"Beekman1802" news and stories

By the time late August comes around, we've usually grown tired of picking green beans from the garden. So we let whatever varieties are still growing "go to seed." The pods swell, and then, as autumn descends, they brown and dry. We grow some variety of beans specifically for drying as well, but we've learned that almost any sort of bean will dry nicely and can be used in recipes all winter.

To shell a large amount of dried beans quickly, we simply put all of the dried pods into a burlap bag. We usually wait until December to do this, since we want the pods to be as dry and crackly as possible. Then we whack the entire bag and its contents repeatedly against the frozen ground. Don't hold back -- it's impossible to hurt dried beans. Sometimes we even stomp on the bag to break up the most stubborn pods. Once the beans have separated from the pods, they fall to the bottom of the bag. The pieces of dried pods are like chaff at the top. Do this on a windy day and you can pour the bag's entire contents onto a sheet or towel from shoulder height -- the pod chaff blows away and the heavier beans fall directly onto the towel to be gathered. Any remaining bits of pod will float to the top of a bowl of water when soaking the beans for a recipe.

After the jump, find our simplest, favorite bean soup for cold weather. (Use any variety, or mixed varieties, of beans. We're always amazed at the different tastes, textures, and colors possible from our dried beans.)

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

Flu and cold season is at its peak, so on the farm we whip up a special soup using some of the vegetables we have left in the root cellar.

Turnip soup is known to stimulate the appetite, and studies have shown that chicken soup can help speed up the recovery process. Why not blend the two? With a little garlic and onions thrown in for their natural anti-microbial powers, this delicious soup will have you feeling better even if you're not under the weather.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season. Catch them on the Farm to Table episode of 'Rachael's Vacation' on the Food Network.


We had a bounty crop of carrots this year. We sliced them and diced them every which way we knew how and still they kept coming. It seems like you can open almost any refrigerator in America and find a neglected bag of carrots. You use one or two in a salad and then get stumped as to what to do with the rest.

We turned to our friend Sandy Gluck who always helps us out with our overstock. The result is a sweet and spicy carrot dish that will definitely clear up crisper space in refrigerators across the nation.

Find the recipe for Sicilian Glazed Carrots after the jump...

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

Last month we concluded America's Oldest, Largest Garden Party by asking all of you to submit the best recipe you've concocted from ingredients from your own garden.

We were overwhelmed with all of the culinary talent out there, and we had to turn to our friend, celebrity chef and gardener Alice Waters, to help us choose the best of the best.

The recipe that emerged victorious was a succulent (and some might even say sexy) lamb stew that's just perfect for chilly autumn weekends.

Tomatillos and hot peppers. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

Earlier this summer, when a friend gave us a few small tomatillo plants, we weren't really that interested in them. Nevertheless, we found a spot in the heirloom garden and pushed them into the dirt.

Three short months later, as we watched every blight-bitten tomato turn brown and drop from the vine, we were thrilled to have those tomatillo plants.

Oddities in the garden, we've been asked more than once what they were. One visitor even exclaimed, "I didn't know you could eat Japanese Lanterns!"