buy local

i think it's safe to say that most people feel disconnected from their food. when you go to the grocery store you have this array of choices and everything comes from some unknown source and most likely, from very far away. the meat is packaged in the most presentable way possible so that you never really think about what you are eating. and maybe, that is the way that some people  cope with eating animals, but not me. i want to see what i am eating and i want to know where it has come from. whole foods, which i love but let's face it, they are also pulling the wool over our eyes, labels most of their meat with "animal welfare numbers" which lets you know what kind of life your animal lived before slaughter. they also post a daily sign that states which local farms they are featuring on any particular day. which is great and i really appreciate that but sometimes buying meat from them is out of my personal price range. no, i don't want to pay $80 (literally) for six new york strip. that to me seems a little much. local farms give you the best of both worlds, you can see your food and they don't put you through the cleaners to buy it. windy hill farm here in windham, maine has everything out there for your viewing pleasure and it's slaughtered ten minutes away. my first visit was exactly what i imagined a farm would look like, cows grazing, eating only grass, chickens running about, the way caged free really should be and a stack of honey combs where they extract their farm fresh honey along with many other wonderful items. the owners are the only ones that operate the shop and are willing to answer any ridiculous questions you may have. and yes, the food is slightly more expensive but it has to be, otherwise they would make no money.

see buying local means that you are putting your money right at the source. places like whole foods who buy local don't pay farmers quite what they should and they still mark it up. it makes me feel better to put the money right in the farmers hand. if you want good food that is raised well and grown without all the bullshit, you have to seek out these type of places and you have to become a regular customer because they are dying out slowly but surely, even though the buy local movement is catching on, it's not catching on fast enough. farms that have been established a long time, like windy hill, will keep going but it makes it difficult for anyone new to come along when their isn't any money in the business. so below i am listing a series of farms in four states: maine, new york, new hampshire and massachusetts. i am hoping that those i know and love with take heed of my commentary and go seek out these places. show them some support. another way you buy local is to keep your eyes open at places like hannaford supermarkets, they do a great job of featuring local products when in season and they mark them up only so that they can pay farmers a decent price for their produce. i don't know about you but i feel a lot better when i eat something from a half hour away rather than four thousand miles away.

massachusetts

allandale farm

259 allandale road, brookline

this is boston's last working farm, food is harvested everyday, one of my faves.

wilson farm

10 pleasant st. lexington

features: everything you could possibly want, they grow 125 different crops

new hampshire

wilson farm

144 charles bancroft hwy. litchfield

just opened recently, wide variety of veggies!

apple hill farm

580 mountain road, concord

great selection of fruit for your eating pleasure

new york

ronnybrook farm dairy

310 prospect hill road, pine plains

no worries though, you don't need to drive way out there, simply google

ronnybrook farm dairy and you will find an array of places in new york that feature their products

blue hill at stone barns

630 bedford road, pocantico hills

a place to enjoy truly amazing food straight from the farmer

maine

windy hill farm, windham

features: pumpkins & apples in fall, lettuce and asparagus in spring, an array of fresh meat.

alewive's brook farm

83 old ocean house rd, cape elizabeth

great variety of fruits, veggies & turkeys

the allure of fresh bread

to me, there is nothing better than a really fantastic bakery. my favorite here in portland is standard baking co, right on commercial street. they have some of the best artisan bread i have ever had in my entire life. walking in there, is like going straight to heaven. their selection is amazing and it's of course, delicious. but, on the other end of that, obtaining their product is difficult. i have to drive thirty minutes for a loaf of bread, tackle the difficult task of parking, and then pay a ton of money for a premium product. so last summer i decided that i would try and make my own bread, since i was on a make my own mission. the first step was to do it with the bread maker. which i quickly realized was a lot more trouble than it was worth. you are severely limited when using a machine of this caliber and it takes twice as long but doesn't taste nearly as wonderful. to get myself ready for the real deal, i watched "cook your life" and instantly felt a connection to the art of making bread. i went to work. the result....pure magic. not only does your home smell like a high end bake shop but every one around you suddenly thinks very highly of you. make it for your neighbors and you are the new popular kid on the block. the trick is not to get daunted by the idea of bread. a lot of people seem to have this perception that it's easy to screw up. it's actually quite the opposite. this bread recipe is extremely user friendly, you just need to be patient and feel what the bread needs. don't rush the process.

hearth bread

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)

5 1/2 to 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

boiling water

mix together the first four ingredients. let stand for about two minutes until the yeast dissolves. then slowly add the flour, you may not need all of it so do it a 1/2 cup at a time. remember, you can always add but you can't take away. do this until the mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. then turn your dough out onto a floured surface, this part is going to be messy but it will get better and that's when you know your bread is going to be great. now, this is the most important part, for light and fluffy bread you can not add too much extra flour so do not go nuts with the non sticking notion. just a smidge at a time. to knead the bread, fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. after each push, rotate the dough 90°. rrepeat this process in a rhythmic, rocking motion for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking. let the dough rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl. knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes. now, place back in the bowl after you grease it, then turn it over so the other side is greased as well. let sit for 1 to 2 hours, covered with a damp towel in a warm place or until doubled in bulk. then, take the dough out and punch it down to remove any air bubbles. knead again briefly and then shape into two french loaves. place the loaves on a greased cookie sheet and let rest an additional 5 minutes. lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally and brush them with cold water. place on rack in a cold oven with a roasting pan full of boiling water on the oven bottom. bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch. then remove and enjoy!

the great sauce debate

this recipe is the source of many arguments in my household or when talking to people who think they know how to cook, but really do not. why anyone ever dares to argue with me is beyond my understanding, i come from a family of great sauce makers and my grandmother will tell you-this way is the only way to make a sauce. before i go any further, let me explain the rules to you, which should never be bent or swayed. number 1: you never ever ever ever use oregano in sauce. it does not belong there and the taste will absolutely reflect the fact that you placed this tiny little invader in there. if someone tells you they use this when preparing red sauce, you should questions their ethics. it's that serious. number two: never use dried herbs of any kind. in my book, only basil belongs in sauce and why would you ever use anything but fresh basil? some people believe in italian seasoning, i find that to be the most ridiculous packaged stuff in the world. buy fresh. always. number three: if you can, try and cook a protein with your sauce, that is where a lot of the flavor comes from. number four: low and slow, keep it on the heat for hours but pay attention, stir often and don't burn it.

the key to a tasty luscious sauce is to stick with a handful of really wonderful ingredients. there is no need to make it complicated. stick with the items i list below and you will find that no matter what is going wrong in your day, this sauce can make it right. i will place my meatball recipe in the main course section when i have a little bit more time so that you can make them both and find yourself in pure bliss.

marinara sauce

one small onion, chopped fine

8 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

20 tomatoes or 3 cans of tomato puree

olive oil

salt & pepper

fresh chopped basil

start by cooking your protein, for instance, if you are making meatballs, saute them in olive oil to crisp the outside and them reserve that same oil for your sauce. here's the important part, it has to be fresh oil. don't make thirty batches of meatballs and dump that same oil in the sauce. use oil you have only sauteed one or two batches in, tops. make sure it is not burnt, the trick to that is cooking at a nice steady temp. after you remove your protein from the oil, toss in your onions and saute until nice and tender, about five minutes. then add your garlic and saute for another thirty seconds, at this point the onions and garlic should have absorbed most of the oil. then add the tomatoes, if you are using fresh you should have them already prepared (hull the tomatoes, make a criss cross on the bottom with a knife, toss in olive oil, sprinkle with seas salt and place in a 400 degree preheated oven until the skins look like they are coming off, peel the skins off and crush, bam, homemade tomato puree) if you are using canned, toss them in with the onions and garlic, stir, season with salt and pepper, cover, then hit the road. stir once in a while to ensure the sauce is not sticking. after about two hours on low heat, add the fresh basil, toss on your favorite pasta and serve.

this is the grand secret i have provided you with, use it wisely and don't add to it.

why grow your own?

last year i had no idea about food. i mean, absolutely no idea. i lived in new york, where everything you wanted in the whole wide world could be found and i lived for stop & shop. i lived in the supermarket bubble and had no concept of where my food came from. growing up in an italian family, you learn not to ask the important questions like: "what's in that?" because honestly, you don't want to know. it's always delicious but maybe you don't want to hear that what you are eating contains eight cups of olive oil and twenty five sticks of butter. i love my heritage, but we don't give a shit about fat content. anyways, for me this meant never thinking twice about what i placed in my mouth. then one boring evening my husband and i decided to watch food inc. if you have seen this film then you know the horror i have experienced, if you have not, don't watch it. ever. explore other ways of finding out about food, especially if you are a beginner. at the time, i was already changing my perception of food due to my health nut co-worker but this brought it one step further. it opened my eyes to all the things that are terrifying in the food industry. just a few months later, my husband was laid off and we found ourselves living in maine. how funny it worked out that way. after arriving in suburbia i read two life changing books: eating animals by jonathan safran foer and farm city by novella carpenter. after that, it was over.

i begged my husband and my father in law to construct a giant raised bed garden for me, which they did while rolling their eyes at my over sized seven months pregnant ass. then i scouted out all the farms, nurseries and slaughter houses i could find around me. i bought everything that i could imagine devouring in the form of seed and plant. i talked to all the interesting and sometimes crazy farmers that would give me the time of day to find out not only how to grow all this stuff but how they raised their food. i became best friends with the man at blue seal feed which is a mere two miles from my home and has everything for my garden i could ever need. i planted it and one by one watched amazing things happen. then i scouted out a whole foods and asked where every piece of meat was raised and how much they paid the local farmers. do i think whole foods is the end all to a great life? no. but they have a selection that i adore and they help local farmers make a decent living.

when you go to the supermarket you have to look around and ask questions. how do they get all that produce year round? what do they use to ripen those beautiful tomatoes in winter? why does that produce stay fresh for so long? it's because it's treated with every chemical you can think of and is most likely laced with all sorts of genetic modification and disease. when you can and if you have the space, it makes sense to purchase a pack of seeds and grow something for yourself. there is no doubt where that food is coming from and it will, i promise you, taste so much better. everything about taking the time to garden makes sense: it's good for your body, your soul and the environment. if you have no space, find out who around you is growing locally. you would be surprised, even in new york there are urban farmers with beehives on their roof tops. ask questions, seek it out. but most importantly enjoy what you eat.