Eat First

Guacamole with Central New York flavor

 

Avocados…Mmmm! So green. So luscious. So rich. So delicious.

So… not from Central New York!

Most of the Hass avocados you see in grocery stores are from California, Mexico and Central and South America. A fruit that once was considered foreign is now available 365 days a year, and they travel a long way to get here.

Even at two for $5, we can’t resist ‘em every now and then to add to sandwiches and salads – or to just slice and eat on their own. We also like to mash them into guacamole -- always a hit at parties.

Here’s a guacamole treatment with ties to Central New York.

The recipe is adapted from the Guacamole a la Mission recipe that Steve Morrison, owner of The Mission Restaurant on East Onondaga Street in downtown Syracuse, shared with former Post-Standard restaurant reviewer and food writer Yolanda Wright some years back.

Pick up some Terrell’s deli-style tortilla chips (the hometown brand!!) and watch the guac disappear.

Mission Guacamole a la Margaret

4 ripe Hass avocados

¼ cup finely diced red onion

1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground

½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Juice of half a lime, or to taste

¼ cup minced cilantro leaves

Slice avocados in half, top to bottom. Remove pit and skins and place avocado “meat’’ in a large bowl. Mash the meat using a potato masher or fork until desired consistency – we like guacamole slightly chunky.

To the bowl add red onion, cumin seed and salt and stir well. Add the lime juice, starting with juice of half a lime. Stir and taste for seasonings. Add more lime juice and salt, if desired, and stir again. Add cilantro and blend well.

 

Transfer guacamole to a smaller bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the guacamole. Don’t make guacamole too far in advance of serving it. It will oxidize, turning a brownish green. If this happens, stir again before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy! 

 

 

On the shelf: Squash seed oil from the Finger Lakes

What kind of oil(s) do you have in your pantry? 

We’ve got olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, Persian Lime Oil – and a new addition that’s totally local: butternut squash seed oil from Stony Brook WholeHearted Foods in Geneva.

When making something with winter squash or carving a pumpkin for Halloween, we usually scoop out the stringy, slippery innards and throw away the seeds. Stony Brook roasts the seeds from locally grown acorn, delicata, butternut and buttercup squash and presses them to create their oils.

I picked up a bottle of butternut squash seed oil at Bet the Farm in Aurora (about $10) and have used it several ways so far: as a dipping oil for multi-grain bread, drizzled on steamed asparagus and as the base for a punchy vinaigrette dressing.

It’s golden, nutty, rich and highly flavorful – like sesame oil, in a way, but a flavor unto itself.

Friends Seth Kircher and Mary Jane Challen at The Copper Oven, on Cayuga Lake, like to Stony Brook butternut squash seed oil as a finishing oil for their popular 26 Mile Pizza (so named because all of its ingredients are sourced within 26 miles of their oven at Cayuga Ridge Winery) and Fall Harvest Pizza (topped with caramelized onions, goat cheese and squash puree).

The Stony Brook website has lots of serving ideas, most savory (use as a substitute for butter on corn on the cob and potatoes) but some sweet (drizzle over vanilla ice cream garnished with pistachios) and recipes for experimenting.

Come fall, I know I’ll be adding it to pumpkin scones and other baked goods and drizzling it over roasted squash soup.

If you’re visiting the Finger Lakes this summer, look for the Stony Brook oils at shops, wineries and other destinations, like the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua.

We spotted a vendor selling the squash seed oils at the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse on a recent Saturday. You can also order it online.

If you already have some, I’d love to hear how you’re using it.

In Aurora, you can bet on Bet the Farm

Nancy Tisch makes her wine at Damiani Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. But she sells it at Bet the Farm Winery and Gourmet Market, an adorable little storefront on Main Street in the village of Aurora. It’s next door to the post office and a couple doors down from the Aurora Inn.

Bet the Farm is a small winery: Tisch makes about 1,200 cases a year of Pinot Gris, Village White, Cabernet Franc and other varieties, and usually sells out. At her store, she shares shelf space with with Damiani, Shalestone, Sheldrake Point and others, plus neighbor wineries on Cayuga Lake’s East Shore, like Long Point, King Ferry and Heart & Hands.

To go with your wine, the refrigerator case holds a nice selection of artisanal cheeses (Muranda Cheese Company, Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery, Lively Run Goat Dairy, etc.) as well as Croghan bologna from Croghan Meat Market in the North Country village of the same name.

You’ll also find crackers, flatbreads, dips, dressings, sauces, granola, pancake mixes and other products from small-scale food producers in New York State.

I picked up a package of Cayuga Pure Organics polenta (a hostess gift for a friend), a bottle of chocolate-Cabernet Sauvignon wine sauce from Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery (a birthday gift for another friend) and a bottle of Stony Brook squash oil, a local – and very flavorful – alternative to olive oil.

More on the squash oil soon. 

In the meantime, grab your corkscrew, cooler and picnic blanket and take a leisurely drive to Aurora. Pick up a bottle of wine and some nibbles from Bet the Farm and have an al fresco lakeside feast.

Bet the Farm is at 381 Main St., Aurora. Shop hours 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Information: 315-294-5643.

 

Today’s CNY market basket report

This is my basket BEFORE a trip to the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse this morning. 

 

And this is my basket AFTER strolling through the stalls with my friend, Teri Weaver (who also came home armed with good seasonal and local things).

This was my first foray to the market on a Saturday in a long time. I like to sit out the spring Saturdays when people swarm the place for bedding plants and wait until homegrown produce starts to pour in.

Here’s a look at some of the things in today’s market basket that we’ll enjoy in the days and weeks ahead:

LOCAL PRODUCE:

Strawberries have given way to blueberries, cherries and raspberries. Green and yellow squash and peas are in abundance, too.

LOCAL PRODUCTS:

We planned on a pound of Flour City Pasta, artisan pasta made in Rochester, but a sales associate who shared tips and preparation ideas talked us into two pounds (whole wheat spinach garlic fettucine and bon vivant orzo; $8 a pound or two pounds for $15).

Coffee is a necessity. After exhausting the last of our coffee bean supply before heading to market, seeing the guys at the Forty Weight stall was both a joy and a relief. We’re looking forward  to trying their Number Zero beans ($11 for 14 ounces), similar to espresso, which promise to add spring to our step in the morning. 

Robert requested a container of Wake Robin Farm plain yogurt.

He got that and more – an 8-ounce bag of squeaky-yummy cheddar cheese curds, too. Next time, I'll take home  a wedge of  Wake Robin’s blue cheddar. Co-owner Meg Schader shared a sample. It has a creamy yellow color and delightful, tangy bite.

Marketing 101: The Regional Market is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays year-round. The Thursday edition, one of Central New York's best-kept secrets, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays, through November.