i Eat Green Radio Interview with The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook author

My interview with iEatGreen on December 26^th was like the “Double Happiness “ aura and sign of good fortune found in Chinese wedding culture.

No sooner had we celebrated Christmas with all the gifts, good food, and family then it was time for the radio interview with Bhavani, the host of iEatGreen. 

See: it was indeed double happiness!

A knowledgeable natural foods chef with more than thirty years’ experience cooking healthy fresh organic food, Bhavani is also a food activist, and her radio show features thought leaders, talented professionals, educators and artists. 

I am honored to have been asked to be a guest on her show and to have the chance to tell the interesting, enduring story about how my book, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook came to fruition, how I selected the chefs and the growers and food artisans who inspire them  -- and the recipes. 

Here is an excerpt from Bhavani’s radio page.  Please click on the link below it to listen to the interview.

And do let me know what you think…

iEat Green: An Interview with Leeann Lavin

The day after Christmas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leeann Lavin, the author of, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook. What I loved most about our conversation was learning about how she picked the chefs and the farms, and how the driving force behind the recipes was inspired by what was in season, and could be sourced locally. The cookbook can also be used as a guide to some of the best restaurants and sustainable farms and producers on the east end of Long Island. I look forward to following its path this summer! In the meantime, please click on the link below to listen to our interview.

http://www.ieatgreen.com/ieat-green-an-interview-with-leeann-lavin/

Sweet’tauk your way to a Homegrown Christmas!

Montauk's Sweet'tauk Holiday Market 

The East End’s Sweet’tauk Holiday Market Fair celebrates its second year of locally-sourced “Handmade for the Holidays” gifts; featuring “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook” for all your foodie friends and family.

In addition to my Hamptons & Homegrown Cookbooks that I autographed especially for Sweet’tauk customers – there is a tempting list of homegrown artisans to choose from, including the Amagansett Sea Salt Company, Bonac Bees, East End Fish Prints, Jane’s Garden Pickles, Montauk Brewing Company, Montauk Community Garden, and Joe & Liza’s Ice Cream.

Sweet’talk Holiday Market:

http://www.sweettauk.com/#!holiday-market/c1iqb

I was introduced to Deb from Sweet’taulk by my foodie friend, Laura, who writes Out East Foodie. www.outeastfoodie.com

Laura is a homegrown soul-mate and a food connoisseur of all that is local, edible Long Island.

This is one, sweet Holiday food network! 

Thank you, Laura and Deb.  I very much appreciate your East End support for our chefs and the growers and artisanal food makers who inspire them.  And for my Homegrown Cookbook. 

Be sure to check out Laura's Top Ten Gift ideas, too. 

The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook celebrates the distinctive cuisine of Long Island and the Hamptons.

Brimming with food stories from the region’s best locavore food chefs and the growers who inspire their homegrown menus, more than 100 tempting recipes, and stunning photographs of the iconic dishes, authentic & sustainable ingredients, and the majestic land and seascapes that are the romantic hallmarks of the area’s food culture.

Featuring profiles on Long Island’s best pasture-to-plate and fin-to-fork chefs who, with their dedication to connecting to the land, to using locally grown or just-caught & seasonal food, produce menus that boast delicious homegrown flavors.

The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown restaurants include:

18 Bay, 1770 House, Almond, Amarelle Restaurant, The American Hotel, CoolFish, Cuvee Bistro & Bar, The Frisky Oyster, Grey Horse Tavern, Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Kitchen A Bistro, Kitchen A Trattoria, The Lake House, The Living Room, Loaves & Fishes, Mitch & Toni's American Bistro. Nick & Toni's, North Fork Table & Inn, Mirabelle Restaurant, Satur Farms, Scrimshaw, Starr Boggs, Swallow, Vine Street Café

It’s been written: As the movement to eat what is grown locally gains momentum, there is an increasing awareness of how best to incorporate this philosophy into our everyday lives. We can grow our own food and buy food grown locally at food cooperatives and markets, but what happens when we eat out?

There are a number of chefs around the country dedicated to using only the freshest, locally grown ingredients in all the dishes they prepare and serve.

This book takes the reader on a private tour of outstanding chefs of the Long Island area and their gardens. Each profile reflects the chef's personal style, cultural background, desire for healthy, just-picked ingredients, and gardening philosophy. Recipes, and color photos are included.

  

Happy Homegrown Holidays!

Homegrown Holiday Giveway: Macaroni Kid Contest Winner Named

Macaroni Kid blogger and Homegrown foodie enthusiast, Ellen DeFrancesca informed me of our Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook Giveaway.

Drumroll please:

The winner is Monica W. 

Congratulations, Monica! 

I couldn’t be happier for you – and your family and friends who will also enjoy the Homegrown Long Island Cookbook stories, photography and recipes from the Island’s best chefs and the growers and artisanal food makers who inspire them.

Sharing a bit of personal. local commentary, Macaroni Kid blogger Ellen wrote to me: “The winner was thrilled when she found out

(I must share the story about how ecstatic I was on my first-ever win – a full Thanksgiving dinner from Sickles Market the year our house was under renovation and I had no kitchen!)

“And she actually lives close by to me so I was able to drop it off.  She told me she planned on trying a few recipes for the holidays.”

Homegrown Kismet.

Thank you, Ellen and Macaroni Kids entrants for your enthusiastic support for “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook” and all the outstanding chefs, growers, fisherman and butchers and bakers and … well, all the best of homegrown Long Island.

Happy Homegrown Holidays!

www.longbeachmacaronikid.com

and as a somewhat related sidebar -- I have an autographed book to a "Dear Monica" from a New York Horticultural Society talk and book signing because I was so engaged in conversation with Homegrown fans that I did her signing twice!  

So if anyone knows a homegrown Monica, don't hesitate to let me know.  We have a cookbook for this lucky lady!

Edible East End Interview and Giftables Feature

Local Chefs Local Farmers Local Recipes—Leeann Lavin’s Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook was not meant to be filed away and forgotten about among one’s kitchen cookbooks, perhaps because the tome is so much more than just a place to find expertly crafted recipes from some of the finest locavore chefs on Long Island. The Homegrown Cookbook is a piece of culinary journalism, exquisite and extensive in its look at the relationship between Long Island chefs passionate about the local food movement and the growers who inspire them.  The Homegrown Cookbook features 28 Long Island restaurants, which each fit into one of the book’s four sections: the Hamptons & South Fork, the North Fork & Shelter Island, the North Shore and the South Shore. Perhaps the most exciting element of the Homegrown Cookbook is Lavin’s inclusion of signature, family heritage, seasonal, as well as new recipes from some of Long Island’s most highly regarded chefs— recipes she said she and her husband have already tested in their Manhattan kitchen. Though The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook is available on Amazon, Lavin said her Long Island adventures are far from over. “It’s like Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz,’ says the Manhattanite. “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard.”

http://www.edibleeastend.com/z/web-extras/gifts-more-giftables-from-edible/

Please leave a Homegrown hug of a Comment for the great foodie friends at Edible.

And the Edible Magazines make an enduring holiday gift and stocking stuffer -- Food News all year long!

Lucky Giveaway: Macaroni Kid Mommy Blog & The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook team up for fun, foodie holiday promo!

ONE LUCKY SUBSCRIBER WILL WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS COOKBOOK!  SCROLL DOWN TO ENTER TO WIN. 

As the movement to eat what is grown locally gains momentum, there is an increasing awareness of how best to incorporate this philosophy into our everyday lives. We can grow our own food and buy food grown locally at food cooperatives and markets, but what happens when we eat out? There are a number of chefs around the country dedicated to using only the freshest, locally grown ingredients in all the dishes they prepare and serve. The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook takes you on a private tour of outstanding chefs of the Long Island area and their gardens.

Brimming with food stories from the region’s best real-food chefs and the growers who inspire their homegrown menus, more than 80 tempting recipes, and stunning photographs of the iconic dishes, authentic & sustainable  ingredients, and the majestic land and seascapes that are the romantic hallmarks of the area’s food culture.

About the Author:  Leeann has worked in restaurants and food catering and cooks with passion, using food ingredients from local NYC Greenmarkets and her herb and farm-ette in the Garden State.  She writes a Food & Drink column for Examiner.com and writes two blogs.


To order "The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook" at B&N, Amazon & local Independent Book Stores:
http://tiny.cc/4zjhbw
http://tiny.cc/pijhbw
http://www.indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder

"Like"but really Love :) the Homegrown book at: The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Facebook page.

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Click HERE https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tE-SQ2_LaW7DhBejc5m-Wr-oTPYHsx9NahncKWr8Np4/viewform

  

Good Luck, my Homegrown Friends!