The Big Cook 2010

Years ago, John’s Dad and crew decided to set one special day aside each year to celebrate one of life’s true pleasures. That is, sharing extraordinary food with our friends.

The BIG COOK is growing each year. We are especially pleased that the BIG COOK is evolving into a venue that connects our guests (always free of charge) to local farmers and producers that support this special day. This year we created a flyer that introduces our ‘COOKS’ and PRODUCERS in order to better acquaint them with our guests. Also new for this year, a dessert contest to benefit NOFA-NY, the non-profit Organic organization of New York. For added fun, we held a special auction to benefit the FFA. The Big Cook is not a competition although it’s not uncommon for the cooks to try to out-do each other while attempting to create the crowd favorite dish.

Thank you NOFA- NY for donating the great prize bags for the winner and reserve winner of the Dessert Contest!! Pictured is winner Linda Rutherford who won with her delicious peaches and cream pie! She is presented the Golden Pie Plate award by Ed Eaves, last year's King of the Apple Pie! Also included in this photo is Abby Eaves our dessert contest manager! Reserve winner was Kelly Saner with her wonderful carrot cake served with homemade ice cream! Both beautiful ladies are from Branchport NY!!!

Thanks to all of the contestants for entering your great desserts! All proceeds from entry fees went to NOFA-NY!

https://www.nofany.org/

Radio Red

I could not stop smiling today! John and I went to Fulkerson's Winery and purchased red and white grape juice for this year's farm wine! Pictured is the barn kitchen with our 16 gallons of Concord, 5 gallons of Himrod and 5 gallons of Cayuga! Little do the kids know how handy that Radio Flyer Wagon is!! What a great smell and what a great surprise the Himrod juice started working already! I believe that would mean wine by Thanksgiving!! There really is no better place to live than the Finger Lakes!

For more information about Fulkerson Winery visit-
http://www.fulkersonwinery.com/

Favorite Local Breakfast!

Farm fresh scrambled eggs topped with local cheddar, and served with garden fresh tomatoes! Cannot get any better!!!

Local Produce

I stopped by one of my favorite local produce stands today in Penn Yan. They still had sweetcorn and it was very good. Surprisingly young tasting and very sweet! I bought peaches and pickling cucumbers as well. We had a great dinner of pork chops, corn, cuke and tomatoe salad and garden potatoes!

September 7

Locavore-Homeavore-Hermitavore-Ok, not sure what to call it. But seriously I have been living just fine off of our garden and tonight my neighbors garden! I am pretty lucky that I live in an area that I can have a garden to grow enough vegetables to last all winter! Tonight I visited a friend and we drank local wine, ate cherry tomatoes and red bell peppers from her garden. Between the food, wine and conversation I was full! Came home and snacked on the leftover watermelon that was in the fridge from our garden. Seriously I have got to get off this hill and go see new and exciting foods to find. But, if forced to live just on the hill, I think I would be quite fine :) Mind you I have a husband that surprised me when I came back from my 10 day trip. He froze 156 quarts of vegetables for me! There is no question I feel better already just 7 days into this challenge!

September 4

Have been home from London for 2 days and not only have I stuck to all local food, everything I have eaten has been grown on our farm! I feel a new word coming on, homeavore! Ok , sounds silly. Anyone have a better word???

Back in the USA!

I just got back last night from a 10 day trip to London. Ellie is taking a semester abroad and I went over early with her to see London and help her move in! Eating local and organic seems to be just as big there as here in the states. Walking through London there were several restaurants advertising local foods only or specials of the day using local foods! One of my favorite stores while there was Neal's Yard Dairy, a small shop selling farm cheeses from the British Isles. They were extremely generous with the samples and the store had such a wonderful smell throughout! I bought a very nice cheddar, Montgomery's Cheddar to be specific. I actually brought some back with me in my suitcase! John had some this morning and agreed with me, it is the best Cheddar cheese we have ever had! This cheese is made at Manor Farm, in North Cadbury, Somerset. Made with unpasteurised milk and aged for over a year, it truly is spectacular. I am going to be on a mission this month to find the best local cheese in the Finger Lakes!

September is fast approaching.....

NOFA-NY is hosting its first ever Locavore Challenge to run throughout the month of September 2010. The Locavore Challenge serves multiple functions for NOFA-NY and for the organic movement in NY State. The first is as a general awareness builder, the second is as a membership recruitment initiative and the third is as a major annual fundraiser for the organization. The goal is to have more than 4,000 participants throughout the state involved in this event. I have signed up for a month, but why not sign up even for one day!???

Glucavore

We had a really fantastic evening last Wednesday. A kitchen full of great friends and great food! One of my very good friends was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Our goal for the night was to have a completely local and gluten free evening. We started with an extravagant appetizer pictured, prepared by my husband John, followed by Prime Rib, fresh dug potatoes, swiss chard and for dessert, a beautiful creme brulee, prepared by Ben. WOW

Peeps-One Week Old

The peeps have started getting their wing feathers!

Watermelon

The watermelon are getting big! I planted an heirloom variety named "Astrakhanski Watermelon". It is a Russian variety named for a city near the Caspian Sea. Can not wait to try!

Golden Beets

I had to thin our Heirloom Golden Beets last week. We had the small beets with the greens for dinner. They were super tender and really great tasting. What a pretty yellow color too! Next time I going to slice them and serve cold with oil and vinegar.

The Peeps Are In!

This morning I drove to our post office and picked up a box of chicks! Every year I order birds from Murray McMurray. This batch is a box of meat birds. They are truly adorable! Everyone should hold a peep in their hand at least once in their life! These peeps will grow into meat birds, for the freezer, for us and also for sale. I'll try to post their growth once a week on the blog so you can see them change. They won't stay this cute very long!!

The Pennsylvania Yankee Mercantile

Yesterday I got to visit the Pennsylvania Yankee Mercantile, a new store on Main St. in Penn Yan NY. The store is full of local foods produced all within 100 miles. I bought several items, including lettuce, yogurt, cheese and tomatoes. They had frozen local meats, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, pasta , bread and much much more! Really a nice store! Go support your local farmer and check it out!!!

Summer Squash Pickles

A great way to use up your endless number of Summer Squash is to make pickles. I made these last week with yellow squash, zucchini, Hungarian peppers, and onion. Everything out of the garden!! This will be great while I'm on the Locavore Challenge for snacking! They are really good served with cheese and an awesome appetizer when someone drops by unexpected!!

NY Locavore Challenge

I’ve taken the challenge – have you?
Join me this September as I pledge to eat fresh, local, in season, and organic foods for the month. NOFA-NY [the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York] is hosting its first ever NY Locavore Challenge to run throughout the month. The challenge is set up as a personal challenge for individuals to make a commitment to eat only locally and sustainably produced foods. There are three challenge options available for participants: 1 Day, 1 Week or 1 Month. Participants who choose the Day or Week challenges may select the specific day or week during the month of September that they would like to complete the challenge. The Month challenge runs from September 1st to 30th and all challenges must be completed by September 30th.
Participants register to complete the challenge and pay a nominal fee to participate. The Day Challenge is $5 for NOFA-NY members and $7 for non-members. The Week Challenge is $10 for NOFA-NY members and $15 for non-members. The Month Challenge is $25 for NOFA-NY members and $45 for non-members.
Upon signing up, challengers will receive various amounts of resources and NOFA-NY gifts including buttons, bumper stickers, and bags depending on their registration level.
To see the complete list of resources, challenge rules, and registration details – visit the challenge website: www.nylocavorechallenge.com
Sign up today and learn more about how your food choices affect your health and the environment!
As an added challenge I will be eating only local for the month of August too! I hope to post places, items and ideas to help others get ready for September!

Quotation

"For many decades, humanity has cheated the laws of nature through the hubris of its own intelligence. Or, at least, what we've come to perceive as intelligence, and the technology it has brought forth. We've forgotten that every economy is ultimately an economy that exists only with the blessing of the sun and the land; without these, we have nothing" Ben Hewitt-The Town That Food Saved

Veggie Dinner Last Night

With no kids home last night, John and I decided to have an all vegetable dinner. We picked everything from the garden just before eating! What a meal. Eating food grown in your own backyard is about as local as it gets!!!

Quotation

"The participatory nature of local food systems holds tremendous power, not merely to secure and understand the cycle and source of our nourishment, but to reawaken a sense of responsibility for and toward the communities in which we live. To assume accountability for our food is to assume accountability for our lives." Ben Hewitt, The Town That Food Saved

Dinner Last Night

I love summer! The warm weather is great but more importantly the fresh food! We really enjoyed the local potatoes last night. I served them with our lamb, carrots from last year and Swiss Chard and Zucchini picked from the garden! It really was fantastic!