"beekman1802" news and stories

An autumnal feast. 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.

One of the true pleasures of life on the farm is walking out to the heirloom vegetable garden to decide what looks good for dinner. All summer, we've been sharing some of our own recipes, but we're not the only ones out there with a backyard garden and a little creativity. There are thousands of you!

We decided to hold a contest to see who came up with the best impromptu recipe from their garden this year.
And guess what? One of the most influential gardening chefs in the world, Alice Waters, is going to help us choose the winner. We'll even prepare the winning recipe and put it right here. You and your recipe could be famous!

To get you started on the right track, we're giving you one of our favorites this season.

Harvest vegetables. 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.

When we first moved to the Beekman Farm, we knew really nothing about farming. Most of what we now know we learned from talking to our neighbors, local farmers with years worth of experience. We felt it was time to say "thank you," so the Beekman Farm is hosting a Harvest Festival in historic Sharon Springs, N.Y., to celebrate local farmers. The festivities will conclude with a five-course meal at the American Hotel , with primary ingredients (from the butter to the bourbon) that are all locally sourced.

While the festival was a year in the planning, there are some very worthwhile things that you can do to say "thanks" to your own local farmers. Here are a few ways to get started:

• Didn't even know there were farmers in your neck of the woods? Then a good place to start is at localharvest.org. Plug in your ZIP code and in an instant see what's growing near you.

Cool and creamy broccoli soup. 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.

When we were younger, our moms had to work really hard to get us to eat broccoli. First they became magical, miniature trees. Then once we wised up to that, it had to be camouflaged with something like melted Velveeta or ranch dressing.

Now we don't think broccoli needs much adornment at all. In fact, we are so prone to picking and eating it right in the garden that it often never actually makes it to the kitchen.

Our heirloom broccoli and an amazing recipe after the jump.

Braised cucumbers. 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, gorgeous photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

By Brent Ridge with Sandy Gluck

Like many people who love food (and watching cooking shows on TV), I plopped myself down in a cool theater during last week's heat wave to watch Meryl Streep expertly channel Julia Child.

What stuck with me after leaving the theater was not Streep's pitch-perfect accent, but the very brief mention of a recipe for braised cucumbers.

It is quite possible that my brain latched onto this because at the very moment I was having a conundrum with what to do with all the cucumbers we've been blessed with from the heirloom garden this year (after a disastrous beetle infestation in 2008).

Our heirloom cukes and an amazing recipe after the jump.

Savory onion tart. 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, gorgeous photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.

By Brent Ridge with Sandy Gluck

Even as a little boy I was a champion of diversity. I didn't care if the onion was white, yellow or red. I liked them all. My favorite meal at grandma's house was her onion sandwich: thin slices of onion, two slices of bread and a generous layer of Duke's mayonnaise.

Fortunately for all of you, my tastes are a little more sophisticated now, though sophisticated and simple are not mutually exclusive when it comes to good recipes. Have you ever thought about combining savory caramelized onions, tangy blue cheese and sweet, juicy slices of apple? I hadn't either, until our friend (and former Martha Stewart Everyday Food editor Sandy Gluck) made the suggestion. The result was a delicious and decadent onion tart that will impress every single person at your table.