Local Partner Spotlight: 2 Kids Goat Farm

Local Partner Spotlight: 2 Kids Goat Farm

February 16, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Farmer Focus, Local Parnerships1 comment2 Kids Goat Farm, 2016 Winter CSA, Amy Sperat, Barry Sperat, Chevre, Garlic and Chive Goat Cheese, Value Added Item, Vegetarian

About 2 Kids Goat Farm: We met Barry and Amy Sperat of 2 Kids Goat Farm three-and-a-half years ago while they were sampling cheese at Magic on Main in Homer, NY, and quickly learned about all the connections we shared. Between being vendors at the CNY Regional Market and the Fayetteville Farmers market and both having recently started our farms, we became fast friends. Not only that, but we’ve been hooked on their cheeses since the beginning, receiving our own fresh supply every week! The Sperats became farmers a little at a time. After living in the Syracuse area for several years, they bought a home in the country, surrounded by beautiful land. Soon, they acquired a couple of goats as pets for their 2 children. One goat led to another and, before they knew it, 2 Kids Goat Farm was born! They now have a full herd of 30 milking goats, in addition to a variety of other animals. Every goat knows and responds to its own name and is practically part of the Sperat family. Barry and Amy personally produce a wonderful selection of cheeses, soaps, lotions, and lip balms available throughout the CNY area, and we couldn’t say enough about how good their products are! Where to 2 Kids’ Products: You can find 2 Kids’ products in a variety of stores throughout the CNY region, including Green Planet Grocery in Camillus, Side Hill Farmers in Manlius, and The Local Food Markets in Tully and Cortland. Their cheeses are also served at restaurants such as Empire Farmstead Brewery and The Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia and Dasher’s Corner Pub in Homer. For a full list of retailers and restaurants, click here. About 2 Kids’ Garlic & Chive Chèvre : In your CSA share this week, you will find freshly prepared Garlic & Chive Chèvre, which is a favorite for us at Main Street Farms. Barry and Amy’s favorite way to eat it is crumbled on pizza, burgers, and salad. For an easy, quick dinner, they like to layer it into freshly cooked pasta, return it to the pot, and let it melt into all those nooks and crannies before serving. Click here for the full recipe!

Pasta with Warmed Garlic & Chive Chèvre

February 16, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Eat Local, Fall Foods, Farmer Focus, Recipes, Spring Foods, Summer Food, Winter FoodsNo Comments2 Kids Goat Farm, Amy Sperat, Chevre, Dried Herbs, Fresh Herbs, Garlic & Chive Chevre, Goat Cheese, Herbs, Mushrooms, Pasta, Spinach, Vegetarian

This simple and delicious recipe comes directly from Amy Sperat of 2 Kids Goat Farm. She loves both how easy it is to make and how much flavor it packs in one dish. While the base is simply freshly cooked and drained pasta and goat cheese, get creative and add in other ingredients you enjoy, such as mushrooms, spinach, sun-riped tomatoes, etc., and any variety of herbs. Pictured below is a version with Flour City Pasta‘s traditional Trecce, Heller’s Farm organic Baby Bella Mushrooms, our own freshly minced Garlic and fresh Spinach, and 2 Kids’ Garlic & Chive Chèvre. Let’s just say I’ve already cooked this twice this week because once, clearly, wasn’t enough! It’s one of the easiest & most delicious meals I’ve cooked in a while–a hard combination to find when you’ve got a tight schedule in which to cook dinner! Pasta with Warmed Garlic & Chive Chèvre By Amy Sperat of 2 Kids Goat Farm Makes 4-6 servings. Ingredients: 1 lb. Pasta of choice 4 oz. 2 Kids Goat Farm Garlic & Chive Chèvre (Goat Cheese) Olive Oil, fresh or dried Herbs, Salt, and Pepper to taste Instructions: Cook Pasta according to package instructions. Once done, drain Pasta and return to pot. Drizzle with Olive Oil, sprinkle generously with crumbled Chèvre, Herbs, Salt, and Pepper to taste. Toss together to evenly distribute, and cover pot for 5 minutes. Serve hot! *Image courtesy of https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b2/25/e7/b225e7c36b77b77cccb165bbde9595b8.jpg.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Goat Cheese Salad

Roasted Winter Vegetable and Chèvre Salad

February 16, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Eat Local, Fall Foods, Farmer Focus, Recipes, Winter FoodsNo Comments2 Kids Goat Farm, Beets, Candy Cane Beets, Carrots, Chevre, Circus Beets, Garlic, Garlic & Chive Chevre, Gluten Free, Goat Cheese, Onions, Raw Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Sauerkraut, Spring Mix, Turnips, Vegetarian, Watermelon Radishes

I have been eating this meal almost every day for the past several weeks, and it does not get old! Experiment with quantities and types of root vegetables, to your taste, and to try out different flavored goat cheeses–this salad does just as well with plain or fruit-encrusted goat cheeses. Together, the combination of sweet root vegetables, creamy goat cheese, and tangy sauerkraut is out of this world! Roasted Winter Vegetable and Chèvre Salad By Holly Rodricks Makes 4-6 servings. Ingredients: 3-4 Beets of any variety, peeled and diced 1-2 Watermelon Radishes, peeled and diced 1-2 Turnips, peeled and diced 2-3 carrots, peeled and diced 1 large Onion, peeled and diced 3-4 cloves Garlic, chopped roughly 1/4 cup Coconut Oil or other oil of choice Salt and Pepper to taste 1 bag Spring Mix Sauerkraut to taste Raw or Roasted Pumpkin Seeds to taste 2 Kids Goat Farm Garlic & Chive Chèvre (Goat Cheese) Instructions: Preheat oven to 400º and place rack in middle of oven. Combine diced Winter Vegetables in a large bowl. Pour Oil over mixture, and generously sprinkle with Salt and Pepper to taste. Mix with hands to evenly coat vegetables with Oil, Salt, and Pepper. Spread Vegetables evenly on a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork and are beginning to crisp up. When vegetables are almost done roasting, divide Spring Mix between multiple bowls. Layer Sauerkraut on top and sprinkle with Pumpkin Seeds. Scoop a generous portion of Roasted Winter Vegetables on top of salad in each bowl and crumble fresh Chèvre on top of hot vegetables. Serve immediately.

Chili Ginger Winter Stir Fry

February 1, 2017Holly RodricksEat Local, Farmer Focus, Local Parnerships, Recipes, Winter FoodsNo CommentsCarrots, Chili-Garlic Sauce, Crooked Carrot, Daikon, Hot Sesame Oil, Kohlrabi, Minced Garlic, Minced Ginger, Sesame Oil, Silas Conroy, Stir Fry Mix, Vegan, Vegetarian, Watermelon Radish

This week’s local partnership comes to your CSA shares in the form of a fresh stir fry mix, made with veggies grown on our farm and prepared by Crooked Carrot . As a special treat, Silas from Crooked Carrot has shared his own personal favorite way to stir fry. Enjoy! Chili Ginger Winter Stir Fry By Silas Conroy of Crooked Carrot Makes 4 servings. Ingredients: 1 bag of Crooked Carrot’s freshly prepared stir fry mix (made up of thinly sliced kohlrabi, carrots, and daikon and watermelon radishes) 1-2 tbsp. regular or hot Sesame Oil 1 tbsp. Minced Ginger* 1 tbsp. Minced Garlic* Chili Garlic Sauce to taste* Salt to taste Instructions: Heat up Sesame Oil in cast iron skillet. When skillet is nice and hot, dump the whole bag of stir fry mix right in. Add Minced Ginger, Minced Garlic, and Chili Garlic Sauce, and toss together quickly. Because the veggies are sliced so thinly, cook them only briefly, searing them just a little in the hot skillet but allowing them to keep their crunch. Add salt to taste, and enjoy piping hot! *Crooked Carrot makes and sells their own delicious jars of minced ginger, minced garlic, and chili garlic sauce.

Local Partner Spotlight: Crooked Carrot

February 1, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Farmer Focus, Local ParnershipsNo Comments2016 Winter CSA, Carrots, Chili-Garlic Sauce, Crooked Carrot, Daikon, Jesse Brown, Johanna Brown, Kohlrabi, Minced Garlic, Minced Ginger, Sambal, Silas Conroy, Sriracha, Stir Fry Mix, Value Added Item, Vegan, Vegetarian, Watermelon Radish

About Crooked Carrot: Crooked Carrot and Main Street Farms first crossed paths back in 2011 when Silas Conroy met Allan Gandelman at a Business Planning class through Groundswell Center for Food and Farming, but they really hit it off as fellow vendors in the C-Shed at the Syracuse Regional Market. Even before this, Silas had long been right in the middle of food production and preparation, with jobs in every part of the industry. He prepared food in kitchens; he delivered food in trucks, and he grew food on farms. Several years ago, while Silas was co-managing organic vegetable production at Stick and Stone Farm in Ithaca, New York, the farm owners came up with the idea of building a commercial kitchen to prepare their produce. Along with a few friends, Silas was able to bring this dream to life, and in 2011, Crooked Carrot was born. The plan was to run the kitchen for one year, with minimal investment and the goal of learning everything about that part of the industry. Six years later, Crooked Carrot is still going strong, with its own independent location in Ithaca. Now, with partners Jesse and Johanna Brown and a fantastic team, Crooked Carrot Community Supported Kitchen is a full-blown community supported kitchen that naturally processes, ferments, and preserves local, organic fruits and vegetables. One hundred percent of their raw material comes from within 50 miles of Ithaca. Crooked Carrot also serves as a local produce aggregation service for large buyers and provides trucking for food deliveries. Every weekday, 4,000 local elementary students receive fresh snacks from their kitchen. Where to Find Crooked Carrot: Crooked Carrot primarily sells their products in co-ops and grocery stores and through CSAs and farmers markets. You can find them at the CNY Regional Market the Ithaca Farmers market for much of the year. About Crooked Carrot’s Stir Fry Mix: In your CSA share this week, you will find a freshly prepared stir fry starter mix made of kohlrabi, carrots, daikon, and watermelon radish, fresh from our farm fields! Click here to learn how the folks and Crooked Carrot like to cook up their veggies!

Local Partner Spotlight: Flour City Pasta

January 19, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Farmer Focus, Local ParnershipsNo Comments2016 Winter CSA, Artisinal Pasta, Flour City Pasta, Organic Basil Leaf, Organic Beets, Organic Tomato Puree, Organic Wheat, Pasta, Tomato Basil Pappardelle, Value Added Item, Vegan, Vegetarian

This week’s spotlight is on another one of our favorite producers, Flour City Pasta! About Flour City Pasta: We met Jon Stadt, the man behind Flour City Pasta, back in 2013, when we began selling our vegetables at the CNY Regional Market, but his story goes back much further than that. Ten years ago, Jon was in Seattle visiting relatives for Thanksgiving. Of course, he inevitably found himself at Pike Place Market (again and again, actually) and happened to meet a vendor selling artisinal pasta. Jon was so intrigued that when he returned home to Macedon, NY, he began reselling that same pasta in his area. Little by little, Jon started to think about how he could improve his model by offering a product that continued to be made inthe traditional way, but used local, organic ingredients. Two years in, he took a leap, buying his own pasta machine, and turning his garage into his classroom. With just the right mix of perspiration and inspiration, Jon taught himself to make the flavorful, hand-crafted pastas that we know and love today. You can buy Flour City Pasta at Green Planet Grocery in Fairmount and at Side Hill Farmers in Manlius. Even better, stop by the C Shed at the CNY Regional Market, and meet the man who makes the pasta! About Tomato Basil Pappardelle: In addition to the organic tomato paste and basil leaves used to make this pasta, it also includes some of our very own beets, for color and added sweetness! We have a fancy recipe all ready for you to try out if you’re feeling ambitious, but at the end of the day, Jon’s favorite way to eat this pappardelle is simply with a classic red sauce that heightens the wonderful tomato flavor of the pasta.

Local Partner Spotlight: Food and Ferments

January 5, 2017Holly RodricksBuy Local, Farmer Focus, Local ParnershipsNo Comments2016 Winter CSA, Cabbage, Carraway Seeds, Food and Ferments, Gluten Free, Old World Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut, Sea Salt, Value Added Item, Vegan, Vegetarian

We wanted to take a moment to celebrate our local partners who helped us kick off our very first Winter CSA share, back in December – Dave and Carly Dougherty of Food and Ferments! About Food and Ferments: Let’s just say, when we met Carly and Dave, we became instant friends and collaborators, sharing community with people of like minds and having the pleasure of growing vegetables for them to turn into delicious fermented foods. Although Carly is originally from the CNY area, she met Dave in his hometown of Philadelphia. With roots in farming and food, it wasn’t long before they teamed up to launch Food and Ferments in 2012. In 2014, they returned to Central New York, making their home and building their kitchen on the farmland where Carly grew up, at Twin Oaks Dairy, an organic farm still run by her family. While living in the big city together gave them broader perspective, returning to Twin Oaks was truly coming home, to deep connections with the land and farmers, to shared meals and family. Dave and Carly’s experiences together have given them a shared vision of a hybrid life – days spent shredding cabbage and culturing fermented beverages in the country, paired with weekends traveling to cities and local towns, selling goods throughout the east coast from Philadelphia to Upstate New York. You can find Food and Ferments near our Main Street farmstand in the C Shed at the CNY Regional Market in Syracuse every Saturday. Be sure to stop by, say hello, and try out more of their wide selection of deliciously fermented foods! About Old World Sauerkraut: Food and Ferments’ Old World Sauerkraut is made from Main Street Farms’ green cabbage, caraway seeds and sea salt. Carly and Dave’s favorite ways to eat it are: atop eggs and cheese on breakfast sandwiches alongside eggs and bacon in the morning as a condiment for hot dogs or sausage in lieu of salad dressing We enjoy Dave and Carly’s food and their friendship, and it’s been a treat to get to share their story and their handiwork with you!

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Local Partner Spotlight: Ithaca Soy

December 15, 2016Holly RodricksBuy Local, Farmer Focus, Local ParnershipsNo Comments2016 Winter CSA, Gluten Free, Ithaca Soy, Tofu, Tofu Kan, Value Added Item, Vegan, Vegetarian

This 2016 Winter CSA season, on top of all those veggies in your share, we are including one “value-added” item from a local producer at every pickup. This week, we’d like to highlight our special guest, Ithaca Soy and the item the item they are contributing to our CSA, Tofu Kan. About Ithaca Soy: We can’t even remember when we became friends with Adam Potenza, the owner of Ithaca Soy, but his company’s tofu has fed our addiction for years! Adam grew up working on his dad Tony’s soybean farm, which also happens to be the first organic farm EVER in New York State! Now, all these years later, Potenza Organic Farms is the exclusive supplier of Ithaca Soy’s soy. Adam exemplifies what it means to run a local business, and he’s one of the only handmade tofu producers in the state. About Tofu Kan: Tofu Kan is an original Ithaca Soy creation – baked, marinated tofu that comes ready to eat, with little-to-no preparation involved. Simply slice it thinly and layer it onto deli sandwiches, cube it and sprinkle it on top of salads and soups, mix it into a stir fry, or warm it up and serve it as a main course. Adam’s Recommendations: Start with a good sourdough bread and add Tofu Kan, thinly sliced onion, lettuce, and stone ground mustard. Slice thinly and sauté or fry in a heavy pan. Then add to peanut lime noodles! Cube and lightly cover in chili powder, smoked paprika and olive oil (or any oil). Bake on a baking sheet with parchment paper at 300º for 25-30 minutes. This gives a good mock-meat taste and you can add it to anything from chili to fried rice.

Bob Cat’s Guide to Vegetable Heaven

September 6, 2016Bob CatFarmer Focus, Kitchen TipsNo CommentsBob Cat, CSA, Farmer Focus, Salad, Stir Fry, Vegan, Vegetarian

Hey, Everyone! Bob Cat here – Main Street Farms’ co-owner, farm manager, and lead educator. When my good friend Allan asked me to come help him start Main Street Farms 5 years ago, my main incentive to come aboard was…THE FOOD. I had little farm experience back then, but I had been eating my whole life and cooking almost just as long. Coming from an Italian background, I learned at an early age the value of good food made from real, natural ingredients. I couldn’t have dessert until I finished my veggies, so I quickly learned to love veggies. I have been dating a vegan for almost 2 years now, so my love of veggies (and ability to grow them in abundance) has really come in handy. Still, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the veggies. It’s important to keep it simple. Every item that comes in your CSA box can easily be broken down into 2 categories: SALAD or STIR FRY. Ask yourself: “Do I feel like cooking tonight?” If yes, fire up the wok (or large frying pan), sauté some veggies, add your protein of choice, and make some rice or noodles. Not in the mood to cook? Start chopping whatever is available, toss it on top of some lettuce, and you’ve got a salad! Speaking of proteins, I love meat as much as the next person, but there are a lot of other options out there if you are getting tired of always deciding between beef, chicken, pork, lamb, or fish. Try substituting some tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, falafel, or other protein/meat substitute. Throughout this week, I’ll be sharing some simple meal ideas that are common in my rotation: greens and beans, hummus and veggie wraps, taco salad, fresh rolls, curried lentils, spiralized squash “pasta,” chili, nachos, sushi, falafel, pita pizza, and cucumber-tomato salad. Expect rough outlines of how I make these dishes – I’m not much of a recipe follower; I just follow my stomach, so I apologize if I’m not very specific with quantities. Most of these are made vegetarian but can easily be made with your meat of choice. Hope you enjoy!

Farmer Focus: Meet Jonny Boy…

September 2, 2016Holly RodricksFarmer FocusNo CommentsFarmer Focus, Jonathan Childs

It’s time for another introduction, but sadly, this one is also a farewell. Jonny will be leaving us in just a few short weeks, but that’s no excuse to not say hello before he leaves for his next adventure! Jonathan “Jonny Boy” Childs is a nomadic wanderer and musician. This is his second season with the farm and he has deeply enjoyed having the opportunity to witness its transformative transition to Reed’s Seeds. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Temple University for Mechanical Engineering, he opted against pursuing an engineering career primarily due an increasing aversion to staring at computer screens and the pull of other interests. Instead, he has pursued an eclectic mix of professions including: carpentry, childcare, party hosting, ATM repair, and of course, farming. Jonny Boy loves farming because of the space it creates for singing, deep philosophical conversation, time outside in all weather, connecting with the community, meditation, and the sharing of deeply nourishing food. He also fronts the farm band, Local Farmers Union and has had a blast playing around town. Jonathan has been a songwriter since he was thirteen and has written hundreds of songs to date. He performs solo under the name Elijah Wild, and rough sketches of his most recent creations can be heard at soundcloud.com/elijahwild. In the next month or two, Jonny will be taking what he has learned on the road as his travels continue. Make sure to wish him a fond farewell when you see him. He has been a vital part of our team and will be greatly missed. Fun Facts: Birthplace – Auckland, New Zealand Spirit Animal – Bob Dylan Spirit Vegetable – Brussel Sprout Favorite Farm Tool – Linear Hoe Favorite Farm Job – Tractor Driving During Transplanting Favorite Thing About Being a Farmer – Being Outside in All Weather Favorite Past Job – Birthday Party Host Favorite Meal to Cook – Blanched Kale Words of Wisdom – Endure and let joy arise naturally.

Category: Farmer Focus