North Fork Family Cuisine ~ Cooking, Recipes, Farm Info, Family Meals, Meal Planner, Worksheets, Parents, Riverhead, Southold, Suffolk, NY

North Fork Southold Riverhead New York U.S.A.

3rd Annual Farm to Table Dinner at Hallockville

On Friday, August 8, 6:00pm, Hallockville Museum Farm will celebrate the bounty and agricultural heritage of the East End at its 3rd Annual Farm to Table Dinner. The historic Naugles Barn surrounded by preserved farmland will provide an authentic and scenic venue for this special evening. Locally-grown food will be featured and complemented by North Fork wines. Music will be provided by Dune Grass and local artisans will demonstrate and sell their crafts.

Tickets ($80 per person) are available by calling Hallockville at 298-5292. Proceeds support programming at Hallockville Museum Farm.

9 Reasons to Eat Local

Natasha Beccaria of the Long Island Farm Bureau offers nine good reasons to eat local. Read more >.

Free
Long Island Farmstand Guide

Now that it's farmstand season again, the Long Island Farm Bureau is offering a free Long Island Farmstand Guide to help you find fresh, local produce. To get yours or for more info, go to the Long Island Farm Bureau website.

Families may consider becoming members of LIFB to get discounts on local produce as well as a wide variety of other products and services. For more info, visit the new Membership page of NorthForkParents.

Pick Your Own!

The 2008 Pick Your Own list of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is now online! Click here.

The North Fork's CSA Farms
by Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht*

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs bring together farmers with people who want to have a farming experience without buying a farm!

Families sign up for a growing season's "subscription." Families pay in the spring and commit to sharing the benefits and risks of farming. In return, these families enjoy fresh produce, great value, and a special relationship with "their" farm.

Five Good Reasons to Join
1. Cook healthier, more delicious dishes and avoid the supermarket all summer long.

2. Help your kids and family eat more vegetables.

3. Help the environment! Organic farms do not use any toxic pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers.

4. Support your local farmers and the local economy.

5. Kids love the farm, and you will, too!

Here's How It Works
In the spring, CSA "members" buy a share of the farm's produce, which helps cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and pays the farmer a living wage. A share generally ranges in cost from $450-$600, depending on the farm and the length of their CSA season. Many CSA pick-up locations exist throughout Long Island and New York City, and pickup times vary so you can usually find one that is convenient for you.

In return for making this season-long commitment to the farm, members get shares in the farm's bounty each week throughout the growing season. Most CSA produce is picked no more than one day before delivery, so it's super-fresh, picked ripe, and has much more flavor than store-bought produce.

The fresh, CSA share vegetables are often sweeter, and may be more palatable to kids than supermarket veggies. Also, many kids become more willing to eat vegetables and try new foods when they learn where their food comes from. They get excited about visiting "their" farm!

Free farm visits throughout the
season are especially fun, as well as pick-your-own opportunities that are not usually open to the public.

The CSA share also offers a good value, particularly for people who are already buying organic at supermarkets or health food stores. Most farms try to make sure that as a reward for their commitment to the farm, CSA members get more than just what they've paid for.

All CSAs offer a vegetable share, and some farms offer additional types of shares such as fruit, flowers, or eggs. For example, Garden of Eve organic farm offers weekly bouquets of their own certified organic flowers, a weekly share of one dozen of their own free-range eggs, and a weekly share of fruit from their neighbor farm, Briermere Farms, which is "low-spray" but not organic. For people who travel during the summer or may not want as much produce, "half shares" are available, for pickup every other week instead of weekly.

On the North Fork, the following farms offer CSA at the farm:

Garden of Eve
(certified organic)
4558 Sound Avenue, Aquebogue
Vegetable, fruit, flower and egg shares
June - Halloween
www.gardenofevefarm.com
(631) 523-6608

Golden Earthworm
(certified organic)
652 Peconic Bay Boulevard in South Jamesport
Vegetable and fruit shares
June-Thanksgiving
www.goldenearthworm.com
(631) 722-3302

Sang Lee Farms
(certified organic)
25180 Rt 48, Peconic
Vegetable shares
May-Thanksgiving
www.sangleefarms.com
(631) 734-7001

*Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht and her husband, Chris, own and farm Garden of Eve farms on Sound Avenue in Aquebogue. Visit their web site and join the farm conversation on their bulletin board forum, The Farmers Diary.

June 2008

The Joy of Tofu

by Jennifer Columbo*

The mere mention of tofu can make the human face contort into an expression of disdain, striking fear in the hearts of Americans everywhere.

But tofu is delicious. Believe me, if your only exposure to tofu has been the gelatinous triangles (silken tofu) from the local Chinese take-out joint, it has been unfairly judged. Often I have heard people say "tofu has no flavor," to which I respond "neither do egg whites or mozzarella cheese, yet we turn those into delicious creations." It's up to you to decide whether the inherent blandness of tofu represents a drawback or a situation teeming with almost too many opportunities.

Tofu is inexpensive, high in protein (40% compared to other beans which have at most 20%) and is a complete protein, meaning it contains all 8 essential amino acids, which is why it can serve as a substitute for meat or dairy in a balanced diet. Tofu also contains 8% alpha-linolenic acid which is converted in the body into omega 3's, an important fact, especially if you are a true vegetarian, one who does not consume fish.

But What Is It?

Tofu is made in a similar way to dairy cheese, using milk from soy beans instead of animals and adding a coagulant, nigari (a concentrated residue that remains after sea salt is extracted from sea water) instead of rennet (an enzyme extracted from cows' stomachs) which is used to curdle milk from animals.

Tofu (as well as tempeh, miso, shoyu, tamari, and other soy products) is very popular in the Orient today and has been for millenia. It was first introduced over 2000 years ago in China. In Japan, tofu was used as an offering at the altar. Buddhist priests, who adhere to a vegetarian diet, ate it as their main source of protein. Thus, tofu was an important part of Buddhist temple cooking, and still is.

In 1895 the first American block of tofu was made in San Francisco. By 1929, it was commercially available. It's been around a long time but hasn't really gained general acceptance until recently. Those who might want to try it don't really know what to do with it.

Where Do You Start?

Tofu is extremely versatile. It comes in many forms and each form has a different use. The two varieties I use the most are silken (from the box), and extra firm, packed in water.

Silken tofu is best when a creamy texture is desired. Once whipped in a blender or food processor (with some lemon juice and salt), you can use it in place of yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream (but, sorry not whipped cream, no substitutions for that) in both savory and sweet dishes.

Extra firm tofu is great marinated, grilled, encrusted (think cornmeal, almonds, sesame seeds), pan-fried, or baked. You can use any marinade recipe you would for chicken, beef or fish, and it is best the longer you marinate it. I recommend marinating at least one hour and up to two days, if you like to prepare ahead of time.

Tofu is not just for vegetarians: it is for people who want to eat healthier, eat less fat without sacrificing creamy textures, and for those who are lactose intolerant. So please don't curl your nose at the mention of tofu, especially if you haven't ever tried it. I have changed many people's minds about it with some of my favorite recipes, and I believe if you try them I can change your's also.

Happy Cooking &
Enjoy Your Summer!

~ Jeni

Tofu Lasagna

You can use the tofu filling for stuffed shells as well and even baked ziti if you add soy cheese (or dairy cheese) to the top before baking. You can really add any pre-cooked vegetables to the mix. Mushrooms would be great.

Ingredients:

2 blocks extra firm tofu, drain, break into large chunks, steam 10 minutes, set aside to cool
3 large onions cut into half moons, caramelized
1 pound fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped or 1 box frozen, thawed and squeezed of liquid
3 cloves garlic, minced, use a garlic press
1/8 cup toasted sesame oil
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons miso (light or dark)
5 fresh basil leaves, torn up
1 tablespoon arrowroot, or cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1 recipe of your favorite tomato sauce (at least 4 cups)
1 box lasagna noodles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a food processor, add all ingredients, except sauce and noodles, and blend 5 minutes, set aside.

Cook noodles in boiling, salted water with a little oil added so the noodles do not stick to each other, cook for just 3 minutes, drain and set aside

In a 9 by 13 inch dish, place ½ cup sauce, on top place 1 layer of noodles then some of the tofu mixture, about 2 cups, and spread evenly. Place another layer of noodles, a layer of sauce then the tofu mixture and keep going until all the noodles and tofu are used up or you run out of space in your dish. Make sure the top and final layer is noodles then sauce. Save some of the sauce for serving.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

printable recipe

(Dairy Free)
Chocolate Mousse

This rich and smooth mousse is made with silken tofu. You can omit the 1/4 cup frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) for a more kid-friendly version, just add another 1/4 cup soy milk. Serve in individual cups or use the mousse to make a chocolate pie. I like to use a chocolate cookie crust, if making into a pie, but you can use any pre-baked pie crust.

Ingredients:

½ cup chocolate soy milk
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 ounces silken tofu
¼ cup frangelico or amaretto
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Directions:

Heat soy milk in a small sauce pan, on medium heat until simmering 1 minute. Take off heat and let cool a bit.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.

Once the chocolate is melted, add the warm soy milk, stir with a whisk.

Transfer to a food processor or a blender, add salt and liqueur and blend until very smooth.

Fill individual cups or your pie shell and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The mousse will set as it cools.

Makes 6 individual servings or one 10-inch pie.

printable recipe