This weekend's visit to Washington County, on the Vermont border in upstate New York, was a blur of rolling hills fading from green to gold and bare silver birches gleaming against the turquoise skies. What a delight it was to stay at our friends' comfy old farm house, sleeping in green flannel sheets and heading out in the morning to get fresh raw milk from the neighbors' cows. My dear friend of nearly 30 years married into this farm at a time when her husband was getting ready to sell it, and she had to cry copious tears to prevent the sale. Thirteen years later, they've just purchased some black Angus cattle, a naturally hornless Scottish breed much used in beef production and, together with another farmer, are going to produce grass-fed beef. In her inimitable style, my friend Sarah has decided to start a cooperative to team up with other local beef producers so they can offer the consistent quality supply that the biggest and best markets require. Their first meeting was on Friday, and G and I were very interested to see what it was all about. But first, we had to meet the cows...
Read More...

This past weekend G and I attended a workshop about raising chickens. It's something we've been daydreaming about for a while, because we've long enjoyed the delicious eggs from River Brook Farm. And because we could really use the poop to fertilize our garden. So we signed up to learn about this ancient enterprise from Mark and Barbara Laino at Midsummer Farm in Warwick. This amazing couple is into organic, sustainable farming; they grow vegetables and herbs, raise animals, and hold down full-time jobs. Barbara is also a holistic nutritionist, and I was thrilled to see several pages of egg recipes from Nourishing Traditions (one of my bibles) in the packet they send home with you.

Read More...

Outstanding in the Field is a very unique organization whose mission is "to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it." Every year they organize big farm-centric dinners, and then about 8 people board a bus and drive around the country making them happen. The dinners average about 150 people and take place on farms, on mountaintops and sometimes indoors in museums or barns. The one we attended was at Mountain Sweet Berry Farm in Roscoe, New York, and the guest chef for the evening was Jim Lahey of New York City's Sullivan Street Bakery (and the fantastic pizza restaurant, Co., also mentioned here.) He did an impressive job of putting fresh, delicious food on the table for 150 eager diners seated at one long table along a riverbank. It was a gorgeous setting and a lot of fun to break bread with strangers. The atmosphere was informal and highly convivial.
Read More...

Meet Louise, an enormous black milk cow who'd just given birth to this still-trembling little calf on Saturday morning when we stopped by our small local farm to pick up some raw milk. They're kind enough to sell it to us right from the cow. Well, pretty much. It's legal in New York, but only if you buy it directly from the farm. (It's banned outright in New Jersey, and available at retail in Connecticut.) You'll need to bring your own container—I use big glass jugs. If this recent article in New York magazine is any indication, raw milk is gaining in popularity as people begin to understand more about its nutritional value and appreciate its wonderful taste. (Old-style delivery services will bring it right to your door!) My mother-in-law was absolutely horrified at the idea of us drinking raw milk, and that's a testament to how this country has been brainwashed into believing that industrialized food is cleaner and safer. But in fact, high-heat pasteurization and homogenization do a great disservice to the quality and value of the milk we drink. And most cases of salmonella associated with milk in the past decade have been from pasteurized products. Perhaps, like I did, you shun milk altogether? As recently as a couple of months ago, I was posting about all the alternatives—soy, almond, rice, hemp. Now that I've learned about how the high-heat and chemical extraction processes essentially damage these foods, I really can't recommend you consume any of them on a regular basis. I know, I know, the ground beneath us is always shifting. But I feel much more empowered now that I have begun to do my own research (forever indebted to Sally Fallon of Nourishing Traditions) and really understand the science behind my food choices. Don't despair, there's still plenty of good stuff to eat.

 

Last night I dined at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the much lauded restaurant that is at the heart of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. The restaurant sources pristine ingredients from the surrounding fields and pasture, as well as other local farms, and some farther afield--including the Barber's own family farm in Great Barrington, MA, also called Blue Hill, where it all began with their grandmother. There are just two tasting menus available—5 courses or 8—and the menu lists only a long series of ingredients (more than 100), so that diners can see the palette with which the chef Dan Barber is working that day. He is deeply invested in building flavor literally from the ground up. I once saw him speak about his attempt to grow carrots flavored with almond. (It didn't work.) This is seasonal, farm-to-table eating in locavore heaven. Their websiteis very deep and rich, and you can lose yourself for ages there reading fascinating stories and watching wonderful little videos about their eclectic providers (the mushroom farmer, the berry guy, etc.). I recommend a visit—to the website and the restaurant, and to the farm, for that matter.

 

Our journey north yesterday was so much fun! Visiting River Brook Farm in Cochecton really got me excited about the arrival of the new season—though in the wake of gale force winds and freezing rain that still seems a ways off up here. Still, nothing says spring like cuddling with a baby goat. They are so silky and sweet-smelling, so lovable and mischievous, nibbling on your hair and your fingers and your collar. As you can see, I was in ecstasy. It was also great to see the farmers, Alice and Neil, whom we hadn't visited in a couple of months. They're all revved up for planting season, super-organized and already cutting bags of salad greens—spinach, mache, miner's lettuce, etc—from their greenhouse. And they've still got several kinds of potatoes, jars upon jars of rare heirloom beans, and hardy vegetables like squash and celery root.

After a prolonged stop at the farm, we made our way up to Delaware Delicacies, Ray Turner's smokehouse in a remote corner of Hancock, New York.
Read More...