I hope everyone has been taking advantage of all the outdoor activities our city has to offer this summer. If not…GET TO IT. We are in our final summer month, but don’t stress. There is still plenty to do before we are donning our Halloween costumes and lugging our gourds home from the Church in the Gardens.
Remember how earlier I told you to go to the NYC Botanical Gardens to enjoy the beauty of Gardens of Alhambra? Well, if you didn’t quite make it up there yet, it is not too late. If fact, on August 21st they will have their final demonstration…and guess what? It is a cooking one that may even include eggplant. Yippee!
(Photo from NYC Botanical Garden)
If you go, be sure to share the recipes with the rest of the CSA crew!
Maybe you want to start from the beginning of the food chain and get your hands in on the harvesting. Not too late for that either. Have you ever been blueberry picking? It is fantastic and so much fun. Better than any yoga class you could imagine. Blueberries not your thing? How about peaches? A little more work than blueberries but the payoff is well worth it. A great resource for finding your ideal pickings is PickYourOwn.org. It tells you the farm, the season, and if they use chemicals or not. And don’t worry about over picking. Blueberries and peaches freeze wonderfully and will be just the splash of summer your whole family needs during the long fruitless winter months.
Maybe you’re thinking, Brandi, picking and cooking all sound great, but really I just want to do the eating and drinking part. Got you covered.
Check out all the great food festivals happening in our amazing state:
August 6-7, 2011 19th Annual Glorious Garlic Festival
Fox Run Vineyards, Penn Yan, New York
All things garlic! (Maybe not the best first date, but a good stinky time.)
August 11, 2011 Butternut Valley Summer Harvest Festival
Morris, New York
August 13, 2011 North Fork Craft Beer, BBQ and Wine Festival
Jamesport, New York
August 13-14, 2011 America’s Grape Country Wine Festival
Dunkirk, New York
August 13-14, 2011 Brats & Brews Festival
Hunter, New York
August 13-14, 2011 Putnam County International Wine & Food Fest
Carmel, New York
August 13-14, 2011 America’s Grape Country Wine Festival
Dunkirk, New York
August 14-18, 2011 Gourmet Housewares Show
New York, New York
August 27, 2011 Rib Rock Festival
Wantagh, New York
August 27-28, 2011 Long Island Maritime Museum”s Annual Seafood Festival
(Photo of Brats and Brews Fest from HunterMountain.com.)
Don’t forget New Jersey has it’s fair share to offer:
August 6-7, 2011 Jersey Fresh Food and Wine Festival
Richwood, New Jersey
August 13-14, 2011 9th Annual Seafood Festival
Landisville, New Jersey
August 20-21, 2011 Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook-Off
Oceanport, New Jersey
August 20-21, 2011 5th Annual Crab Cake Festival & Shore Chef Cook-Off
Oceanport, New Jersey
August 21, 2011 Barefoot Grape Stomp
Belvidere, New Jersey
August 27, 2011 Buffalo’s 2011 Spicy Wing Challenge
Wood Ridge, New Jersey
August 28, 2011 Rib Rock Festival
Holmdel, New Jersey
Whether it be picking, cooking, or simply eating, get out there and enjoy local food and drink and support those who make it possible.
Have a great last month of summer,
Brandi
Forest Hills CSA 