Lighthearted Locavore

Locavore's Dilemma: The Walmartization of New York City's Food System

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:52:00 +0000

Back in 1989, I visited Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. As a young grad just out of the Kellogg School of Management and brand manager at Pfizer, I was mesmerized by the emerging corporate giant, and admired the huge stores, since we had nothing like them in New York, and I was stunned by their incredibly low prices.

Wikimedia Commons

Until recently, I haven't given much thought to Wal-Mart. I was happy to put Wal-Mart in my rear view mirror after what seemed to be an endless task to fulfill a gigantic custom order of Barbasol shave cream that was shrink-wrapped by hand in 3-can value packs -- we didn't have shrink wrap on the assembly line -- and at a huge cost to the company. Why did Pfizer fill this custom order for just a few pennies profit per can? Because, back then, Wal-Mart represented about one-fifth of the consumer division's sales and to lose shelf space at Wal-Mart would have undoubtedly been the catalyst for the demise of the division's more profitable brands (Ben-Gay, Visine, Plax, Barbosol). Wal-Mart wanted 3-packs of shave cream and so they got them.

Wal-Mart’s squeeze on the supply chain, including gigantic consumer packaged goods manufacturers, is well documented, as is its predatory pricing, and reputation for depressed wages, poor labor practices and anti-union stance.

Studies show that Wal-Mart, with its fiercely competitive business practices, is responsible for the closure of hundreds of thousands of stores in rural and urban communities. And its 1.4 million employees, representing 1% of the nation's employment, are the largest user of entitlement benefits such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, and housing subsidies, as many of Wal-Mart’s employees have become “the working poor” and live at or below the poverty line due to low wages.

Wal-Mart is also known for creating jobs, its "everyday" low prices, including for groceries, and generous philanthropy.

Wal-Mart is back on my radar. One reason is that Wal-Mart wants to open stores throughout New York City and has been in the local papers. And, the other is food. Wal-Mart’s growth strategy, now that it has saturated the rural and suburban markets across the US with its more than 3,800 stores, is to expand into urban areas, such as Chicago, Washington DC and New York, specifically in areas Wal-Mart executives have identified as "food deserts".

Also recently, Wal-Mart has wandered into my neck of the woods -- the locavore movement -- and promised to buy more "locally grown" food from sustainable farms. In partnership with Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart has made strides in its long-term goal to significantly reduce the sodium and sugar in hundreds of its own and its supplier’s food products.

I have to admit my head is spinning.

With its groceries priced at an average of 15% less than most stores for many of its products, might Wal-Mart be the answer to “food deserts” in our low income neighborhoods?

Is it good that Wal-Mart is buying food from local farmers and promoting organics as Corby Kummer, who I admire, persuasively suggests in The Atlantic Monthly . Or, is this just a public relations ploy by Wal-Mart to “greenwash” their role in the rapid globalization of the food supply, while they continue to squeeze suppliers which results in the exportation of food production and processing overseas in the same way they forced American manufacturers to export manufacturing to China where labor is uber cheap?

Will local NY area farmers benefit from Wal-Mart’s pledge to buy a billion dollars in locally grown produce or will they struggle even more financially due to Wal-Mart’s efforts to turn New York State's diverse fruits, vegetables and dairy products into "cheap food", just another consumer packaged goods commodity with razor thin margins like shave cream?

What will happen to the tens of thousands of ethnic grocers, bodegas and independently owned supermarkets that are rooted in communities and neighborhoods throughout New York that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer predicts won't survive the “Walmartization” of New York?

Or, the hundreds of local and healthy community food initiatives (emphasis on the word community)?

With food sales estimated at over $125 billion per year, in just over 20 years Wal-Mart has 20-25% market share of all grocery sales in the US (over 50% share in 29 US markets). Do we want this kind of control of NYC's food system to go to one company -- which buys food direct from its suppliers, including local farmers -- particularly as NYC is about to invest millions of dollars in taxpayer money to modernize the Hunts Point Wholesale Food Market?

Isn't it a good thing they are taking unhealthy ingredients, sodium and sugar, out of the food system, including demanding its suppliers to change their formulas at a tremendous cost to the suppliers? I applaud aspects of Walmart's "GREAT FOR YOU" initiative.

But, what does the US Department of Justice have to say about some of the high-cost demands by Wal-Mart on its suppliers, suppliers that have become dependent on Wal-Mart?

Will our federal antitrust laws protect New Yorker from Wal-Mart’s monopolistic and anti-competitive behaviors before it achieves 50% share of NYC’s grocery sales?

How can the City rationalize keeping out Wal-Mart, when other big box stores have moved in and there are plenty of areas already zoned for large format retailers?

Is there a justifiable argument that the "Walmartization" of the City will reduce tax revenue as a result of grocery workers labor unions being forced to renegotiate contracts to compete with anti-union Wal-Mart, which pays workers half of what union stores pay, or risk their supermarket employer’s bankruptcy?

Can the City demonstrate lower tax revenue due to the inevitable closure of thousands of small, locally owned stores when Wal-Mart "blankets" the City with a projected 159 Superstore food outlets in five boroughs?

Or, will we have to rely on anti-Wal-Mart publicity and press conferences at Manhattan’s City Hall to keep Wal-Mart away?

If Wal-Mart is inevitable, can New York’s unions negotiate with Wal-Mart to hire union labor? What can and should the City and State be doing to ensure our community’s downtown’s small stores selling fresh foods, farmers markets and community supported agriculture not only survive but remain an important part of the local fabric of our diverse City?

If Wal-Mart moved in to New York, I'd like to think it wouldn't affect my life much. I'd still be able to buy my food direct from farmers and fisherman (or so I hope). So why do I care?

No longer a consumer products brand manager, now I am a food systems advocate and blogger for Lightheated Locavore and The Daily Meal. I advocate for affordable, fresh, healthy and local food. I support community food and public health initiatives such as community supported agriculture (I'm a member of Chubby Bunny on West End Avenue and support Just Food), farm-to-school, and farmers market nutrition program for low income families, and believe the anti-obesity public health campaigns, such as NYC's portion control and Michelle Obama's Let's Move/Chefs Move to School , are all hugely beneficial and brilliant.

While some want to write off the locavore, slow food and good food movements as being "elitist", I believe there's a huge risk in ignoring the hard work and accomplishments that food advocates, neighborhood leaders and government agencies have had with local food and healthy food initiatives. There are some incredible community-supported and entrepreneurial initiatives going on, many in low income neighborhoods and not just in wealthy southern Manhattan, as well as public health campaigns. There are programs and business models that support farmers, help conserve farmland, connect rural farmers with urban markets, promote rooftop and urban farms, and improve the health of people in low income areas, particularly NYC's school food and after-school programs. There's an explosive growth of farmers markets and community support agriculture in all five boroughs.

The recent focus in the media on the diet-related disease and the childhood obesity epidemic has accelerated these community food efforts, and funding, and underscored the importance of understanding the food system and connecting people, particularly children, with agriculture and "scratch" cooking. So have books and movies written and produced by former New Yorkers, such as Michael Pollan's "Omnivores Dilemma" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" and "Food Inc." which help connect the dots between the food system and disease, unfair labor practices and destruction of the environment for millions of readers and fans.

A new book, “The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Wal-Mart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table” by Brooklynite Tracy McMillan, who worked in Wal-Mart’s produce department at a store near Flint, Michigan, was reviewed in yesterday’s New York Times Book Review. McMillan is critical of the way Wal-Mart manages its produce department (thanks Mom for directing me to the review).

The Times reviewer, Dwight Garner writes, “The produce sold at the Walmart where she works is second-rate, often slimy, mushy or merely bland. “Walmart doesn’t always have the freshest stuff,” one manager says to her. “That’s how we keep the prices low.” The produce management is so sloppy that “the newer among us are still working our way from recognition to acceptance, as if advancing through the stages of grief.” Much of her time in Walmart’s produce department is spent trimming rotted leaves (small bunches of lettuce have usually been trimmed many times) and “crisping,” a method of rehydrating limp greens so they appear to be fresh.

A recent report issued by New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suggests efforts may be working but there's more work to be done. "While the City has made strides in combating the nationwide trend of growing obesity, the majority of adult New Yorkers (nearly 57%) and two out of every five New York City elementary school children remain overweight or obese and the health consequences are dire” (January press release).

Access to affordable, fresh, healthy food has increased tremendously in New York's poorest neighborhoods not only via more locally grown farm food, raised in community gardens or sold at farmers markets, but also from the efforts of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's initiatives such as the healthy bodega campaign to increase fruits and vegetables and reduced-fat milk and dairy stocked at corner markets; calorie posting in chain restaurants; Greencart branded fruit and vegetable stands in low income areas; and, Health Bucks, which provide a bonus coupon to farmers market shoppers who use food stamps.

What will happen to the Harvest Home Farmers Market, the Grassroots Farmers Market, the Bushwick Farmers Market, and La Familia Verde and their 58 farmers markets that I wrote about last Spring?

For the past decade, New York's Mayor Bloomberg and other elected officials have led the way to make NYC a healthier city and make the food system more sustainable and just, including creating incentives for supermarkets to open in "food deserts".

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who has worked tirelessly to build a solid vision of a sustainable food system in NYC, has spearheaded farmers markets in Harlem and engaged dozens of food advocates in conferences and written several forward-thinking reports. His latest report tackles the effect of Wal-Mart’s expansion in just one uptown Manhattan location, "Food for Thought: A Case Study of Wal-Mart’s Impact on Harlem's Healthy Food Retail Landscape" (11/2011). Stringer recommends a pro-active stance by the City to bolster small food markets in "food deserts", and support urban agriculture and community food initiatives to ensure the survival of these important community food models.

Stringer's food systems reports include: "Red Tape, Green Vegetables" (4/2011); "FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System (2/2010), which I had a hand in writing; and, "Food in the Public Interest" (2/2009). City Council Speaker Christine Quinn followed with FoodWorks (11/2010), a robust vision of NYC's food system that builds on Stringer's research and also includes dozens of policy proposals and recommendations.

In the hundreds of pages of recommendations and proposals, neither Quinn nor Stringer suggest Wal-Mart is the solution.

New York has become known nationally and internationally for its effort to overhaul the way food is grown, distributed, consumed and disposed of as the result of the work of government, anti-hunger, social justice and food advocacy non-profits, community leaders, chefs and eaters, writers and bloggers, as well as local, regional and national farms, fishermen, ranchers and businesses. Will we also be known as the City that kept Wal-Mart out?

"Bringing Wal-Mart to NYC would not only damage local retailers and wage-earners, but would erode the great advances communities are making to increase access to affordable, fresh, healthy food." Jacquie Berger, Executive Director of Just Food, stated in Scott Stringer's press release .

Is corporate giant Wal-Mart’s business model, which is to blanket a region with its stores, force its employees onto public assistance, and businesses to close, and predicted consequence, reduced access to healthy, affordable, fresh and locally grown food, something New Yorkers can afford even if Wal-Mart offers "everyday low prices"?

I say “no”. While NYC's food system is admittedly extremely complicated and our "food deserts" are real and pose a long-term threat to the health of New Yorkers, many of them children, Wal-Mart is capitalism run amuck. They have a history of egregious behavior despite its impressive public relations machines and efforts to greenwash their offerings and ingratiate themselves on New York's real estate community, elected officials, locavores, food advocates and anti-hunger and other non-profits, some of which have benefited from Wal-Mart's $4 million donation to NYC in 2011.

Food and Water Watch, a national organization, and local food and labor organizations say “no” too.

What do you say?

What can you do?

Join Food and Water Watch, Walmart-Free NYC, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), Brooklyn Food Coalition, Hunger Action Network of New York State, Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN), New York Communities for Change, the Black Institute, Retail Action Project and other food and labor advocates for

a press conference at

City Hall, Manhattan on Thursday, February 22 at 11:00

Read Food and Water Watch's Press Release here.

And, don't miss the 16-page report “Why Wal-Mart Can’t Fix the Food System”, which reads like a really well-written business school case study, here.

Follow me on twitter @lightlocavore

"Food With Integrity" - Chipotle's Slow Food Message

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:22:00 +0000

I was a big fan of Chipotle Mexican Grill's commercial video "Back to the Start" that just aired on the Grammy's when I first viewed it last year at the James Beard Foundation's conference "Sustainability on the Table How Money and Media Influence the Way America Eats".

Using animation, "Back to the Start" takes a farmer from traditional and sustainable farming to industrial factory farming and back to free-range and humane livestock farming that he started with.

Twitter was buzzing for over an hour after the commercial ran. People who vowed not to tweet during the Grammy's couldn't help themselves. The commercial is GREAT!

"We have to end Monsanto-style farming, support organic free range no chemical foods! says tweeter @margaretspence.

"Best commercial ever" said another viewer.

After 19 years, this is Chipotle's first TV commercial. Farm activist and country singer Willie Nelson sings the song "The Scientist" originally by Coldplay to 26 million television Grammy viewers.

According to the New York Times as of last week "The Willie Nelson rendition of “The Scientist” has been downloaded about 25,000 times so far, and 60 cents from each 99-cent download has gone to Chipotle’s foundation" (Chipotle Cultivate Foundation). The foundation donated $250,000 to Willie Nelson's Farm Aid in 2011.

In its press release, Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle said "We are changing the way people think about and eat fast food. We have always understood the importance of serving food that is raised right, but that is a difficult thing to communicate with the limitations of traditional advertising. 'Back to the Start' tells the story of a farmer's journey from traditional farming to an industrial food production model, then back to his roots of traditional farming again - a story that tracks closely with some of our suppliers and that demonstrates why we think it is so important to serve food made with ingredients from more sustainable sources."

I have yet to try a Chipotle burrito, but I'm glad to know it will be made from "good" "slow" and "real" food.

Now back to the Grammy's ... Adele wins Best Album...

Lobster Puff Pastry Pizza for Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Love is in the air and there's nothing like a homemade and fancy lobster recipe to impress your girlfriend, husband, boyfriend, or wife on Valentine's Day -- Lobster Puff Pastry Pizza.

This pizza recipe is not any New York corner pizza joint’s pizza but one that turns some of my favorite ingredients into a luxurious pizza that one might find in a Parisian restaurant.

With many of the fragrant flavors you'd use in "bouillabaisse", a Provencal-style fish soup, the aromatic flavors in this pizza will excite all your senses.

For the seafood toppings, I like to use local seafood. Montauk lobster is delicious any time of the year, particular on special occasions such as Valentine's Day, local swordfish and Peconic bay scallops, which are in season til March. The steaming liquid for the seafood provides the aromatic Provencal flavors -- white wine, water, fennel, orange zest and saffron -- all ingredients in a traditional bouillabaisse. And, for the vegetable toppings, I roast and chop vegetables to add to the bites of seafood: plum tomatoes, fennel and red pepper. I prefer fresh tomatoes when they are in season although good quality canned plum tomatoes, preferably organic, can be drained and gently squeezed to remove excess liquid and used as a substitute for fresh.

The sauce is simple: roasted plum tomatoes, red pepper, fennel and garlic. To keep the fennel moist, pour a hint of wine to the pan. Garlic and wine are used liberally in bouillabaisse.

I love the challenge of a hand rolled, folded and turned puff pastry made with flour, water and butter. However, it is very time consuming and easy to mess up. To save time, I suggest buying a good quality puff pastry that’s pre-made. Many of the finer supermarkets carry puff pastry (my Whole Foods sells Dufour Pastry Kitchens, a local, New York City brand).

To create visual excitement and convey the contents of the lobster puff pastry pizza, use cookie cutters to make tiny puff pastry lobsters, scallops and fishes. For me, the best part of making this pizza is assembling the cooked pizza on a serving platter and garnishing it with the puff pastry seafood creatures. Magnifique!

Like most pizzas, this Bouillabaisse pizza recipe is best when it’s made fresh and served immediately as puff pastry is more fragile than traditional pizza dough. Everything can be prepared ahead of time, and the crust baked and pizza assembled just before serving. Serve with a simple salad, light dessert, and a cold glass of bubbly champagne. Happy Valentine's Day.

RECIPES and ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
Lobster Puff Pastry Pizza with Lobster, Scallops, Swordfish and Roasted Tomato, Fennel and Red Pepper
Makes two 6 x 11” pizzas (4 servings):

Puff Pastry Crust and Garnishes
Prepare puff pastry dough at least one day ahead
1-pound of good quality frozen puff pastry dough
OR
Make your own puff pastry. You’ll need the following ingredients to make your own dough and a reliable recipe (click here for a step by step recipe from Julia Child with photos).

Unbleached all-purpose flour

Cake flour

Salt

Ice water

Unsalted butter 

Thaw frozen puff pastry according to the package directions OR prepare homemade puff pastry. Roll puff pastry to a thickness between a quarter and an eighth of an inch thick. Cut your pizzas into whatever size or shape you like. I made 6 x 11 inch rectangles using a homemade pre-measured piece of parchment paper as a stencil so my crust would fit exactly onto my platter (recommended). I also cut four half inch by 6” pieces and four half inch by 11” pieces to “fortify” the perimeter of the rectangles with mini walls to visually (and literally) hold the sauce and toppings on the puff pastry crust.

You can easily make individual or medium pizzas using whatever shapes and sizes your cookie sheets and imagination can accommodate – circles, squares, a large fish or scallop shape, even a fishing boat. That’s the joy of working with puff pastry. If your dough becomes warm refrigerate for 15 minutes and proceed. Warm dough will not puff.

After making the pizza crust, bake immediately – directions below -- or refrigerate the newly cut shapes on a sheet of parchment paper. Proceed with making the optional garnishes using either additional puff pastry or scraps from making the crust. You can make puff pastry garnishes by hand or with fun shaped cookie cutters. Be sure to keep the dough cold and minimize the amount of handling to preserve the hundreds of layers that give puff pastry its “puffiness”.

As with the crust, bake immediately or cover and store the shapes on parchment paper in the refrigerator until ready to bake. It’s best to roll and cut puff pastry as near to baking time as possible.

Baking directions are below.

Roasted Vegetable Sauce and Toppings
May be prepared up to two days ahead:

15 plum tomatoes, halved and deseeded
3 fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
3 tablespoons white wine
olive oil
garlic, diced
Roasted red pepper
Salt and pepper

NOTE: The roasted tomato, fennel and red pepper will be used in both the sauce and the topping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray four glass roasting pan generously with olive oil. Spread out the tomato halves in two pans and sliced fennel in two additional pans. Add garlic and wine to the fennel to keep the fennel moist. Roast fennel and garlic for about a ½ hour or until the fennel is soft, and roast the tomatoes for an hour to yields 4 cups of tomatoes and 2 cups of fennel. In the meantime, in a broiler or on the stove top, roast one red pepper by charring the skin and removing the charred outer skin and seeds and keeping the delicious flesh.

Chop cooked tomatoes and fennel into ½ inch pieces. Set aside one cup of the diced tomatoes, one cup of the diced fennel and ½ of the red pepper for the sauce. The remaining ingredients will be used for the topping or stored for future use.

To make the sauce:
In a food processor, puree one cup each of tomato and fennel and half of the roasted pepper (deseeded) for a nice thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the Seafood, Vegetable and Cheese Toppings:
Seafood and cheese may be prepared up to three hours ahead of assembly. See the recipe above for the recipe for roasting the vegetables.

Poaching Liquid for the Seafood
6 cups of water
2 cups of white wine
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
4 stems of parsley
3-4 fennel fronds
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of orange zest
A generous pinch of saffron

Seafood:
One 1-1/2 pound lobster (yields 8 ounces lobsters meat)
8 ounces scallops, trim and discard muscle and cut into ½ inch pieces
8 ounce swordfish steak, skin removed and cut into ½ inch pieces

Cheese
4 ounces of local Mecox Dairy Gruyere style cheese or a French Gruyere

Prep and measure the ingredients for the poaching liquid. Prep the seafood.

Poaching the seafood.
In a 16-quart stockpot, add all of the poaching liquid ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Steam the lobster for 9 minutes in the poaching liquid (larger lobsters take longer – add 3 minutes per pound) with a tightly covered lid. When the lobster is done, remove from the stockpot and let cool. Reserve the liquid to poach the scallops and swordfish. When the lobster is cool, remove shell being careful to keep the claw meat and lobster tail intact. Set aside. With the poaching liquid on a low simmer, poach the uniform ½ inch pieces of scallop and swordfish for 2 minutes until just cooked. Remove quickly with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain excess liquid. Cut the lobster tail and any broken claw meat into ½ inch pieces being sure to save any whole claws for the top.

HINT: Save the lobster shells for stock to be used in another recipe.

Grate the Gruyere cheese using the large holes of a box grater.

Baking the Puff Pastry and Assembling the Pizza
An hour and fifteen minutes before serving
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). For thin, crisp crust, roll puff pastry to between one-eighth and one-quarter inch thick on a well-floured surface. Using a knife and ruler, and cookie cutters, make your puff pastry dough shapes. For the pizza crust, cut the bottom crust of the pizza to a 6 x 12 inch rectangle and cut miniature walls for the top of the crust (two – ½ x 6 inch and two ½ x 12 inch). You will need two crusts for this recipe.

For the decorative cookies, use cookie cutters such as a lobster, fish, and seashells to add fun to your pizza presentation.

Place crusts and cookies on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and pierce several holes in the bottom shell with a fork to deflate some of the puffiness and get a crust more like a traditional crust that better accommodates toppings. It’s important to work quickly with the dough as warm puff pastry dough turns to mush and will lose its puff. If necessary, return cut shapes to the refrigerator before baking to keep the dough chilled. Cook pastry until golden brown and crisp (20-30 minutes or more depending on the size and thickness of the shape). Leave the crust on the parchment paper and cookie sheet since the pizza will go back into the oven to heat the toppings and melt the cheese.

Set up your toppings in separate bowls or plates (roasted fennel, roasted tomato, roasted red pepper, lobster, swordfish, scallops, and cheese). Heat the sauce. Using a spoon and a rubber spatula or silicon brush, apply sauce to the crust. Then, add the toppings to the pizza in the proportions that you prefer saving the cheese for last (I used a small amount of Gruyere or about 2 ounces on each of the 6x11 inch pizzas so as not to overpower the seafood with cheese).

Once assembled, put the pizzas in a 375-degree oven for about 8-10 minutes or just enough time to heat the pastry and toppings and melt the cheese. Be careful that the crust doesn’t burn. You can heat and serve any remaining toppings to serve along side the pizza for a hearty and complete meal.

Two 6” x 11” rectangular pizzas serve 4 people.

Locavores Descend on Mohonk Mountain House

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:01:00 +0000

When Henry and I first drove up to Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, we couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the 1870's Victorian castle, stone turrets and picturesque setting. We arrived Friday afternoon, during a bright and sunny moment of an otherwise stormy day, and just in time to kick-off Locavore Weekend.

From a cooking demo, with Ric Orlando of New World Home Cooking Co., wine and whiskey tastings, and local food and crafts artisans sharing their goat cheese, cookies, cupcakes and beer and celebrating the Hudson Valley, to learning more about the local food movement in New York from Lea Kone of NOFA-NY. It was a great weekend, I met lots of new people, and it was a true pleasure to present the Lighthearted Locavore's tips on buying and eating locally-sourced food in a storybook setting to so many lovely people.

Chef Ric Orlando, Apple-Leek Soup Demo (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Special thanks to the charming and talented dinner partners and Chefs Ric Orlando and John Novi of Depuy Canal House, father of 'nouvelle cuisine' and other "gustatory marvels" (People, 1983), for an amazing dinner and Whitecliff Vineyards for the tasty Gamay Noir buzz. And, to Katie, Elizabeth and Samantha for pulling off such a great event.

Foie Gras Pate, Spinach Mousse, and Rice Paper Habit with Fennel and Beet (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Novi prepared a local foie gras pate flavored with Tuthilltown whiskey that I had tasted a few hours earlier.....

Whitecliff Vineyards, 2010 Gamay Noir, Gardiner, NY and a glass of bubbly (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Our table of nine, including Ric, his wife Liz and family, John, and tastemakers Alison and Ken on a Dish Trip Foodie Travel Adventure, Henry and me, enjoyed several bottles of of the Hudson Valley's Whitecliff Winery's Gamay Noir, and some bubbly Ric had stashed in his room...

Cheers, Alison Benford (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

The locavore lobster and grits entree Orlando prepared was seasoned with Creole spices, including some kick-ass peppers and Andouille sausage.

Montauk Lobster and Wild Hive Grits (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

The cheese plate, which Novi curated, was a cow's milk cheese with cumquats from a New Paltz farm and local bread and butter.

Harpersfield Tilsit Cheese and Candied Cumquats (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

And, finally the Dressel Farms grown apples made a delicious cake -- despite being full I ate every last bite, including the ice cream and the mint leaf!

Warm Apple Walnut Cake (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

There was lots of fun activity on Twitter (@chefricorland, @lightlocavore, @dishtrip, @bonsaidollfern) and a post-trip review on Trip Advisor declaring Locavore Weekend at Mohonk Mountain House to be "locavore-rific". Hope to see you all next year!

21 New York City Winter Farmers Markets Open

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Apples at Columbus Avenue Greenmarket and Yellow Taxi (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Around February, even the most die-hard of locavores are challenged to find fresh local food in New York City and Long Island (unless of course you have a double-wide freezer or canned and dried foods that you preserved last year stashed under the bed).

In preparing for a presentation I gave last Saturday at the Mohonk Mountain House Locavore Theme Weekend (Hudson Valley), I was pleasantly surprised to discover there are 180 farmers markets in New York State that are open all year long. Twenty-one of those markets are right here in New York City with an impressive 15 accepting electronic benefits cards/food stamps (EBT).

And, good news for Manhattanites -- you can shop at a Greenmarket seven days a week this winter (daily schedule below). Look for me at the Upper West Side market on 79th Street and Columbus Avenue on Sunday -- I'll be stocking up for the Giants vs. Patriots game.

21 New York City Winter Farmers Markets
(For times, exact locations and a list of vendors, check out GrowNYC's website)

Manhattan: 
97th Street Friday (EBT) 
82nd Street Saturday (EBT) 
79th Street Sunday (EBT) 
Abingdon Square Saturday
 Bowling Green Tuesday & Thursday  
Columbia Thursday & Sunday (EBT) 
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Wednesday  
Inwood Saturday (EBT) 
Port Authority Bus Terminal Thursday 
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal Tuesday & Friday (EBT) 
Tompkins Sunday (EBT) 
Tribeca Wednesday & Saturday  
Tucker Square Thursday & Saturday 
Union Square Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday (EBT)

Brooklyn: 
Brooklyn Borough Hall Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday (EBT) 
Carroll Gardens Sunday (EBT) 
Cortelyou Rd Sunday (EBT)
 Fort Greene Park Saturday (EBT) 
Grand Army Plaza Saturday (EBT)
 Greenpoint McCarren Park Saturday (EBT)
Queens: Jackson Heights Sunday (EBT)

Now Open in Long Island (Weekends, check for dates and times)
••••G&G LI Farmers Market Huntington, Melville and Northport (Western Suffolk County) Newsday and Facebook listings
••••Sag Harbor Farmers Market, (Hamptons, Eastern Suffolk) Facebook page

New York State Directory
**** Farmers Market Federation of New York Market Listings -- Open for Winter

Some of my winter locavore favorites....seafood, milk, ice cream and cheese, dried beans, wheat and corn flour, baked goods, pork, beef, chicken, duck and turkey (especially turkey sausages), apple juices, canned goodies (tomato sauce, sweet and savory jams and jellies, pickled veggies) and, of course, wine and beer. I also like to talk to the farmers about the upcoming season and share recipe notes with other locavores. See you at the markets.

How to Make Peking Duck for Chinese New Year's

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:34:00 +0000

Sliced Peking Duck Served with Pancakes (photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

The Chinese culture is known for its festive banquets, particularly for weddings and Chinese New Year's celebrations, and crispy Peking duck. Cooking Peking duck at home is fun but also quite time consuming. I found this recipe to be relatively easy to follow and strongly suggest it's worth the try. January 23, 2012 marks the new year so out with the "year of the rabbit" and in with the dragon.

Long Island Pekin Ducks (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Fresh Long Island Pekin Duck Being "Fan Dried" (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

A Hot Bath for the Duck (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Crispy, Roasted and Ready for Slicing (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

The key to good Peking duck is the many-stage and all-day process of drying the skin, removing excess fat and glazing the bird with aromatic ingredients so that the roasted bird is crispy on the outside, lean, not greasy, and very moist on the inside.

Choose fresh -- never frozen -- Long Island duckling, whenever possible. And start cooking the night before or early in the morning to allow the skin to dry out before cooking. Drying the skin is step one. Hang it using a string wrapped under its wings and over a kitchen cabinet knob and use a fan to speed up the process.

While the duck is drying, you can go shopping for fresh vegetables to serve. I like to mix green and purple scallions, and serve a side dish such as bok choy.

A 5-minute bath in a honey glaze is step two. Lower the duck into the wok so as not to splash the hot liquid.

Step three is drying the freshly glazed skin again using the same method as step one. The Time-Life recipe calls for one hour in front of a fan at this stage; however, I followed other recipes that called for longer drying times (the drier the skin the crispier the duck).

Rolling the Peking Duck Pancakes (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Diving the Pancakes (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Steaming the Pancakes (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Two flour-water pancakes made with a cookie cutter are brushed with sesame oil, stacked and rolled again, cooked in a hot pan for two minutes and then separated. It is fun to peel the pancakes apart.

When I have it, I use beach plum jam instead of hoisin sauce although store-bought hoisin works equally well.

About 2-1/2 hours before you plan to serve dinner, and when the skin is dry like “parchment paper”, roast the duck.

As detailed in the recipe below and shown in the top photograph, the duck is plated on a serving dish, separating the various parts and serving on different plates (crispy skin, legs, breast meat). To serve, diners take a pancake, brush on hoisin or beach plum jam sauce using a scallion that's been cut to make a "paint brush", put duck meat and skin on top on top of the pancake, and then roll it up with the ingredients inside. Then, take a heavenly bite.

The dragon is a symbol of power and wealth. What could be better than a meal fit for an emperor -- Peking Duck?

RECIPE
Peking Duck-- A Dish Fit for an Emperor
Adapted from Time-Life's

Foods of the World Chinese Cooking

1 duck

Bath:
8 cups water
¼ cup honey
4 slices ginger root, sliced 1/8” thick
2 scallions

Wash duck. Wipe dry and tie string under wings. Hang in a cool place in front of an osillating fan for 2 hours. Fill a large wok with bath ingredients. Stir and boil. Lower duck into the boiling liquid and ladle liquid over duck to moisten all sides (continue for 5 minutes). Hang duck again and fan for 3-6 more hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place duck breast side up on rack in a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of water. Roast for one hour. Lower to 300 degrees (F), turn duck breast side down and roast 30 minutes. Turn breast side up again, roast 30 minutes until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Let sit on top of the stove for 15 minutes before carving. Using a sharp knife cut off crispy skin, carve legs and wings from the bird and slice the meat. Cut the skin into neat bite size pieces and the meat. Serve skin, legs and wings, and duck meat on separate serving platters.

Brush sauce onto pancake using scallion brush, add duck, some crispy skin, and scallion garnish. Roll pancake like a taco and eat. Serves 4.

Beverage Pairing: Serve with red or white wine: white Riesling or red Pinot Noir. Long Island has some great wines to pair with the Long Island duck.

RECIPE
Beach Plum Sauce
Heat until bubbling and let cool: ½ cup of beach plum jam, 1 tablespoon of local honey, 1 tablespoon of brown rice vinegar, ½ tablespoon of grated ginger root and ¼ teaspoon of Thai pepper.

RECIPE
Pancakes
For a video and tasty recipe, check out Videojug’s How to Make Chinese Pancakes.
You’ll need flour, water, sesame oil, sugar and a few special tools, including a rolling pin, cookie cutter and stop watch. Pancakes can be made ahead and steamed right before serving.

ABOUT THE LOCAL FOODS
Crescent Farms: Of literally hundreds of Long Island duck farms from the 1930’s and 1940’s on Long Island, only two remain.

Sang Lee Farm: largest grower of Asian vegetables for Community Supported Agriculture and Farmers Market customers

Duckwalk Vineyards and Winery

Paumanok Preserves and a few other local jam and jelly entrepreneurs make jam with local beach plums. Beach plums are native to Long Island and Cape Cod.

Honey by Don Sausser Apiaries of Southampton

Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Syrup Froth

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:43:00 +0000

There's nothing more wintery than butternut squash soup -- creamy roasted butternut squash soup topped with maple syrup froth and a dash cinnamon.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

First, cook the diced squash in stock with some onions and garlic.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

And, then prepare the milk and maple syrup for the froth.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

After the vegetables are soft, run them through the blender or food processor and top with froth and cinnamon.

Not only is this soup delicious but you can also feel virtuous knowing that you're off to good start for the new year at only 115 calories.

RECIPE
Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Syrup Froth

6 one cup servings

5 cups of vegetable stock or non-fat chicken broth
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, trimmed and deseeded
1 potato, peeled
1 apple, peeled

1/2 cup organic 2% milk
2 Tablespoons pure grade A medium amber maple syrup

Prepare vegetables as indicated. Cut squash, potato and apple into one inch cubes. Add stock, onion, garlic, squash and potato to a medium sized soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cubed apples. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Pierce the vegetables with a fork to test for doneness. When cooked through, turn off heat and let cool. Pureeing in a blender or food processor until velvety smooth. Reheat when ready to serve and garnish with a dash of cinnamon and spoonful of maple syrup froth.

To make the maple syrup froth, stir the maple syrup into the milk, then use your favorite kitchen tool for frothing as you would if you were making a cappuccino or latte.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

If you don't have a special frothing wand or cappuccino maker with a steamer attachment, add the milk and maple syrup to an oven proof glass jar, such as a Ball jar, and vigorously shake the milk for about 30 seconds to create bubbles.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

Microwave the milk in the glass jar for about a minute and it will froth up even more. Now it's ready to spoon on top.

Photos: Lexi Van de Walle

Or mix in to the velvety rich and colorful soup.....

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Jalepeno, Lemon and Ham

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:14:00 +0000

This recipe for Curried Red Lentil Soup with Jalepeno, Lemon and Ham was a big hit some time ago on Lighthearted Locavore -- and also got some attention from my editor at The Daily Meal. It's so easy and delicious.

REPRINT:
Perhaps it's because I'm married to a Southerner from Louisiana, but the idea of putting a ham bone and jalapeno pepper in an otherwise traditional Asian Indian curried red lentil (dal) soup recipe seemed like a worthwhile experiment.

Thick, tasty, red lentil soup (Photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

It's freezing in New York (30 degrees (F) going down to the twenties tonight) and all across the globe for that matter so a nice warm soup -- that cooks in less than a half hour -- is a great idea no matter whether your in Louisiana, New York, Tripoli or Bangladore. Better yet, I made the soup, not with locavore ingredients, but with foods I had in the fridge and pantry (it's too cold outside to shop)!

Red lentil beans, garlic, ginger, carrot and jalapenos (Photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

This recipe can be made vegan using vegetable stock and no ham, which is more like a traditional red lentil dal as Indians typically don't eat pork for cultural reasons.

Or include chicken broth and/or leftover ham, which adds some great flavor to an already tasty dish. Play around with the amount of curry and the vegetables -- perhaps add some celery or cilantro or a can of garbanzo beans (I did which made the soup into a rich almost stew like meal).

RECIPE SECRET: The addition of the lemon juice at the end is a must!

RECIPE

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Jalepeno, Lemon and Ham

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon mild or medium curry powder (if hot curry powder, use less)

1 1/2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed

4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups of canned tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or more to taste)

salt and pepper

Optional: leftover ham bone or cooked ham hock, 1 can of garbanzo beans, 1 celery rib chopped

Garnish: thinly sliced jalapeno pepper or chopped cilantro

In a saucepan, heat oil and add onion, pepper, garlic, carrot and curry powder. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add lentils, chopped tomato and broth (and optional ham bone or ham hock) and bring to a boil. Immediately reduced heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes until lentils are soft. If using a ham hock, remove from the soup, cut meat into 1/2 cubes and discard the fat and bone. Add salt and pepper to the soup and stir in lemon juice. Taste. Add more lemon juice, if desired.

Serve in cups or soup bowls and garnish with a thin slices of jalapeno pepper (or a dollop of yogurt). For a thinner soup, add more broth.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peconic Bay Scallops

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:46:00 +0000

By all accounts, the 2011-2012 scallop season on the East End is better than last year. One of my fave recipes is Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peconic Bay Scallops. It is not only the fresh flavors from the "just plucked out of the bay" scallops, fresh mint and cilantro, diced cucumber and scallions or excitement on your tongue from the dipping sauce -- a melange of limey citrusy, salty fishy and hot -- but how easy it is to make a tasty and healthy meal in about 20 minutes.

These Spring Rolls (also known as Salad Rolls) are like a warm Vietnamese scallop salad wrapped in a rice paper package. A gift on a plate and gluten-free.

Sauteed Scallops Wrapped inTranslucent Rice Paper (Photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

Dice your herbs and vegetables and set up the ingredients before sauteing the scallops. I had scallions, cucumber, mint and cilantro on hand...shredded carrots, Savoy cabbage, bean sprouts, Thai basil, red pepper, avocado, shredded lettuce are some other ideas. Go wild.

Chopped Mint, Cucumber and Lime Juice

I prefer to mix together a dipping sauce versus using calorie-rich bottled sauces such as peanut dipping sauce or hoisin. This one contains no oil. Juice of a lime, equal amounts of Vietnamese fish sauce and a pinky finger nail size dollop of A Taste of Thai Brand Red Curry Paste (or more to taste). Whisk together the ingredients.

Dipping Rice Paper Wrappers to Soften

Moisten your Spring Roll Wrapper - this is the hardest part - by dipping into a bowl of room temperature water being careful not to over saturate the disk. Place the softened wrapper on your work area until you are ready to add the fillings. The wrappers are made of rice paper (gluten free) and imported from Vietnam (all these Asian Ingredients can be found in Chinese grocery stores typically at very low prices or ordered online at Amazon or Pacific Rim Gourmet.)

Sauteed Scallops (Photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

Quickly saute scallops in either olive oil or butter until they are just cooked through (of course, scallops can be substituted with shrimp, grilled pork, or for a vegan and gluten-free option, cooked rice vermicilli or other Asian cellophane noodles). Place your seafood, meat or noodle filling in the center of the softened rice paper wrapper.

Scallop Roll Making in Process

Add a few diced vegetables, and then your herbs (I use whole leaves and removed the stems, of course) being careful not to over stuff your wrapper.

Scallop Roll Making in Process

Fold one side of the wrapper over the filling, then the other side so that the edges of the rice paper overlap to form a roll.

Scallop Roll Making in Process

Close the ends of the roll by folding them towards the center the way you would gift wrapping a present. Pat down to make sure the sides of the rice paper are sticking to each other so the ingredients don't fall out. Use scallions and herbs as a garnish and serve with the dipping sauce in a small bowl on the side of the plate.

Goat Stew (ala Bourguignon )

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:21:00 +0000

Photo (Lexi Van de Walle): Bubbling goat stew

I first made this goat stew a couple of years ago (and with local goat meat) and it is always delicious.

The preparation is reminiscent of a beef bourguignon (think Julia Child but not nearly as complicated) with a nod to traditional Caribbean goat recipes thanks to the Caribbean pepper sauce I use (although Tabasco works just fine). I serve the stew with sauteed mushrooms, from the farmers market when I can get my hands on them, and white rice.

You can make this stew in the slow cooker or a pressure cooker -- both are great ways to make the ultimate comfort food in the dead of winter -- a meaty stew.

RECIPE

Goat Stew with Farmers Market Veggies, Red Wine and Cognac

1 lb. local goat meat for stewing, deboned and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

a few dashes of hot sauce or red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

4 ounces tomato sauce (homemade or from the farmers market)

2 cups of red wine -- I use a relatively inexpensive Pinot Noir -- or vegetable stock

1/4 cup cognac

3 bay leaves

1. In a non-reactive bowl, add goat, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, hot sauce and salt and pepper. Stir, cover and marinate at least two hours or overnight.

2. In a Dutch oven or stew pot, heat pan for 3-4 minutes over medium high heat, add olive oil and then immediately add goat mixture and cook until browned about 6 minutes.

3. Add tomato sauce, red wine, cognac, and bay leaves and stir. The liquid should just cover the meat. If necessary add some more wine.

4. Cook until tender or about an hour over medium-low heat. If the meat is not tender, cook longer.

ABOUT THE FARMS
Snowdance Farms

Uphill Farm

Israel: Fine (Locavore) Dining in Jerusalem

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:45:00 +0000

Every time I tell someone about the wonderful meals I had in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, I hear about the horrible meals in Israel on trips made in decades past. Not so this trip!

Machneyuda Bar Scene, Jerusalem (photos: Lexi Van de Walle)

Today, agriculture in Israel is a highly developed industry with an abundant variety of fruits and vegetables, livestock and dairy, fish farms and wineries. Israel is also where chefs are taking cooking seriously, traveling abroad to France, Italy, America to learn, returning home and rising in status both locally and internationally for inventive, historic, fresh and delicious cuisine. And, since most of what Israelis eat is "grown in Israel" good locally grown and in-season food is not hard to find.

Open Kitchen and Well-Stocked Kitchen at Machneyuda

My trips abroad to Rome and Paris in recent years show that research really pays, especially when it comes to dining out. Mom and I scoured travel guides, magazines and tripadvisor.com. And, I reached out to friends, read Israel food books and my trade magazines for suggestions. Before departing on El Al, I had already made three reservations in Jerusalem: Sunday, the elegant Mona Restaurant; Monday, at the "hottest" restaurant in J-town, Machneyuda; and Tuesday, I secured a table at the world-renown Eucalyptus.

Of course, I forgot my camera for the dinner at Mona, and wasn't able to keep the table at Eucalyptus due to "traveler's flu" (although I did get a glowing review from Gary, one of the men in our New York Loves Israel group, who savored every bite of the tasting menu). So, all the photos are from Machneyuda which is an amalgam of the name of the "souk" market, Machne Yehuda, just two blocks away that I also visited on the trip (read the post).

"Very Local Lamb Chops"

Mom and I shared the "very local" lamb, crisp endive salad, and unbelievably inspired "Arab Classic" steak tartar, which is like American steak tartar rolled in bulgur wheat aromatically seasoned with cinnamon, allspice, mint and onions.

Endive, Pear, Kiwi, Blue Cheese and Nut Salad

The sashimi, apparently an Israeli specialty, was on the house (after Herb, our dining companion and "group leader" told our waitress I'm a food "critic"!!!) and quite fresh.

Sashimi "Uri" Style

Mary, who Mom and I shared the side trip to Bethlehem and Hebron with, said the salmon and soba noodles was well-seasoned and perfectly cooked. She ordered the Polenta and Mushrooms to start which I had a taste of -- a great combination of creamy, buttery and earthy.

Salmon Tokyo Style

Herb ordered the entrecote which arrived with some unbelievably tasty mashed potatoes on the side.

Steak and Unbelievable Mashed Potatoes

We had a delicious Clos de Gat Cabernet Sauvignon to go with all the red meat that went down so smoothly, we ordered a second bottle!

About the Jerusalem Restaurants

Machneyuda Restaurant

10 Beit Ya'akov St.

972-02-253-3442

Reservations essential several weeks ahead.

Mona

12 Shmuel Hanagid, Jerusalem, Israel

972-02-622-2283

Mona is an upscale fish and seafood restaurant in a lovely old stone building in the Artist Colony. Our waitress was incredibly warm and friendly. Mom and I shared warm homemade baguette and aioli, roasted eggplant "carpaccio" with sheep's milk yogurt, tahini dressing and tabbouleh, a fennel and roots salad (carrot, parsley, onion) with blue cheese, pear and a pickled lemon vinaigrette, and a veal fillet in au jus served over Pappardelle noodles. And, of course, a bottle of red wine: Karmei Yosef Merlot, Bravdo 2008. Mona is a culinary delight. Reservations needed.

Eucalyptus

Artist Colony of Hutzot Hayotzer

972-02-624-4331

Chef Moshe Basson has made a reputation for himself internationally for his re-creation of early Israeli cuisine. His inventive Kosher dishes use local and biblical ingredients and borrow from cuisines of the biblical holy land, Palestine, and Iraq. In addition to being a skilled chef, Basson is part food historian, part food advocate, part diplomat. He is founding member of the CHEFS FOR PEACE movement, a nonprofit dedicated to improving Israeli-Palestinian relations. Eucalyptus is known for its tasting menu, which is what our friend Gary raved about. At Eucalyptus, figs, pomegranates, zatar (herbs), sage, artichokes, lentils, couscous chicken and lamb rule! Reservations needed.

Israel: Olive Harvest and Bethlehem

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Thanks to Israel's Green Olive Tours in Tel Aviv, we spent the day with Yamen, an informative tour guide from Bethlehem, touring the West Bank.

We went to the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron, where we visited an olive oil press, glass factory, 1948 refugee camp, important religious sites, including the Church of Nativity and the Mosque of Abraham, shopped for embroidered goods and savored a traditional Palestinian lunch of chicken, rice pilaf, and yogurt.

Olive Groves in Bethlehem Along the Separation Wall Between Palestine and Israel (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

The trip to the West Bank was our first day out of bustling Jerusalem and one of many days on our trip across Israel that we'd see olive grove after olive grove after olive grove with ready to pick olives hanging from gnarly branches and silvery leaves.

Olive oil is a crucial source of income for Palestinians, where one in five people is an olive farmer, and the landscape is covered with hundreds of thousands of olive trees, many of which are hundreds of years old on land that has passed through generations of olive farmers. The olive harvest in Israel and the West Bank runs from mid-October to mid-November.

Lucky for me, our tour two Saturdays ago was just days before the end of the season and I got to see an olive oil factory in action. We visited "New Olive Press" factory on YMCA Street in historic Beit Sahour which is part of a fair trade Palestinian Olive Tree Campaign "Keep Hope Alive" that supports local farmers during harvest, pressing and planting of new trees.

Fresh Picked Olives Being Loaded Into the Press (photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Olives on the Conveyor Belt (and Yaman, our Guide)

Freshly Pressed "Virgin" Olive Oil

Farmers Waiting For The Press

Until 2000, farmers were self-sufficient. Now, many farmers cannot access their land or international markets due to the occupation of the West Bank by Israel and tightened security. There are barriers such as walls, fences, and barbed wire.

Olive Grove Surrounded on All Sides by A 30 foot Wall and Fences

Others are hamstrung by bureaucracy that requires farmers to have special permits to harvest on their own property -- sometimes the permit is good for one or two days and a limited number of workers. To produce the best olive oil requires a lot of workers over a longer period of time as olives should only be picked at peak ripeness. Traditionally, annual harvests involve all family members and is a communal affair that nearly half of all Palestinians engage in over nearly a two month period.

Other farmers are afraid to access their own property for fear of being attacked. Hundreds of olive trees across the region have been intentionally burned or uprooted by Israeli settlers in an effort to drive farmers from their land so settlers can expand their developments. Tons of olives have been stolen.

Organizations such as the YMCA and Rabbis for Human Rights have stepped in to protect the farmers, show support, and more importantly help to ensure at least some income for olive growing families. To date, nearly 100,000 trees have been planted to replace those that have been destroyed. The United Nations also recognizes the importance of the olive oil industry in a comprehensive 2008 report.

It was a great excursion...

Church of Nativity, Bethlehem

Cave Underneath Church of Nativity, Bethlehem, Where Jesus Was Born

Two Hebron Boys Selling Beaded Bracelets

Graffiti by BANKSY - Dorothy

Graffiti Banksy - Escalator to the Top of the Wall

Church of Nativity, Bethlehem

Glass Blowing, Hebron, West Bank

Israel: Mahane Yehuda Market in Downtown Jerusalem

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:26:00 +0000

Mahane Yehuda, "the souk", in Jerusalem

I just got back from Israel where I tried to eat as much seasonal and locally grown foods and delicious Middle Eastern dishes as possible (no Italian, French or Chinese for this traveler).

Crowds Shopping for Shabbot

On my first day, a Friday, our morning stop was Mahane Yehuda a very large market in the heart of Jerusalem that showcases the foods and diverse peoples of Israel.

Middle Eastern Spice Market at Mahane Yehuda

Fruit and Nuts at "The Souk"

We went before the Sabbeth and got an incredible feeling for the energy and vibrancy of "the souk", another name for the market because of its Arab origins, which was packed with shoppers getting ready for the Shabbot meal.

Cinnamon and other Spices at the Market

A combination covered and outdoor market, we wandered its many long hallways and enjoyed some sweet pastries from a bakery (I picked a honey bun that some bees were enjoying too) and then sipped a steaming hot cup of cappuccino at Danessi Caffe, a chain of espresso coffee bars.

Italian Coffee Bar at Mahane Yehuda

Honey Sweetened Pastry

Cappuccino

Pomegranates, pita, sabras, a yellow prickly pear cactus fruit, and some figs -- that's what we bought to take back to the hotel.

Olives

Prepared Hummus and Pestos

Prickly Pear Cactus aka Sabras

Pita Vendor

Mahane Yehuda is where chefs buy local ingredients, and locals shop for fresh meats, fish, produce, cheese, spices, baked goods, olives, nuts, dried fruit, fresh squeezed juices, housewares and clothing.

Pomegranates

Locavore inspired restaurants are in the neighborhood. Eucalyptus, a slow food favorite, and Machneyuda are two of the best know locavore eateries in Jerusalem and are both within a few blocks of the souk.

I scored a reservation at Machneyuda and savored every bite. Unfortunately, I had to forfeit my table for two at the highly coveted Eucalyptus to tend to my traveler's tummy. From what others tell me, Eucalyptus is worth a trip back to Israel.

Mahane Yehuda Market
Jaffa Road to the north, Agrippas Street to the south
Jerusalem, Israel

Machneyuda

10 Beit Ya'akov St.

Jerusalem, Israel

972(0)25333442

The Eucalyptus

14 Hativat Yerushalayim

Jerusalem, Israel

www.the-eucalyptus.com

Israel: 1868, Locavore Menu in Jerusalem

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Jerusalem is experiencing a revolution in the fine dining arena and particularly with locavore cuisine. According to the magazines and newspapers I read preparing for my trip, visionary chefs are offering incredible farm-to-table dishes.

Our first night, after what seemed like an eternity to get here, my mother and traveling companion and I arrived in Jerusalem from New York and ventured out to glamorous King David Street in the Mamilla area of West Jerusalem in search of a meal.

Lamb Kebab and Pickled Vegetables, 1868 (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

We wandered into 1868 Restaurant and were greeted with a warm welcome. And, some very good food prepared by Chef Yankaleh Turgeman.

1868 Restaurant Interior (Photo Courtesy of 1868 website)

1868's menu is "haute kosher" which is difficult to describe but my interpretation is a kind of Mediterranean and French fusion. The restaurant features many foods from Israel which, of course, is an incredible agricultural area. And, is housed in a circa 1868 stone house, the first outside of the walls of the Old City -- the dining room is attractively decorated and painted white.

1868 was on my short list of locavore eateries that I want to try so it was fun to head out to King David Street without a plan and just wander in. 1868 is an upscale jewel and must visit locavore restaurant if you're in the Holy City.

We enjoyed a few autumn treats and Israelil wine before heading back to our hotel to sleep off the jet lag.

We started with an amuse bouche of salmon croquettes flavored with coriander and sumac, a basket of bread with smoked black pepper aioli, and a glass of Gamla Syrah, Golan Heights 2009.

Pumpkin Soup (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Then came a velvety pumpkin soup,

and, lamb kebabs with pickled endive, beet and carrot.

To cleanse our palettes, we had a melon, cucumber and rum sorbet followed by a hefty portion of a meaty lamb stew with a trace of barley and carrots.

The bill by New York standards was quite reasonable. And, we enjoyed the local wine from one of the most popular wineries, which of course is made from grapes, one of the seven foods of Israel (grapes, olives, barley, wheat, dates, figs, pomegranates).

A Locavore Menu in the Holy City
1868 Restaurant
10 King David Street
Mamilla/City Center
02-622-2313

Snowdance Goat Leg on the Grill - Spicy Yogurt Marinade

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:17:00 +0000

I've been reading about traditional Middle Eastern foods lately in preparation for a trip to Israel and was inspired to create this spicy yogurt recipe to marinate a whole goat leg that I had butchered to order from Marc Jaffe's Snowdance Farms (one of the perks of my CSA Chubby Bunny NYC).

I have been wanting to slow roast a goat leg on the outdoor grill for some time. This recipe did not disappoint, and neither did the fresh, sustainably raised goat!

Snowdance Farm Grilled Goat Leg (Photo by Lexi Van de Walle)

Yogurt is mildly acidic and, like vinegar- or lemon-based marinades, helps tenderize the meat. The spices add a lot of flavor to the rather mild goat meat which by the way is considerably less gamey-tasting than lamb.

Yogurt Marinade with Middle Eastern Spices (Photo by Lexi Van de Walle)

I mixed together a cup of Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, the juice of a lemon and a teaspoon each of these spices: mustard seed, cayenne, paprika, cumin, and coriander.

Goat Leg -- Removing the "Papery" Skin (Photo by Lexi Van de Walle)

And, with a paring knife, removed the "papery" skin from the goat leg.This is a very important step for a tender roast.

Goat Leg on the Grill Over Indirect Heat (Photo by Lexi Van de Walle)

I marinated the goat leg for six hours covered in the refrigerator before cooking it on the Weber Grill over indirect heat (aim for about 300 degrees plus or minus) and cover. Slow cooking at this moderate heat takes about an hour and a half for the goat to cook through.

My family devoured the whole thing. Be sure to save the leftover scraps and bone to make a stock. Next time I'll make braised goat in my homemade stock that's stored in the freezer.

Thanks, Marc and Snowdance Farms....

Food Day: What's Cooking in New York City Today

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:11:00 +0000

I had a ton of fun touring the city at lunchtime today, Food Day, the inaugural celebration of "real" food which will be held every year on October 24th. Food Day is kind of like Earth Day, which celebrated its 42rd year this past April 22, only a lot more delicious.

NASDAQ is the Second Largest LED Billboard in Times Square

In the middle of Broadway's Times Square, Executive Director of Center for Science in the Public Interest and Food Day founder, Michael Jacobson, hosted a healthy lunch al fresco style for 50 chefs, food advocates, educators and public health/social marketing leaders who work hard every day to improve health, reduce obesity, teach children about food, protect the environment and cook delicious and real food.

Food Day's Massive Billboards Surrounded the "Real Food Eat In" on the Street Below

Mario Batali (left) Tweeting to the Music

Over lunch, local grass roots food advocates and health officials mingled with food celebrities Mario Batali (who was tweeting like crazy), Morgan Spurlock, and Ellie Krieger.

Tom Chapin, Native New Yorker, WHY Hunger Board Member and Musician

Tom Chapin, grammy winning singer/song writer/anti-hunger activist and, no doubt, a self-declared locavore with his new family-oriented album "Give Peas a Chance", sang for the growing crowd.

Food Systems Leaders: Hilary Baum (left) of Baum Form and Lynn Fredericks (right) of Family Cook Productions

It was fun to see Food Systems NYC colleagues Hilary Baum and Lynn Fredericks who were among the "eat in attendees" and got to enjoy the local, seasonal and healthy lunch at the communal table....

Mary Cleaver of The Cleaver Co and Green Table

and Mary Cleaver too....


Michael Jacobson, Center for Science in the Public Interest (right) introducing Food Network's Ellie Krieger (left)

Michael Jacobson, introduced Ellie Krieger who provided the recipes for the eat-in from her latest cookbook Comfort Food Fix.


Food Play Productions -- Juggler

A produce juggler from Food Play Productions in Massachusetts, a theatrical food education program for kids, came to New York to entertain us with his cabbage, tomato and apple "juggle" (I'm was amazed by how easy he made it look).

Lexi Van de Walle (human) with the T.G.I.M. Meatless Monday Crew

And, Meatless Monday created some fun with it's T.G.I.M. photo booth -- don't you love this shot of me in the middle of Times Square?

Mario Batali (pony tail) Wearing Orange Crocs

After talking to a bunch of folks and taking pictures at the Times Square event, my Food Day visit to Times Square was complete when I caught a glimpse of Batali in his signature orange Crocs.

Original Food Day Sign at Union Square Farmers Marke

I headed down to Union Square Farmers Market where the energy was more focused on shopping than speeches.

Then zipped up to EATALY to sample one of the most delicous (and salty) oysters I've ever tasted --a farm raised Wellfleet oyster harvested this morning -- before returning to the office for a hot cup of vegetarian split pea soup and an afternoon of work!

Logo courtesy of Center for Science in the Public Interest

Food Day: New York Supports Sustainable Seafood

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:42:00 +0000

Food Day, which I wrote about yesterday, has its inaugural event on Monday, October 24th, and is all about bringing attention to the "good food" movement that so many of us have been working on in New York and around the country.

Over the years I've noticed that school food, farmers markets and pasture raised, grass-fed meat, and other "know your farmer know your food" efforts receive a lot more attention than "know your fisherman know your seafood", "sea to table" and other sustainable seafood enterprises get.

I got an email yesterday from food writer and marketer Michelle Kiefer. Michelle works for Brooklyn-based Sea to Table. She wrote to let me know about their participation in Monday's FOOD DAY celebration at Mario Batali's Eataly, a 50,000 square foot European-style market.

After clicking through their website, I realized the reason that I had never heard of Sea to Table, a NYC direct-to-chef seafood company that connects small-scale fisherman and their fresh wild catch with restaurants, IS because I'M NOT A CHEF!!! That's when the dreaming started.

In my dream life, I'd cook in a restaurant. I'd wear bright turquoise colored plastic clogs (think Mario Batali's trademark orange Crocs). I'd serve local, seasonal foods, and sustainably raised meats. I'd have a close relationship with my seafood purveyor -- Sea to Table perhaps -- and buy fish from the docks in Montauk as well as feature sustainably caught and fresh fish from Maine, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico on my menu.

Montauk Fisherman Kevin O'Malley with Fluke Montauk Fisherman (photo courtesy of Sea2Table.com)

Today's Catch - Rod and Reel Caught Bluefish from Montauk

What struck me about Sea to Table is their "wild, sustainable and direct" business model which connects small scale fishermen using traditional methods for catching fish such as rods, lines and hooks, and hand held rakes (vs. industrial fishing which uses miles-long nets and bottom draggers that destroy our oceans) with chefs across the country. Many of these chefs run top notch restaurants (see the list below) and their customers appreciate the superior quality of a fish caught with a hook and line and are willing to pay for it.

Via it's online "from the dock" web page, similar to the farmers market and community supported agriculture direct sales model, Sea to Table allows more of the profit to go into the fisherman's pocket because the direct to chef supply chain significantly reduces the number of people who handle the catch.

Join Sea to Table at Eataly
Monday, October 24th
11 am and 4 pm
Learn about and taste Maine lobsters
200 Fifth Avenue (at 23rd Street)

I hope you'll get over to Eataly and visit with the folks from Sea to Table.

Thank you Michelle for bringing my attention to this cutting-edge distributor to my attention. See you at Eataly! I'll be the one looking for Mario Batali and his bright orange Crocs.

RESOURCES
Sea to Table distributes to these fine restaurants in New York City (thanks for getting me the list, Michelle): ABC Kitchen, Back Forty, Bobo, Brooklyn Larder, The Cleaver Co. and Green Table, David Burke Townhouse, Del Posto, Eataly, Egg, Esca, Fat Radish, Felidia, Hung Ry, Inside Park at Saint Bart's, Isa, Lot 2, Lupa, Marea, Momo Sushi Shack, Minetta Tavern, Palo Santo, Quality Meats, Resto, Terrapin.

Download Long Island's Blue Ocean Institute's FishPhone app and learn more about which species are endangered and you should avoid and those that are abundant and sustainable when caught responsibly.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - the movie (click here for the trailer) - a great movie about Tokyo's top sushi chef, sustainable purchasing and the need to manage our oceans.

From Tribeca Film Festival, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi follows 85-year-old master sushi chef Jiro Ono, paying lushly photographed homage to the process of preparing the artisan sushi that earned Ono's esteemed Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant three Michelin stars. From the complicated relationship between Jiro and his sons to the ins and outs of the tuna auction, this spirited film profiles all aspects of Jiro's craft in tantalizing style and detail."

Food Day: New Yorkers Are Preparing To Celebrate

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:14:00 +0000

On Monday, October 24th, America's inaugural Food Day, organized by Center for Science in the Public Interest, will kick off with thousands of events across the country. Several notable celebrations in NYC and on Long Island are in the works.

The reasons to support Food Day are many -- increase awareness of the connection between food and disease, provide support for local farmers/sustainable fishermen, promote healthy food access in low income neighborhoods, protect the environment, improve conditions for food and farm workers, and provide our children with the knowledge they need for long-term human and environmental health.

FIND AN EVENT:
Check out the Food Day website and type in your zip code -- there are thousands of events across the US -- for a huge buffet of events in New York and beyond. Here's what I found in our area (click on the links):

Local area celebrations from know your farmer and other educational events in schools, fundraisers for hungry New Yorkers, good food movie screenings, concerts, rallies, at private home dinners and special restaurant events.

Right now, I'm planning on heading down to EATALY, a partner of Food Day, on Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street to meet with some farmers, food purveyors and fishermen (and sample some locally grown and locally harvested and delicious food).

Then, I'll head over to the "eat real eat-in" at Times Square with an impressive speaker line up including Food Network host/cookbook author Ellie Krieger, chef Mario Batali, Super Size Me movie star Morgan Spurlock, chef/caterer Mary Cleaver, Dr. Isobel Contento, food politics maven Dr. Marion Nestle, and the Meatless Monday campaign founder, Sid Lerner. The "eat real eat in" starts at noon.

FREE RECIPE BOOK:
Even if you can't attend an event, consider cooking a seasonal, sustainable and healthy meal from this mouth-watering and downloadable recipe book. And, in honor of the Meatless Monday campaign, also consider the easy meat-free, dairy-free and fish-free alternatives. Learn more about Food Day Meatless Monday!

What are you doing to celebrate Food Day on Monday?

Roasted Winter Squash Seeds (Delicata Squash) Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:41:00 +0000

As many of you know, I've been on a hiatus. I'll be back soon. In the meantime, I got a huge bump in traffic this week after someone over at FARM FRESH TO YOU (with over 13,000 Facebook likes) posted my easy and delicious fall recipe.

Roasting the seeds from winter squash is the vegivore-locavore's equivalent of "nose to tail" cooking and delicata squash is the perfect "nose to tail" vegetable as every part of the squash is delicious, skin and seeds included (the skin on the delicata squash is so thin there's no need to peel it). Serve hot or cold alongside a glass of red wine, hot apple cider or glass of sherry.

Any winter squash, such as a pumpkin, delicata, acorn or butternut squash, can be used. Save the seeds and rinse with water to remove the orange pulp. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture before spreading out on the pan.

Drizzle with a small amount of oil (I used a local sunflower oil) and stir to coat evenly, then bake until golden brown.

RECIPE

Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

Winter squash seeds

Sunflower or olive oil

Kosher or artisanal salt

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees (F). Oil a cookie sheet or baking dish with a thin layer of oil or line with parchment paper. Save the seeds from a winter squash, such as delicata, acorn or butternut squash, and rinse with water to remove the orange pulp. Pat dry with a paper towel before spreading out on the pan. Drizzle with a small amount of oil and stir to coat evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or so until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. Generously sprinkle with salt.

Cold Borscht Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:19:00 +0000

With the last days of summer upon us, and a two weeks supply of beets from Chubby Bunny CSA, I decided to make a Cold Borscht Soup. Super Easy. Delicious. And, low calorie (just 1 Weight Watchers Points Plus).

Beets -- roasted, peeled and chopped

We love cold soups, especially during the summer when tomatoes, summer fruits and cucumbers are abundant for Gazpacho or Cold Cucumber Soup --we loved this borscht recipe too.

Bright magenta borscht with a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt

I don't think I've ever tasted cold (and vegetarian) borscht soup as the borscht recipes that I've eaten have been not only hot, but made with beef or chicken stock with generous portions of beef and the addition of other vegetables. Think thick, rich, and one-pot meals.

What makes borscht "borscht" is the sour taste that you get from either lemon or vinegar according to my research. This recipe is light and refreshing and contains just a few ingredients -- beets, onions, fat free yogurt, and lemon for the "sour".

Today's recipe is from Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today which I picked up earlier in the week because I'm planning a trip to Israel in November and is simply a puree of roasted beets, onion, salt, sugar (I used local honey), water, lemon and sour cream or yogurt (I used local, fat-free Fage Greek yogurt), with fresh dill and chives (I had only dried herbs which are not as tasty as fresh).

RECIPE
Cold Beet Borscht with Dill and Chives
Joan Nathan wrote a piece a year ago, "Borscht: Hot and Cold and Red All Over" and included a copy of the cold borscht recipe that I made this morning (the only change is the addition of celery). Click here for hot, cold and delicious BORSCHT RECIPES.

Hurricane Prep, and Cold Cucumber Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:58:00 +0000

One thing about massive storms like Hurricane Irene is that they literally turn your life upside down and force you to take care of basic necessities such as safety, shelter, toilet flushing and, of course, what your going to eat if the electricity goes out.

After the heavy duty outdoor chores and a warm lunch of Atlantic Gray Sole with Wine and Dill and Grilled Corn, we headed down to Meadow Lane in Southampton to look at the surf and get a look at the Shinnecock Inlet which if you don't know cut into the Dune Road/Meadow Lane barrier beach that runs from Southampton to Westhampton in the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 aka "the Long Island Express". Unfortunately, County Parks personnel barricaded the the park and we could not get anywhere near the inlet.(Check out the live webcam below if you want to watch the surf - it updates every 15 minutes).

Pre-Irene Surf in Southampton, Long Island

When I got home I made a fresh batch of Fresh Tart's dairy-free cold cucumber soup which I thought would keep well and be a welcomed accompaniment to tonight's Hawaiian Poke Tuna and Avocado dinner or lunch tomorrow just as the hurricane hits the East End.

And then finished some more chores....

- filled the bathtubs with water to bath with and flush toilets since if the electric goes out our well pump won't work
- made some fresh blocks of ice using zip lock bags (don't fill all the way) to put in our Igloo cooler if we need to
- check the batteries and bulbs in our flashlights, and tested the emergency crank radio
- moved the cars to high ground
- re-checked outside for potential projectiles

Soup's in the fridge.

Now back to the webcam...click here to view an updated live shot

Hurricane Prep, and Sauteed Atlantic Gray Sole with Wine and Dill

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Despite the roller coaster upgrades and downgrades of Hurricane Irene by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the past few days, Henry and I decided to play it safe and ready our bayfront home, kitchen and fridge this morning in Southampton, NY. Which for me, of course, means cooking up a storm!!!

Chlorine bath for the outdoor chaises, and dining table and chairs (photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

It took several hours, but we moved all the plants, garden ornaments, hoses, grill and extra tanks, bird feeders, hoses, doormats, secured the firewood, and threw the lawn furniture into the pool.

A light brush of olive oil adds a lot of flavor

Then I put some corn on the grill....

And, sauteed some unbelievably tender fillets of Atlantic Gray Sole in butter for just 3-4 minutes total....

...and finished the pan with some sauvignon blanc left over from last night's dinner party, fresh minced dill and a tad more butter.

About the Seafood

These Gray Sole fillets are from our favorite fishmonger, CorJ's just a mile from the commercial fishing dock at Shinnecock Inlet. Gray sole is also called "witch flounder" -- it's a flat fish, like flounder, and pale gray in color. "Witch flounder" are caught in the Atlantic off the East Coast. The fillets are pure white, relatively small and elegant. Gray sole can grow to as long as 24 inches and weigh 5 pounds (Source: James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish: The Cook's Indispensable Companion)

Shepherd's Pie Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:55:00 +0000

A great summer dish for company in the summer is grilled butterflied leg of lamb particularly for all the recipes that you can make with the leftovers --- this Shepherd's Pie recipe is easy to make, and a crowd pleaser. Although the lamb is not from the Northeast (it's from Colorado) the rest of the ingredients are locally grown and delicious this time of year.

Shepherd's Pie (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

RECIPE

Easy Lamb Shepherd's Pie

If you don't have a piece of leftover lamb leg, ground lamb is a delicious substitute.

1 pound fingerling potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup of skim milk

3 large carrots, cut in circles

1 pound of peas

Olive Oil

1 onion, diced

1 lb. leftover grilled lamb, trimmed and cut into1/2 inch cubes

2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, minced

2 tablespoons of butter (for browning the potatoes)

Fill a large pot with cold water and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until tender and drain. Transer the potatoes to a large bowl and while hot use a potato masher to "smash" the potatoes. Add butter and milk and continue smashing until creamy smooth. Set aside. In separate pots, boil peas until tender, drain and set aside and boil carrots until tender, drain and set aside. In an oven proof saute pan, add olive oil and heat over medium flame. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then, add rosemary and lamb and cook until rare pieces are browned. Set aside.

Just before serving dinner, assemble the Shepherd's pie in an oven proof pan. The bottom layer is the meat and onion, the second layer is the cooked vegetables and the smashed potatoes are the top layer. Add small pieces of butter to the top of the potatoes and broil until browned and heated through.

Raspberry Jelly Omelet Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Like so many people, I often make the foods of my childhood -- for me, this morning it was the jelly omelet that Minnie, our nanny/housekeeper growing up, had made for me time and time again. I hadn't set out to make a jelly omelet but when I saw the last spoonfuls of homemade raspberry jam that my friend Laurie made, I immediately decided I had to pair some with my fresh farm eggs.

Raspberry Jelly Omelet (Photo: Lexi Van de Walle)

Curious about the origin of jelly omelets, since I don't really know anyone who ate them growing up, and only see them on menus, mostly diners, once in a blue moon, I did a little research.

Jelly omelets have been on American menus and in recipe books since the early 1800's. According to an article in The Montreal Gazette in 1909, the original jelly omelet hails from Germany. Parisian menus featured jelly omelets in the 1930s, and railroad menus of bygone years served jelly omelets in their dining cars. Quince, guava, current, strawberry were among the many flavors, with grape being the most common. Fannie Farmer featured a simple jelly omelet in 1896...

Original 1896 Boston Cooking School Cook-Book by Frannie Merritt Farmer

My recipe, apparently, like Fannie Farmer's version, is the easy jelly omelet recipe and less fluffy than more traditional offerings. Mine is more of pancake egg and I prefer it without any added sugar. Unlike an omelet, a pancake egg is browned on both sides.

RECIPE #1

Easy "Pancake Egg" Version

2 local eggs

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon local butter

2 tablespoons no-sugar raspberry jam

Whisk eggs and water until bright yellow. Heat butter to sizzling in a crepe pan or small no stick pan over medium-high heat. Pour egg mixture into the pan and let set. When the egg is browned, carefully flip using a pancake turner to brown the other side. Add jam.

RECIPE #2

Jelly Omelet (Fluffy version) featured in The New York Times

"What Every Woman Wants to Know", 11/8/1914

Clipping from The New York Times, What Every Woman Wants To Know

If you've never had a jelly omelet then you don't know what you're missing.

PHOTOS: Grown On Long Island Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lexi Van de Walle) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:37:00 +0000

I just got back from Yaphank, about 30 minutes west of Southampton, where Cornell Cooperative Extension/Suffolk, Peconic Land Trust, Long Island Farm Bureau and others hosted the first annual "Grown on Long Island Day" -- a locavore showcase of the island's finest fruits, vegetables and flowers.

A festive environment, folks chomped on roasted corn and a group of kids sang along to "Old McDonald Had A Farm"...

People ate. There were fresh grilled burgers and hot dogs and lots of delicious looking salads made with veggies donated by local farms.

People shopped. Windy Acres Farms bi-color corn was so sweet and juicy -- no cooking or butter required-- I bought six ears. I also picked up some heirloom tomatoes and arugula micro greens, and two jars of homemade jam -- raspberry and mixed berry -- from Sunnyblue Preserves.

Children played. There were farm animals and antique tractors.

And, entrepreneur's showcased...

One Woman wine by North Fork's Claudia Purita

Sunnyblue jams by Carol Hammerle of Sayville

Rustic Roots Delivery (local and organic food delivered right to your door) by Jeff and Emer Moore of Jamesport

...and Davis Farms very peachy Sangria Mix.

Many of the vendors, donated some or all of their proceeds to Island Harvest, Long Island's largest hunger relief organization.