It’s that time of the year when so much is in season in the Adirondack region- including melons like honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon.
In the Adirondacks, locally grown melons only start to appear with sweet corn and winter squash, right around when kids start heading back to school. Once the frost comes, they are done.
AdkAction is currently enrolling households in a program designed to help subsidize the cost of locally produced food for families in the North Country. Households who enroll in the Fair Food Pricing program receive 30% off at participating vendors. In times of personal or collective crisis, the discount can temporarily be increased to 90% to provide even more support to households in need.
Eligibility for the program is based on United Way’s ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) guidelines for income and household size. For example, a two-adult household with two children in childcare, earning an annual income of $78,000 – or a single senior earning $30,400 – is eligible to join the program.
September is National Honey MonthSince the 1980’s September has been “National Honey Month”, in honor of the end of the season for most areas, when beekeepers collect honey from their hives. It’s a time to raise awareness of beekeeping and the benefits of honey.
This National Honey Month, learn more about how honey is made by bees, collected by humans, and how you can support beekeepers in your community.
Hummus is a wonderful dip and spread that is rich in fiber and protein. It can be made in many different variations. One of my favorites includes roasted beets. You can use any variety of beet for this recipe. The color of your hummus will change, depending on what variety of beet you choose. A golden beet will result in a yellow-colored hummus, while a Chioggia beet will result in a pink hummus. Regardless of what variety of beet you choose, you will end up with a beautiful spread that also packs a nutritious punch. Enjoy!
During my years at Extension, one of my (self-proclaimed) missions was to support local farms and producers and to promote consumer-access to, education about, and appreciation for local, fresh, sustainably produced foods and products, while also working to develop farmers’ markets as vibrant gathering places within local communities. That mission continues.
I hike a lot, so make (and drink!) variations of this natural electrolyte drink for hikes. One of my favorites is a ginger lemon-lime combination. I also love to make this drink with grapefruit, orange, or cranberry juice (or combine juice flavors). You can use honey or sugar in lieu of the agave nectar if you like, and can also use regular water instead of coconut water. Enjoy!
High tunnels, sometimes called hoop houses, offer northern New York market growers an easy way to extend our limited growing season by two or three months. Sometimes more. Farmers can grow early and/or late crops of cool weather and salad vegetables even while there’s snow on the ground. And depending upon the weather, warm season crops, like tomatoes, can mature several weeks earlier and be harvested and sold many weeks after similar field grown crops have been killed by frost.
In addition, high tunnels offer protection from wind, driving rain, disease, insects, and deer. And more than a decade of Cornell University-conducted research has shown that the yields and quality of produce grown in high tunnels can be far superior to that of comparable field-grown crops.
This is great news for consumers too, who gain access to an ever-increasing variety and supply of top-quality, locally-grown fruits and vegetables, both earlier and later in the year.
I love blueberries. I love blueberry jam. As such, I love to eat blueberry jam on toast (especially sourdough!), drizzled on fruit, as a topping for sorbet, or by the (very large) spoonful. When making any sort of jam, it is important to have a good quality fruit. When the blueberries are amazing, the blueberry jam will also be amazing! This jam will keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Directions
Photo of serranos courtesy of https://peppergeek.com/serrano-peppers/
Peppers are the berry-fruits of plants in the genus capsaicin which are in the nightshade family, with tomatoes and eggplants. The spicy “chili peppers” and mild “sweet peppers” and “bell peppers” are all native to tropical parts of the Americas. Prehistoric remains of peppers have been found in Central and South America.
Mary’s Taste of Fall Pickled Beets
Here is a recipe for pickled beets, courtesy of our amazing SUNY Albany intern.
Savor the fall time flavors with these sweet, warm pickled beets! As someone who wishes it could remain the autumn season all year-round, I am so grateful for these preserved and shelf-stable pickled beets to add to any recipe. Truly delicious on salads, as a side dish, a unique pizza topping or even paired with some goat cheese and crackers for a simple afternoon snack.
Summertime is the perfect time to go berry picking! Plenty of berries are just coming into season, and many more will soon. Here are a couple posts from our archive covering all things berry-related:
From 2012: A delicious blueberry sorbet recipe!
From 2014: An informational article on wild blackberry season in the Adirondacks.
From 2016: On the color of cranberries
From 2016: Juneberries ripening in July
From 2019: Facts about growing berries in the North Country
From 2020: Northern New York runs grower trials for 3 fruits in an effort to establish new commercial fruit crops
Click here to explore all articles tagged under berries in our archive.
Photo: Blueberry harvest at Wild Work Farm in Keene Valley, NY. Netting over berry bushes protects the crop from birds. Most small-scale diversified farms and orchards pick their harvests by hand. Photo provided by Adirondack Harvest
This USDA tested and approved recipe is from the University of Georgia Extension. It yields 7-8 pints, and produces a lovely, vinegar-free salsa. This recipe provides a perfect method to use – and preserve – the abundant ripe tomatoes currently (or almost) available at farmers’ markets or even your own gardens! Make sure to use caution when handling chilis and jalapeños, so that you do not inadvertently get the capsaicin oil in your eyes (don’t ask me why I am including that information here!).
All about berries! Blueberries, both wild and cultivated, are native to the Northeast. They belong to the Ericaceae plant family, along with cranberries. They are in season in the Adirondack region from mid-July through September. The United States is the primary producer of blueberries worldwide, followed by Canada, and Peru. In the US they are mostly grown in Oregon, Washington State, Michigan, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina. Many diversified farms and orchards grow blueberries in the Adirondack region. Blueberries like acidic soil and cold winters for a dormancy period.
Above photo: Blueberry harvest at Wild Work Farm in Keene Valley, NY. Netting over berry bushes protects the crop from birds. Most small-scale diversified farms and orchards pick their harvests by hand.
Muffins cooked in oranges – whomever originally came up with this idea deserves a medal! This versatile recipe can be made with any muffin mix, allowing you to tailor it to your preferences.
I’ve always found the idea of foraging for wild edible plants appealing, but daunting. I know a little about wild plants and foraging, but I lack confidence. And with good reason. I didn’t grow up foraging and, although it’s possible to acquire knowledge about foraging from books and websites, it’s a lot easier (and safer) to learn from someone who has first-hand foraging knowledge and experience; someone who has been gathering, preparing, and eating wild foods throughout his or her entire life.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Franklin County is offering a series of Wild Edibles Workshops during July and August.
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