"brent ridge" news and stories

On June 16, Planet Green will begin airing a hilarious new reality T.V. series, "The Fabulous Beekman Boys." The "boys" in question are Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, two fabulous Manhattanites who decide to buy and revive a farm in upstate New York. Imagine a gay Green Acres and you're on the right track.

They spoke to Slashfood about the show and what goats are really like.

So what's the show about?
BR: We had this farm for about three years and it was pretty much just a weekend place, and then last year we decided that in order to continue to make the farm successful one of us was going to have to make the commitment to live up there full time. Last February, a year ago, I moved up there full time and Josh comes back and forth on the weekends. The show follows our learning curve as we try to become a successful farm and the way it tests our relationship.

How long have you been together?
JKP: We've been together for 10 years or, as I like to say, we've been together for 9 years and apart for 1. The first year of the show really chronicles what I like to call our year of sacrifice which is Brent really sacrificing his career in the city to try and make a business at the farm.

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!"

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.