Hudson Valley Bounty

As I have Sunday and Monday without classes, I spent the weekend exploring all the places I used to visit. The school is in the middle of the Hudson River Valley, about 60 miles north of NYC. The area is packed with artisan farmers. I am reminded of being in Italy as I travel from place to place talking with the different farmers. These are people that love what they are doing and are very good at it. The techniques they use really make the food taste like is suppose to. If you go to these guys you get eggs that taste like chicken. Milk that tastes like what the cow is eating. Wines that have terrior characteristics.

People in Upstate New York seem to be much more aware of where their food comes from and what it should taste like. In Indiana we are "blessed" with HUGE grocery stores that have thousands of items. You would be hard pressed in a place like that to find a piece of produce that hasn't traveled 2,000 miles. Here, 3 guides are put together seasonally listing farms and festivals, even a nice little chart showing you what is in season (remember when you could only get strawberries in the spring?).

We have these artisan growers in the Indy area also. Everyone talks about Traders' Point. But, there are many more farms in the area. You can meet many of these people by attending a Slow Foods meeting or going to one of the many farmers markets around town. In New York the governments help the farmers advertise, in Indiana we are not as lucky. I encourage you to go out and buy meat from Debbie Apple at Apple Family Farms in McCordsville. Taste an egg that tastes like it should and actually has a yellow yolk by picking up eggs from Luella at Seven Springs Farms. Drink wine that isn't stripped of geographic character, drink some wine at Mallow Run Winery in Bargersville. Find Indiana's Bounty.