Buffalo Rising Online

This past Saturday was opening day for the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market. Every year I head off to market with my reusable shopping bags, fully prepared to do my part by purchasing lots of yummy produce. Week after week last year, I would find myself refilling a veggie drawer that was already half full. I began with the intention of using all of my produce over the course of the week, but I found that on some days I was too busy to cook the meal I had purchased them for. Some weeks I even had to throw some of my rotten produce out. I always felt guilty. but, this year, I have a plan.

Here’s where Just Pizza comes into play. Sunday night has become “clean out night” in our house. Whatever is left in the veggie drawer from the previous week has to go, and I’ve decided that homemade…

Right off the bat I’d like to state that this post is not designed to be controversial. Given the ruffled feathers of the last egg article posted on Buffalo Rising, I feel compelled to state my intentions up front.

Blossom Hill Farm, known mostly for its pork, also raises other animals naturally and humanely. They breed lowline angus beef, lamb and chicken. And with chickens, come eggs (pauses, looks around tentatively). Last year’s Adopt-A-Chicken program was so successful they sold out. This year, young Madelyn Rose, the Drajem family's eldest, will be heading the program; which is far more responsibility than the chore of dusting I was assigned to at age 7.

The Adopt-A-Chicken program is essentially a subscription. You pay up front and in…

Carottes Vichy is a classic French dish, both simple and delicious. The minor efforts required easily enhance the beauty of the carrot's natural flavor. This dish is named after Vichy, a spa town in France famous for its hot mineral springs. The carrot, which is now commonplace, was then considered somewhat exotic, and the preparation of this dish called for Vichy's mineral water. Today it is simple to replicate the flavors by using soda water. The result is a tasty, lightly glazed carrot.

A popular American take on this dish uses 7Up or other lemon-lime flavored soda in place of soda water and sugar. I prefer the more traditional method, as I find that the version which uses soda decimates the flavor of the carrot itself, turning it instead into a dish more akin to dessert. Additionally, the use of 7Up adds almost 6 teaspoons of high fructose corn syrup to the recipe. …

Jo'el Drajem's husband, Bruce, is full time military. While he's away she takes care of their children (ages 1 and 6), keeps up on the usual demands of running a household, and also manages the family business. That alone is impressive, but did I mention that the family business is a naturally raised livestock farm?

The Drajems raise Lowline Angus cross beef, Tamworth and Old Spot hogs, and chickens. Their mission is to naturally raise their animals from birth to finish; the animals are raised outside in a pasture, fed grain, and cared for without the use of hormones, steroids, or antibiotics. As they say at Blossom Hill, “We raise our animals the way nature intended.”

In fact, that's the inspiration behind Blossom Hill Farm; Jo'el and Bruce are both college graduates with successful careers (border agent and accountant/Military, respectively) but when they started learnin…

Here's how we do food around here: Christa, our YUM! editor finds a product, touts it, and I find myself having to have it. That's how I am with food; describe it well enough, and I'll crave it.

I like yogurt, but I really love any dairy that's served in glass containers. Back in the day, that's how our milk came to the house and it had a wonderful, fresh taste. Others must be influenced by Christa's food posts too because White Cow Dairy, the tiny little grass-fed dairy in East Otto, New York, is now being carried by the Lexington Co-op and Premier has plans to carry it also.

I had occasion to meet Patrick Lango, proprietor of Blue Hill Dairy, at the Bidwell Market on Saturday, just like Christa said I would. He was out of yogurt, but he had something called yogurt cream. "You've got to try it on an English muffin," he said. "You'll never eat cream cheese again…

On a recent visit to the Elmwood Bidwell Farmers Market I encountered an attractive stand offering fresh lemonade and adorable glass bottles of raw milk yogurt. Good packaging always catches my eye, and this product certainly did that, nestled amongst glistening ice cubes in bright blue and yellow bowls. Standing beside the bowls, covered in condensation, a large, white ceramic jug designed to dispense cold lemonade was equally tempting. Often looks can be deceiving and I wondered if the product would deliver. I happily took single serving-sized bottles of both plain and maple yogurt home with me to find out.

White Cow Dairy is based in East Otto, NY and works in conjunction with other small, local farmers (Native Offerings, Helen's Hens, etc.) to offer their community fresh raw honey, maple syrup, herbs, fruits and vegetables as well as eggs and dairy derived from grass fed…