Sandy Takes a Bite Out of Homegrown

There it was on the front page of The New York Times’ Sunday newspaper.

If a picture tells a thousand stories, the image of Long Beach, Long Island as the poster child of all that is horrific about Sandy told at least that many Homegrown stories – - and more.

See, I was just there the week before at a Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook event at the Long Beach Farmers Market.   

It was a beautiful location: a fountain area, grower’s tents and events for children. 

The day was sunny and mild and happy. 

Author, me:(L) & LI Greenmarket Guru, Bernadette Martin

Families were enjoying the Halloween and harvest festivities, including pumpkin painting and exuberant, costumed “profiling” while on-site bands and musicians kept the festivities skipping along.  

It was rather like old home week—the Benoir & the Long Beach All Stars band lead came over to say hello.

He explained the name as Renoir with a B.  Worked for me.  http://www.reverbnation.com/benoi

Renoir

Turns out he is a friend of my hairdresser, Danielle (an amazing artist, too) and her husband, who is a New York City fireman. 

It was a loving, family-fueled day that is a happy memory.  

Further, the schedule was to work a sister Long Island Farmer’s Market in Kings Park the next day, October 28^th

But given the impending news of Sandy’s creeping, jaw-dropping, “Uninvited Guest” status, we determined to reschedule that event.

Given Sandy’s wallup and the follow on nor’easter, the Kings Park and other greenmarkets events will be rescheduled to – the spring of 2013…

Mother Nature is in charge, after all. She is almost like the perfect admin  -- if we can just listen…

So it goes.

As author, I’ve been working to not only manage and survive the challenges of Sandy and our book tour events but to keep the Facebook page updated.

I’ve had mixed results, to say the least.

Today, The Sickles Market team worked to move tomorrow’s event to a date better for their customers and fans.

www.sicklesmarket.com

The new date will be Saturday, December 8^th.  

More on this special book event later.  It doesn’t get better than Sickles…

And despite Sandy and nor’easter – this needs to be a good week for food and Homegrown restaurants.

Here is my news post on Long Island Restaurant Week, highlighting the Hamptons & Long Island restaurants featured in the book.

Please enjoy the Homegrown restaurants this week – and every week.

http://www.examiner.com/article/homegrown-chefs-highlight-long-island-restaurant-week

Chef Bryan Futerman, Foody's  Restaurant

Bill and I will be at Foody’s restaurant in Water Mill, Saturday, November 10th  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foodys/118736102307

for Chef Bryan Futerman’s very special Homegrown dinner and benefit for Slow Foods East End. 

A Special Harvest Dinner with Author Leeann Lavin

Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook

Duck Liver Mousse Crostini
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Exotic Spiced Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Soup Falkowski Oyster Mushrooms
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Caramelized Peconic Bay Scallops

Halsey Cauliflower

Sauvignon Blanc Pan Sauce
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Long Island Duck “Two-Ways”

Rutabaga Mash, Local Brussels Sprouts

Festival Red Reduction
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Milk Pail Apple Croustade

Mecox Cheddar, Wildflower Honey, Caramel Gelato

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Paumonauk Vineyards

2011 Sauvignon Blanc & 2010 Festival Red

Thunder Island Organic Coffee

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I made a reservation at Anna Pump’s Bridgehampton Inn.   Cerene took good care of me already...What a sweetie.

http://www.landfcookshop.com/bhinn/

The Bridgehampton Inn is an historic inn built in 1795.  Today, The B&B offers a charming museum-like home décor and ambiance.

At the core of the Inn is also the CookSchool.  Pure culinary charm, Anna and Sybille’s way…

Can’t wait to see my Homegrown friends on Saturday – from chef Bryan to Slow Foods’ Anne Howard and her husband Mort Cogan (former clients of mine from my former tech days).

And Annette Hinkle, Sag Harbor Express

http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/arts/homegrown-hamptons-where-farmers-and-chefs-are-friends-20383

I have a lovely story to share about my interview with Annette at the incomparable American Hotel in Sag Harbor.

There is so much good news about Homegrown Long Island that I cannot wait to share. 

Sandy and the Nor’easter have dictated too much “pause” in my updates and reports. 

I respect Mother Nature and will do my best to stay plucky in terms of securing power and time to write and post…

Author Homegrown Book Signing At Long Beach Farmers Market October 27

Bernadette Martin is a force of nature.

A homegrown hero ready made for a Sundance documentary.

A Future Farmers of America (FFA) who made good on the dream.

Martin’s passion and knowledge of horticulture and local agriculture is what fuels the success of Nassau County’s Long Island Farmer’s Markets.

After years of dedicated work as a farmer’s inspector with the New York City Greenmarket network and credentialed practice within the burgeoning field of horticulture therapy, Martin returned to her roots in Long Island only to find to her great distress, that there was “nothing to eat.”  

Something had been lost. In 2008, she found the area more “food challenged” than it’s true pedigree of homegrown.

Foodstuffs grown in the unique soil and terroir of Long Island had long had a reputation for the flavor it imparts to the vegetables and fruits. Same with the waters.

So what’s a foodie to do? Martin called her legislator in town to secure support in order to establish a local farmer’s market.
“That was in March. By July – we were up and running as Long Island Farmers Market,” Martin recalls with justified pride. http://ligreenmarket.org/LIGREENMARKET.ORG/Long_Beach.html

For anyone who has not worked in agriculture, it’s worth pointing out that in this geography and growing zone zip code – even up and down more than a few numbers on the scale, there isn’t a busier time on the farms except for the harvest. 

The fact that Martin helped coalesce the local food market is a huge accomplishment – and within such a small window of precious seasonal spring -- is nothing short of a miracle...

And the accomplishment also reveals her personal relationship to the land and the water – and to the professionals who yield food from nature here.

“You have to know them,” noted Martin, explaining how she was able to get the local farmers on board – and so quickly.

“You have to be someone they respect, “she added.

Basically, through networking and persistence, Martin single-handedly called the producers, starting with a clutch of New York’s favorites, including Red Jacket Orchards (LOVE their Tart Cherry juice!), B&J Organics, fishermen from Oceanside and Freeport, and Bread Alone. 

From there, it was word of mouth that encouraged other producers to join the ever-growing greenmarket.

Today, the Greenmarket provides a cornucopia of food including certified organic vegetables and greens, Long Island corn, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, squash and onions, fresh fruits and juice, cheese, milk, wine, pasta, pickles, regional shellfish and fish, and baked goods.

Rob Carucci, a second-generation Mattituck, Long Island farmer whose Carucci Greenhouses & Farm produces mouth-watering, organic food in just about every season, offering a vast variety, including pumpkins, leeks, bok choy, radishes, eggplant beans, eggs, squash, and of course, Long Island corn and the Carucci specialty: tomatoes.    

A certain fast food company may lay claim to a special sauce but Rob says his father has a truly special way with food. 

“If he’s not farming; he’s in the kitchen cooking,” he says with a smile.  “And he loves to share his recipes with our customers.”

Rob goes on to say how his father has a way of working with the already unique Long Island soil.  “It’s a family secret that all our customers swear makes the tomatoes so flavorful,” he explains

“Everyone loves them,” claims Carucci.

The eight varieties of Carucci tomatoes include Pick Red, plum, several varieties of heirloom, grape, tomato, cherry and Sun Gold.

The Carucci’s have been part of Martin’s circuit of greenmarkets since she launched them in ’08. 

“She fantastic,” said Carucci.  “Bernadette runs one of THE best Greenmarkets.  They are professional; she knows how to market them; and there is great camaraderie, “ he explained, noting that prior to working with her in Long Island they had worked the NYC greenmarkets.

His father bought the farm 33 years ago and the expanded family continues to nurture the 37-acre farm -- and seven very large greenhouses  -- that supply homegrown food to Island residents and nearby chefs. They’ve even grown specific items when chefs ask them to.  “We had a local pickle company ask us to grow things for them too,” he commented.

When asked how to describe their customers, Carucci said “Greenmarket customers are more educated, more sophisticated, health conscious and very loyal.”

“They want to connect with the farmer.”

He was quick to point out they don’t use any herbicides or use any GMO’s.  “We eat this too,” he says by way of explaining their commitment to organics.

There is sense of discovery at greenmarkets.  The unmistakable, “What is this?” that prompts a conversation. So too, do the seasons.

The market offers recipes from the growers.

A registered dietician on Martin’s staff produces healthy homegrown recipes that shoppers can get free from the newsletter.

And culinary conversations abound within the shoppers themselves. Mothers conferring with other mothers about dinner or a lunch to make for school.

Romantics seeking out that special, savory ingredient sure to please their loved ones.  

And there are endless, local twists on a recipe or seasonal menu drivers. 

Carucci notes the difference in the local markets and the diversity of food traditions just within his circuit of food markets in Nassau County.

Moreover, Carucci confirms there is a palatable sense of community the Farmers Market foment.

The farmers markets invigorate the local economy,

There is a reverence for food that permeates a greenmarket that cannot be overlooked.

Embrace it.

If culinary art wasn’t enough, not too long after the Farmers Market’s initial success, Arts in the Plaza http://www.artsintheplaza.com a local organization that showcases creative fine artists was sharing the Plaza with the farmers market.

Arts in the Plaza features artists, art for sale, and the stories of inspiration that fuel their art. 

Not unlike this Examiner’s book, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook that tells the good food stories of locavore, pasture-to-plate chefs -- their work and passion, along with the local food artisans, farmers and fisherman who inspire them. 

http://tiny.cc/4zjhbw

http://tiny.cc/pijhbw

http://www.indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder

Farmers Market Special Event

A market-driven cooking demo and author’s book signing, is scheduled for Saturday, October 27^th 11:00am to 1pm at the Long Beach Greenmarket, located at:

1 West Chester Street, Long Beach, NY adjacent to the LIRR.

There is one scheduled for Sunday, October  28^th too.  Please check the website for a final on this event. The pending severe storm watch may cause the Sunday Kings Park Farmers Market to be rescheduled for the following weekend.  Stay tuned.

http://ligreenmarket.org/LIGREENMARKET.ORG/Long_Beach.html

http://www.facebook.com/ligreenmarket

Walk the GreenMarket with Mitch & Toni’s Chef Mitchell SuDock, Followed by Meet, Greet, Eat & book signing at Dolphin Books

Saturday, June 21^st foodies and fans of Chef Mitchell SuDock and Long Island homegrown food are in for a triple treat. 

Acclaimed chef, Mitchell SuDock is executive chef and co-owner of the award-winning Mitch & Toni’s American Bistro, http://www.mitchandtonis.com/ located in Albertson.  The restaurant was recently voted one of Long Island’s Best New Restaurants.

Chef Mitchell is also a featured chef in this Examiner’s just-released book: “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.”  In its firsts book review, Long Island Newsday wrote: The just-published ‘The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook’ by Leeann Lavin is a full-color love letter to Long Island restaurants and farms. Lavin profiles 27 of LI's top chefs, each of them paired with a local grower who supplies them with food….”

The Farmers’ Market

Beginning at approximately 9 am, Chef Mitchell will walk the local GreenMarket in Port Washington, as he does most every day the market is open.

Chef Mitchell will be selecting fresh, homegrown ingredients to inspire his weekend menu, along with gathering the local produce and herbs for the Penne with Basil Pesto he will cook at the Dolphin Bookshop’s Meet, Greet & Eat Event immediately following the market walk. 

Chef Mitchell will be looking for the freshest Long Island basil, corn, string beans, and tomatoes for his standout Penne dish, as well as for his famous and much-loved Market Vegetable Salad with Buttermilk and Dill Dressing. Both are a sensory experience.

According to the market, “The Port Washington Organic Farmers' Market is the only completely organic market in New York State. The market is open on Saturday mornings from 8 to 12 at the Town Dock off Main Street.

They feature fresh organic produce from Long Island, goat cheese, honey, organic bread and baked goods, flowers, our famous "market muffins" and scones, and fantastic organic coffee (with organic milk and organic sugar!).

The market is a sustainable living project of Grassroots Environmental Education, a non-profit organization based in Port Washington. Our market was recently featured in the Region section of the New York Times.

http://www.localharvest.org/port-washington-farmers-market-M4502  516-883-0887

Book signing at Dolphin Books

Just around the corner from the Farmers’ Market is The Dolphin Bookshop. www.dolphinbookshop.com/ where the Meet, Greet & Eat Book signing will take place. 

Serving the community for more than 65 years, The Dolphin Bookshop web site notes: “Come meet the author Chef Mitchell SuDock of the new book "Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook" as he signs his book and prepares a featured recipe. (Penne with Basil Pesto and Market Vegetable Salad)

Chef Mitchell and the author, this Examiner, will talk about the making of the book and the importance of showcasing homegrown ingredients to create recipes that are seasonally delicious and authentic to produce the region’s distinctive cuisine; best prepared by Chef Mitchell.

Chef provided three of his Farm-Forward recipes for the book:

• ·      Pistachio-Crusted Halibut
• ·      Grilled Octopus
• ·      Spiced Roasted Venison Loin

Excerpt from Chef Mitchell’s Food Story Profile featured in The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook:

Mitchell says being exposed to fresh-from-the-farm ingredients early in his restaurant career helped him establish his own cooking philosophy so that in 2004, when he opened Bistro M in what was formerly a Long Island candy store, he knew food from local producers would be the basis for his menus.

 When Mitchell was growing up on Long Island, his family had a modest ornamental vegetable garden in their yard, along with wild mint and a spot for growing basil. Today, at his successful Nick & Toni’s American Bistro restaurant, Mitchell grows the same plants for garnishes. His brother and sister-in-law bring him fresh fruits and vegetables from their garden’s end-of-summer surplus, as does one of Mitchell’s neighbors. And Nick & Toni’s American Bistro manager has a neighbor who simply leaves foodstuffs on their doorstep. The bounty of Long Island is such that it turns the locals into botanical Robin Hoods.

Mitchell is happy to once again be close to the Long Island farms he knew growing up, including the Rottkamp Farm, located a few miles from his restaurant. The Rottkamps are part of a Long Island farming dynasty that goes back generations. Today, these two Rottkamp farmers are brothers, married to two French sisters, Anne Marie and Michelle, who help manage the 150-acre farm along with their husbands. Mitchell rediscovered the Rottkamp Farm when setting out to establish his farm resources for Bistro M.

“I grew up on a Long Island street where my family’s backyard bordered the Rottkamp Farm and Rottkamp Lane,” Mitchell says. “My friends and I would sneak onto the farm and have vegetable fights before the farmers would chase us off.”

Food purveyors continually offer to get him anything at any time of year, but Mitchell says cooking with out-of-season or out-of-state food is not what he wants to do. “Why would I want to get peaches from Ohio or Ojai? . . . We already lost one generation to Betty Crocker,” he says with restrained judgment. While it seems like restaurants would buy from local farmers as a matter of course, Mitchell points out that many restaurants don’t. For example, there was a restaurant across the street from him who didn’t work with fresh ingredients. When he asked them why, he was told, “It’s too much of a bother and hassle.”

“I just don’t understand that philosophy, especially when the farm is less than a half mile away,” he says.

Mitchell sometimes thinks of himself as a teacher for the restaurant’s staff and customers, and he finds that customers are always eager to learn more about what they are eating. Mitchell leaves the kitchen most nights to greet his guests, urging them to try this or that. Sometimes customers are ambivalent about eating something they haven’t had before, preferring the familiar or safe, so he sends out things for them to try. The food’s quality and extraordinary taste have earned him not only followers, but also glowing, three-star reviews from the New York Times, Newsday, and Zagat.

Mitchell is so keen to expose more people to good food that he has produced a series of successful tasting events. He creates new Mitch & Toni’s Bistro menus every week with daily additions in each of the categories, based on market conditions. Out of respect for their work and contributions to the restaurant’s success, he includes the names of local farmers and fishermen on the Mitch & Toni’s Bistro menu.

The biggest changes he sees coming in the world of Long Island food are “how [regular] things get redefined,” which suggests that Mitchell SuDock is already looking at things in a new way, using the limitless, local possibilities waiting to be rediscovered.

Images from the book's photo session with Chef Mitchell:

 

Me/Author with Chef Mitchell after long, seasonally hot photo session!

Mitch & Toni’s American Bistro: 516-741-7940  http://www.facebook.com/MitchandTonis

Recipe for Success: YouTube Campaign Kicks Off “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook Launch”

Publisher launches first-ever YouTube Ad Campaign for The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.

           

With the production of its first-ever YouTube advertising campaign, Quayside Publishing is betting on the power of Google’s YouTube channel to reach the vast food and drink enthusiast audience for “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.”

The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook YouTube Advertising Video: http://tiny.cc/9xmlhw

Acknowledging the continued, passionate interest in food, cooking, and producing artisanal ingredients, as well as a burgeoning interest in cultivating a Hamptons lifestyle, an compelling and fascinating YouTube video episode ad offers a unique opportunity to showcase the natural beauty, distinctive, inspired cuisine, food stories and recipes as told in the rare collection of chef and grower profiles celebrated in the Long Island Cookbook.