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Canning Workshop Monday, July 25th

23 Jul

The Oxford Community Garden Association and the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the School of Applied Sciences are holding a Hands-On Summer Canning Workshop Monday, July 25, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Kerry O’Donoghue of Poultry in Motion Farm in Water Valley (you probably know her from the Taylor Farmer’s Market) will lead a group of 24 workshop participants through the processes of making pickled cucumbers and pickled vegetables. You will walk in with fresh vegetables, and walk out with pickled vegetables! This is a fascinating and useful topic, and a great way to preserve the produce being grown on your plot!

Since space in the teaching kitchen is limited, reservations are requested. Sign up for this workshop here.

FEES
The workshop is free, but donations of $5.00 to cover supplies are apprecated. The workshop will be providing canning jars, vinegar, spices, sugar, salt, etc. They are hoping to cover their costs with your donations.

SCHEDULE
5:30 p.m. Review recipes and schedule with participants as jars sanitize
5:45 p.m. Cucumber Pickle Recipe
6:15 p.m. Pickled Vegetable Recipe
6:45 p.m. Clean-up; Additional Q&A — Ask for tips your particular vegetables

WHAT TO BRING
4-5 small, or 2 large cucumbers
0.5-1.0lbs of a pickle-able vegetable from your garden (for example, okra, broccoli or cauliflower flowerets, carrot in 1″ pieces, 1″ cubed, unpeeled cucumber or zucchini chunks, red or green bell pepper in 1″ squares, onions cut in wedges, green beans, radishes, green tomatoes or pre-roasted beets.) You need enough to fit a pint-size jar.

SAFETY
Because you’ll be handling hot liquids, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants or skirts, and hair ties for long hair.

LOCATION
Lenoir Hall
127 Sorority Row
Oxford, MS
http://map.olemiss.edu/index.jsp?id=11257366

QUESTIONS?
Contact Anne McCauley (ad_mccauley@mac.com) or Walter Flaschka (wflaschka@gmail.com) for more information.

Farm to Table

18 Jun

credit: old thyme farms

We hear a lot nowadays about eating sustainable meat, produce and seafood, but it’s always better when you can talk with someone who’s actually helping to make sustainability a reality. Here in Oxford, we’re lucky to have several farmers that help supply our farmer’s markets and restaurants with wonderfully fresh food on a regular basis.

I recently spoke with Brad Solomon who owns Old Thyme Farms out on County Road 202. He’s very passionate about creating—and maintaining—sustainable farms for future generations. Old Thyme currently supplies pork and produce to Oxford locations such as Olivia’s Food Emporium, SnackBar and City Grocery. You can also find Brad peddling his produce at the Taylor Farmer’s Market on the weekends. He encourages anyone to come out for a visit to the farm; he loves to show folks around.

Do you have a favorite farm here in Oxford? Tell us about it!

Today’s ‘Eat Local’ Panel

18 Apr

(l to r) Daniel Doyle, Shannon Adams, Ron Shapiro, Mike Stanton, Michelle McAnally, John Currence and John T. Edge

The meeting space inside Barnard Observatory was filled beyond capacity this afternoon when Oxonians gathered to hear about eating locally from John Currence, John T. Edge, Shannon Adams, Daniel Doyle, Michelle McAnally, Mike Stanton and Ron Shapiro. While the panelists had much to say about their own efforts to eat—and offer—local food, there was one fact that everyone kept returning to—eating local starts with you.

You can start by making a conscious effort to know where your food originated. Asking—and encouraging—local restaurateurs to buy local is one of the best ways to ensure that what you consume is not being shipped from thousands of miles away. Make it a point the next time you eat out to ask where your fish or chicken came from and if the vegetables were purchased from a nearby farm. You may be surprised to hear the answer.

There are several restaurants here in town that are already serving locally obtained food. Let us know your favorites here.

Recipe: Bottletree Bakery Chess Pie

16 Feb

Every now and then I like to share an Oxford recipe that I come across. I found the following recipe for Bottletree Bakery Chess Pie on FoodNetwork.com. Enjoy!

Bottletree Chess Pie

Recipe courtesy Cynthia Gerlach

  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Inactive Prep Time: 8 min
  • Cook Time: 45 min
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Serves: 1 (9-inch) pie

Ingredients

 Crust:

  • 3 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornmeal

Directions

To make the crust: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add flour and mix until dough forms a ball. Pat into a 9-inch pie pan. Chill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To make the filling: With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks. Slowly add water, vanilla, and vinegar with the mixer on medium speed. Add flour and cornmeal. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set. Chill overnight.

Have a recipe from a local restaurant you’d like to share with EatingOxford.com readers? Email me at foodie@eatingoxford.com.

My Michelle’s and Nations’ Best Catering Join Forces

14 Feb

According to a recent press release, My Michelle’s, Oxford’s No. 1 provider of healthy, home-cooked meals for families, couples and individuals, has partnered with Nations’ Best Catering, Oxford’s leading caterer for special events and dinners, forming a new company at the existing Nations’ Best location at 1308 North Lamar Blvd.

While My Michelle’s/Nation’s Best held its grand opening on Valentine’s Day, the Oxford/Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Pat Patterson will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new business at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 16.

My Michelle’s owner Michelle Rounsaville and Nation’s Best owner Nancy Nations have known each other professionally since 1997. Both women attended highly respected culinary schools—Rounsaville in Vail, Colo. and Nations in Orlando, Fla.—and the two University of Mississippi graduates quickly bonded over a shared love for cooking and the food business.

The new company will continue to offer Rounsaville’s homemade dishes—prepared with as many locally grown, organic, free-range and 100% natural ingredients as possible, while also catering large events for Nations’ Best clients, such as dinner parties, wedding receptions, tailgating bashes and corporate banquets.

Hours of operation for My Michelle’s/Nations’ Best Catering will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. My Michelle’s weekly specials will still be offered. For more information, call (662) 236-1512 or visit www.mymichellesoxford.com or www.nationsbestcatering.com.

Get a Share of Organic Agriculture

26 Jan

Yokna(patawpha) Bottoms Farm is currently selling food shares for the 2011 season to Oxford residents.

A food share for the 2011 growing season (May-October) is a portion of all food produced by the farm during the season. Food shares will be sold on a first pay, first-to-receive-a-share basis. One full food share is approximately .7% (.007) of all food produced on the farm between May 1 and October 31, 2011, which they anticipate to be roughly $15-20 worth of produce per week. The remaining 30% of farm produce (in addition to any unclaimed food shares) will be sold at local farmers’ markets as well as to local restaurants and businesses.

For the 2011 growing season, 70% of all produce will be dedicated to food shares. To find out more, visit the Yokna Bottoms Farm blog here.

UPDATE 1/28: Learn everything you want to know during the vegetarian potluck hosted at the farm Friday, January 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Taylor Holiday Market Saturday, December 4th

1 Dec
The annual Taylor Holiday Market will be held in the Plein Air Neighborhood of Taylor this coming Saturday, December 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a Christmas parade. Vendors will be selling handmade holiday gifts, decorations, baked goods (breads, pies, sweet breads), party foods (dips, sweets, preserves) and fall produce (local greens, honey and more). Live music will be provided by the Yes, Virginias.
For more information, call 662-832-8727.
 

Southern Foodways Alliance Recipe

22 Oct

credit: lickmyspoon.com

The Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium is in full swing this weekend here in Oxford. Guest chefs were seen whipping up prix fixe menus at SnackBar and City Grocery tonight to whet the appetites of visiting foodies from around the country.

Now, to get you geared up for the gluttony ahead, the Southern Foodways Alliance offers up the following recipe:

White Lily 2010 SFA Symposium Recipe
Sweet Potato / True Yam Biscuits

Yewande Komolafe, a talented pastry chef of Nigerian origin, raised in Atlanta, and now living in New York City – where she works in the test kitchen at Saveur magazine – has conceived a couple of recipes that show how an enterprising cook can adapt true African yams for Southern kitchens.

At the 2010 Southern Foodways Symposium, Yewande’s sweet potato biscuits will be served with her own pepper jelly. Tucked inside will be sock sausage, smoked by Tyler Brown of the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. When you try this at home, country ham works just as well as sock sausage.

Southern Sweet Potato Biscuits

Heat oven to 400°.  Using a fork, poke holes all over 2 medium sweet potatoes and wrap in foil.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick or a fork goes right through.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Peel the skin off and mash the sweet potatoes. Leave slightly chunky.

2 medium white-fleshed sweet potatoes (yielding 1½ cups mashed sweet potatoes)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, cold
2 ½ cups White Lily all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup cold buttermilk
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400°.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar, and use a whisk to fully incorporate.  Add the cold butter, and, using your fingers, break apart the butter pieces and incorporate into the rest of the ingredients until pea size pieces form.  Add the mashed yams and the cold buttermilk.  Use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface, pat into a single mass, and roll out 1 inch thick. Using a 2¼ inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds from the dough and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.   Re-roll the scraps and cut out more biscuits until all the dough is used. Add a little water to the beaten egg and brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash.  Place in the oven and bake till golden brown, 15 – 20 minutes.  Serve while still warm with a hot pepper jelly and slices of country ham or smoked sock sausage.

Makes 6 Biscuits

True African Yam Biscuits: A Variation

In addition to the ingredients above you’ll need:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste
Instead of the sweet potatoes, source 1 small (8-to 10-inch long) African yam

Preheat oven to 425°.  Cut the yam into 1½ inch slices, discarding  both end pieces.  Using a paring knife, peel off the thick layer of outside skin, and immediately drop the slices into a bowl of water to rinse and prevent oxidization.  Cut each slice into ½ inch cubes and keep completely covered with water.

Southern Foodways Symposium Sold Out

11 Oct

The 13th annual Southern Foodways Symposium, to be held October 22-24, 2010, in and around Oxford and on the campus of the University of Mississippi has officially been sold out.

The Delta Divertissement, now in its eighth year, will take place October 21-22 in nearby Greenwood and Clarksdale (also sold out).

Both events will feature the Global South, exploring a linkage between Cuban and Southern cookery and the concept of grounded globalism. Curious eaters will get the opportunity to taste barbacoa de cabeza, catfish bao, skillet-fried kibbe, and five-spice-boiled peanuts. Curious drinkers will sample bourbon-spiked horchata and lemongrass-infused beer.

Lectures and performances, staged on the University of Mississippi campus, as well as in Oxford at the Lyric Theatre and the Powerhouse, will be enhanced by informal lunches and dinners, served in and around town.

For more information, visit the SFA site here.

Apple Season

4 Oct

photo: Andrew Crowley

The following story and recipe was submitted to EatingOxford.com by Beth Ziegenhorn, operations coordinator for The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council:

CRUNCH

It’s officially fall. So what’s so great about fall? Apples! It is absolutely apple season. We all feel it, the brisk cool air that hits your nostrils on a fall morning. That certain dampness that makes you grab your sweater on your way to work, even though you know it will be a high of 98 degrees later on because of the Mississippi sun. I am thankful for it every day I wake up, mainly because that brisk air in the morning reminds me of that crisp taste of my favorite fruit.

I’ve told at least six of my friends by now that it’s apple season and they just look at me and say, “oh?” and shrug off, what I felt, was stimulating news. Apples are something to be excited about; healthdiaries.com says that a medium sized apple contains only 80 calories. That’s 80 calories containing fiber, antioxidants, water and sugar. Be picky if you want, because there are 2,500 varieties of apples grown in the United States every year. We’ve apparently been eating them for a long time anyway; Archaeologists actually have evidence of people eating apples as far back as 6500 B.C.

So since it’s apple season, and it is absolutely worth celebrating, I’ve decided to reach out and share my favorite apple recipe with you. Using my community’s Square Table Cookbook, I was able to quench my crunch with its Crunchy Apple Walnut Salad. If you ask me–apples are the only way to bring in the fall season.

Crunchy Apple Walnut Salad*

DRESSING

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple juice
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

 SALAD

  • 2 Braeburn or Fuji apples cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 6 cups red leaf lettuce or other salad greens
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • Parmesan cheese, grated

For dressing, in a jar, combine ingredients and shake well.

For salad, in a serving bowl, combine apples, salad greens and walnuts. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 6-8 servings 

*Permission to use the Crunchy Apple Walnut Salad recipe granted by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. Square Table Cookbook is a community cookbook and a fundraiser for the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and can be ordered on their website http://www.oxfordarts.com/. For more recipes from Square Table Cookbook check out: aroundthesquaretable.blogspot.com

–Have an Oxford food story or recipe you’d like to share with EatingOxford.com readers? Contact me at foodie@eatingoxford.com.

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