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Spring Planting Day 2013

TSC — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:06:12 +0000

On Saturday, May 11, we had a great crowd who embraced the rain, listened to Dar Williams play guitar and talk about her passion for honey bees, and when the rain let up a bit, all made their way into the garden to plant bee-friendly flowers. Later in the afternoon, our two sheep, Priya and Yahtnah, escaped into Farmer Bob’s fields and kept up a very good chase before evading the staff and visitors by swimming across the pond. At last, we caught them! They seemed relieved to be back in their space on the farm.

Online Auction

TSC — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:59:26 +0000

Support the Sylvia Center, Bid Online!

Now through May 16

Auction lots range from a day of distilling with spirits maven Allen Katz; to private cooking lessons and meals with chef Rozanne Gold and food editor Mindy Fox; to your own private supper club staged by chef and food writer Tamar Adler and composer Gabriel Kahane.

Your bidding will help us raise funds towards a matching grant of $50,000 from Robin Quivers’ 15 Foundation to expand our culinary education program for youth, teens and families living in NYCHA public housing.

SEE OUR ONLINE AUCTION

Spring Planting Day with Dar Williams at Katchkie Farm

TSC — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:23:49 +0000

Saturday, May 11, 2013

11am – 3pm
Katchkie Farm
745 Fischer Rd.
Kinderhook, NY 12106

You’re invited!

You and your family are invited to Spring Planting Day with The Sylvia Center and Hudson Valley singer-songwriter Dar Williams. We’ll sing songs, create a beautiful bee-friendly garden, and work to get our farm’s Children’s Garden ready for the growing season ahead.

Bring a water bottle, sun hat, gardening gloves if you have them, and a picnic lunch to enjoy. Feel free to bring healthy snacks to share with others. We will have a garden salad and lemonade available for purchase. Admission is free but registration is required. To register or for more information, please contact Jenn So at jenn.so@sylviacenter.org or (212) 337-6075.

About Dar Williams

One of the most lauded singer-songwriters of her generation, Dar Williams has been captivating audiences with her sheer elegance and honesty in her folk-pop songwriting since the early ’90s. In The Time Of Gods, her most recent release, covers many relevant topics such as retaining one’s moral compass, our personal responsibility in changing the world, the politics of power, and following a guiding light in the midst of chaos.

Williams has toured with such distinguished artists as Joan Baez, Patty Griffin, Loudon Wainwright III and Shawn Colvin, and was a regular contributor to the Huffington Post’s Green Blog. A dedicated environmentalist, Williams has created the initiative “Give Bees a Camp” to create a haven of beautiful bee-friendly flower gardens at summer camps while educating campers about planting and the service they are providing for bees and our planet.

Success at A City Farmer, A Chef, and a Host

awalton — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:05:18 +0000

Our Dine Around Town event with Just Food was a resounding success; 11 City Farmers, 11 Chefs, 11 Hosts, 11 Dinners on one incredible evening! Take a look at the pictures from this once-in-a-lifetime dining experience:

Getting Busy in July

awalton — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:47:43 +0000

We’ve been busy at the farm, occupied with multiple programs, the harvest, and the farmer’s market. Here at the Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm, we call this phenomenon ‘July.’ It is easy to get overwhelmed by looking at the July chalkboard calendar on the office wall (nearly every day has some sort of color-coded chalk note), but the good humor and ‘we’re-all-in-this-together’ attitude of my co-workers keep spirits high and operations in motion.

This week we spent a good amount of time planning and prepping in the kitchen and the garden for the busy weeks ahead of us. Farmer Bob helped us out with some ‘big machine’ projects in the garden, and volunteers, including Robb Garceau the head chef at Great Performances, took on several hand-weeding projects. A mid-week break for the Fourth of July meant harvest day and the farmer’s market were upon us before we knew it.

While Julie and Meg went to the market in Beacon on Sunday (where we sold this funny looking eggplant, and made great new friends), Jenn ran a successful Family Farm Day. She told us how much the family enjoyed harvesting pizza toppings from the Children’s Garden for their individual wood-fired pizzas.

Cooking with Ellie Krieger

awalton — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:09:25 +0000

On June 19^th, four of our most talented teen chefs from the Drew Hamilton center in Harlem came downtown to the magnificent Astor Center kitchen to work with Ellie Krieger, host of Food Network’s Healthy Appetite and member of the Sylvia Center culinary advisory council. They worked on two seasonal recipes: Ellie’s Garden Risotto with freshly shelled peas and asparagus, and her Balsamic Glazed Strawberries with Chilled Ricotta Cream. The students’ skills were on display as they chopped, sautéed, measured, whisked, and simmered for the next hour. Our guests all agreed that the food was sensational, and the student chefs had to agree. Our thanks to Ms. Krieger for having spent such a lovely afternoon with us.

Spring Green Risotto

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 lightly packed cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound asparagus, steamed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, the salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is almost tender and creamy-looking, about 18 minutes.

Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot. Stir in the Parmesan and more broth if the risotto seems too thick. Serve in soup plates.

Balsamic Glazed Strawberries with Ricotta Cream

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 (16-ounce) container strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put the ricotta cheese, honey and vanilla extract into the small bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

In a small saucepan combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, toss the berries with the basil and the balsamic syrup.

Divide the cream among 4 cocktail glasses, top with the berry mixture and serve.

Farm To Table Benefit Dinner, August 4 2012

awalton — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:55:22 +0000

On Saturday, August 4, 2012, The Sylvia Center invites you to our annual Farm to Table Benefit Dinner in the fields of Katchkie Farm. Columbia County’s best chefs will work together to create a buffet dinner featuring seasonal and local ingredients. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit The Sylvia Center.

Interested in learning more? Check out a video from last year’s event here

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the event site.

Restaurant partners:

We hope you will join us for this delicious night at the Farm!

A Hot Week on the Farm

awalton — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:35:27 +0000

This week we kept a relaxed pace amid crazy hot temperatures. With no programs, we had time to get the garden in order–sprinklers were a priority–and prep for the weeks ahead, which are full of kids’ programs and farmer’s markets. We journeyed to Beacon for our second farmer’s market last Sunday, where we were pleased to see some return customers and many new ones. In addition to our produce, eggs, and Katchkie Farm value added products, we sold glasses of mint lemonade. Market-goers loved Jenn’s refreshing drink!

On the farm, we spent the week weeding and mulching the Children’s garden and continuing to plant seeds and transplants in the vegetable beds and the lower garden. It is surprising how much planning goes into making a garden be ever-bearing. Lots of timetables! We also kept an eye on the pigs, providing them with plenty of water to drink and splash around in during the hot days. I had so much fun watching them play in the mud bath; they coated themselves in the cool mud and then shook their wiry coats before retreating to the shaded tunnel.

This week Jenn has been busy fine-tuning her menu and preparing the dishes for Cafe Omi, which will take place June 23-24. Here’s a sneak peak at the menu:http://www.artomi.org/post/_docs/cafemenu.pdf

More Time in the Day

awalton — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:30:43 +0000

One of our “favorite” expressions on the farm is “If only there was more time in a day!” This week was especially busy with our first farmer’s market of the season and two programs. Despite the long hours and hard work, I often find myself looking up from my task in the garden at the blue shadows of the Catskills and thinking just how great it is to be a Sylvia Center intern.

We participated in our first farmer’s market of the season in Beacon, NY this week. For farmers, going to market is a very rewarding experience. It’s a chance to proudly display produce and products, and interact with folks who share an appreciation for the hard task of growing food. Julie, Jenn, and I had a bustling day at the market. We received many compliments on the arrangement of our produce, and several folks asked if we would be returning to the market the following week. We happily replied, yes!

Programs this week included another bunch of first graders from PS 180 and the Chatham mentoring program, which consisted of middle schoolers and their adult mentors. The first graders gobbled up edible flowers (literally handfuls) and vegetable fried quinoa. The middle schoolers and their mentors were a great group, all eager to learn about how their favorite vegetables grew in the ground. The combination of kids and adults made for a very well-behaved bunch, and everyone asked smart questions. I’ve never seen middle school boys taste kale with such willingness and excitement! A nibble of Stevia leaf (a very sugary-tasting herb) before the kale tasting might have had something to do with their giddiness…

Planting, Piggies, and Pizza, Oh My!

awalton — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 05:23:40 +0000

This week was full of new additions to the Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm. Most recently (as in today) we welcomed two new pigs. They are pink and sweet, and it seems like they are already making friends with the ninja brothers (our first two pigs). Yesterday, Jenn fired up the clay oven, and we cooked pizzas with Bob, Nancy, and Miguel. The dough was yielding when shaped and fluffy after being cooked; we topped the pizzas with kale, pesto, the ripest cherry tomatoes, and many different kinds of cheeses left over from Spring Planting Day. The oven was blazing hot, around 700 degrees. Jenn said that it could reach temperatures of 900 degrees and cook pizzas in seconds! We decided that she might need some heavy-duty protective gear before that happens. I think we are all happy about the new use of the clay oven. Jenn has had her nose deep into recipe books and blogs, finding lots of different foods that can be cooked in the clay oven over the course of one firing: pizza first, then roasting meat or vegetables, and finally baking bread and pies. Some farmer friends of mine in Maine like to bake beans with molasses over night in their clay oven for a hearty breakfast the next day.

Also this week, the forces in NYC and on Katchkie Farm had a couple of occasions to spend time with one another. I very much enjoyed getting to know the NYC Sylvia Center folks on Spring Planting Day. We shared our efforts in the garden, having fun all the while with good company and conversation. Then, on Monday Jenn, Julie, and I headed down to the big city in a very compact little car to tour the Sylvia Center/Great Performances “headquarters” and observe a Sylvia Center cooking class in Harlem. It was very interesting for me to see this side of the organization and understand the tremendous amount of work and human input that it takes to run a good organization. At the cooking class, we all picked up tips to improve our own teaching skills in the kitchen or the garden. It was great to connect with other educators there who were doing the same sort of work, just in a different setting. Chef Karen, the instructor at the Harlem community center we visited, was excited about visiting the farm during one of our programs later in the season.

The photo of the week is in honor of Jenn, who turned 24 this past Wednesday!

-Meg, Garden Intern