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Sponsored Post: Notice: Auction of property at 6104 Ellicott Street Road, East Bethany
Please contact Ed at 800-929-1350 with any questions.
Sponsored Post: Interested in buying or selling a home? List with Reliant today
Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate and list with us today!
Sponsored Post: Solid home in the village, call Lynn Bezon today
Solid home in the heart of the village! This three bedroom home has a lot to offer, either to someone starting out or a growing family.
This home is super spacious with a very open floor plan downstairs and upstairs features plenty of closets and good size bedrooms. The kitchen is sunny and bright and has homey back breakfast nook out looking the fenced in backyard. There is an extra deep garage, plenty big enough for a car and work space!
The basement of the home, with a little work, could be great extra living space- it's already partially finished and has a wet bar! The home offers central air, a new 200-amp electrical service and the roof on home and garage is 7 years young.
With very little elbow grease, this home can be up and running in no time! Very easy to see! Call Lynn Bezon at Relaint Real Estate today at 344-HOME or click here for more information on this listing.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH ORGANICS HOLDS GRAND OPENING MARCH 5, 2011 FROM 10 A.M. – 3 P.M.
BROCKPORT…Fountain of Youth Organics, a new health food store in the village of Brockport will hold a grand opening celebration for Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Product samples, give-aways, and a basket raffle are planned for the day. SUNY Brockport’s radio station, WBSU will be broadcasting a live remote from the store at 46 Main Street, Brockport.
Visitors can also sign up to become a “FoYO Member” and receive $15.00 off the usual sign-up fee. Members can take advantage of members-only sales events, receive a quarterly newsletter, recipe-of-the-month, and will also get a free FoYO t-shirt and biodegradable jute FoYO shopping bag.
Fountain of Youth Organics focuses on unique gluten- and allergen-free products, organic dairy, and a full line of vitamins and supplements. Patty Hawley, co-owner of FoYO along with her husband Ted says, “We work hard to seek out small, independent labels. Many of our products come from local, organic sources with an eye toward originality. We carry a vegan, gluten free chocolate sauce that hails from Ithaca, 100% grass-fed yogurt from Maple Hill Creamery, and a brand new Kombucha from BAO Organics, born in Brooklyn and available - until recently - in greater metropolitan New York exclusively.”
Hawley continues, “Customers will have the opportunity to sample various local foods like Whole in the Wall Pesto (Ithaca, NY); BAO Kombucha; Lively Run goat cheese (Finger Lakes), and break-the-mold-delicious gluten-free cookies from WOW Baking Co. Organic, fair-trade coffee and cocoa will also be available to sample.”
While the Hawley’s have recently opened the Brockport store, they are no strangers to business. Together they owned and operated Personal Storage Systems, the Bank Street Road business was the first self-storage facility in Genesee County (which they later sold in 2006). Mr. Hawley currently owns Genesee Data Management, a record retention and shredding service in Batavia. “We’re passionate about health, wellness, and fitness; we knew that we wanted to open a health food store. The question was ‘where?’,” according to Ted.
A few months of research led the couple to Brockport where they purchased a building in the historic district on Main Street. After extensive exterior and interior restoration, the couple opened February 8. “We’re very pleased with the response so far and look forward to serving the community well into the future.” For more information about Fountain of Youth Organics contact 585.637.3696 or email patty@foyorganics.com.
Genesee County Habitat for Humanity begins house # 8
Genesee County Habitat for Humanity is starting its eighth house in about 11 years.
The blessing, with the new family that will be working along with many volunteers to completely renovate the house, was held Saturday afternoon with friends and relatives in attendence.
Angelina, Nikalina and Carmelina have been selected for the house at 150 State Street in Batavia.
The mother of two will have to complete hours of "sweat equity," and when finished, the keys will be turned over to her family.
Habitat will carry a 30-year, interest-free mortgage on the cost of materials.
Check geneseehabitat.com for updates on the progress of the renovations and all questions about Habitat.
Jessica Tomidy, executive director of GCHFH, on right, assisted with the blessing.
Genesee Country Farmers' Market Unveils New Cookbook
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Normal 0 Local cooks and “wanna-be Iron Chefs” will be able to test their culinary chops with a new cookbook from the Genesee Country Farmers’ Market. Field Notes: Recipes from the Genesee Country Farmers’ Market contains nearly 200 recipes contributed by market vendors and customers. It is available at the market every Tuesday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. through the end of October.
Work on this cookbook began last summer when 2010 market manager Patty Hawley pitched the idea of a cookbook that focuses on local ingredients to the farmers and vendors at the market. “Customers are often eager to try new fruits and vegetables but are at a loss as to how to prepare them once they get them home,” Hawley said. “Farmers and vendors are the best source of information for food preparation because they’re so knowledgeable about their produce.”
Likewise, many customers would approach Hawley with information on a particular item. “Our customers were anxious to talk about their own personal recipes, some of them handed down through the generations, so the next logical step was to gather all of this information into a usable format,” Hawley added.
A call for customer recipes was advertised in various media outlets and vendors provided many of their own recipes as well. After months of collecting submissions the work of compiling them into a printer-friendly format began. “I was still receiving recipes sent in by the community through early May,” said Hawley, even though the deadline was March 1.
“We were fortunate to have secured assistance from Upstate Farms and Bison Foods, who underwrote the production costs of our cookbook,” Hawley said. The Daily News also donated the photos that appear throughout the book, taken by Rocco Laurienzo at last summer’s market.
Field Notes is a 248-page homage to the “locavore” movement – a growing trend that urges people to eat healthy and keep food dollars in the community by purchasing food locally, fresh, and in season. “Almost all of the recipes include ingredients that are grown here,” according to Sharon Brent from Schwab Farms. “This is a four season cookbook; menus can be planned throughout the year using fresh, local ingredients at their peak.” Most cooks will be able to easily recreate the recipes in Field Notes. “Because they are time-tested by real people and not in a test kitchen, the recipes tend to be quick and easy, even for a novice cook,” Hawley explained.
Field Notes: Recipes from the Genesee Country Farmers’ Market is available now. A launch party is planned for Friday, July 30 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.; free samples will be available and representatives from the Niagara Wine Trail will provide wine pairings for each dish. Cost of the cookbook is $10 and all sales go to the Genesee Country Farmers’ Market Association.
First Workshop in New Artian Center this Friday
Do these gray days leave you craving a little color? Well chase away the winter doldrums this Friday at The Artisan Center!
Kim Argenta, owner of Art Ah La Carte is offering an acrylic painting class at 6:30 p.m. at the site of the newly established Artisan Center at 56 Harvester Avenue in Batavia. The four-week workshop is $12 per class and can accommodate both beginners as well as more advanced painters.
Kim says, “I spend time with everyone so I can work at their level.” Art Ah La Carte is located on the first floor, street-side level next to Hot Shots Café & Bistro. Cost of the workshop includes supplies.
Other classes offered this month at Art Ah La Carte include:
ALTERED TINS - A FUN WAY TO RECYCLE OLD TIN BOXES INTO KEEPSAKES FOR YOUR SMALL TREASURES: Tuesday, January12TH and 19TH @ 6:30 PM TO 7:30 PM/ 2 week class; cost is $20. (Suitable for teens and adults)
ACRYLIC PAINTING- Beginners or more experienced invited to attend. Cost is $12 per class. Fridays, starting January 15th running 4weeks @ 6:30pm class runs 1hour.
WATERCOLOR- Wednesday, January 13th & January 27th @ 6:30 pm-8pm. Cost is $10. For beginners or more advanced.
PRIVATE PARTIES: Private parties for adults and children. Also badge earning for 4H and Scouts. Or plan a girl’s night out at your place or mine!
Reservations are required; for additional information, including details about hosting special events or birthday parties, contact Kim Argenta at 585.245.1655 or visit artalc.vpweb.com
For more information about The Artisan Center, contact Patricia Hawley at phawley@mancusogroup.com or by calling 585.343.3329
Why Pie? Because Local Fruit Shines!
Back in the day, everyone was a locavore. America was an agrarian society so like it or
not, you ate what you grew. Who could have guessed that the Industrial Revolution would have delivered us to where we are now: wallowing in an anonymous, over-processed, “Big Brother” food industry. Do you want fries with that? Still, deep in the cockles of our comfort food-deprived hearts, it seems that everyone has a home-baked memory wrapped in pastry.
If your mother didn’t bake pies then your grandmother probably did. The art of pie baking – and pie pastry in particular – is deeply ingrained in our cultural vernacular. Pies have been around for thousands of years dating back to the ancient Egyptians. Pies have been documented in England as far back as the 12th century (the Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word “pye” to 1303) and showed up in America with the first colonial settlers. Early pies were predominantly savory and meat-filled. Flaky pastry fruit-filled turnovers first appeared in 19th century America and have remained popular ever since.
You’d think that with so much pie history, we’d be…well…to be honest…we’d be better at it! Nothing strikes fear into the heart of an otherwise accomplished cook than the prospect of making a pie. Oh, the filling is fine, easy even. It’s the crust that the tricky part. Piecrust is a funny thing comprised of equal parts alchemy and dumb luck. Attempt to make pastry on a humid day and you’ll end up with a sticky paste. But try to roll out the dough when double-digit wind chills are whipping outside your kitchen window and even your finest efforts will crumble into a floury mess before the crust is lifted, ever so gently, into the baking pan.
As for me, nothing can hold a candle to my mother’s piecrust. Growing up, we enjoyed a freshly baked pie nearly every Sunday. She made her crust the old-fashioned way – with lard. (Yeah, lard! Arteries are slamming shut as I write this.) It was crumbly-crisp with the perfect amount of “tooth” to compliment the sweet, fragrant fruit that was no doubt bubbly inside.
Try as I might, I’ve never been able to master the art of pie pastry. Since I cut my teeth on my mother’s apron strings, this has been a frustrating lesson in Darwinism: only the strong-willed cook will survive when confronted with the successful pie-makers mantra – “You can just ‘feel’ when the dough is right.” The perfect pie dough will be smooth, slightly elastic, and never-ever sticky. So, after several failed attempts to get it right, I think I’ve hit upon the perfect piecrust recipe. No, it’s not exactly like my mother’s – there’s no lard in this version – but it’s consistently delicious and nearly foolproof.
Consult any cookbook for fruit filling directions. If you’re lucky, you can still find blueberries and raspberries. If you’re smart, you’ve frozen some sour cherries last July to use this fall. Otherwise, stop by your local farmer’s market and pick up some peaches; they’re still plentiful but don’t delay. According to Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms, “Peaches will be on our stands for another 1 ½ to 2 weeks.” What better way to showcase the best of summer’s bounty?
Foolproof Pie Crust*
1/3-cup whole milk
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch wide pieces
Whisk milk & vinegar in small bowl to blend. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend; add shortening and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk mixture; briefly knead in bowl just until dough comes together. Gather dough into a ball. Divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger that the other. Flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. When ready to bake, roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fill pie with fruit filling. Roll out second disk on light floured work surface to a 12-inch round. Place on top of filling. Crimp edges decoratively to seal. Brush with an egg glaze and bake as directed.
*The best ingredients yield superior results. And while I’m hoping you’ll use organic flour (Eden Foods makes a good one as does Bob’s Red Mill), you can also get away with a more widely available commercial brand. King Arthur Flour is a good substitute. It’s never bleached; never bromated.
A special “thank-you” goes out to Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms and Gail Christ of Christ Farms for providing the fruit for our test kitchen. Twenty acres of apples on their 600+ acres of farmland in Holley, NY make Gail an apple expert! Her favorite apple for baking? A mix of Cortland and 20 Ounce. Partyka’s produce some of this area’s best peaches on 15 acres at their farm in Kendall, NY. She owes the success of their crop to “good field management and good lakeside weather” at their 400-acre farm. Lora says peaches really shine when they’re baked “in a shortcake with a biscuit, some good vanilla ice cream, peaches, and topped with whipped cream.” Peach Shortcake – and various other treats – is available at her Partyka’s Farm Market, 1420 County Line Road, Kendall. Produce from Christ Farms and Partyka Farms is available at the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market, Batavia Downs Parking Lot, Batavia. Hours: Tuesday & Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Locavore: Someone who eats exclusively – or at least primarily – food from their local area.
How far would you travel for a great meal? Five miles? 25 miles? How about 100 miles? Well that’s the premise behind the 100-mile diet.
Across the country, people are dedicating themselves to a healthier, more sustainable way of eating. If you haven’t heard of it yet…get ready…the “Locavore” movement is here and some culinary pundits think it’s here to stay.
Eating locally grown food is not only good for you, it’s good for our environment too.
Purchasing homegrown produce cuts down on “food miles,” or the distance food has to travel from farm to processing site to market, positively impacting our foods’ carbon footprint. A tomato grown in Southern California has to travel about 2,500 miles before it reaches a grocery store in Batavia. By contrast, researchers at Iowa State University found that locally grown produce travels an average of 56 miles from farm to market resulting in fresher, more nutritious choices for us and for our families.
Surprisingly, a whopping 40% of our fruit is produced overseas then hauled in freighter ships or flown across the ocean before it reaches American tables.
Buying local allows you to enjoy fruits and vegetables at their peak of freshness and flavor. There’s a reason why asparagus is at its tender-best in spring, and why blueberries are so tasty in July.
Visit a farmers market and develop a relationship with a local grower; most farmers are thrilled to share their knowledge and experience with their customers. Ask about the challenges your local farmers face and what they’re doing to address them. Ask about the weather! Any farmer will be pleased to talk about how the growing season is going and how that affects the food they grow. Get answers to questions like: When are strawberries in season? How might I use kohlrabi? What should I do with all this zucchini?
If you’re still not convinced that a Locavore lifestyle is for you …consider this: in a recent survey conducted by CNNMoney.com, 69% of respondents said that it is important to keep food dollars in their communities by buying from a farmer’s market. Buying direct from a farmer sends 90% of those food dollars back to the farm. However, although Americans spend more than $600 billion in food annually, it is most often spent at a grocery store or chain (think Super Wal-Mart, etc.) - with only about 7% of local food dollars staying in the community. The remaining 93% of the modern food dollar travels to pay processors, packagers, distributors, wholesalers, truckers and the rest of the infrastructure that a global food system demands.
More food dollars staying in the community, through buying local, translates into thriving Main Streets and local jobs. It means that more money can be spent locally by the farmer to run his/her business and home, helping to keep the local economy alive. Eating locally grown food raised by farmers who actually live in their communities. What’s not to love about that?
Note: Patricia Hawley is the market manager of the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market. The Market is open on Tuesdays & Fridays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Batavia Downs parking lot (through October 30).
Genesee Country Farmer's Market Announces Weekly Winners
The Genesee Country Farmer’s Market is pleased to announce the winners of its weekly drawings:
Winner of the $50.00 Oliver’s Candies Gift Card – Nick Dillabough, Newfane, NY
Winner of the Farmer’s Market Bag o’Produce – Bernard Hoerbelt, Batavia, NY
Vendors at the market contribute produce from their stand each week throughout the season. Items are placed in a large, reusable tote bag. To sign up, visit the EBT/Food Stamp table at the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market on Tuesday and/or Friday from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Conversations with Calliope- A New Spiritual Home
(Family)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Have you finally returned to your regular schedule?
JOE: We'll see. The answer is yes for the moment.
CALLIOPE: Did your weekend adventures provide all you expected?
JOE: They did. A couple from Spiritus Christi invited my brother and me for dinner Saturday.
CALLIOPE: How did that go?
JOE: Quite well. We learned more about the history of the community which has been in existence for about ten years now and is going strong.
CALLIOPE: Any revelations?
JOE: I was concerned that they might have some confining dogmas which might give me second thoughts. I thought I might want to just stay with the experience and not try to make too much sense of it.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Discussing it did not provide any such difficulties. It is a community which offers support for acting in a Christian way without the onerous burdens I formerly carried as a Roman Catholic and which eventually drove me from their fold.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: My brother and I and our girlfriends attended the Spiritus Christi service Sunday morning and felt totally immersed in their fellowship and community.
CALLIOPE: It sounds like you have found a new spiritual home.
JOE: I think so. We are trying to let it develop naturally without forcing anything. Talk with you tomorrow.
Cheerleading Boot Camp Scheduled to Begin
GeneseExcel Sports is proud to present its first-ever Cheerleading Boot Camp, designed specifically for cheerleaders aged 13 through 18. Scheduled to begin July 20 and continue through July 29, the camp will be held at the Community Fields Complex located on Bank Street Road (at the E. Saile Dr. intersection) in Batavia on Mondays & Wednesdays from 1 – 3 p.m.
Cheerleading Boot Camp is designed for the cheerleader who wishes to prepare for high-school try-outs this fall. Participants will take part in intense stretching and conditioning, jump & sequence, tumbling and basic stunting with a superior coaching staff that includes Krista Shamp, two-time sectional winning coach from Batavia High School. Shamp, a former Buffalo Jill, cheered for Buffalo State College and Batavia High School. She took coached at BHS from 2002 – 2007 where she led two teams to championship titles; the first-ever wins in Section V history for Batavia Cheerleading. She also is a five-time Section V Coach of the Year. “My staff and I are devoted to inspiring young athletes to understand and enjoy the sport of cheerleading. We have many years of experience collectively ranging from high school cheerleading to college national teams, All-Star performances to professional cheerleading. My hope is that we can bring a new level of expertise and spirit to local cheerleading.”
Cost of the camp is $125; sign-up by July 9 and receive a free t-shirt. For more information call Patty Hawley at 585.343.3329 or email info@geneseeexcelsports.
