Feeling Saucy

This all sort of started when I found myself with a fistful of skittles at my desk in the not too distant past. (Last week)

I’m sitting there stuffing my face with what feels like contraband. I bought it in a vending machine. It was my second trip of the day. I’m officially shaming myself and owning up to it. Even though most people in this country are like “yeah, and…?” Some of you may be into food. Good food. Real good food. And you know what I’m talking about.

Well, hello, I’m Monika, co-founder of Saucy by Nature, maker of the fine all natural preservative free farm fresh sauce you’re slathering on to be healthy and promote the good food movement. I’ve probably actually personally schlepped my ass at 4am to the Hunts Point wholesale farmers market to hand-lug 400 lbs of those fresh picked tomatoes myself. And somehow now I’m sitting here debating which order to eat these delicious/awful 5000 year shelf life vending machine goodies, and how best to consume all the orange ones first so that I’m left with the perfect combo of purple and red at the end?! 

It’s definitely not the first time in my life that I’ve thought “ohmigod, what have I done?!” (Err, especially since starting this company and also if you count my 20s)

It’s not just that, though.

Somewhere between “let’s start an awesome food company!” and “skittles in my face”, I seem to have unraveled a bit. Just 7 months ago I was fun, working out, generally presentable, chilled out, and on my way to growing a successful Feng Shui consulting business while doing freelance attorney work. I had it pretty much together. I vacationed, shopped, did dinners and drinks with friends, had friends, and even dated. I worked out, meditated, studied holistic healing techniques, slept, ate a balanced diet, watched loads of Bravo TV, all the good stuff.

I don’t know if this happens to everyone who starts a company, or if other food producers know what I’m talking about, but my life feels as though I’ve lost all control and none of the above items exist anymore. I’ve completed derailed somehow. I eat crap, feel uhealthy and flubby, I’ve gotten sick to the point of bedridden, I haven’t cleaned my apt in ages, my bedroom looks like my closet and office threw up on each other, I rarely do laundry, I work 18 hour days, my roommates hate me, I have very few friends who still have the patience to deal with me, and I pretty much feel and look like a zombie most days.  

In short, I’m a hot mess. And it’s time for an overhaul.

Entre this blog. I’m embarking on an exploration of finding balance and joy in my life again, feeling great, getting hot, and most importantly, taking advantage of all the fabulous resources at my fingertips in NYC. 

I’m already lit up by the possibilities and challenges of eating local nutrient-rich foods on the go, cleansing my system of the, er, less productive things I’ve been doing to it, and creating a sense of balance and serenity as I attempt to crawl out of the new-company-startup tornado that is my life.

Join me in my expose of discovery through nourishing my body, nurturing my soul, and stepping away from the vending machine.

It’s happened, Finally.  Winter is here and (sadly) as sub-zero winds were swirling around us this week we realized something—the January blahs were upon us.  Spicy Polish Kimchee sauce and producing our winter line this week got us thinking about diving into the kitchen to drive the blahs back, so we can focus on fun (like the release of our winter line, the Vegan Valentine’s day shop-up, and our recipe contest) instead of slinking into our apartments and huddling to hide from the elements.

And alas, we’ve found a cure—The New Brooklyn Cookbook.  Thanks to Melissa and Brendan Vaughn, authors of The New Brooklyn Cookbook for bringing BK restaurants to our kitchens!  This (fantastic) book highlights 31 restaurants that have “put Brooklyn on the culinary map.” 

Thrilled to be able to take Franny’s, Al di Là, and others home with us, we got to cooking this week with a Moroccan feast, centering on BKLYN Larder’s recipe for M’hamsa Couscous with Spicy Raisins and Almonds.  We decided to serve the couscous alongside a chicken tagine, so omnivores and herbivores alike would be satisfied and thoroughly de-Blahed.

After several crazy days of sauce-promoting (which got us featured in Daily Candy and Serious Eats!) and recipe-tinkering, we raced home laden with groceries and got to work…thoroughly excited and ready for a fun, homecooked meal with friends—which is what we’re all about, after all.

The resultst? B-E-A-UTIFUL, and absolutely scrumptious.  This was definitely not you’re run-of-the-mill 5-minutes and done couscous.  It was hearty, with the almonds and raisins adding great texture, and the parsley dropped in a fresh dash of color.  The raisins were our favorite part—they were succulent and added a complex dimension to the dish, without being too spicy; though you could always add more red pepper flakes to the mixture if you’re a spicy food addict.

In our experience, the crumbly goodness was ideal for sopping up extra sauce from our tagine (which was almost as easy to make, especially since we used our Spiced Tomato Jam as a base), though the couscous could certainly stand alone for an easy lunch.

Post-party, we chatted up Chris Behr, a chef from BKLYN Larder who let us in on their mission, and some tips. 

We swear by our recipes, so we were surprised by Chris’ssuggestion for home chefs trying to creating impressive (and tasty) recipes at home:  

“A lot of times, people come in here with a piece of paper and say ‘I need THIS cheese!’, and are really afraid to vary, even if you can offer them something that’s essentially the same,” he said. “As someone who writes recipes, I think its really important to be flexible—the author would rather have you love the recipe with turnips instead of radishes then get stressed over a beautiful meal, it’s aboutwhat You like after all.”

Duly noted. (We took his advice when modifying this SmittenKitchen recipe for couscous and feta stuffed peppers using our leftover couscous. YUM.)

As it turns out, we share a lot with BKLYN Larder when it comes to our food mission. Before we even mentioned our own commitment to local sourcing he chimed in, “When people come here, and eat the food or are looking to take things home I want them to see the respect we have for local farmers and great food and think  ‘Wow, this is a beautiful thing.’” 

Now that’s something we can agree with! 

“We really think all the extra effort and a slightly higher price is worth it for the peace of mind we get knowing we’re giving people the best that’s out there,” he continued. “A lot more goes into what’s on the menu or shelf than picking up the phone and ordering some swiss chard.”

(Was this guy stalking us on FB or something?)

Before we forget, here’s that great couscous recipe—for more goodness pick up The New Brooklyn Cookbook, and check out Brooklyn Larder’s website, which is soon to have a blog/recipe section! (Need something to drink with that? Click Here.)

M’hamsa Couscous with Almonds and Spicy Raisins

Serves 6

For the Spicy Raisins:

2/3 cup golden raisins

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

For the Couscous:

2/3 cup whole raw almonds

2 cups M’hamsa hand-rolled couscous, availabe at BKLYN Larder and Marlow & Daughters or online at www.zingermans.com

1 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsely.

To make the spicy raisins, place the raisins and red pepper flakes in a small glass or stainless-steel bowl.  Bring 1/2 cup water and the vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan.  Pour the water and vinegar over the raisins; the liquid should cover the raisins by 1/2 inch.  Allow the raisins to cool to room temperature. Drain, reserving the liquid, and set aside.

To make the couscous, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.  Toast for 15 minutes, or until browned and fragrant. When the almonds are cool, chop them coarsely and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring 3 cups water to a boil.  Stir in the couscous and salt and return to a full boil. Remove the couscous from the heat, add the olive oil, and cover.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then spread it in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

When the couscous is cool, stir in the spicy raisins and 2 to 3 tablespoons of their liquid, the almonds , and the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasonings with a splash more olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Over the past year I’ve made a concerted effort to eat more seasonally than I did while growing up.  I think winter is prime time for two awesome food groups:  stored root vegetables and preserves put up earlier in the year.  Last weekend, inspired by a trip to the farmers’ market at Grand Army Plaza and an unexpected visit from an out-of-town friend, I decided to host a little brunch.  I’d planned to feature both of those all-important winter food groups, and I made it to the market just in the nick of time.  The normally hardy vendors, discouraged by Saturday’s dreary four-degree weather, were packing it in to leave as I pulled up.  Fortunately I was able to score a great sourdough loaf from Buon Pane and a lovely bit of rosemary-garlic chèvre from Lynnhaven Farm before everyone disappeared. 

My vegetables had to be snatched back from the brink—this gentleman from Phillips Farms actually dove back into that truck to find me three perfect Winesap apples and a bunch of arugula!  (As an aside, I’ll admit that arugula doesn’t belong to either of the food groups I mentioned above, and as it’s late in the season my bunch was a bit sad-looking, but I think I’d look about the same if I’d come all the way down from upstate and had bits of ice clinging to my leaves.)

I returned home with my bounty to consider the menu and tried to make things easy for myself—for me, brunch always means eggs, but it doesn’t have to mean poached or fried or scrambled eggs, which really need to be made to order and eaten immediately when hot.  Quiche seemed like just the thing—easy to throw together, equally delicious hot or cold, and a perfect showcase for the jar of SBN’s winter-inspired Roasted Beet with Horseradish Sauce I had on hand from a test batch earlier that week.  With visions of a lovely striated quiche in my mind’s eye, I began to roll out a pie crust.

The crisp apples set off the creamy brie perfectly; when we had the bright idea to top the cheese with a dab of SBN’s Cranberry Pear, a great thing got better as the cranberries added a tart counterpoint to the sweet, salty cheese.

I brought the quiche out of the oven in a swirl of steam, redolent with the scent of the rosemary-garlic chèvre.  Conversation stalled as we waited for the pie to cool, shooting anticipatory glances at the counter-top.  When at last we cut it open and plunged in, we found the earthy sweetness of beets complemented by the velvety richness of goat cheese and the subtle tang of arugula and shallots. We sat in silence and savored for a long while before we were once again able to find our voices.

Planning to host your own seasonal Sunday brunch?  Nothing is better than good food with good friends, so grab a jar and get creative!  Check out the recipe for my Roasted Beet, Arugula and Goat Cheese Quiche below or invent your own delicious dish and enter our Recipe Contest!

Roasted Beet, Arugula & Goat Cheese Quiche

Serves 4

9-inch pre-baked single pie crust (see note below)

1 jar SBN Beet Horseradish Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil or butter

1 small shallot, roughly chopped

1 bunch arugula leaves (a good handful), roughly chopped

6oz goat cheese (mine was seasoned with rosemary and garlic)

3 eggs

½ cup heavy cream, milk or a combination

1 tsp salt

Large pinch of black pepper pepper

Preheat oven to 325º.

Heat oil or melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Sauté shallot for about a minute, then add chopped arugula and continue to cook until wilted (perhaps another two minutes).

Spread the beet sauce evenly on the bottom of the crust to form the first layer.  Add the sautéed shallot and greens and arrange evenly to form a second layer.  Slice the cheese (about ¼” thick) and arrange on top of the greens.

Beat together the eggs, cream or milk, salt and pepper, then pour over the ingredients already in the crust.  Shake the pie slightly from side to side to help the egg mixture settle into all the nooks and crannies, then bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the quiche is almost firm and lightly browned on top.

Re: Pie Crust:

You certainly don’t have to make your own pie crust (and until I started making my own a mere few months ago, I was always very content with the Pillsbury ones), but it really isn’t hard and I’ve included my adaptation of Mark Bittman’s recipe (from How to Cook Everything) below.  It may also be worthwhile to note that an amazing home-made pie crust contains only four ingredients, while the one you buy at the supermarket is likely to have at least ten, including all kinds of stuff you’d never use at home.

Regardless of who made the dough, however, it is very important when making this quiche to pre-bake the crust prior to adding the other ingredients.  If you don’t pre-bake, the beet sauce at the bottom will turn the crust soggy, and I’m confident that will be extremely disappointing.  You also need to allow about 30 minutes for pre-baking—I failed to factor this in and the delay contributed to my serving brunch about six hours late, so learn from my mistakes and plan ahead!

Delicious Flaky Piecrust

1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, as cold as possible

1 cup ice water (you shouldn’t need all of it)

1-2 cups of dry beans or rice (as weights for pre-baking)

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Using a coarse cheese grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture (it’s helpful to hold the butter with a paper towel to prevent the warmth of your hands from melting it).  Using the tips of your fingers, toss the butter and flour mixture together until the butter bits are well-coated.  You can actually do all of this in a food processor, but as I haven’t found that to be any easier and I hate cleaning the food processor, I prefer to use my hands.  

Add the ice water a tablespoon at a time, working it in with your hands until you can form the dough into a ball.  If you add too much water and the dough becomes wet and sticky, add a bit more flour.

Form the dough into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or freeze for 10 minutes).

Press the dough firmly into the plate, trim and crimp the edges.  It’s best to let the crust rest for a bit at this point, too (ideally, another 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 10 minutes in the freezer).

Heat the oven to 425º.  Ensure the crust is firmly pressed into the pan and prick it all over with a fork.  Butter one side of a piece of tin foil and press it, butter side down, onto the crust.  Weight the foil with the beans or rice (which, I am told, can be cooked and eaten later with no ill effects—stay tuned for my experiments with the chickpeas I used for this purpose last weekend).

Bake for 12 minutes; remove from the oven and remove the foil with the beans or rice.  Reduce oven temperature to 350º and continue baking until the crust is a nice golden brown color, about 10 minutes.  Allow the crust to cool before filling. 

Last week, we discussed the pros and cons of current CSAs and how well they fit into the lifestyle of today’s consumer. We spoke with Josh Cook from Nextdoororganics and got the inside story as he explained his new CSA model and what it means for the future of urban farming. If you’re interested in supporting the growing local community that exists right here in NYC, then this interview is a must-read! 

What influenced you to start Nextdoorganics?

Nextdoorganics was dreamt up about a year ago when I met my business partner Kris Schumacher here in NYC. He was initially motivated to create a business that used land in a more sustainable way. I came to the project wanting to bring a community organizing background to urban farming, and our third partner, Joanne Colan, who joined us in March, is a professional nutritionist an journalist who is a very articulate advocate for local and sustainable food. Nextdoorganics touches on each of these passions and more and seems to be in a constant state of reinvention as we try to find a good place in the food chain from seed to mouth.

Itʼs a pretty unique concept. How does the land network function?

We are currently building a “land network” which has started with our farm outside Providence, RI. Thatʼs where we have been farming this season. We have been reaching out to homeowners, schools, and landowners to begin bringing in more land near the areas where we are selling: for now, New York City. Our goal with the land network is to be able to source as much of what we sell from as near by as possible.

Why do you think itʼs important to focus on building a land network?

We feel that our food comes from way too far away, travels thousands of miles to get to us, and then isnʼt as fresh as it should be when we eat it. We are building a land network, and advocating for local farming generally, because we want local food systems to become stronger and more sustainable. By growing and distributing food in our own neighborhoods, we are sharing the many skills of farming, supporting local jobs, and insofar as our farming is organic and natural (which we strive for), it is environmentally beneficial.

How does it fit into the CSA model that weʼre used to?

Weʼve taken a typical CSA model (pay for a full season upfront in exchange for the freshest, most-direct weekly produce) and tweaked it a bit to make it more customer friendly. Often CSA members get stiffed with 10lbs of eggplants in a week or the initial cost (which can range from $200-$700) can be too high. We tried to create a CSA model that is low-risk for our members (automatic weekly online payments, anytime cancelation) but is also very easy for us as farmers and distributors (predictable harvest quantities, little waste). We feel this is something our members have appreciated and that could help pave the way for creating stable, sustainable food systems.

What is the drive that keeps you guys focused on your mission?

Our mission is to help build sustainable local food systems. In judging how well we are doing, Nextdoorganics has a triple bottom line: we believe that urban farming must be profitable to be sustainable, it must be environmentally sound, and it must support local communities in terms of jobs and training. We are driven to fulfill all three parts of our mission because weʼve seen the results of a factory food system that is thousands of miles wide, detrimental to the environment and our health, and has isolated individuals and their communities from one of the most basic parts of our lives: the food we eat.

What are some of the biggest obstacles that you face?

There are many, as in any start-up. One practical obstacle that Iʼve found could stymie urban farming plans in NYC and other parts of the country, is the levels of contamination and pollution found in large cities. Iʼve talked with folks farming right here in NYC who have run up against heavy metal contamination, acid rain, and all sorts of issues that farmers in the countryside donʼt deal with that often. If bringing our farming closer to us is important, then making our cities more nature-friendly will be critical.

What have been some of the rewards of what you do?

There are a lot of positives when working in the food/farming business. Aside from spending a lot of time working outdoors, which I love, Iʼve met a lot of great folks in the food scene in NYC. Aside from that, there are our CSA members who love to share what they are cooking with the food we are growing and providing them as well as the folks who have recently discovered healthy/natural/organic foods and tell me often about how much better they feel because theyʼve changed their lifestyles/diets.

What have you learned since starting Nextdoorganics?

Iʼve learned that there are a lot of steps between seed and meal. Itʼs been humbling learning about the ways to properly grow all the various things we eat. Farming is so much more complex than itʼs given credit for. Every plant has its unique characteristics and doing it well takes years of practice.

What is your vision for the future?

We hope that Nextdoorganics continues to grow as a company that links farmers with under-used land and sells their produce as locally as possible. We plan to continue developing our model in New York City as well as other parts of the Northeast. We intend to continue to shape it in a way so that we can expand into lots of communities in a scalable and sustainable way.

Folks can now sign up for our Winter CSA which will feature freshly baked breads, farm cheeses, organic eggs, and a variety of items from local/NYC producers of jams, sauces, granolas, oatmeal, pickled vegetables, dry soup mixes, and herbs/spices. Everything you need to keep your pantry stocked throughout the winter.

Sign up is at www.nextdoorganics.com/eat

I love a good surprise especially when it challenges me to cook seasonally and locally. Getting a CSA (aka Community Supported Agriculture) box every week is an amazing opportunity for me to think about new inventive ways of cooking fresh veggies and giving me the opportunity to be creative with the seasons bounty. So I got to wondering about CSAs and their history and why we should all consider getting a CSA box. The only hard but fun part is figuring how best to cook all of it. So this is what Maria, our bright and research savvy intern, found out.

Community Supported Agriculture, or more commonly known as a CSA, is a system that allows small farms to guarantee most or all of their crops for one whole season to a predetermined group of individuals. These people normally pay one lump fee in the beginning of the season and then receive a box of crops each week until the harvest is finished. 

CSAs are known as a great way to increase diversity in the types of fruits and vegetables that people eat- I know that I only started to eat turnips and rutabagas when I began to receive them in my winter CSA last year. Even though at first I was a little unsure of these unusual veggies, I was excited for the chance to be creative in the kitchen. Now I love the opportunity to broaden my palette each week- and eat healthier and local to boot!

It is typical now for CSAs to be marketed as a benefit for the consumer, similar to any other business model. But in the past, CSAs were developed to meet a very different, and arguably more compelling, demand.

Many farmers deal with high stress levels throughout the harvest season. Not always knowing what risks to anticipate, there is a constant worry that entire crops could be ruined and families could be left hungry or without income until the next growing season. CSAs have emerged as a way for entire communities to share in the risks and profits that come with growing large crops of food. If the season is bountiful one year, everyone can enjoy fresh, abundant produce all season long. If the next summer brings little rain or even drought, each family would feel the loss, but the loss would be exponentially lower than if one family had to bear the whole burden alone.

As Occupy Wall Street continues to protest our society’s reputation of only looking after “number one,” it is interesting to reflect on the original intentions of CSAs to see how the values can apply to our economy today. What would it mean for a whole neighborhood to share in the emotional journey of a harvest season? Would you be willing to take the financial risk? Do farmers now still feel the pressure of providing a successful harvest every year, or has that stress lessened over time? Next week, we will feature an interview with Josh Cook from Nextdoororganics as he explains his emerging CSA model and the future of his successful business. Until then, share your thoughts on CSAs and the role they play in your life in the comments below. Recipes for what you do with your fall CSA share always welcome!

This past Friday Monika and I were spending our evening NOT getting happy hour cocktails but instead canning 500 jars of sauce. New Yorkers are pulling up to the end of their week to enjoy a well deserved stiff drink and dinner with mood lighting and here we are with hairnets and industrial size mixers and 80 gallon steam kettles.

Most people show up at a farmers market or a food market like Smorgasburg and everything is pretty and labelled and ready to be devoured. Let me be the first to say that I had no idea that starting a food biz would be this ridiculously hard and time consuming. Granted we typically pull 100-120 hour weeks and yes sometimes I’m so tired in the commercial kitchen that it feels like shadow people are just in sight of my peripheral vision but this is really HARD work. 

Let me share a little something about the thousand little things that add up over the course of a week. So after canning 500 jars of sauce we decided to leave our van at the commercial kitchen and take the G home. We walked through parts of Queens that you wouldn’t be caught dead in during the day that are largely reminiscent of a post apocalyptic zombie sci-fi strategy game. Luckily we were not murdered and managed to get to the G which was prettily tied off with red ribbon. Yes the G was not running and why would it!? They’ve been doing work on it since I left the USA 5 years ago and in that time they still haven’t been able to manage to get it up and running like a regular train that you would expect in a city of 10 million+. So after the incomprehensible thought sunk in that there is no alternative route unless we walk through half of Brooklyn on foot we decided to brave the zombie apocalypse landscape yet again and go back to our van. 20 minute walk. Middle of the night.

We get back in the commercial kitchen, load up the van after just having unloaded it and drive back to Park Slope. But wait you don’t expect it to be a quick on and off ride on the BQE. Oh no! It was bumper to bumper most of the way so what should be a 20-25 ride if no cars existed in NY turned into the spectacular epic of one and a half hours. Why are people on the BQE in the middle of the night anyway. Don’t they have bottles of wine to polish off with friends and dark bars to frequent looking for prey? With these thoughts coursing through my unbelieving brain and that I have barely slept and the 16 hour day is wearing thin on my nerves.

Finally having arrived at home there are still things to do before I have to wake up after a cat nap at 7AM on Saturday morning to work a full on market day. Oh and there is another market day right after that. And then another week that stretches straight into a full on market weekend. I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I’ve already trained myself to function on unicorn energy and white hot light. Perhaps I can cut out one night of sleep a week to work a 24 day. Will that make the shadow people real? Perhaps they can help out in the kitchen with jarring. 

Otherwise I wouldn’t want to be caught dead doing anything else. Yes a little bit of sleep and maybe a day off once a month would be pleasant but at least I know we are doing something to change the world one jar at a time. It may not be as glamorous as we expected but it makes us happy. Plus I love hearing people tell us how good our cooking is and drag their friends over to order our sauce inspired falafels. It always manages to make me feel so happy and proud. Happy eating!

If you missed the City Harvest Brooklyn Local this weekend, you should be kicking yourself right now. It was off the hook. To our right was Jomart Chocolates and to our left P&H Soda Co. and we were in heaven. You could get a grass-fed pulled pork slider from us, grab a fizzy drink from next door and finish up with coconut covered marshmallows for dessert. I polished off an entire bag of those before lunch. Then I got another bag to share with everyone at Saucy By Nature who were working Smorgasburg without me this weekend.

We actually sold out of sliders by 1:30pm! What!? The doors opened at 11am and we were done in 2.5 hours and I had a ridiculous amount of meat. Thankfully in part to some quick thinking (not my own mind you) we managed to procure another 20 buns for a little left over pulled pork and we sold out of those in minutes again. That left us plenty of time to browse and gorge and talk to people. Suffice it to say I ate a LOT. I mean cupcakes, burgers, sodas, chai, cookies, coffee, etc. The list is really endless. 

Most importantly thanks to everyone for showing up. I had my doubts initially but the event was packed and people were out in force supporting both City Harvest and all the hard working food vendors and producers in Brooklyn. I love working, eating and living in Brooklyn. No other place would allow me to have my dreams come true of making delicious food for people to eat from the best possible local products in season. 

Plus thanks to Tom Cat Bakery for providing us with some amazing brioche buns for the sliders and Heritage Food USA for some lip smacking delicious heritage pork. What could be better than a bunch of Brooklyn based food magicians getting together to tantalize the pallets of all those that came to eat, buy and savor.

Promoting the trend of buying local has become very prevalent throughout the country as of late, and for good reason. We all know that decreasing our carbon footprint is better for the environment, eating whole foods keeps you healthy and keeping money in the local economy is the fastest and easiest way to support the community in which you live.

But what does it really mean to commit to buying local ingredients? For us here at Fresh Picked Pantry, it means spending time going to wholesale farmer’s markets (yes, sometimes at 4am!) to meet the producers that will supply us with our base ingredients. It means hours upon hours of recipe testing to find delicious flavor combinations while staying in the limits of what’s offered in season. Sadly, sometimes it means not having enough products available due to unpredictable weather conditions. 

Would it be easier to buy from large, corporate farms in California and be guaranteed consistent and cheaply subsidized produce? Probably. Would it be faster to write recipes that include chemical preservatives so we wouldn’t have to spend time making our products naturally shelf stable? Absolutely. 

But we choose to not take these shortcuts because we truly believe that at the end of the day (or at the bottom of an empty jar of sauce), our product is so excellent because of our dedication to fresh and local ingredients without any added preservatives, ever. So we’ll continue to make the commitment to support these small, local farms. 

And every time you purchase a jar of our sauce, you’re supporting them, too. 

Aw shucks! We’re not going to let this get to our heads, but we do like the limelight just a tad. Ok we like it A LOT! So find out a little something about us and check out the great work that Honest Label Foods is doing to help you get beyond the label and really know what’s in your food.

And here’s the article: SAUCY BY NATURE: A TOMATO GROWS IN BROOKLYN

So we’re feeling super excited about being part of City Harvest Brooklyn Local this Saturday September 17th. It’s going to be a Brooklyn food fest bonanza and we’re going all out. It’s still summer and we want BBQ and delicious, delicious piggies. We’re cooking up pulled pork sliders with tangy slaw dripping with our Smoky BBQ Sauce. If you missed the pre-launch party a couple months back let me tell you those babies disappeared in like 15 minutes flat. No joke.

We got us some Berkshire heritage breed pork shoulder from Heritage Food USA because these guys know their meat. Check them out if you’re feeling protein deficient. They’ll get you sorted out right quick.

Get your ticket already and find out what eating in Brooklyn is all about. Would I tell you to go if it wasn’t going to be amazing!? I think not.