more!  This Saturday, new maps to Madison County farms will be available at the Cazenovia and Madison County markets--very, very, cool!  Click here for more information.  Thanks, David, for the tip!

If you're looking for more inspiration check out the Eat Local Challenge blog for information on this year's Eatl Local Challenge taking place in October.  While that will be high harvest time for us in Central New York, you won't want to forget to freeze, can, pickle, or dry the great produce we have right now for extra variety through the fall and winter.  I hope to have news about some canning workshops soon.  Stay tuned!

To Market, To Market

This is the height of the summer produce season here in Central New York and aren't we lucky to have so many sources from which to get our fresh food?  After being out of town for the past few weeks (month?) I'm looking forward to stocking the larder and catching up with the peas, beans, berries, peaches, and tomatoes (finally!) that are starting to come to market.  We have some great options each week in the Syracuse area but here are a few that are special occasion or may have missed your radar.

• The Syracuse University Community Harvest Farmers' Market is open today from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Waverly parking lot--that's the lot at the corner of Waverly and Crouse.  There will be local farmers and producers, books for sale, information tables, and lots of prepared foods as well.  Even if you plan to do your market shopping tomorrow, come and check out this one--it is the second of four markets that SU will host this season--and we want them to add more!!!

• The Greener Bean Market in Skaneateles is open Saturdays  from 8:00 am to Noon in the P&C parking lot.  It touts itself as New York's premier 100% organic farmers' market and features produce from Black Brook Farm. I haven't checked it out yet but because making the Skaneateles farmers' market on Thursday is difficult for my schedule, it's nice to know there is another option during the week.  I hope to get there tomorrow.

• CNY Regional Market.  Okay, you already know about this one but here's a different spin on the idea--leave the car at home and bike there!  I have several friends who bike from the Westcott/University Hill neighborhoods and I've been envious of their sustainable habit (and guilty of my carbon waste habit) as I drive there each Saturday.  Well, a ride has been organized to go the Regional Market tomorrow by the local Sierra Club chapter.  Meet at the Thorndon Park swimming pool parking lot at 9:30 am.  "Ride is about 10 miles and kids accompanied by adults who can do this at around 7-10 mph are welcome.  Helmets required."  For more information call 428-1905.  No charge.

See you at the markets!

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is a major component of my work life--assisting people, listening, advising, and otherwise being present in their time of need.  It is really one of the best parts about being a priest.  But since I'm on vacation, I found it rather nice that I could get some of my own needs met by popping into Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.

This four-year old shop offers a carefully edited selection of cheese, wine, condiments, and specialty food items from around the world and close to home--that is, Chicagoland.  They bake artisanal breads several times a day and offer a delicious array of sandwiches.  The Canard Balsamico--herbed duck confit with cipollini onions, a buttery Brie-like cheese called Fromager D'Affinois, a bit of mustard and lettuce on a baguette--was scrumptious.  If I could have, I would have gotten a bottle of one of their wines--they specialize in small production, sustainable wineries and nearly all of the ones on their shelves were new to me.

But it wasn't just the food that had me feeling good--it was the care and time that co-owner Greg O'Neill gave to us.  Greg was as generous with sharing his knowledge as he was about sharing samples of the many cheeses they sell.  In fact, if I lived in Chicago I would be all over the special classes, workshops and tastings that seems to be a part of Pastoral's presence in the community.  Indeed, a shopowner next door said that Pastoral is a key to a noticable and positive shift in their section of North Broadway.

And if that all that wasn't enough, I was even able to pick up a copy of the premiere issue of Edible Chicago--just one week old.  Armed with some good Wisconsin cheese, a delectable sandwich and an Edible publication I was totally feeling the love. 

Chillin' in Chicago

A few days to hang out in Chi-town is the perfect way to relax for me--museums, great architecture, and some fabulous food (of course) are all the menu. In fact, that white bag I'm holding contains goodies from the very delicious PIE in downtown--or whatever you call this part of Chicago.

I'm going to try blogging by phone while I'm gone. If it works I will have obliterated my last excuse for not blogging while traveling. Later!

Dame Mas Por Favor!*

*Give me more please!

Early last month, local food advocate, gardener, and radio personality Michael Warren Thomas of Rochester's Savor Life, took me on a tour of Ra-cha-cha.  The focus was on food and gardens as I interviewed  him and several others for the latest issue of Edible Finger Lakes (start looking for copies of the summer issue this weekend!)  Michael knows EVERYONE there is to know in the Rochester food scene and one of the delights of the day was lunch at a small Dominican restaurant (El Latino at 366 Thurston Road) in his neighborhood.

I'd been dreaming of the flavorful pork with crispy crackling skin and peas and rice ever since.  Recently, while going through my stack of magazines to pull recipes for my files I came across Gourmet Magazine's version of Pernil Al Horno--Garlic Roasted Pork Shoulder.  Though their recipe had Puerto Rican roots I figured that any attempt to get close to what I remembered from the Dominican restaurant would be good enough.

And was it ever!  I don't even have a photo of the completed pork dish because as soon it had finished resting my husband and I began tearing into it--the camera never had a chance.  This is succulent pork that is shredded with a fork from the shoulder bone.  The marinade of garlic, oregano, lemon, vinegar, salt and pepper is given time to deeply penetrate all the meat making for a savory, not-too-garlicky, roast infused with the flavors of the Caribbean.  And this isn't the time to be afraid of skin and fat either.  The skin crisps up providing a nice crunchy contrast to the dripping bits of fat that lie beneath the skin.  You can also get some crunch from the bottom of the roast where an intensely flavorful crust forms during the cooking--you've got to taste it to believe how incredible it is.

At the end of a very long day, with the meat already prepared, I whipped up some "Just get down to business" peas and rice.  This is a great dish for a crowd--just bring a fork and come hungry.

Note:  We special ordered our pork roast from Sweet Grass Farm--this cut is difficult to find at the supermarket.  Also, it may seem like insanity to have the oven on in these hot summer days--but once you stick the roast in, you can do other things (I went to the gym and worked in the garden) during the long cooking period.

Pernil Al Horno (Garlic-Roasted Pork Shoulder) from Gourmet Magazine
Click here for recipe and photo of finished roast.

"Just Get Down to Business" Peas and Rice
(so named because there was no time to make them the old fashioned way--I had to get dinner on the table--I posted an alternate recipe back in February)

1 15.5 ounce can of pigeon peas
1 cup cooked rice (you can prepare rice on stove or in rice cooker while you make the peas)
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 moderately hot chili (such as a small Anaheim pepper)
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely diced (available in Spanish food section of the market)
1 tablespoon olive oil

If rice isn't already prepared, begin cooking on stove or in rice cooker.  Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over moderate heat.  Add onions and both peppers and cook until beginning to soften--about five minutes.  When onions begin to turn translucent add chipotle peppers in a bit of the adobo sauce, saute for 2 minutes more.  Add pigeon peas with liquid from can into the pot and simmer over moderate heat until liquid is reduced by half.  When rice is ready, add to pot with peas and stir, cooking until liquid has been absorbed--about 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and serve with Garlic-Roasted Pork Shoulder.  Feel free to use more chipotle peppers if you like your peas and rice really hot and spicy.

Would you pay someone to grow food in your backyard?

Today's New York Times ran a cover story on folks who are willing to pay someone to install a vegetable garden, weed, tend, and harvest the produce growing in their own backyard.  You know I had to comment.  Check it out on the Eat Local Challenge blog.

Eat Local Potluck--Sunday, July 20th

I promise, I promise I'll get to the post on my NYC cheese hunt but the garden has been calling and it won't wait.

Yesterday I pulled out some 30 beautiful bulbs of hard neck garlic and set them out to cure for a couple of weeks.  I trained up my tomatoes--snacking on the first round of ripe Sungolds as I worked.  I love how they are the first to come in and the last to go out.  And I've been eating a mix of mesclun, French breakfast radishes, and wasabi greens with nearly every meal. 

To add a little variety and creativity to this week's meals I'm going to get myself to this month's Eat Local Potluck.  This time around we'll gather on Sunday, the 20th at Wake Robin Farm at 7:00 pm.  These meals are always a feast of the best our area has to offer--even in December.  So just imagine what will be on the table this month.  Plus, the opportunity to gather at the farm that produces some of the best yogurt, milk, and now, cheese in our area is an added bonus.  Just bring a dish to share prepared with locally grown ingredients.  For location and directions please drop me a line  (click on the email link above right). 

Make Every Scape Count

I love garlic scapes--those curlicued stems that if left to their own devices are likely to form bulbs of garlic seed.  But if they are cut you then get a strikingly strong deliverer of garlic's  promise.  The thing is, I had cut about 30 scapes from my own garlic patch only to discover about as many in my Common Thread Farm CSA share just a week later. 

Garlic scapes, diced into bead sized portions, make a great addition to summer salads.  You can also throw them on the grill to caramelize them a bit to add to other grilled veggies.  But with 60 spirals of scapes staring at me every time I opened up the crisper drawer I needed to figure something else out.

Thankfully, Meghan of Stones Throw Farm had just put a recipe for garlic scape pesto in her CSA distribution and was willing to share.  I made a double batch of the pesto--half for the fridge and half for the freezer--and watched my scape fortunes dwindle to more manageable portions.  This is tasty stuff--but use sparingly.  Garlic pesto is more intense than basil pesto.  But as a condiment on good bread, or stuffed into chicken breasts before baking, or dolloped on pillows of ravioli--you can't beat it.  I did just that--adding some baby Wasabi Greens to wilt on top for a fantastically quick and delicious lunch.  And needless to say, this recipe is also a good way to make use of that little bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese you've been waiting to grate up.

Meghan's Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into 1-inch slices


1/3 cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts


½- ¾ cup olive oil


¼- ½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano

½-1 teaspoon salt


black pepper to taste

Trim the top flowery part off the scapes (discard in compost) and slice the rest of the scapes into 1-inch slices. Place the sliced scapes and nuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until well mixed. Add the parmigiano reggiano and salt and process again until well integrated. Scoop the pesto out of the food processor bowl into a container. This pesto has a strong garlic taste and a little goes a long way. It will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks and also freezes well. Tastes great with pasta, crackers, bread, pizza, eggs, fish and chicken.

NYC Cheese Hunt, Part 1

It used to be that cheese was a relatively simple affair--at least it was in the world I grew up in.  There was mozzarella for pizza, cheddar for mac and cheese, and parmesan--Kraft, in the familiar green canister--for the spaghetti and meatballs.  My life changed, in more ways than one, when I spent the summer of 1996 in Syracuse doing an internship as part of my preparation for ordination to the Episcopal priesthood.  My hosts, who gave me a place to live for the summer, were the Radke family.  It was a dreamy summer filled with conversations about art, religion, and food.

Nancy Radke is known to some as the co-author of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que cookbook but she is most famous for heading up the American information office for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  If there is anything to be known about this amazing cheese Nancy knows it.  She is a gifted communicator and educator and so I spent a summer at her elbow learning how to cook and enjoy Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. 

I learned (but have not mastered) how to cut a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  I savored slivers of Parmigiano kissed by droplets of 40 year-aged balsamic vinegar.  I enjoyed Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on nearly everything and learned how to take the rind and dice it up to flavor stock for Italian soups. 

After spending a day running around NYC to purchase Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for a special breakfast Nancy was hosting during the week of New York's Fancy Food Show, I've come to understand how little know I know about this rather complex cheese.