Lots of people we know not only are trying to eat local--choosing their meat and vegetables and dairy products from Hudson Valley farmers and markets--more and more are making a conscious effort to buy local (or at least domestic) manufactured products as well. If you've tried to find a non-Chinese-made article of clothing in any big department store, you know how difficult that search can be. Same goes for games, kids' stuff, electronics, and even cookware, dishes, silverware and consumer-level tools. However, as Abby Luby pointed out in her feature story "The Theory of Tables" in Valley Table 55, there's a slew of local craftspeople at work making tables, chairs, furniture and who knows what else--all using locally sourced wood. So it was an easy call to pick up a gift of a nice little cutting board at a small, local specialty shop--especially since right there on top of the board was the name and logo of "Catskill Craftsmen." (It doesn't actually say "Made by Catskill Craftsmen," but hey--the Catskills, woodworkers, fine wood--they all go together, don't they?) It wasn't until we got the board home and unwrapped it that we found the label on the bottom that plainly states, "Made in Vietnam." According to Google Earth, there are no Catskill Mountains--or Catskill anything, for that matter--in Vietnam. (To be fair, we can't speak Vietnamese, so we don't know for sure how some of the place names there translate to English. For all we know, Dong ap bia, Ngoc Linh or Phu Xai Lai Lang could translate as Grossinger's.) We thought it was unlikely that the board was made upstate and the inventory label on the back was made in Vietnam, so, obviously, the top of the board was made up in the mountains in Delaware County and the bottom was made in Vietnam. Golly, those craftsmen are good--you can't even see where they glued the two pieces together. Wow.
12/1/11
A Very Vegan Christmas
Now that you’ve made it through Thanksgiving dinner and have sworn off turkey for life, it’s time to start thinking about all those other holiday meals coming up, whether for the family or a full house. Vegetarians don’t shy away from holiday gatherings any more--if there’s more than a half dozen people coming for dinner it’s a pretty good bet that at least one of them will be an unapologetic vegetarian or vegan or is on a gluten-restricted diet. Our old friend and former Valley Table columnist Nava Atlas tackled vegetarian holiday cooking 20 years ago in Vegetarian Celebrations, and she revisits the subject in her latest cookbook, Vegan Holiday Kitchen (Sterling, 2011, $24.95 hardcover). Organized by “holiday” (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Jewish Holidays, Easter and others), the recipes allow the flavors of vegetables, fruit and nuts to shine for what they are--there’s nary a tofu turkey in sight. Each recipe is designated gluten-, soy-, or nut-free, and most use readily available ingredients. The irony of these vegetarian dishes is that even the carnivores at the table will find them delicious. Let us know how they fare on your dinner table.
11/21/11
Thanksgiving
Our favorite holiday! Bringing together family, friends and a feast. If you're hosting this year, consider making it "local" by shopping at the farmers markets (click here). And if you'd prefer to let someone else do the cooking (not to mention the cleaning), restaurants around the valley are open and ready to welcome you. Remember to make your reservation early. Here's a short list of just some of the delicious options for Thanksgiving. Let's eat!
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