Kim Argenta of Art Ah La Carte is pleased to announce the 2nd anniversary of her studio. "We're hosting our 2nd Birthday party at our NEW studio at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia on the February 27th. The theme is Junk Art and we will be making a Pig out of "junk" - or "found objects". The kids will have cake and snacks and walk away with a little Pig that they can hang from the ceiling in their bedroom."

"We are enjoying continued success in our Drawing classes with my resident Artist Robert Garland. He is so talented! 3D classes are filling up. Watercolor and Acrylic classes are booming."

NEW CLASSES

THE TRAVELING CANVAS- ( Like the traveling pants) Artists take home the canvas for a week and in an area of the canvas create their own art style. This will be hung in the Art Center when complete.

PLASTER CARVING- Learn how to use artist carving tools to create a 3D sculpture 2 evening workshop Feb. 25th and March 4th @ 6-7:30 cost is $20

ATC-ARTIST TRADING CARDS- Create your own trading card to trade with other artist around the world. Feb.23rd 6-7:30 cost is $10

DRAWING CLASS- For beginners and advanced, weekdays and Saturdays. Cost $10 1hr

ART FOR KIDS- Art program for kids. Weekdays and Saturdays, Cost $10 1hr

WATCH FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE THIS SPRING!!!!!!!!!!

For more information call 585.245.1655 or visit www.artalc.vpweb.com 

Do these gray days leave you craving a little color? Well chase away the winter doldrums this Friday at The Artisan Center!

Kim Argenta, owner of Art Ah La Carte is offering an acrylic painting class at 6:30 p.m. at the site of the newly established Artisan Center at 56 Harvester Avenue in Batavia. The four-week workshop is $12 per class and can accommodate both beginners as well as more advanced painters.

Kim says, “I spend time with everyone so I can work at their level.” Art Ah La Carte is located on the first floor, street-side level next to Hot Shots Café & Bistro. Cost of the workshop includes supplies.

Other classes offered this month at Art Ah La Carte include:

ALTERED TINS - A FUN WAY TO RECYCLE OLD TIN BOXES INTO KEEPSAKES FOR YOUR SMALL TREASURES: Tuesday, January12TH and 19TH @ 6:30 PM TO 7:30 PM/ 2 week class; cost is $20. (Suitable for teens and adults)

ACRYLIC PAINTING- Beginners or more experienced invited to attend. Cost is $12 per class. Fridays, starting January 15th running 4weeks @ 6:30pm class runs 1hour.

WATERCOLOR- Wednesday, January 13th & January 27th @ 6:30 pm-8pm. Cost is $10. For beginners or more advanced.

PRIVATE PARTIES: Private parties for adults and children. Also badge earning for 4H and Scouts. Or plan a girl’s night out at your place or mine!

Reservations are required; for additional information, including details about hosting special events or birthday parties, contact Kim Argenta at 585.245.1655 or visit artalc.vpweb.com

For more information about The Artisan Center, contact Patricia Hawley at phawley@mancusogroup.com or by calling 585.343.3329

The Genesee Country Farmer’s Market is celebrating fall on October 9 with a visit from the Volunteers for Animals adoption van and Upstate Niagara Milk. Visitors to the market can stop by the VFA booth from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. for information about adopting a pet.

Applications will be available for pet adoptions. If anyone is interested in adopting a pet, “they can complete the application and then follow up at the shelter,” according to Volunteers for Animals’ Wendy Castleman.

Weather will be a deciding factor in what type of animals will be at the market. “If the weather is bad or too cold, cats will not be crazy about an outdoor event,” Castleman said.

Since the number of pets changes daily, Castleman hopes to bring several kittens and a few dogs. Photos of all shelter animals will be posted so visitors can see every pet that is available for adoption. Additionally, raffle tickets to the Volunteers for Animals annual Fur Ball will be for sale as well as VFA t-shirts.  

By Becky LeFevre

 There are many unknowns about flu season, but the Center for Disease Control estimates that flu season takes place between October and April and often peaks in January.  The bad news it, it’s October and it seems like it’s starting to “go around”. Whether it’s the flu already or just a common cold, we all need to take the necessary steps to stay well.  One of the best ways to stay healthy this season is to strengthen your immune system through a healthy diet. 

I spoke with Dr. Duane Scarborough (who has a Chiropractic and Wellness practice on Batavia-Elba Town Line Rd) about what we should be eating to help our bodies fight off sickness, or to help us recover more quickly from the colds we get.  The good new is, the foods our bodies need most are available locally and are in season.  Dr. Scarborough recommends cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, kale, and brussels sprouts.  These veggies are high in vitamin C, contain soluble fiber, and are proven to have anti-cancer properties.  Garlic also tops the list; it fights off bacteria, viruses, and fungus.  Dr. Scarborough also mentioned that tomatoes are high in Vitamin C. A few minutes online at www.mealographer.com informed me that by eating a cup of chopped tomatoes or a whole, average sized fresh tomato I would consume approximately 30-40 percent of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C. 

For some people, eating a bowl of brussels sprouts might seems as painful as a few days in bed with the flu.  For those of you who historically hate the sprouts, please try some fresh brussels sprouts from a local farm. They are poles removed from the frozen, mushy little cabbages you were forced to eat as a kid. Sauté them up with some butter and salt and they taste great.  You can also add chopped cabbage or kale to your favorite soup or salad. Try these recipes using some of the foods Dr. Scarborough recommends, all the veggies are available at the Genesee Country Farmers Market.

Cherry Tomato Crisp
Ingredients:
· 1 1/2 pounds (about 5 cups) cherry tomatoes
· 2 slices french bread
· 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
· 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 1 chopped garlic clove
· Coarse salt and ground pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, combine bread, Parmesan cheese, parsley leaves, olive oil, and garlic; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Pulse until bread is very coarsely chopped, 4 to 6 times.
2. In an 8-inch square baking dish, arrange cherry tomatoes in a single layer; sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake until crust is browned and tomatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Roasted Garlic  (from epicurious.com)
Ingredients:
1 lg. Head of garlic
¼ c olive oil
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic in small baking dish. Add oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and cloves are tender, about 55 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic cloves from skins.
Eat roasted garlic spread on crackers, or mix it into some homemade mashed potatoes.

By Becky LeFevre

As a child, I spent most of my days at home with my grandma and grandpa while my mom was at work.  My grandma practically lived in the kitchen.  She was a great cook and made absolutely delicious pies.  I watched her diligently and over time learned how to add just the right amount of water to make the dough flaky but not tough, how to flute the edges of apple pie or make a lattice top for a cherry pie.  I learned that sometimes you have to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit.  I can bake a great pie.  But, I also learned that great pie takes a lot of time, and time is in short supply. I’ll bake a pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, maybe a birthday or once when the sour cherries are in season, but for the rest of the year I settle for creative alternatives. 

The following recipes are the absolute simplest pie-alternatives you can find.  Not only are they thrown together in less than 5 minutes, they look and taste fabulous and are nutritious.  If you want a pie but don’t have time, try this:

First, get some of your favorite fruits. I have peaches from Partyka farm and 20oz apples from Chryst farm, both from the Genesee Country Farmers Market.
Then, turn on your oven to 350
For Peaches, cut peaches in half and remove pit. Place facing up (skin down) on a baking sheet (you can cut a thin slice off the back of the fruit so it sits up straight on the baking sheet).  Top with either:
· a pad of butter and teaspoon of light brown sugar  OR
· drizzle on some honey with a few sprigs of fresh lavender, or lemon zest
· for extra excitement, add a some fresh berries or plums to the peaches when they are halfway done. Don’t add berries in the beginning or they will get mushy.
Bake for a half hour (while you are eating dinner). Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
For Apples, remove the core from apple (try to keep the bottom of the apple intact).  If your apple is quite large or you don’t have patience with the core removal, cut it in half and remove the core that way.
 Fill the apple with a pad of butter and approximately a teaspoon of light brown sugar, depending on the size of apple.  Sprinkle on some cinnamon or insert a stick of cinnamon. You can also add some raisins and pecans. Bake on 350 for a half hour or till tender. Serve will a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Tonight I’m roasting a chicken for dinner, with potatoes, onions and beans from the market. I’m going to slip 2 huge sugar-butter stuffed apples into the oven when the chicken is done, and voilà…dessert!

On Saturday, September 26, you can help make hundreds of Genesee County families happier this holiday season! Stop by Clor’s (corner of Rte. 63 and W. Main St.) and pickup one of their tasty Chicken BBQ dinners – all proceeds will benefit the Don Carroll Toys for Kids campaign. For $8 you’ll get ½ chicken, salt potatoes, roll and either macaroni salad or coleslaw…not to mention a wonderful feeling knowing that you’ll warm the heart of a child this December.

Don Carroll has been organizing a massive toy give-away each holiday season by coordinating “giving events” throughout the year. A benefit concert (scheduled for November this year), as well as “Cheer for Kids” donation buckets at a Batavia High Football game (look for us at the October 9 game at VanDetta Stadium), and an impressive Gift Basket Raffle (tickets will be available at the November concert) are just some of the ways that you can give to this worthy cause. Absolutely no money is used for administrative costs or personnel fees…this is 100% volunteer-supported! All money stays in Genesee County.

So eat some chicken and help a child this Christmas! You’ll be so glad you did.  

Back in the day, everyone was a locavore. America was an agrarian society so like it or

not, you ate what you grew. Who could have guessed that the Industrial Revolution would have delivered us to where we are now: wallowing in an anonymous, over-processed, “Big Brother” food industry. Do you want fries with that? Still, deep in the cockles of our comfort food-deprived hearts, it seems that everyone has a home-baked memory wrapped in pastry.

If your mother didn’t bake pies then your grandmother probably did. The art of pie baking – and pie pastry in particular – is deeply ingrained in our cultural vernacular. Pies have been around for thousands of years dating back to the ancient Egyptians. Pies have been documented in England as far back as the 12^th century (the Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word “pye” to 1303) and showed up in America with the first colonial settlers. Early pies were predominantly savory and meat-filled. Flaky pastry fruit-filled turnovers first appeared in 19^th century America and have remained popular ever since.

You’d think that with so much pie history, we’d be…well…to be honest…we’d be better at it! Nothing strikes fear into the heart of an otherwise accomplished cook than the prospect of making a pie. Oh, the filling is fine, easy even. It’s the crust that the tricky part. Piecrust is a funny thing comprised of equal parts alchemy and dumb luck. Attempt to make pastry on a humid day and you’ll end up with a sticky paste. But try to roll out the dough when double-digit wind chills are whipping outside your kitchen window and even your finest efforts will crumble into a floury mess before the crust is lifted, ever so gently, into the baking pan.

As for me, nothing can hold a candle to my mother’s piecrust. Growing up, we enjoyed a freshly baked pie nearly every Sunday. She made her crust the old-fashioned way – with lard. (Yeah, lard! Arteries are slamming shut as I write this.) It was crumbly-crisp with the perfect amount of “tooth” to compliment the sweet, fragrant fruit that was no doubt bubbly inside.

Try as I might, I’ve never been able to master the art of pie pastry. Since I cut my teeth on my mother’s apron strings, this has been a frustrating lesson in Darwinism: only the strong-willed cook will survive when confronted with the successful pie-makers mantra – “You can just ‘feel’ when the dough is right.” The perfect pie dough will be smooth, slightly elastic, and never-ever sticky. So, after several failed attempts to get it right, I think I’ve hit upon the perfect piecrust recipe. No, it’s not exactly like my mother’s – there’s no lard in this version – but it’s consistently delicious and nearly foolproof.

Consult any cookbook for fruit filling directions. If you’re lucky, you can still find blueberries and raspberries. If you’re smart, you’ve frozen some sour cherries last July to use this fall. Otherwise, stop by your local farmer’s market and pick up some peaches; they’re still plentiful but don’t delay. According to Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms, “Peaches will be on our stands for another 1 ½ to 2 weeks.” What better way to showcase the best of summer’s bounty?

Foolproof Pie Crust*

1/3-cup whole milk

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch wide pieces

Whisk milk & vinegar in small bowl to blend. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend; add shortening and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk mixture; briefly knead in bowl just until dough comes together. Gather dough into a ball. Divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger that the other. Flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. When ready to bake, roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fill pie with fruit filling. Roll out second disk on light floured work surface to a 12-inch round. Place on top of filling. Crimp edges decoratively to seal. Brush with an egg glaze and bake as directed.    

*The best ingredients yield superior results. And while I’m hoping you’ll use organic flour (Eden Foods makes a good one as does Bob’s Red Mill), you can also get away with a more widely available commercial brand. King Arthur Flour is a good substitute. It’s never bleached; never bromated.

A special “thank-you” goes out to Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms and Gail Christ of Christ Farms for providing the fruit for our test kitchen. Twenty acres of apples on their 600+ acres of farmland in Holley, NY make Gail an apple expert! Her favorite apple for baking? A mix of Cortland and 20 Ounce. Partyka’s produce some of this area’s best peaches on 15 acres at their farm in Kendall, NY. She owes the success of their crop to “good field management and good lakeside weather” at their 400-acre farm. Lora says peaches really shine when they’re baked “in a shortcake with a biscuit, some good vanilla ice cream, peaches, and topped with whipped cream.” Peach Shortcake – and various other treats – is available at her Partyka’s Farm Market, 1420 County Line Road, Kendall. Produce from Christ Farms and Partyka Farms is available at the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market, Batavia Downs Parking Lot, Batavia. Hours: Tuesday & Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  

The following information is from the Farmer’s Market Federation of New York:

Beginning in 2001, the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Farmers' Market Federation of New York partnered for a pilot project to test wireless handheld Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) terminals for use in open-air farmers' markets. The pilot proved that the wireless technology, although in its infancy, was effective in capturing food stamp sales at farmers' markets in urban settings. The pilot also documented the need for farmers to accept food stamp benefits at farmers' markets, due to customer demand for their products.

As demand for wireless service grew and as the technology evolved, the farmers' market wireless EBT project continued to expand to new cities and more farmers. In 2005, the pilot changed focus from providing terminal access to individual farmers to providing terminal access to market managers.

Under this new paradigm, markets are authorized under FNS to be food stamp agents. They are able to "sell" EBT tokens (specially designed wooden tokens) that can be used with any vendor in the market selling food stamp eligible products. Farmers are able to accept the tokens, same as cash, but with no change back, and then redeem them with the market manager at day's end. Additionally, farmers markets can choose to accept debit and credit transactions on their market’s wireless EBT terminals.

The goal of the program is to increase the demand for locally grown fresh foods at farmers markets among food stamp customers, increase the usage of food stamp benefits at farmers markets and change dietary habits of food stamp customers to include more fresh fruits and vegetables from local growers by helping to change shopping habits over time.

Check with your local farmer's market to see if they participate in this program. For more information on New York's Farmers' Market Wireless EBT Program contact Diane Eggert at (315) 637-4690.

Northeast berry growers can learn about the latest production techniques and integrated pest management practices from university experts in a series of online web seminars this fall and winter. The first of the dozen interactive, hour-long Œwebinars‚ is scheduled for September 9 and will focus on growing strawberries on plastic and in high tunnels.  The berry IPM webinar series is hosted by the Cornell University Department of Horticulture and funded by the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center.
 
The webinars are free, and participation is easy for anyone with a web browser and a high-speed internet connection.  (Pre-registration is required.)  If you can‚t participate from your home or office computer, group viewings are being organized at selected Cornell Cooperative Extension offices around the state and other sites across the northeast region.  Webinars will be recorded and archived for later viewing.
 
Webinar speakers will make their presentations live, and respond to questions and comments that participants type into an online chat box. 
 
The webcasts are divided into 3 mini series focusing on major berry crops: strawberries, brambles, and blueberries/cranberries. Four presentations on each crop group comprise a mini series. 
 
Alternative Production Methods for Strawberries will kick off the strawberry mini series when it airs live September 9th, 2009 at 12:45 PM. Featured speakers for this webcast are Dr. Lewis Jett, West Virginia State University, and Ms. Kathy Demchak, Penn State University. Dr. Jett will be speaking on growing strawberries in high tunnels. Ms. Demchak will be speaking on northeast approaches to growing strawberries on plastic.
 
The first presentation will be offered at a variety of group session locations throughout NYS including CCE Albany, CCE Chautauqua, CCE Clinton, CCE Jefferson, CCE Oneida, and CCE Suffolk counties. Some of these group sessions may include an additional on site speaker or other berry-related event following the webcast, so please contact individual CCE offices for more information.
 
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 will be the 2nd webcast in the strawberry series, also airing at 12:45 PM. Dr. Greg Loeb, Cornell University, will speak about managing strawberry sap beetle and tarnished plant bug;  Dr. Richard Cowles, University of Connecticut, will help growers better understand strawberry vine weevil and its management.
 
Wednesday October 7th, 2009, 12:45 PM. Dr. Michael Ellis, Ohio State University, will speak on managing strawberry root diseases; Dr. David Gadoury, Cornell University will speak on strawberry powdery mildew management. 
 
Friday October 30th, 2009, 12:45 PM. Dr. Robin Bellinder, Cornell University, will give an overview of strawberry weed management products; Dr. Marvin Pritts, Cornell University, will speak on cultural approaches to strawberry weed management.
 
There is no charge for webcast participation, but registration is required. Email with URL connection details is only sent to people who have registered. Connection details are sent about two days before the webinars. Please be connected by 12:45 PM.
 
Connections for each webcast are limited to 70 participants so register now by contacting Laura McDermott, lgm4@cornell.edu or calling 518-746-2562.
 

Check the web site for additional program and group viewing location details: www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar <http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar>  <http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar> .
 
For more information contact Jan Beglinger, Agriculture Outreach Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, at 343-3040, ext. 126, stop by the Extension office at 420 E. Main Street in Batavia, or visit our website at htttp://genesee.shutterfly.com <http://genesee.shutterfly.com/> .

How far would you travel for a great meal? Five miles? 25 miles? How about 100 miles? Well that’s the premise behind the 100-mile diet.

Across the country, people are dedicating themselves to a healthier, more sustainable way of eating. If you haven’t heard of it yet…get ready…the “Locavore” movement is here and some culinary pundits think it’s here to stay.

Eating locally grown food is not only good for you, it’s good for our environment too.

Purchasing homegrown produce cuts down on “food miles,” or the distance food has to travel from farm to processing site to market, positively impacting our foods’ carbon footprint. A tomato grown in Southern California has to travel about 2,500 miles before it reaches a grocery store in Batavia. By contrast, researchers at Iowa State University found that locally grown produce travels an average of 56 miles from farm to market resulting in fresher, more nutritious choices for us and for our families.

Surprisingly, a whopping 40% of our fruit is produced overseas then hauled in freighter ships or flown across the ocean before it reaches American tables.

Buying local allows you to enjoy fruits and vegetables at their peak of freshness and flavor. There’s a reason why asparagus is at its tender-best in spring, and why blueberries are so tasty in July.

Visit a farmers market and develop a relationship with a local grower; most farmers are thrilled to share their knowledge and experience with their customers. Ask about the challenges your local farmers face and what they’re doing to address them. Ask about the weather! Any farmer will be pleased to talk about how the growing season is going and how that affects the food they grow. Get answers to questions like: When are strawberries in season? How might I use kohlrabi? What should I do with all this zucchini?

If you’re still not convinced that a Locavore lifestyle is for you …consider this: in a recent survey conducted by CNNMoney.com, 69% of respondents said that it is important to keep food dollars in their communities by buying from a farmer’s market. Buying direct from a farmer sends 90% of those food dollars back to the farm. However, although Americans spend more than $600 billion in food annually, it is most often spent at a grocery store or chain (think Super Wal-Mart, etc.) - with only about 7% of local food dollars staying in the community. The remaining 93% of the modern food dollar travels to pay processors, packagers, distributors, wholesalers, truckers and the rest of the infrastructure that a global food system demands.

More food dollars staying in the community, through buying local, translates into thriving Main Streets and local jobs. It means that more money can be spent locally by the farmer to run his/her business and home, helping to keep the local economy alive. Eating locally grown food raised by farmers who actually live in their communities. What’s not to love about that?

Note: Patricia Hawley is the market manager of the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market. The Market is open on Tuesdays & Fridays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Batavia Downs parking lot (through October 30).

By Becky LeFevre

Summer is almost over! Labor day is approaching, school is about to start, and the cherries are in season. Cherries in season? Thanks to creative cultivating and new storage technologies, local farms really do have fresh cherries in season RIGHT NOW! Schwab Farm, located in Gasport NY, has been working with Cornell researchers this season on testing the effects of Modified Atmosphere Packaging on different varieties of sweet cherries. Modified Atmosphere Packaging, or MAP, is the technical term for plastic storage bags that extend the life of fresh produce by controlling the atmosphere (specifically the CO2 and O2 levels) inside the bag. Given a more controlled climate, produce stays fresher longer.   But, its not as easy at it sounds. Each type of produce, and each variety within each type, reacts differently to the MAP. At Schwab Farm, different varieties of sweet cherries are placed in MAP and the effects of the MAP are carefully studied to see which varieties of sweet cherries perform best in the new packaging. This current testing will help fruit growers in the future know which varieties to grow for use in MAP, so that the freshest sweet cherries can make it to market much later into the season.

Sharon Brent from Schwab Farms sells produce at the Genesee Country Farmers Market (located in the Batavia Downs parking lot on Park Rd.) every Tuesday and Friday, and hopes to have sweet cherries for sale until Labor Day. That is remarkable, considering the typical sweet cherry season in western New York ends around the first of August. In addition to the use of MAP, cherries are available from Schwab Farm because the farm grows a wide variety of cherries that mature at different times. While some varieties are done around Aug. 1^st, many other varieties continue to mature throughout the month of August. 

Cornell chose to specifically study the effects of MAP on sweet cherries for a few reasons. Cherries are becoming more popular due to recent discoveries of their health benefits. Cherries have powerful antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and even the ability to reduce the risk of some types of cancer and Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, sweet cherries have a very short shelf life, and here in the northeast we have a relatively short growing season. MAP can greatly help farmers meet the local demands for cherries. Instead of purchasing an alternative at the grocery store, local consumers can buy fresh produce from local farms much later into the season. This means our dollars stay in the local economy, and fruit we eat is as fresh and nutritious as possible.

With fresh cherries available later in the season, there may be a need for some fresh ideas on how to use them. Pick up some sweet cherries this week at the Genesee Country Farmers Market and try one of the quick recipes below.